:.{The Glass House}.:

William was only 28 years old. He should have been living life to the full; he dreamed of making friends, getting married, having a family...But no. Fate had decided that he would not have any of these things.
Six years ago, William had come across a house atop an isolated hill. The village was at the bottom, but a little further away. It was a small area. The house on top of the hill was beautiful; most of the walls were covered with glass windows. Inside, the furniture was very Victorian-style, and the house itself had two floors and an attic. A livingroom, a diningroom, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a study/library, and two bathrooms.
Inside this beautiful house, he'd found a girl. She'd been crouched in the livingroom, hiding behind the sofa in fear. There was a piece of crumpled paper at the front door.
To whomever may find this,
We leave our daughter here, in the hopes that someone else can care for her. She does not have a name. Please take care of her.
He had been shocked and appalled. How, how could someone leave their child alone in an unknown place?
Nonetheless, William did as the girl's parents had asked. He took care of their daughter. She could only have been three or four years old. He'd quickly come to know that she threw severe tantrums, had rapid moodswings, and had difficulty understanding emotions and communicating. But he also discovered she was very intelligent, and he schooled her himself, even if it meant staying up ridiculously late into the night - he already had a job at the local school, teaching children from six years old to around twelve. It was lucky he had experience with children; dealing with the girl in the glass house was taxing, and at first he'd found it almost impossible.
But eventually, they'd grown close. He could comfort her when she was at her lowest and her worst, would hold her to him until she silenced. He'd read to her, even sing to her if that was what it took. And when others asked him about the girl, he'd simply say he was looking after her for a friend. Very few people knew where he was, but the other teachers certainly did. They didn't question him too much. He was not only a teacher, but also the school's librarian. With his curly-wavy dark brown shoulder-length hair, grey eyes and spectacles, he appeared as a very stereotypical librarian figure. However, William was quiet and reserved, and extremely patient. It was necessary.

"Wiiiiilliam!" The girl's voice pierced the air, and immediately, her carer rushed up the stairs to see what was wrong. She smiled at his presence. "I'm hungry."
William rolled his eyes, smiling. "You wanna go make sammiches?" He knew she loved the way he altered words for her.
"Yeah!"
"Chicken--" He purposefully failed to pronounce the 'e', making it sound like 'chikn'. "--Or ham?"
"Chikn!" She squealed, bouncing down the stairs. He watched her protectively, afraid she might trip down the stairs, following quickly.
That night, when they sat and 'nommed' -- as William called it -- their sandwiches together, they were both heavily aware of their situation. Both were somewhat trapped in the glass house together. They needed eachother.
It was a difficult situation, but both had grown used to it.

He got home from work to find her lying on the floor of his study, drawing a picture. "What're you drawing?" His voice was soft. Calm.
"A pretty picture," The girl replied, not looking up, her legs swinging back and forth.
"What of?"
"You and me and our cat."
"We don't have a cat, sweetheart."
"We do now." She grinned over at him, then coaxed a small kitten out from behind a chair. William groaned.
"Oh come on, I can't afford a cat!" He frowned sternly at her. Her lower lip trembled - and her wails nearly shattered the windows. Immediately William was knelt beside her, apologising and shushing her. "No no no, I'm sorry, we can keep it if you want! Shh, shh!" His arms wrapped around her tightly.
"Really?" She sniffled, cuddling into his chest.
"Really."
"Yaaaay!" With a laugh and a grin, she was on her feet, holding the kitten to her chest as though it were her child. "Can we call her Fluffy!?"
"...Fluffy?" He deemed it unoriginal - in his mind, anyway.
"Uh huh!"
"...Okay." He watched her cuddle the silver-grey kitten, and a smile appeared on his face.

Then it was the weekend, and he was free from work. Unfortunately, this meant it was torture time for the man. Sure enough, as soon as he was fully awake and they'd had breakfast, she immediately shouted his name.
"WILLIAAAAM!"
"Uh huh?"
"Can we play doctors and nurses!?" Her eyes were alit with glee, whereas his expression was one of horror.
"What?"
"Doctors and nurses! I can be Doctor Rainbow and you can be Nurse William!"
"Oh God."
"Pleeeease?"
"Fine, fine."
He loved her too much to refuse, so Doctor Rainbow and Nurse William embarked on their first 'adventure'.

There came the day where William had to take the girl out in public. It was a day he would not forget, and an experience he was reluctant to have again.
She'd screamed and bawled at him as he carried her out of the door, but had quickly become calm again as the breeze hit her face. He carried her all the way down the hill, until eventually there were people and he put her down.
She had been quick to scream at random passers by, to yell at them that the glass house was hers and William's.
It had ended with William apologising profusely to everyone, buying the groceries he needed, and half-carrying, half-dragging the girl back to their home, the glass house.
He'd sent her to bed with Fluffy, and she had been sad and silent for the next few days. It pained him, but it was necessary.

"I wanna go to school with the other kids." She piped up one day, bright-eyed and hopeful.
"You know I can't let you, sweetheart." William sighed, not looking up from his book.
"But William!" Her lower lip quivered.
"I'm sorry."
"I HATE YOU!" She fled into her room and slammed the door.
It wasn't the first time she'd screamed that she hated him when she didn't get her way, nor would it be the last, but it still hurt.

William slept soundly. So did she. Neither of them were aware that, when they awoke, they would not be in the place they called home.
And yet they would still return to the glass house, despite making trips to their 'new' home too.
What strange and tangled lives they led.

--------------------------

UM YES. -shrug-