Chapter 1: The Cycle

Staring at the vicinity of the Safe Haven Orphanage—primarily painted with red and blue walls, gives overwhelming rejoice. It is a school and a place to stay for orphans. I closed my eyes and averted my gaze. I grew accustomed to the people and environment after living here for 17 years but hearing the conversations inside the Headmistress’s office shattered my heart; I sighed and leaned on the wall. Another turned down to adopt me, but it hurt me even more because I could hear Headmistress Rosie pleading with the wealthy married couple inside.

“What are you doing here, Eliana? Return to the classroom!” Miss Lalita suddenly appeared and yelled. I nodded and started walking. Since I was ten years old, I’ve used this cycle, which still breaks my heart.

“How was it, Eliana? Are you going to start living in a villa now?” Risa inquired as she stood at the door, wiggling her curly hair. I entered the room with a half smile on my face. She is one of my cheerful friends.

“Risa, don’t irritate Eliana. You can eat my sandwich here. I made it a while ago.” Mary offered as she handed me a sandwich with an egg and mayonnaise in the middle of it.

“Thank you,” I whispered. Headmistress Lalita burst through the door, raising her eyebrows and staring at me.

“So, we have a house rule here: you must leave the orphanage when you reach your legal age.” She screeched.

Headmistress Rosie abruptly grabbed Miss Lalita outside and spoke, “Lalita.” We looked out the window and saw them arguing over something. I closed my eyes and concentrated. One of my extraordinary abilities is to hear someone from a distance.

“What are you up to?” Headmistress Rosie inquired, her gaze fixed on Miss Lalita.

“What? The children here must understand that we can only assist them until they reach the age of 17, and your favorite orphan should not stay here. Loving families and couples have already adopted all youth her age.” Miss Lalita expanded.

“What exactly is it?” Josh appeared out of nowhere, his anxious expression on his face. He is the only person who is aware of my keen hearing.

“Nothing,” I uttered. My friends are too young to consider my issue at the orphanage.

“The poor girl. Another rejection.” Diana chuckled as she entered the room. Susan followed her and flipped their hair. I sat in the chair, shaking my head. My birthday is coming, and I will be of legal age soon. I focused my attention on Headmistress Rosie. Her lovely face has already creased due to her constant concern for me. I made up my mind before the outcome of the adoption process. It will be my final decision, and since it failed, I must leave on the night of my birthday.

Miss Lalita came in after a half-hour, began our lesson, and did not mention house rules. I sighed and listened to her lecture. No one ever tried to ask her about it except the young man with a golden spoon in his mouth.

“Headmistress, I just wanted to inquire about the legal age requirement in this place. Are you implying that Eliana must get out of the orphanage within two days?” Cali wondered out loud, a smirk on his face. The obnoxious young man at Safe Haven. A famous businessman adopted Cali, but he still wanted to study here because he always told everyone how lucky he was to have a butler and a maid. I noticed how Josh glared at him. Risa and Mary were about to respond, but I held their hands because we were all seated in one long chair.

“I’m all right,” I mumbled.

“Don’t try to hide your annoyance. Eliana, I know you.” Diana screamed.

“Stop right now!” As Miss Lalita yelled, we all gaped. “Answer all the questions on page 138 before proceeding to your assigned class.” She added and exited. Diana and Susan started walking and came to me in the last row.

“If I were you, I’d get out of here!”

“Loser!” They both laughed and raised their brows at me. Diana pulled my hair as I stood up and prepared to walk through the door.

“Leave Eliana alone!” Josh shouted at Diana, but Cali shoved him away, and then Susan assisted Diana in dragging him from the room. Unexpectedly, Mary and Risa became enraged and helped us. In the corridor, we start a riot. I saw how Susan gripped Mary's hand, and my rage exploded and pushed Diana. The orphans were shocked when she fell into the garbage. I took a deep breath and turned around.

“Eliana!” Miss Lalita ran to us and was the most enraged of the three Headmistresses by what I did. “What exactly did you do to Diana? Do you not realize she is on medication?”

“I—”

“I’m not interested in your explanation! Now is the time to clean the hallway and the garden!”

“That’s a lot,” Headmistress Rosie complained.

“No, I’ll leave right now,” I replied and started to leave the hallway. I overheard Miss Rosie and Miss Lalita’s conversation as I began walking through the garden.

“Why are you chastising Eliana?” Headmistress Rosie queried.

“I’m also a headmistress here, Miss Rosie. Respect my opinion, and it is clear that Eliana pushed Diana to the ground.” I shook my head and dashed away so I wouldn’t hear them.

When I arrived at the garden, I began picking up dirt and cleaning. Josh appeared out of nowhere and began trimming the bushes.

“Hey, it’s my task,” I explained. Josh smiled as he continued to cut the excess leaves from the plants. Then Mary and Risa arrived. They assisted me in cleaning the garden and hallway. “You’re not required to do it,” I mumbled as I sat on the grass.

“We’d love to help you, and our class ends early because Headmistress Rosie had something important to do.” Risa giggled.

“How come you seem so happy about it?” I asked, my gaze fixed on her.

“Nothing! Let’s go upstairs to our room.” She responded by yanking me up. Josh and Mary remained seated.

“Are you two not going back?” I inquired, raising my brows at them.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Mary responded. I nodded and followed Risa, returning to our room. The hallway was quiet, and every orphan stared at me with a confused look. Risa pulled me into our room as I was not paying attention. “What are you going to do?” I asked as I saw her going out.

“I’m going to double-check something.” She yelled as she shut the door. I sighed and looked around; we were six girls sleeping here—a large room painted blue on the left and red on the right. A mixed color that keeps agitating me. It is like a bloody gloom. The tears I was trying to hold back began to stream down my cheeks. What caused my parents to abandon me? I’d grown accustomed to feeling insignificant whenever my birthday rolled around. I remember everything Diana told me. My parents didn’t want a freak daughter, so they left me, and no one will ever adopt me. She is entirely correct. I was fortunate to have many married couples who wanted me to be their daughter, but they decided to cancel the adoption in the end. I saw how the Headmistress cried on the last couple. They are wealthy based on their luxury items and gold jewelry, but they claim I am a freak and do not want a daughter like me.

Unexpectedly, someone growled in pain and hit my ears. When I stood up, the scar between my neck and shoulder hurt.

“Ahhhhhh,” I exclaimed as I looked out the window. There are no animals outside. What caused that howl?