Last Hope Orphanage, it was known to be a safe place for homeless and parentless people, a place where they could start a new life by themselves. None of that has been true. I have seen the true face of this so called orphanage. It's not an orphanage, but a prison or even hell itself.
I can still clearly remember the day when I came to this place. I was happy and hopeful. I was thinking that this would finally be the needed change in my life. I was around sixteen, young, naive and inexperienced. I didn't know what to expect. The first sign were the orphans that were living here. They were scared, both of me and the people that were working there. But why were they so scared? What made them react like this? Nowadays I could explain it, but back then I had no idea. The very moment I entered the orphanage, it was already too late to return. I was now trapped inside this prison, together with all these people. This place would now be the reason for what I have become.
Arrival
I am wondering why I had to leave my old orphanage and instead had to go to this one. Had I done anything that they didn't like? Did I betray them in any way? I was just eating breakfast when they came to me, telling me that I would be transferred to the Last Hope Orphanage, but they didn't even tell me a reason. I had to obey them unwillingly; resistance wouldn't have helped me in any way. I would have got to this place in one way or another. So, without any resistance from my side, I was led inside the car that brought me to the orphanage. I was allowed to take a box with me to carry a few things of my own. I put in some of my favorite clothes, my favorite plushy and a few other rather unimportant things. I didn't have much that I owned, so the decision wasn't all too hard for me.
Two hours later I arrived at the orphanage. It actually didn't look that much worse than the other one I was before. The moment I stepped out of the car, it drove away from there, perhaps not to give me a chance to get back inside, I didn't exactly know why. After observing the surroundings and the two men that were approaching me, I made my way towards them as well. They seemed rather friendly and greeted me in a polite way. One of them was kind enough to take my burdens, the little box that barely had anything inside. It wasn't really heavy, but I didn't mind it either.
Together with the two men, I was showed around the place. The place itself inside looked kind of nice, especially the furniture was much better than in the other orphanage. But the people who were living here and who passed us, something must have been wrong with them. They were acting weird, they were clearly scared of the two men and when I was trying to approach one of them, he backed off quickly. I didn't know what to think of this, I was just telling myself that this was just a rare occasion, and that just these few people were like that. But even if I told myself that, it was a failed attempt to cheer me up, but in reality I was worried and scared myself. I wondered if I was going to end like them, but I had to stay strong. The men were nice and I doubt they would let something get to me.
Eventually I was showed my own room. That was the first orphanage I heard of that had for each orphan a personal room, instead of one large one where everyone was sleeping. I was surprised and impressed by the room, it wasn't really big, but it had everything I needed and it was all for myself. The sight of my room gave me hope, I was happy and for a second I forgot all the encounters and worries I had before. One of the men told me to stay here inside my room until it was time for dinner and that they would inform me about it, while the other placed the box onto my new bed. I simply nodded and watched them leaving the room. I made my way over to the door to examine it a bit and I quickly noticed that there was nothing to lock it with.
That would mean that anyone could enter my room at any time. That didn't make me feel comfortable in any way; in fact it made my worries come back. I hoped that there was some kind of rules that didn't allow the occupants to enter the room of the others or perhaps it was just a mistake and they forgot to hand me a key for the lock. For now I just decided to wait for the dinner and see how things would turn out. I looked around in my room a bit and eventually took out my plushy and made myself comfortable on the bed. It was so nice and soft, not so hard like the old one. It made me smile...
A few hours later I woke up when I heard a bell ringing. I must have fallen asleep in the time I was lying on my bed. This must have been the bell for the dinner; at least I was hoping that it was just that. Thankfully, one of the men that led me to this room entered the room and told me that it was time for dinner and that I should hurry. I did just as told and followed the man to the dining room. It was fairly large with several long tables were the people that lived here and the ones that worked here were separated. I was led to a table that was rather empty compared to the others. I took a seat next to a young girl at the edge of the table. I peeked briefly at her; she was beautiful and had this cute smile on her face. I wonder what she was so happy about. The food that was just now placed around the tables didn't look that much different than the one I got in the other orphanage.
For some reason the orphans didn't talk at all, whereas the people that worked here talked happily and joyfully with each other. All they did was staring at their dishes and began to eat immediately when the food arrived, everyone, except for me and the girl next to me. I was wondering if she was new here, just like me, but for some reason I just couldn't gather the courage to confront her. I felt so nervous when I just thought about talking with her. What was wrong with me? I knew that I had problems to talk to new people, but I didn't know it was that bad.
Eventually I looked at her again and at the same time she returned the glance and we made eye contact. It lasted a few seconds before I turned away my head to look into the opposite direction and my cheeks were suddenly becoming warm... dear God, was I blushing? The girl made me blush, just by looking at me. But it didn't make it any better when I felt that she was still looking at me. I didn't feel well, this feeling I had, it made me feel awful. I just wanted to escape from there, but I didn't think that was an option.
"At least someone who seems alive." The girl whispered eventually after looking at me for a while longer.
I froze up a little when I heard the girl talking. On the one hand I was glad that at least she had the courage to start a conversation, but on the other hand I was unsure of what to say. The least I wanted was to say something wrong. Eventually I turned my head around again to glance briefly at the girl. Unbelievable... she was still smiling. "What's... with all these people here? Why are they... so scared... and quiet?" I asked her with a concerned expression.
The girl shrugged a little before she looked around the room. Turning her eyes back on her plate and glanced another slight smile to me before taking a bite. "Hm... are you... uhm... new here, too?" I asked quietly, still feeling awkwardly embarrassed. "A few days..." She replied back quietly, probably she was feeling just as weird about the silence as I did. "Except for this odd silence... is this place any good? What do you think about this?" I asked her with a somewhat worried expression. "Don't know... everything seems decent. Nice rooms, showers... everything is clean. Just the atmosphere here is strange." She replied quietly and continued to smile at me. I wonder if she was happy to be able to talk to someone, at least it seemed to be the case. "Yeah, it's crazy. I never had an own room ever before. It feels... I am not sure... just great to be able to have some privacy. I didn't have that in my old orphanage." I said with a clear hint of impression and flashed a smile back at her. "It's great... just like one big family house." She said, although she had a questioning look around the room. No wonder, this wasn’t exactly a happy family. "A silent family, that's for sure. I am just glad you are not like them. I was really worried everyone was like them." I said with a relieved sigh, looking down at my plate with a curious expression. "Any idea how the food is around here?" I asked. "Nothing wrong with it." The girl replied quietly with a smile before she took another bite. "Hm, alright then. Time to give it a try." I said with a brief smile and took a bite myself, tasting the food some before I spoke up again. "Mhm, not bad." "When did you arrive here?" The girl suddenly asked me. "A few hours ago. I was transferred here to this orphanage, for... whatever reason. They never told me." I replied honestly and let out a sigh. "Hm... well my old home got closed because they lost funding." She replied. "Oh... well, at least you know the reason. I am still thinking I did something wrong. Something that made them do this." I said with a frown, blindly staring at my food now as I was lost in thoughts. "I'm sure you did nothing wrong. Probably them not daring to tell it's actually their fault." She replied with a soft smile. "I guess you are right. I shouldn't really bother myself with the thoughts. I am here now and that's all that matters." I said with a soft sigh and continued to eat from my meal. "My name is Mellanie by the way." The girl whispered with a soft smile. "I... I am Anne, at least that is what people call me all the time." I replied hesitantly, seemingly being nervous. "Can call me Mel." Mellanie replied quietly with a small smile. "Mel... it's a cute name!" I said joyfully and returned the smile. I was really happy. This girl, Mellanie, she made my time here much more bearable. I was confident that the time here would be going to be a good and enjoyable time now that I have met her.
