Episode 1

I was born and taken to an orphanage while still an infant. Mrs Hope, the orphanage caretaker, noticed me and developed an immediate soft spot for me. I had no idea who my parents were until I was a young adult, and I never asked her about them, nor did she open her mouth to tell me the truth.

"Hello, good morning."

Mrs. Hope wakes me up with a soft kiss on my cheeks and places my breakfast on top of the wooden table. She never enters my bedroom in the morning without bringing my meal.

Today is the date of my job interview. Mrs. Hope has been rooting for the interview to go well from the start.

I want this job so I can finally get my own apartment and leave the orphanage.

After breakfast, I grabbed the CV from the table, kissed Mrs Hope on the cheek, and dashed to the interview in less than an hour.

The traffic today was less congested than it was yesterday. The secretary called my name, and thankfully, I arrived on time and answered.

"Are you Daniella?" She called.

"Yes, madam." I responded.

"Come with me." She spoke and led the way to the boss's office. She invited me to sit comfortably while she went to get the boss for me...

I was alone at the office, and my hands and legs were trembling. That is when I noticed the picture frame on the table. Even though I fought very hard, the boss had strange familiarities that I could not understand.

"Good morning, Miss Daniella; I apologize for being late." Shortly thereafter, my soon-to-be boss arrived.

He sat in the chair and requested my resume. I offered him my hand.

He widened his eyes as he examined my CV.

He was impressed by my grades and had other questions for me.

" Hi, Daniella. Did you really grow up in an orphanage?..

That was the first question he asked among the others...

"Yes, sir". I responded to his question.

"Nice! Where are your parents, and what happened to them?" He repeated his question to me.

"I do not know, did not know them."

I stopped myself from feeling bad about it.

He became sympathetic to my sad story. And it was solely because of this that I was chosen for the position.

Just what Mrs. Hope wanted.

When I returned home, she was overjoyed to hear that I had gotten the job.

She asked a few orphanage children to take out the remaining cookies from the fridge.

Since the government stopped paying the orphanage, it has been difficult to provide for the children's basic needs, and no matter how much Mrs Hope wanted to celebrate my new job with something sweet.

"Wow! "You are so lucky."

She stated as soon as the children left the dining room.

"Fortunately, I did nothing."

I stopped her from complimenting me and ignored her previous statement.

The food was brought in by the children, and it was the leftovers from the meal we had last night. We do not throw away food here; any leftovers are always eaten the next day.

The children wanted to know if I was going to stay with them at the orphanage before heading to work. I wanted that, at least that was what worked; however, Mrs. Hope denied their wishes and eventually granted me the privilege of leaving the orphanage and finding my own way.

I was now of legal age, and it would have been selfish of her not to allow me to leave.

"Mrs Hope, are you certain?"

After dinner with the kids and they had all gone, I grabbed the plates from the table and followed her into the kitchen.

"Are you sure about what?" She turned, "Do you mean you are being asked to leave the orphanage?" She proceeded...

"Yes, do you really want me gone? I can help you care for the kids."

I made a suggestion after giving it some serious thought.

"Do not worry, Daniella, we will be fine." She took the plates from my grasp and deposited them in the kitchen sink.

Mrs Hope and I used to reminisce about the good old days while we were in the kitchen. During those conversations, she told me about the day I first arrived at the orphanage. We finished cleaning up the kitchen, and she took me to the storeroom where valuable items are kept.

Mrs. Hope pulled out the blanket I was wrapped in as an infant. She knew nothing about my parents, but she recalls the lady who came here to drop me off.

"Do you have a name? I questioned her.

"Yes, Mrs Emma, she dropped you at the orphanage's doorstep and then left." Mrs. Hope spoke...

I retreated to my bedroom with my baby blanket.

And I started wondering what had happened for my parents to give up on me. Was not I desirable? Or did something occur?

"D... Daniella, I am scared."

Outside my bedroom door, I heard a gentle knock and a girl call my name quickly.

I opened the door, and Justina burst in without my permission.

"Hello, what happened, did you have a nightmare?"

I sat beside her on the bed, closing the door behind me.

"Yes, it was extremely scary."

She clasped both of my hands and smiled faintly.

" Really? What exactly was the nightmare about?

I inquired about the specifics of her nightmare, only to have her talk about something else.

She did not like the fact that I was leaving the orphanage, and her dream predicted that I would have a problem if I left them.

I did not want to believe her because she was only a child. What knowledge does she possess?..

I got her to stop talking about it and then tucked her into bed.

Her nightmare should not prevent me from restarting my life, but it will be away from Mrs Hope and the children she has left at the orphanage.