Echoes of The Cliff

Frank reclined in his seat behind his large mahogany office table and heaved a sigh. It had been another busy day and he had just solved another homicidal riddle, true to his repute. He brushed a hand through his silky black locks as he picked the telephone on his left and called for the files to be rounded up. His eyes soon wandered to the framed photo on his right, of a bubbly girl with a bob of light brown hair and matching eyes. Her smile was so bright it was almost radiating out of the picture and into the quiet office that obviously needed some of her happy-go-lucky energy. He looked at the mini photos attached at the side, of he and Minnie together. Some included a well built man with chestnut brown hair and really, really dark green eyes. There were older photos including a younger male with a rebellious mop of brown hair and a mischievous glint in his eyes, but they grew scarce as the pictures progressed forward. Frank soon found himself taking a stroll down memory lane as he got lost in the pictures. "Get the ball!" Yelled a little boy no more than seven years of age. "On it!!" Another, slightly older boy replied as he raced down the field after the rolling soccer ball, his raven black hair falling over the glasses. To the side, a little girl with a brown bob of hair sat beside a third boy observing the field with dark green eyes. His eyes and gait betrayed more maturity than should be found in a ten year old as quietly watched the other kids run about the field. "Go Frankie!!" The girl cheered, bouncing in her seat as she shook the doll in her left hand and squeezed Magnum's bigger hand with her right. Little Frank reached the ball but was soon shoved by another boy from his left and he fell, letting out a scream as he sprained his arm in the process. "Hey!!" His partner yelled, the seven year old racing down the field, red with rage. He shoved the bully to the ground was soon about to get into a sticky situation, which he didn't seem to mind. "You don't push him around like that." He growled. "No, Andrew." Frank said as he winced and stood up, cradling his right arm. "You'll get in trouble. "No, THEY'LL get in trouble for messing with my brother." Andrew retorted, heaving. By then the little girl was already racing down the field in their direction, her doll long forgotten and Magnum not far behind. "Frankie!!" She screeched, coming to a stop in front of him. "Minnie, I told you to stop running like that or you'll hurt yourself." Magnum scolded but his homilies turned on deaf ears, Minnie crying as she assessed Frank's broken arm. "But. But Frankie is hurt. The bad guys hurt him." She wailed. "Brother?" The boy who shoved Frank snickered, dusting his shorts. "He's not your brother. You idiots need to stop fooling yourselves, there's no family here!! You wouldn't be here if you had one." It was at that moment Andrew decided he had had enough and moved to tackle the other boy, but Magnum pulled him behind him and stepped forward instead. "That's enough, Thomas. Watch how you speak. And apologise to Frank." He said calmly. "Or what? You're gonna call your mama? You don't have one!!" Thomas yelled, his posse of brats snickering in approval. They all seemed to have forgotten they were also in the orphanage and in a similar situation as the ones they were jeering at. "That's it, let me at him!! " Andrew screamed from behind Magnum, trying to tear his wrist out of his grasp, failingly. "Apologize. Now." Magnum took a step forward, maintaining his air of composure. Thomas stood his ground, or tried to, but couldn't hold out for long other Magnum's cold gaze. His little henchmen were not faring too well either. "S-sorry." He mumbled begrudgingly. Magnum c****d his head to the side and lifted a dark brown eyebrow. "Did you hear him, Minnie?" He asked. Minnie stopped her fussing over Frank and shook her head vigorously. "Nope." She answered, popping the p. "You hear that?" Asked Magnum, tapping right foot on the ground impatiently as he looked down at the younger boys. "Apologize. Properly. Before I make your arm look like his." It was Andrew's turn to snicker. He looked like he was struggling to hold himself back from speaking and let Magnum do the job. "I'm sorry, Frank. I was mean and I said mean things. I won't do it again." "It's okay." Said Frank in a soft voice as he pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose. Andrew shot him a gaze of bewilderment which was mirrored by Minnie who went ahead and poked his throbbing arm with her little finger. "Ow! What was that for?" Frank complained. "For lying. It's not okay!" She retorted, hands on hips. "Yeah, what she said." Andrew butted in, arms crossed across his chest. Thomas and his sidekicks had long scampered away and the four also made their way off the field, Minnie running back to the bench to grab her doll. "Let's get you to the nurse." Andrew said to Frank, wrapping his hand around the eight year old's shoulder as if he were the older between the two. Frank grimaced as they made their way towards the orphanage's little clinic. "I don't like the nurse, she's mean." "But not as mean as Thomas." Minnie replied, shooting him a glare. "Or your hand." Magnum huffed, leading the way. Frank smiled as he let them lead him towards the office of doom, as he called it, grateful for the wonderful friends he had made at the orphanage. No...wonderful family. Eighteen years later, Frank was also smiling in a dimly lit office as he traced the pictures with long white fingers. His smile shrinked as he looked at the more recent photos, where one troublesome boy with a mop of light brown hair and eyes the color of the sky was missing.