"Say... is it allowed to invite someone to my room?" I asked her to break the silence that came up out of a sudden. "Hm... no, don't think so. But we can see each other in the spare time." Mellanie replied with a small smile. "Hm, it is still better than not being able to see each other at all. I really would love to see you more often. We... talkative people have to stick together, right!" I said with a happy expression while I looked around the table, having noticed that we were the only ones talking on this very table, it was really awkward. "Once we have spare time, I mostly am in the library to read, since there isn't anyone to talk. But we can go outside and talk there. Not allowed in the library since a lot of people study there." Mellanie replied with a small smile, finishing her dinner. "When are we allowed to go outside?" I asked curiously, still being clueless about the time schedule. "Tomorrow after lunch." Mellanie replied with a small nod. "So... I guess I won't be seeing you again today?" I asked with a slight frown. "Don't think so... but don't worry; these beds make you sleep pretty well." She replied confidently. "Oh... sleep, that's one of my favorite things, too bad that I never really had any choice but to sleep all the time. But it's not that bad, I can always escape into my own little world there." I said with a slight sign of amusement. "Guess we'll talk tomorrow about how your dreams were then." Mellanie said suddenly. "You... really want to talk about them?" I asked with a blush on my face, not having expected that. "They can be fun subjects to talk about." She shrugged lightly. "You will have to tell me about your dreams as well then! For the fairness." I said with a soft giggle. "If I have any." Mellanie replied on a bit of a teasing tone, just to make fun of it, I guess. "Oh come on, you will! I am sure you do!" I protested in an amused way.
Mellanie smiled more broadly before looking around. "Hm... think it's time to bring our plates back." She said, already seeing a few others return their plates. "Hm, looks like it. Lead me! I don't know where to bring them to." I said in a somewhat apologizing way, as everything was still pretty new to me. "There is a table up front where we have to put our plates when we finished eating, happens with every meal. So that those assigned to do the dishes today have an easier time moving it to the kitchen. You'll probably get a schedule soon too." Mellanie explained while taking her plate together with her knife and fork to bring it to the table she was talking about. "Ah... yeah, for a moment I hoped there weren't any schedules. I hate having to stick to rules." I said with a soft sigh, doing the same as Mellanie and followed right behind her. "It's not a bad thing really. You keep yourself busy and everyone gets their turns." She replied, putting her plate down before turning around to me with a kind smile. "Well, it's a bad thing if you are lazy like me." I said with a slight smirk, putting down my plate as well and returned the smile. "I suppose now is the time we have to head to our rooms?" "Yup... which room do you have?" Mellanie asked, already beginning to walk to the exit of the canteen and expected me to follow her. "Oh... ehm, it's somewhere near the end of the corridor where the rooms are located. I... haven't imprinted the room number yet, but I guess I can still find it when we are close to it." I explained to her with an embarrassed blush, following her. "Got room 12 myself." She replied with a smile, walking through the building. "I wonder if it's close to my room. That would be cool!" I said smiling. "Yes, but no leaving your room in the middle of the night." Mellanie warned me out of a sudden, as it was one of the rules within the orphanage that I was going to learn about some time later. "Oh? W-why not? Are there monsters outside my room?" I joked, unknowingly as to why I wasn’t allowed to. "They just want to keep order I guess and make sure you sleep. You can go out to the bathroom if you need to though." She replied. "Hm... alright. I have already learned myself the hard way that ignoring the rules has consequences." I said with a soft shrug, smiling at Mellanie. "It's not that bad..." She replied before she'd end up in front of her room. "Guess this is good night?" "Hm, I will see you tomorrow then. Good night, Mellanie!" I said cheerfully and smiled back at her. "Sweet dreams." Mellanie said with a soft smile before she would enter her own room. "Thanks, you too!" I said and made my way to my own room that was merely a few more steps away from where I was.
Back in my room I swiftly closed the door and made my way over to my box that was still lying on my bed. Somewhere inside it, there had to be my pajama. I am pretty sure I took it with me. It was my favorite after all, with flowers all over it. And there was it, underneath all these other clothes, my pajama. I took it out and began to change my clothing. I had everything I needed, my plushy, my pajama and a smile on my face. Nothing was going to stop me from having a sweet dream now!
Then suddenly, it must have been around four in the morning, screams. They were echoing throughout the corridor and even worse, the screams were either quite close or almost next to my room. God... what the hell was happening there? Was Mellanie in danger? I couldn't get it off my mind that it was Mellanie that was screaming, but that wasn't possible. The voice wasn't even remotely close to that of Mellanie. But despite that, I was worried sick. Was I supposed to check and see what was happening? I still remember Mellanie telling me to stay in my room. But that should be an exception in this case, I thought to myself. I was planning to leave my room and check out the source of the screams, but for some reason I just couldn't gather any courage. I was eventually more scared than worried. I decided to stay in my room and simply pretended that the woman was having some sort of nightmare. A few minutes later the screams began to let off, followed by me falling asleep again.
It was a miracle. Despite what was happening around me. Nothing could ever stop me from falling asleep. It was a curse but also a helpful thing in certain occasions. But my dreams were different this time. They started to begin like a usual dream.
I was sitting under a tree on the grass, leaning my back against the tree while looking around me, a green, stony landscape, together with a small river running through it next to the tree where I was sitting. Right behind the river, there were the cliffs and further away, one could see the sun shining through. Everything was the same as before. I looked up to where the sun shone in the sky. It was a clear blue sky with a few clouds here and there. The air was rather fresh and cold. I watched the clouds flying their way, when suddenly I saw a figure in the distance. It was a person, no doubt on that. The person was approaching me in a slow pace and eventually I recognized the person. It was Mellanie. She smiled happily while she continuously approached me. Moments later she disappeared, quickly followed by me standing up and looking around me. Where did she go? In the same moment my breath was getting colder and a shiver ran through my entire body. I was freezing out of a sudden and the sky was getting grey. I just wanted to run, but before I could even take a step with my foot, I felt a warm kiss on my cheek. I turned around to see who or what that was, and saw Mellanie right next to me. She whispered into my ear and promised me that she will protect me, no matter what happens. Right after that I woke up.
"Miss... Hayes." A man said hesitantly after checking a document. "It's time for the shower. Please take your clothes and go through the door next to your room, there are the shower cabins."
Before I could even say something, the man already had left the room. He sure was in a hurry. I stood up, picked up my clothes and made my way out of my room, directly towards the door that the man was speaking of. There was a sign next to it, saying 'Showers'. That must be the right place.
