In one of the orphanage rooms, "Linda" sat on a wooden chair. White lights covered the place in a stark brightness. Facing her was a camera and a filming crew made up of only two people: one of them monitoring the camera, and the other sitting on a swivel chair watching "Linda," who spoke in a serious tone:
"Okay, start."
Linda said:
"Hello… my name is Linda Carline de Miranov," she said in a voice filled with innocence mixed with a light gentleness. "I am fifteen years old now, and I only have three years left before I leave this gloomy orphanage."
She takes a deep breath and continues:
"I was born in a huge palace surrounded by forests on every side, to an extremely noble and wealthy family. My father used to call me the jewel of the house, my mother never left me for a single moment, and my two older brothers protected me from everything, even from the sting of the cold."
A moment of silence, then a distant look… and her voice drops:
"Until that… ill-fated day."
A flashback appears: a luxurious hall decorated with gold and candles, the laughter of guests rising as music fills the place. Her grandfather had held a massive party for her sixth birthday. Suddenly… the lights went out. Silence fell, then screaming began. Sounds of smashing, crying, heavy footsteps. Little Linda crawled in terror under the table to hide…. her small hand gripping her trembling white dress. And when the lights came back… everything was covered in blood. Bodies scattered across the floor, disfigured faces, her father's eyes open without a soul, her mother in his arms, her brothers silent… they were all dead. She was the only survivor.
---
The camera slowly moves to a boy sitting on the same chair.
"My name is William Grant, I am seventeen years old, and I have five months left before I leave this place."
He smiled a forced smile and continued:
"I grew up in a military family. My father was a commander in the army, and my mother was a respected teacher. I had a twin, identical to me in appearance… but we were completely different. I was born healthy but not very smart, while he was smart but physically weak."
He lowered his gaze for a few seconds before continuing:
"When I was eight years old, I was the reason they all died…
We were all going on a camping trip. My father was driving the car, my mother was sitting in the front seat beside him, and in the back there was me and my brother playing a video game on a handheld console. While I was playing, I wanted to show my father how good I was at the game, so I brought the video game screen close to my father's face, and he started saying, 'William, move the game away from my face, I can't see the road.'
My mother was saying the same thing, until my brother shouted, 'There's a truck, there's a truck coming toward us!'
Suddenly, I dropped the game console and screamed as I saw the truck approaching us. My father tried to avoid it, but the car flipped over with us.
I don't remember the accident very well, but as soon as I woke up inside the car, I saw a scene I wished I had never seen in my entire life. My brother who was next to me had his body and head separated from each other. I looked at my mother to find her body soaked in blood, with a piece of glass piercing her stomach. I screamed amid the blood and scattered glass… but suddenly I heard my mother's voice as she gasped, 'William, get out of the car and get help.' Without saying a single word, I got out of the car quickly, searching for help, until I heard a loud explosion behind me. I turned around to see the car burning before my eyes along with my family...…
---
The transition moves to a third girl, her curly orange hair flowing over her shoulders and a confident smile on her face:
"My name is Rosie Lancaster. I'm sixteen years old, and two years separate me from leaving this place. I was born to parents who were managers of a huge company… they were rich, but they never gave me any affection. I was that child who was left alone in her spacious room…
They even had my younger brother when I was five years old, and he became their favorite."
I was always seeing them giving my little brother attention they had never given me before…
As for me, I didn't even have a name mentioned among them…
One day I tried to play with my brother, but my mother quickly pulled him away from me while screaming, "Don't touch him."
It was painful to see myself trying to be loved in vain…
Her eyes widen as she continues recounting:
"At nine years old, I decided to run away. I left at night, under the rain, and ran with no direction. I thought I was free… but freedom was nothing but the beginning of another hell."
---
The transition moves to a young man in the corner of the room, his eyes sunken and his voice cold:
"My name is Elias… in two months I will leave this place. Since I was six years old, I worked with my mother in the bar… yes, that's what they called work. Until the day my mother got sick, was fired from her job, and I had to bear responsibility for everything. So I started working carrying goods in exchange for money. I was collecting money to buy her medicine… but when I returned, I found her a cold corpse. I stayed beside her for a whole week until the neighbors complained about the smell. After that, I was transferred here."
---
The camera turned off, and Linda left the room to find her friends waiting for her.
She asked them childishly, "Why do they force us to film our cursed past?"
Rosie laughed bitterly, "Because they believe that when we grow up, we'll come back to watch how we ended up here."
Elias frowned, "Damn it… who would want to remember this hell?"
And while everyone was distracted, the four approached an old wall with an opening and slipped outside.
In the narrow hidden passage, Elias and William were already outside, while Rosie was trying to get through but got stuck. Linda laughed and pushed her from behind, saying loudly, "Come on, big-butt girl!"
Rosie's face turned red as she looked at William, who also looked embarrassed.
In another place with other people, Jude (one of the most famous YouTubers in video games) stepped out of his Lamborghini… accompanied by his two colleagues, Camellia (the girl obsessed with her appearance that resembles a rock band style),
and Karem, who showed signs of fear of anything, as they entered one of the cafés near the orphanage…
---
---
While the four of them were exiting through the breach in the wall,
they all headed to their usual place:
a large hall filled with gamblers. Linda was talented at table games, accustomed to competing against many men, among them famous travelers and wealthy executives…
This time, one of the richest men in the city demanded a large sum to gamble against her, and in return, if she lost, she would be forced to work under him in gambling operations…
Linda agreed gladly, preparing herself to win a huge amount.
But as soon as she won, the man ordered his guards to seize them. Linda and her friends fled the gambling hall in haste while the guards chased after them…
In the city streets, the sound of footsteps was closing in, and suddenly, in front of her, was a shiny black Lamborghini. Linda leaped over it gracefully, a move that amazed everyone.
On the other side, Jude was coming out of the café accompanied by Camellia and Karem when Jude saw the scene. His eyes met Linda's for a brief moment. He raised his phone and called his bodyguard: "Bring me a new car… this one is dirty."
There were dirty handprints from Linda on it…
Camellia said mockingly, "Oh, why another car? Can't we just wipe the stains?"
But Jude had a different reply: "I don't like others touching my belongings."
Linda and her friends managed to escape and returned to the orphanage at sunset. But as soon as they entered, they found the director standing and waiting for them, with George beside her the spoiled child who had reported them.
The director, with her harsh face, said coldly, "Do you think you can break the rules?"
Punishment was imminent, but Elias stepped forward. "I'm the one who took them… they have nothing to do with it."
The director stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away. William was about to speak, but Elias stopped him with his hand, gesturing to him from behind…
They could only watch him in silence… knowing that he saved them at the cost of himself.
---