After that night, I stopped sleeping. I stopped talking. I stopped opening my mouth at all. I spent my days sitting in corners, crying silently. I bathed only when no one was watching so no one could see my bruises.
But a week later, he dragged me to his room again. And again. And again. Some nights he covered my mouth and carried me away while I slept. Some nights he dragged me in front of everyone. One night, he took me to his room and I found another girl I knew tied to the bed. He did terrible things to both of us that night. Other nights, he tried different things. Worse things.
The servants never interfered. They acted like shadows. One maid tried to hide a girl once. He found out. He struck her on the head so hard that she bled everywhere. The next day, she was gone. No one ever saw her again.
Months passed like that. And no matter how many times it happened, I never got used to it. Every night, while others tried to sleep through their fear, I lay awake, planning how to escape that nightmare.
But escape was never simple. He was the owner. He had built the place to suit himself, every stone laid with control in mind. The structure was secure, too secure.
Three sides were sealed by towering walls. One side opened into a manicured garden, another into a park, but neither offered freedom. There was no obvious way out, no careless gap or forgotten corner.
Indra paused, then continued, explaining it the way he had memorized it over the years.
"The orphanage was laid out like a closed square," he said quietly. "Tall walls formed the edges, cutting it off from the outside world completely. There was only one gate, at the front wall, and it was always guarded. Two men stood at the gate day and night, and two more patrolled the remaining walls, unmoving, watchful.
At the center of the square stood the main building, a solid hexagon of stone. Surrounding it on all sides was an open courtyard, half garden, half bare ground. There was only one main door connecting the building to that courtyard, which meant everyone passed through the same choke point, every time.
Behind the building were the playgrounds," Indra went on. "Swings, slides, seesaws, things meant for children. None of us ever really enjoyed them. Past the far wall of the playground stretched a forest, dense and dark, endless from where we stood."
His voice lowered.
"On one corner of the building was his room. His lair. It was the only room with windows, two of them. One faced the playground. The other faced the forest. From there, and from the massive door to his room, he could watch everything.
Every servant entering or leaving the building passed under his gaze. Every child in the garden or the playground was visible from at least one angle. Nothing happened without him knowing.
The garden and the playground were too open," Indra said. "No one could reach the walls or the gate without being seen by guards or servants. The only possible way out was through the forest."
He exhaled slowly.
"So my plan was to escape through the window that faced the trees. Unscrew it, slip out, disappear. But that meant getting into his room, and that was almost impossible. He was always there. And on the rare occasions he left, he locked the door behind him."
Indra exhaled slowly, remembering the months of effort.
"So I used to sneak to the playground window and whenever he was not in his room, I would unscrew that window frame. Once the frame was unscrewed, I started slipping inside his room and try to loosen the screws of the forest window little by little. If I had been brave enough to do it at night while he slept, I could have escaped earlier, but I was terrified. So it took months. Months of tiny moments, small opportunities, slow progress.
When I finally reached the climax of my plan… he went on a vacation.
I was so happy when I heard that. I felt alive again. I decided that I would escape that very midnight, once everyone fell asleep."
Indra stopped suddenly. His eyes drifted to the glass wall in front of them and a soft smile bloomed on his face, the kind of smile someone wears when a memory touches them gently.
Obero called his name. No response.
Obero tugged Indra's sleeve. Indra blinked, turned, and said, "Pardon me."
"You were saying something about forgetting the plan," Obero reminded him.
Indra let out a small chuckle. "Sorry. I was lost in thought. It is strange. While telling you my story, I am not merely recollecting my memories. I feel like I am living them again."
Obero smiled, and Indra returned the smile. Then he looked down at Isha sleeping peacefully on his lap before continuing.
"That night," he said, "two kids from another orphanage were transferred to ours. Everyone was curious. Even I was curious. We all gathered near the main door, waiting to see them. I do not know why the other kids waited. Maybe they hoped the newcomers would share their misery. But for me… I knew I was escaping that abyss soon. Before leaving forever, I wanted to see the faces of the new poor souls who were about to fall into it.
I stared at the entrance, waiting. A man walked in first and began talking with the lady of the orphanage. Beside him, I saw a pair of hands belonging to a kid slightly taller than me. But I could not see his face. I pushed through the crowd, squeezing between tiny shoulders, until I reached the very front.
That was when I saw Arthur."
Indra's face brightened slightly at the name.
"He was the one standing beside the man. Slightly taller. Slightly older. And unlike every kid I had ever seen enter that place, he was not sad. Not nervous. Not frightened. His face was blazing with happiness. The way he walked… the way he held himself… in that moment, he looked like the Great King himself was walking through the door."
Indra shook his head, still amazed by that memory.
"While I stared at him, wondering how a boy only a little taller than me could look like a king, I noticed he was talking to someone hidden behind the wall. A girl. I could not see her face. I could only see Arthur's expression change. He looked even happier when he spoke to her, as if all the happiness in the world had settled inside his smile.
I wanted to see her. I needed to see her. So I stepped forward and stood directly in front of the entrance.
That was when Sophia walked in.