I entered the showers and looked around me. All I could see were two doors, one for women and the other for the men. It was clear where I had to go and so I entered the door to the women cabins. There were a few girls just leaving the cabins and there was only one girl left. It was Mellanie, smiling broadly again. I wonder if she was waiting for me.
Just when I was approaching her, I realized that I was still wearing my pajama. I looked down at myself and blushed deeply. I never wanted her to see me in my pajama. It was... embarrassing, to put it mildly. I turned my head away and tried to cover my pajama with my hands.
"Uhm... uh... hey." I stuttered nervously. "Morning. Slept well?" Mellanie asked as she had greeted me with a smile. "Uhm... y-yes, I... I guess. Did you wait for me?" I asked curiously, slowly stepping closer to Mellanie, but not daring to look at her eyes yet. "Maybe? At least someone to talk with, right?" She replied, her obviously not caring about how my pajama looked like. "Hah, yeah. So... what do I have to do now?" I asked with a clueless expression, looking around, but still not towards Mellanie.
Mellanie was already ready to head into the showers, by the looks of it. Her clothes were neatly folded on a bench behind her in a changing room, while she kept herself covered with a big towel that was wrapped around her, it kind of looked funny on her. "You can change in one of these. Showers are around the corner." She replied. "O-okay... is there a towel inside already? Or did I have to take one with me myself?" I asked her in a worried tone, approaching one of the changing rooms meanwhile. "In that closet you can pick one." She replied. "I bet they all look the same." I joked and walked over to the closet, opened it and took out a white towel. "Thought so... anyway, will you wait for me?" I asked her while heading over to the changing room again. "Sure, if you want me to." Mellanie replied with a soft smile. "Yes, that would be great! Uhm... thanks!" I said nervously and entered the changing room. Upon entering it, I let out a heavy sigh, looked around and eventually took a seat on the bench in the changing room.
Mellanie took a seat on another bench outside in the main room. Seeming to be more cheered up, now that she found someone to talk to after the first few silent days she had been here, that was clearly noticeable. "I am feeling terrible..." I said quietly to myself and frowned slightly. Should I really confront Mellanie about the screams I was hearing or about the dream I was having? The other day, Mellanie said that she wanted to know about my dream. I, for one, hope she forgot about it.
After taking in a few more deep breaths, I stood up from the bench and began to take off my pajama. I placed both the pajama down onto the bench, as well as my other clothes I was supposed to put on after the shower. After that, I wrapped the towel carefully around myself and opened the door. "Got any shampoo of you?" Mellanie asked the moment I came out of the changing room. "Hm... no, I thought they had some here." I replied with a frown, looking briefly at her. "You can use mine I suppose." She replied, showing her a plastic bag in which she had shampoo. "Yours? Are you sure?" I asked unsurely, wondering if I should really accept the offer, but hell, why not! "If you're okay with neutral shampoo?" She replied with a smile. "Hm, I don't mind. But how do you plan on handing it over to me? Aren't we separated?" I asked her, still having no idea about how the things run here. "Can slide under the panel; just have to pick a shower next to me." She replied. "Hm... should work. But don't peek, okay!" I said giggling and stepped closer to Mellanie, wanting her to go in first so that I could follow her. "This way." She said after giggling with me about how I didn't want her to peek and led me to where the showers were.
I let out a sigh and followed Mellanie quietly. I was still undecided whether to mention the things or not. "We have to be quick though, breakfast is soon. And then we have to go to school. Well, it's more like them giving you a bunch of homework." She replied. "Homework? Oh dear, do I have to do them on my own?" I asked amused. "If so, I am so screwed." "Guess I can help you, but I'm probably a few classes higher than you. We only have one teacher though, mixed class kind of thing." She explained while picking a shower cabin. "Oh, I see. And that would be nice, really." I said with a smile and entered a shower cabin next to Mellanie's. "Just say it when you need the shampoo..." I heard her saying before Mellanie turned the water of the shower on. “Yes, of course." I said and turned on the water as well. I took some time for myself and eventually asked for the shampoo. "Hm... now would be great."
Without a word the plastic bag with the shampoo tube got shoved under the panel. "Thank you." I said quietly, picked up the shampoo, applied it on my body and washed myself thoroughly before I shoved the plastic bag with the shampoo back. "Going to get dressed, I'll wait in the hallway." She said from her own shower cabin. "Okay." I replied simply and finished washing myself completely before I left the shower cabin after having wrapped the towel around me again, making my own way back to my changing room.
Mellanie was dressed up by that time, but still brushed her hair in front of one of the mirrors that was hanging on above a few sinks. Them being used to get a quick clean up, or do one's make-up or even just brushing your teeth before going to bed. "Showers aren't bad, are they?" Mellanie asked me as she could see me leave my shower via the mirror. "They are alright." I replied simply before I disappeared into the changing room and began to change into my regular clothes before I came out of the room again with my pajama wrapped around my arm. "I need to bring my pajama back into my room. How much time do we have left?" I asked as I stepped closer to Mellanie. "Hm... 20 minutes." She replied, looking at a clock that was hanging high up on the wall, the same clocks being spread across the building, so that everyone knew which time it exactly was, making it impossible to use 'not knowing the time' as an excuse for being late. "That's enough time! Want to see my room? Even though I doubt it will look any different than yours." I asked giggling. "Every room mostly has their own colored theme though." She replied with a smile. "Hm, at least something." I shrugged softly and without any hesitation I grabbed for Mellanie's hand, wanting to lead her out of the showers and back to my own room.
Mellanie got a bit surprised but didn't mind to hold my hand. "So did you dream about anything last night?" She asked, taking her bag with her and began following me back to my room. "Oh... uhm... yeah, I... I did." I replied nervously, but refrained to tell her the details. I opened the door to my room and guided her inside. "Was it a nightmare?" Mellanie asked carefully, sounding slightly concerned due to how held back I sounded. "I... I am not quite sure. I think it was more like the opposite." I replied and let go off Mellanie's hand when we were inside. "You were in my dream." I said with a soft blush. "Was I?" Mellanie asked, now seeming only curious as she smiled at me. "It was weird... the entire dream. But since when did a dream ever make sense." I replied and moved over to my bed and took a seat there after having grabbed for my plushy. "I was in a beautiful environment, the sun was shining and everything was just nice. Then out of a sudden you appeared in the distance and approached me a few meters before you disappeared again the same way you appeared. Shortly after, the sky was suddenly getting grey and the air cold, myself beginning to freeze. Then, before I woke up, you appeared right next to me and..." I stopped telling and looked away with a blush coming up on my cheeks again. "And...?" Mellanie asked with the same curious smile. "Y-you... uhm... you kissed my cheek and told me that you would be there to protect me." I replied with a deep blush, looking embarrassingly away from her. "Hm? did I? 'Guess I will then." She said smiling a bit more broad, thinking it was somewhere cute that she dreamed about her even when they barely knew each other. “You will? Do what? Kissing my cheek or protecting me?" I asked jokingly, looking at her again, but still blushing. "Look after you..." She replied with a slightly broader smile to me. "Promise me!" I said with a cheeky smile and held my plushy close to myself. "I promise." She said more clear as she looked into my eyes. "Going to help you with school, and... well not with fitting in, because I'd like to see you keep talking, instead of becoming as quiet as the rest." She joked. "Oh, the same counts for you too, though! You have to remain talkative just as much." I said with a smile and stood up from the bed. "I will... I promise, and you'll make sure of that." She replied. "But we should go and get breakfast, can never be late here. That's the one thing I learned already." Mellanie said while glancing around my room, probably thinking that it was almost identical to hers. "Hm, yeah. Let's go get breakfast then. There you can tell me about your dreams." I said with a smile, placed the plushy back on the bed and stepped closer to Mellanie, gesturing her that I was ready to go. "Sure... let's go." She said, not willing to take my hand again even if I wanted it, as it wasn't allowed by the rules. "Okay!" I said joyfully, being happy about the outcome of the conversation. The only thing that was bothering me now were these screams that were heard in the night. I stepped close to Mellanie, myself being ready to follow her to the dining table. "Read the rules manual yet?" She asked as we walked further through the building. "Hm no, I haven't yet." I replied rather simple while following her. "Guess they will give it to you at class. Should keep a few in mind, they don't really like us hand holding like before." She replied with a soft smile. "Really? What's wrong about hand holding?" I asked with a frown, clearly not being happy about it. "Nothing but they like to keep things strict I guess. So that some kids here don't feel less than others." She replied. "They can't stop me from doing that when I want to do it!" I said sternly, clearly not agreeing with this rule. "Best to just follow the rules." Mellanie replied calmly "Rules are meant to be broken." I joked, shortly after followed by a loud sigh. "What if all the other kids are so silent because they broke the rules once?" She asked in a concerned manner, seeming to take her obligation to look after me, highly. "If that's the case we will have to do something about it." I replied, sounding confident. "Just follow the rules for now, okay?" She replied, sounding more pressing in her voice, yet it remained soft.
I let out a deep sigh and grabbed Mellanie's arm, wanting her to stop and face me. "You know something, don't you? I have heard these screams of a woman today at night. What is going on here?" "Screams?" She asked surprised, having stopped and faced me as I insisted. "Yes... there was a woman screaming... it was close to my room. Is it the first time something like this happened around here?" I asked in a more stern tone. "I didn't hear anything last night." She only replied. "How couldn't you hear that... it was so loud." I asked with a frown and let go of Mellanie's arm. "Guess I'm a good sleeper?" She replied with a small shrug. "Or maybe I was just imagining it." I replied with a sigh and made my own way to the canteen. "Not another dream?” She asked carefully. "I don't think that was a dream." I replied and continued to go my way. "Hm... I don't know then." Mellanie replied while beginning to walk with me to the canteen. "What are the consequences for leaving the room at night? You don't happen to know that by any chance?" I asked curiously while we entered the canteen, making our way to the table where we were the last time. "It says severe consequences, so I doubt it's anything good." She replied honestly. "Severe, as in damaging one's mind so that they can't talk anymore? That sure looks like normal to me." I replied ironically, taking a seat on the table, at the place I was sitting the last time. I looked around and noticed that one of the orphans that used to sit on the table, the last time, was gone. "And how do you explain this?" I asked and pointed to the empty seat. "Overslept, I don't know." Mellanie said, clearly not wanting to look into it too much. "I think this has something to do with the screams I was hearing." I said quietly and sighed. "How come you always seem to be looking for the worst?" She asked slightly annoyed. "Should I just let the things pass as they are? I won't be getting anywhere if I do that." I replied with a glance at Mellanie. "I just think the rules are there for a reason." Mellanie replied while looking around the canteen. Seeing the others eat quietly. "Sure... but when you end like all these people here when you break them. Then there's clearly something wrong." I said while shaking my head. "Who said they broke them?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "What else did?" I asked in return, being confident that they were responsible for it. "Look I don't know, can we just go and eat now?" Mellanie said a bit deflated. "F-fine... sorry." I replied with a frown and looked down at my plate. "Right..." Mellanie mumbled, beginning with her sandwiches to start the day with.
"So you said you were spending a lot of time in the library? Well, before you met me." I asked to break the silence, while beginning to eat my own sandwiches. "Hmh..." She hummed with her mouthful, giving a nod with it. "What's your favorite?" I asked, meaning the books. "Hm... it's called seven hills. Some story about mountain climbers." She replied with a smile "Do you like the mountains?" I asked her out some more. "Well not really. It's just the story that's nice. Kind of a romantic one." She replied.
We talked some more about the book while we would finish our breakfast. The question about why these other orphans were this quiet wasn't discussed anymore.
We would head to class, Mellanie having shown me around before we headed to the class, there being two. One for the younger children up to 12, the other class was for the older ones, where we would fit in.
The teacher introduced me to the rest of the class but they were all quiet and there wasn't much response. The teacher would give me some new study books and other information such as the school times and the rules within the orphanage. The first lessons I was told to simply look around and try to fit in.
I really didn’t expect that there were so many rules, way more than in the other orphanage. Some of these rules were kind of pointless anyway. Drinking, smoking… where the hell was I supposed to get these things without being allowed to leave this place. It was like a fortress, no one could get inside and no one outside, except if you had the keys to open the door.
The most annoying part was probably that I wasn’t allowed to hold hands with anyone, let alone any kind of physical contact. But since when did any of these rules ever stop me from doing what I wanted. I was already known to be stubborn and careless when it came to following rules, especially in my old orphanage.
Later on, after the class was done, we were sent straight to lunch. I talked a bit more about the rules together with Mellanie, simply to clear up a few things. Eventually we were allowed to be on our own and Mellanie showed me around in the library. She even showed me her favorite place and her book she had mentioned a while ago. It was not exactly my thing, but it was nice to know about her favorite book regardless. After dinner we were sent back to our rooms. Back in my room I was going through the rules again and prepared myself for the next day.
What was I going to do now, though? I surely didn’t forget about the screams the other day. Was I going to hear them again? I couldn’t get it out of my head. I needed clarity, no matter what. So I decided to stay awake and wait for the other orphans to fall asleep before I looked around. An hour later I made my way out of my room after having carefully checked that no one was in the corridor. I wasn’t quite sure where the screams had come from, so I was going to check every room around my vicinity, beginning with the room next to mine. I looked around again to check if anyone was there and opened the door slowly. There was an older woman sleeping on the bed. She didn’t seem to be much different than the other orphans. This was apparently not the source.
However, in the next room, I was luckier. There was no one sleeping on the bed, but the room looked like it had been occupied by someone. This was by far the best guess. I was pretty sure that it was the same orphan that was missing in the canteen today. I looked around some more thoroughly and saw a picture of the orphan. It was a somewhat younger woman, looking happy at the time the picture was made. After more investigation I noticed some slight traces of blood on the floor. I surely wasn’t an expert in those things, so I had no idea for how long the blood was there already. But I didn’t need to be an expert to understand that there was something foul. The only question that was remaining was the whereabouts of the woman. For that I needed a better knowing about the orphanage and its rooms. If she was still alive, I would find her somewhere around. In my further investigations I found the diary of the woman. I merely looked briefly inside it but didn’t check it in detail. This wasn’t the place to read it. I could read it in my room, without being in danger of being caught.
After I was done gathering all the things I needed, I left the room again and closed the door. I looked around again to see if anyone was coming. I startled slightly when I saw a figure coming closer in the distance. Fortunately, the corridor was barely lit and the person probably didn’t notice me, but not for long. My room wasn’t close enough to get in in time and the room of the woman wasn’t safe either, what if the person was going to head there? I had to go somewhere else, and that as soon as possible. There was no time to think about it, so I simply entered the room right on the opposite side of the room I was just in a few seconds ago. My breathing and my heartbeats were drastically increasing. I was scared and nervous, did the person notice me? I was so lost in thoughts that I didn’t even notice in what room I went in. I leaned my ear against the door, mainly to listen to the footsteps. The footsteps were coming closer. Did he notice me after all? I was frightened to death and slowly backed off from the door. Was the woman hurt because she was doing the same thing as me, sneaking around? I was so distracted by my thoughts that I didn’t notice where I was backing off to, eventually bumped against the bed and fell backwards onto it, right onto the person that was sleeping on it.
"Huh- wh- who what??!" A girl’s voice breathed in a near squeal as I bumped against her bed and fell onto her. The sudden touch obviously freaked her out as she wasn't sleeping deeply.
I let out a loud squeal as well when I felt and heard the voice behind me. I froze up and didn't move off her. I knew that the squeals have been heard by the person outside in the corridor, that was out of question. I was desperate and kind of gave up the hope for any rescue. I closed my eyes and was planning to just let it all come over me. "Shsss... Anne? What are you doing here?" The girl whispered suddenly to me, her obviously having recognized me now, quickly followed by me recognizing her. It was Mellanie.
I didn't reply and kept my eyes closed, especially when the footsteps had stopped right in front of the door, shortly after followed by some knocks against it. "Miss? Is everything alright in there?" The man asked. "Yeah... just a little dream." Mellanie replied with a shaken voice as she was nervous as well due to the voice outside that she didn't expect to hear. "Were you outside just now?" The man asked further, having seen someone after all. "No... just woke up." She replied slowly. "But someone entered your room. Who else is inside there? I will come in…" The man said with a clear hint of confusion, opening the door slightly but not enough to see who was inside there. "Jeff, we need your help here." Another man said with a louder voice, somewhere further away. "Hmp... go back to sleep, Mellanie." He said and closed the door again, followed by him moving away from the door. "Okay..." Mellanie only mumbled. She was probably wondering in what mess I got myself into. "I am so sorry." I said quietly and opened my eyes again after having overheard the conversation between the man and Mellanie. "Guess they will look through everything." She whispered quietly, meaning that I couldn't hide. "I-I don't want to leave you..." I said desperately with a frown and turned slowly around to face Mellanie. It was clear that I was still scared as hell and shook in fear; I didn’t bother to hide it. "You'll be fine... but be honest to them. Don't think they will do much on the first time." She replied with a whisper and soft voice. "But they don't know who it was." I said and snuggled up on Mellanie, I didn’t want to leave her. I really enjoyed her warmth and closeness. It made me feel so happy and comfortable. "They might be waiting..." She mumbled, laying her own arm around me and sat up a bit. "But promise me you'll never sneak out of your room again, okay?" "I promise. I got what I was looking for anyway." I replied proudly while I took out the diary that I picked up earlier. "What's that?" Mellanie asked concerned "It's the diary... of the woman that wasn't present in the canteen today. I was in her room and found it empty as well. On top of that I found some blood on the floor. I bet the screams I have heard came from there." I replied and sat up as well, but stayed close to Mellanie. "I brought the diary with me in the hope to find out more what happened." I added and opened the diary in the last pages. "That's private... you shouldn't take that from someone, and what if they find out it's gone?" She asked concerned. "I... uhm..." I sighed and closed the diary again, looking at Mellanie concerned as well. Maybe she was right… "You should bring that back." Mellanie sighed, not interested or perhaps simply not wanting to know what was inside. "Right." I said and got off the bed quickly, sighing softly myself and looked back at Mellanie. "I am sorry I dragged you into this." I added and walked over to the door. "Be careful." She mumbled after me.
I left through the door without any further comment and looked carefully around. The corridor was empty again, no one was around. But I didn’t follow Mellanie’s advice to bring back the diary. I kept it for now. I thought I could find some more hints there, something that could help me to get some progress in this case. I slowly sneaked back into my room and made myself comfortable on my bed. I was reading some more in the diary. It was terrible what was written inside.
She was fourteen when she was brought here after having lost her parents in a car accident. Was living for roughly ten years here now and apparently had a secret affair with one of the orphans around here. The last entries tell about her being pregnant and them having found out about it. Even if she was expecting it, she wasn’t able to prepare herself for this. They eventually took her baby. That was the last entry, written a day ago.
So that is what the screams were about. I am just wondering whether she is still alive or not. Perhaps she is in the infirmary of the orphanage. I have to find a way to get there.
The next day I was woken up by the bell again. It was time for breakfast. I was thinking a long time about it and eventually decided to avoid Mellanie. I didn’t want to put her in more danger than she already was because of me. I was even skipping the shower and made my way directly to the canteen and sat myself on the other edge of the table, away from Mellanie. I saw her entering the canteen, but didn’t watch her and instead turned my head to the other side, hoping she wouldn’t see me there.
Even later at school we couldn't really talk with each other, as I decided to sit somewhere else instead of next to her. At the break, I stayed at my table while all the other orphans left the room to pass by the time. Mellanie walked to me when our break started and wanted to know what was going on. "Hope you didn't lose your tongue just like them now?" Mellanie asked quietly as she approached me.
I raised my head to look at Mellanie and smiled softly at her. "Don't worry. I am fine. Just don't want to put you in any danger anymore." I replied honestly and turned my head away again. "Just stick to the rules so we can at least keep talking?" Mellanie said with a slight frown. "I am... I am sticking to the rules." I replied, obviously lying. "Then there isn't any reason for you to evade me." She said with a frown still, clearly not happy. "I will just look around in my free time." I said with a soft giggle. "Shouldn't get in trouble then, right?" "Right... do whatever you want." She muttered before turning around, wanting to follow the other orphans out. "W-wait... Mellanie." I said with a sigh as I noticed that Mellanie wanted to move away. "Do you really want to live a life like that? Not being allowed to have any love? Even worse, being punished for loving someone?" I asked sternly, referring mostly to the diary that I had read earlier. "Not like we will be here forever. I'm eighteen, just need to finish school here and then I'm out to find some place I can study or something." She replied, meaning there was a life beyond the orphanage. "Stop being so naive. They are not going to let you go. Believe me." I said with a sigh. "How do you know, you're here for only a few days." She replied, having turned around to me again. "The woman who is gone wasn't, though. Look at the majority of the people here. They are rather old. Maybe they act like this, because they have lost any hope for a rescue." I tried explaining. "Rescue? You talk about this place being some kind of prison camp." She replied with a frown. "I feel like in a prison here..." I said with a frown and buried my head into my arms on the table. "I don't." Mellanie said on a plain tone. "Then go enjoy your life in this prison." I said sternly. "Promised to look after you, but it's kind of hard if you don't bother listening..." She replied, seeming to be disappointed.
I stood up and stepped closer towards Mellanie. "What should I do then? I am not even allowed to do this." I said and grabbed for Mellanie's hand. "Then don't do it..." Mellanie sighed, pulling her hand back some. "Fine..." I said and let out a sigh as well after having walked past her towards the door. "Good luck." Mellanie mumbled, moving after her a moment later but to find her own way outside to have her break there.
I sat myself down onto the ground with my back leaned against the wall, away from the other pupils. I needed the time for myself to think. I felt hopeless. Either I would find out more about this woman and likely lose the contact with Mellanie, or forget about this whole thing and concentrate more on the girl that I really liked a lot. I eventually just ended up staring at Mellanie the entire break. She glanced a few times back at me but tried to avoid eye contact with me.
The break was soon over and the orphans were all going back to school, including me and Mellanie. We were still avoiding each other after the confrontation. It was bugging me that she didn’t want to help me, but I could somewhat understand her. She didn’t want to get in danger, and the least I wanted was to put her in danger anyway.
So I eventually decided to investigate this case further and I even had a plan already how to get to the infirmary. I was just wondering whether I should let Mellanie know what I was going to do or not. Perhaps with a letter, but that would only worry her and she would try to stop me, which would only put her and myself in danger. I was not going to let her know about my plans.
Later in the evening, when it was dinner, I took a seat far away from Mellanie again. I suppose she hated me by now, but I couldn’t change that now. There was no point of return now. Just before the plates were returned, I picked up one of the knives that were lying around and hid it in my pockets. That was going to be very useful later for my plan. But there was this nurse that watched me all the time. She was in her twenties and looked rather young compared to the other nurses that worked here. I hope she didn’t notice me picking it up.
Then it was time. I was alone in my room now. Should I really do it? I was so unsure about it. Was it really a good idea? No, probably not, but I couldn’t think of anything else that would get me to the infirmary. So eventually I did it, I sat myself on the bed and held the knife in my hand. I reached with the knife for my wrist and with some hesitation I began to cut myself. I was losing a lot of blood and began to get weaker by no time. I just hoped that someone was coming to see for me, like they always did to see if the orphans were already sleeping. If not, then this was going to be my end, a pathetic end. A few minutes later I lost my consciousness.
Eventually I woke up again. I had no idea how much time had passed but it looked like it worked. I found myself inside the infirmary. There was just one thing that I didn’t expect… my hands were bound to the bed rails. I looked around but couldn’t see much besides the white partitioning curtain that was blocking the view to the other beds.
A few minutes later a nurse stepped through the white partitioning curtain and smiled softly, but had a concerned expression. “I was worried about you.” The nurse said. “A few more minutes and it would have been too late for you.”
I didn’t reply to the nurse, I was more surprised that I recognized the face of her. It was the nurse that watched me earlier in the canteen. “I bet you are not going to tell me the reason for… that.” The nurse said and pointed towards my wrist that had bandages wrapped around it. “What would it change?” I asked her and looked at my wrist. It was starting to sting now that I was thinking about it. “Look, I just want to help.” The nurse replied with a frown. “Help? Who said I needed your help. If you want to help me, you can remove these things. Why was I restrained in the first place anyway?” I asked in a more stern tone. “For your own protection, of course. We thought you would just hurt yourself again.” She replied with this concerned look again. Why the hell was she even concerned about it. Since when did they care about the orphans. “Why would you care about it? Isn’t it your profession to hurt us? You guys enjoy it by far too much. God damn, I am not even allowed to hold the hands of someone!” I protested in a loud and stern tone. “We… I… I don’t hurt anyone. Why would you say that?” The nurse replied with a terrified look. “I know what you guys did with the pregnant woman. You took her baby!” I began shouting at her now. “Psstt… not so loud. Listen, there are rules within this orphanage. Orphans aren’t allowed to have any sexual intercourse with each other and that includes giving birth as well.” She began explaining. “How do you know about it anyways? You can get into trouble if anyone finds out about it. Really, you shouldn’t tell anyone about it.” The nurse suggested me additionally.
I let out a sigh and turned my head around. I really wasn’t in the mood to discuss this any further as it didn’t help myself or anyone anyway. “You have problems with this girl, don’t you?” The nurse asked me. “Mellanie? What? How do you know about that? It’s none of your business!” I shouted back at her, how dare her to even mention her name. “Sorry… it’s just what I have noticed. If you want, I could talk with her.” She suggested me with a frown. “Don’t you dare to lay a hand on her!” I shouted back at her and tried to pull on the restrains, but without any success. “It really would be helpful if you’d stop treating me like a monster.” She replied with a sigh and left through the white partitioning curtain again. I bet this was it now. She was going to hurt her and it was my entire fault. I am such a failure…
I had my eyes closed as Mellanie stepped through the partitioning curtain, actually pretending to be sleeping. "Anne?" Mellanie whispered while she moved to the side of the bed, carefully scanning me for any injuries, and seeing the bandage on my wrists soon enough. "M-Mellanie? You're... alive? Are you hurt?" I asked surprised, seemingly being glad about her being here. I was really sure that they had hurt her. Maybe I could trust the nurse after all. "I'm fine... the nurse just told me what happened." She replied quietly, sounding concerned while giving a crooked smile. "Does that mean you don't hate me?" I asked with a frown, sulking slightly. "Why would I hate you?" She asked with a soft voice. "I-I don't know... I thought you hated me for... for doing these things, even though I promised you not to do them. I lied to you..." I replied and began to cry. "Don't cry... it's alright..." She said quietly, moving closer to me to move the back of her hand slowly over my cheek to wipe a tear away. "B-but..." I continued to cry and leaned closer to Mellanie, as far as the restrains allowed me to. “Look... I think there is something going on, but I'm just scared to find out..." She whispered, not wanting anyone to hear besides me. "N-now you agree with me? Why now? I was telling you all the time!" I replied slightly louder. “I'll tell you when you're out okay? You have to save your strength..." She whispered quietly. "S-save my strength... What did the nurse do to you? What happened that you're suddenly... like this?" I asked quietly, thinking they hurt her after all as her sudden change and her willingness was strange, to say the least. "You tried to kill yourself... to prove this... c'mon Anne... jus- just please, rest and we'll talk later, please?" Mellanie begged. "I didn't try to kill myself... I would never... I-I can't. I just... I just thought I could get to this place when I do that and perhaps find out more about the pregnant woman." I replied nervously as if I thought I had disappointed Mellanie. I was too stubborn to realize that I almost had killed myself. "Should've just acted sick... I mean... you really almost died Anne." She said in a concerned whisper. "I-I am so sorry... I... I didn't know... I was blind. I just wanted to find a way to end all of this, so that we could be together in a fine place, away from this hell. We don't belong here, Mel." I said with a sad expression. I was so desperate, it was clear that I have ruined it all. "You've only been here for a few days, you barely know anything about this place, but you're right, we don't belong here, but you really shouldn't rush things like you did, it almost got you killed." She replied quietly and concerned still. "Y-yes... you are right... I almost abandoned you. I could have never forgiven myself. P-please, forgive me!" I said in a begging tone, my expression was still sad and I obviously needed Mellanie's closeness as I was trying to pull on the restrains to get closer. "I forgive you.” She whispered, moving closer to give me a soft hug. "T-thank you... You mean so much to me." I replied, clearly wanting to return the hug, but not being able to due to the restrains. It was causing me almost to cry again. "Ssshh... just be quiet, everything will be alright soon." She replied quietly while staying close, having her arms wrapped around me. "I... I don't trust this nurse. You should be careful." I whispered while we stayed some time longer like this. "Just don't let them know what you already know okay?" She asked carefully. "About the... woman?" I asked just to be sure. "I guess... it would make sense. Okay, I promise. For real this time!" I replied confidentially, taking it seriously this time. "Okay..." She whispered, stroking through my hair briefly. "Now go to sleep again, you look pale." She added softly. “Will you visit me tomorrow?" I asked with a sad expression, not wanting to be away from her. "If I can." She replied quietly. "Take care... and thank you so much. I thought I had lost you forever now." I said with a cheerful smile, being quite happy about the visit and the way Mellanie was treating me. "Sleep well." She whispered, before slowly backing off.
I watched Mellanie backing off until she was behind the white partitioning curtain again, after that I tried to get some sleep. I didn't have much choice in my current position anyway.
Sometime later in the night, the very first night I was spending in the infirmary, there suddenly was a young girl brought into the room, obviously screaming and struggling against two men, judging by the voices and the shades I could see under the white partitioning curtain. The girl was brought right next to me on the bed; merely the white partitioning curtain was what kept me from watching the scene. What the heck was happening there? What were they doing to this poor girl?
Shortly after, the girl's screams eased up and the men made their way out of the infirmary again. I just hope the girl was still alive... perhaps they gave her something to calm her down. There was really nothing I could do. I was still restrained and furthermore I promised Mellanie not to try anything stupid that I might regret afterward.
Meanwhile I was wondering for how long I had to be restrained like this on the bed. I had no clue, but I hoped it wasn't for that long. I was getting desperate to be trapped like this... all I could hope for was that Mellanie perhaps would find a way to help me out.
"Morning." Mellanie said to me early in the morning. I wasn't really sleeping deep and I woke up rather fast when I heard Mellanie's voice. "Morning, Mel." I said with dreamy eyes. "Sorry that I woke you up, thought you were already awake." She replied quietly while she moved to the side of the bed. "Couldn't really sleep well anyway... don't worry about it." I said with a smile. "Neither could I, I was worried about you." She replied quietly. "I am fine; you don't have to worry about me. I made a promise to you and I will hold on to that." I said and breathed out, flashing a smile. "How are your wrists?" She asked quietly, and looked down at the bandage that was still around them. "It still stings..." I replied honestly, frowning slightly. "Did you see the girl there?" I asked, obviously wanting to change the topic. "She went a little crazy last night in the hallway..." Mellanie replied crooked. "That poor thing..." I said with a frown, obviously having sympathy with the little girl. "Guess they calmed her down." She mumbled. "Don't let it get to you too much though." She added. "I... I won't... it just sucks that I can't do anything to help..." I said with a sigh and pulled slightly on the retrains. "You can, just not now." She replied quietly. "Yeah... you don't happen to know how long I have to stay here?" I asked with a sad expression, wanting to get out of there already. "Couple of days I guess, until they are sure about you acting sane again." She replied carefully. "I am... very sane." I said with a small grin and lowered my head in a disappointed way. "I know that, but they don't think so, so you'll have to convince them." She replied quietly. "And how?" I asked with a frown. I wasn't really good at convincing anyone so far. "Be yourself, act normal and willing to live I suppose. Perhaps try to ask when you can go back to school or something." She replied with a soft smile. "A-alright... what about you?" I asked concerned. "I'm fine... will miss you at class though." She replied with a soft smile. "Hah, I doubt I am much of a help there! All I can do is talking with you." I said with a grin and a soft giggle. "You will still learn a lot when you follow class, always useful for later." She replied. “Hm, sure. If only the stuff that's being said wouldn't go into one ear and right out of the other." I joked. "That's why you will be making notes, together with me, and we'll study together, or at least I will help you with your homework." She said with a smile. "Once I am out of here... in the meantime you will be taking notes for me?" I asked with a smile. "Well... we have different lessons, because you're two grades below me. Think they will explain everything the next time you're back. So don't worry about it." She replied. "Hmp... providing I ever manage to get out of here." I said with a sigh. "You will... I promise." She said confident. "You have really... changed a lot in no time." I said with a surprised look. "Perhaps because you helped yourself in the hospital and are sorry?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I am sorry..." I sighed and lowered my head. "Found out anything about the nurse yet?" I whispered quietly, not wanting the nurse to hear it. "Haven't found out anything, but it needs time." She replied. "I don't trust her... it still... smells like a trap. Be careful, okay?" I said with a hint of suspicion about the nurse. "Try to keep all those thoughts and we will make notes later so that we can think on what to do, okay?" She asked. "O-okay... I am rushing things again, aren't I?" I asked with a frown. "You are." Mellanie said, unable to help herself and giggled a little. "Jeez..." I said and giggled together with Mellanie. "Will you visit me tomorrow again?" "Will visit you as much as I can, nothing else to do besides school anyway." She replied with a smile. "Alright… Thank you, really. I don’t think I could survive this without your support." I said with a sigh and closed my eyes. "You should get some sleep now." She said and backed off from my bed. “You’re probably right.” I replied with a chuckle. “Not much I can do anyway except for sleeping.” “Sleep well.” Mellanie replied with a giggle.
Weeks have passed and I have felt like I was losing myself in the infirmary. Every single day was a new suffering; each dream was a new experience. Every day they were getting darker, but yet, there was single bright light in the distance that helped me not to lose my sanity... my will, to carry on. And that was Mellanie.
If it wasn't for Mellanie, I would have given up any hope. But she was there for me, every single day. She spent all her free time with me, whenever she could. I just couldn't see her as a simple friend anymore. She was more, much much more. I was close to see her as an angel, who came to defeat the darkness within me. Every single time I saw her approaching me, my heart felt like it skipped a beat. It was clear that I was feeling more for her than I made it obvious. And yet, I didn't have the strength... the courage to confront her about my feelings. I was so afraid that I would lose her if I said a wrong thing. Without her I would probably end up like all the other orphans, suffocating under the dark embrace, slowly but steadily losing my sanity until I was nothing more but a shell without any emotions. No. This was not going to be my fate, not as long as I have still a will.
Now, there was only one thing that still bugged me. It was this nurse. Her name was Mary, by what Mellanie had told me. I didn't trust her, yet... I think Mellanie trusted her. I just couldn't believe why she would risk her job... or even worse, her life for two girls she didn't even knew. It didn't make sense to me. Despite my doubts, something was telling me that she was going to play an important role in this place, whether to be it for good or for bad. I suppose, we were going to find it out sooner or later.
A few days later it was finally time, I was released from the infirmary. It looked like my efforts of pretending to be a good girl paid off after all. I was allowed to continue my life in this hell, but I had to take some medicine now. The doctors told me I would feel happy when I take them and all my worries would disappear. Surprisingly, I was approached by Mary on the first day I was handed over the medicine. She urged me not to take them. I didn't exactly know why, but I sure wasn't planning to take them anyway. I didn't doubt the effect of the medicine, but the only thing that made me really happy was Mellanie.
The next day I woke up with a broad smile on my face. I was going to see Mellanie and that without any restrains. I made my way to the showers and waited there for Mellanie. Surprisingly, I was there rather early, unusually for me.
Mellanie didn't expect me to be released from the infirmary as she wasn’t informed about a release date, even when it was something Mellanie had kept asking for.
So seeing me in the bathroom came as a surprise to her. "They released you?!" Mellanie asked, sounding cheerful and fully awake all of a sudden as she walked in the bathroom and saw me there. "Yeeep! I promised you that I wouldn't attempt anything stupid. And I didn't. It paid off! Come on!" I said with a big smile, reaching with a hand toward Mellanie, wanting to guide her into one of the changing rooms. "So you didn't escape?" Mellanie asked with a smirk, following me into the changing rooms. "Haha, no no! I didn't escape. I was allowed to leave under one condition. I have to take some medicine every day." I replied with a smile and entered the changing room. "Medicine?" Mellanie asked on a concerned tone this time. "Antidepressants." I replied with a shrug and a smile, gesturing Mellanie to close the door behind her. "Sure you don't need them with that smile." Mellanie said before turning a bit more serious and closing the door behind her. "All I need is you, you make me smile." I said with a slight blush and rushed towards her the moment she closed the door and hugged her tightly. “So I'm your drug?" Mellanie whispered with a quiet chuckle, wrapping her own arms around me in a content way. "Hm... pretty much." I replied with a giggle while continuing to hold her tightly, not seeming to want to let her go.
Mellanie didn't mind, willing to hold me for a while longer even though she didn't want to waste too much time as she didn't want to be late for breakfast, as usually. "I... m-missed the chance to feel your warmth... your closeness..." I said quietly and continued to hold her. "Erm... sure Anne, but we should really get ready for breakfast." Mellanie said slowly, seeming to find what I said a little strange to say the least. "O-okay..." I said with a frown and let go off Mellanie, lowered my head and looked down on the floor. "What's wrong?" Mellanie asked carefully. "I-it's nothing." I replied, but it was obvious that it wasn't. I was wondering whether I should confront her about the way I was feeling towards her or not, but decided to leave it for now. "Let's finish up with the shower and head to breakfast." I said and reached with my hands to Mellanie's clothes. "I will help you to get rid of them!" "Anne?" Mellanie asked, reaching for my hands to hold them lightly in hers. "What are you doing?" "Helping you!" I replied giggling, enjoying Mellanie holding my hands. The warmth of her hands gave me a content feeling. "Anne, tell me what's wrong." Mellanie asked, remaining to hold my hands as she felt uncomfortable by how I acted but was more worried than anything. "Nothing's wrong... why do you ask? I thought it was okay... we're good friends, aren't we?" I asked with a frown. "You remember the rules... have to think about things before doing them. We're not even supposed to be in the same dress room." Mellanie said carefully on a soft voice. "I haven't been able to do this for so long... I am sorry... I am just so happy to be here with you again." I said with a sigh and hugged Mellanie again before I let go off her. "It's okay..." Mellanie said, giving me a light squeezing hug before she would move back to the door.
I watched Mellanie moving to the door and waited for her to leave before I would undress myself for the shower. Once she had left the changing room I began to take off my clothes and wrapped the big towel around me. Back in the shower cabins I took one next to Mellanie's as we were used to.
Later on when we were eating breakfast I looked at Mellanie with a curious expression. "What did you find out about the nurse? Is she trustworthy?" I asked. "She's okay, she looks after the other patients well too, and I was allowed to keep seeing you, which was actually taking her effort to arrange." Mellanie replied. "But why is she taking that risk? It's beyond me... you probably don't know?" I asked with a sigh while looking down at my plate. "Because she's a nurse and wants to make people better." She replied quietly. "She is the only nurse then..." I said and began to eat from my breakfast. "Almost all people that studied medicine or became a doctor do it to help people, and she wants to help you. Don't worry there is nothing wrong with her." Mellanie said quietly while she also began to eat. "Alright." I said and looked briefly at Mellanie. "What's our plan anyway now?" "After school when we study in the library, we'll brainstorm some about what we're going to do." Mellanie only replied. "Okay, sounds like a plan." I said with a smile and continued to eat from my breakfast. Both of us were finished soon and made our way back to the school. Even if I disliked the school, I still was quite happy and cheerful to be there together with Mellanie.
Later we went to the library where we took a seat on a table for two persons. I looked at Mellanie with a big smile as if to ask 'what now?' "You want to do something about what is going on around here right?" Mellanie whispered. "I... I don't know... I just want to be with you in a friendlier... environment. But we can't just let them do what they want with the orphans. We have to do something, that's for sure." I replied. "So here is what I thought, first we have to find a way to get out of here, if we need to. When we have that working we'll see how we can stop these people from hurting the other orphans." Mellanie explained. "Sounds like a good plan... but finding a way out of this place doesn't seem to be an easy thing." I replied with a crooked expression. "That's why we'll have to think a lot about it. There should be phones but they are only used by the management. If we can get to one and call the emergency number, then we should be able to get out somehow." Mellanie replied with a whisper. "Couldn't Mary help us with that maybe?" I asked, thinking she had the means to achieve that. "Keeping someone busy at the most, I guess." She said slowly. "How do we get there?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "If Mary can distract one of them, we can sneak by, but I guess it has to be dark." Mellanie replied slowly. "Alright... so we just have to inform about Mary then and hear her out." I said with a nod, sounding confidentially. "Yeah... guess that's the first thing we'll have to do. Suppose you're allowed to go back to the medical room if you don't feel right or something. We can ask her to help us then." Mellanie whispered. "Hm... she is almost everywhere to be found. We will catch her sooner or later." I said giggling and opened a school book. "Dammit, I barely can remember anything from the school stuff I learned in the past weeks." "That's okay. So we just carry on until we run into Mary?" She asked. "Yeah." I replied simply and began to work on my homework together with Mellanie.
We were spending a great amount of time in the library to work on my homework and before that to talk about our plans regarding the incidents within the orphanage. There was simply no doubt anymore that there was something unusually wrong. So we decided on a plan that involved the nurse, Mary. We were going to call help from outside, but for that we needed to get in contact with anyone first. Not an easy thing to achieve, considering that all the phones and other equipment were out of reach for us and even the nurse. Hence we thought of a distraction and that is where Mary would come in. While she would distract the people working in the vicinity of, for instance a computer, we would sneak in and send a message to anyone who could be in a position to help us. We just had to inform Mary about it and hear her opinion about our plan.
Surprisingly, some minutes later, Mary appeared in the library where we were working on our homework. She came directly to us, which made it obvious that she was searching for us. Her facial expression was clearly indicating that she was happy. It looked like whenever I was with Mellanie, it made her happy for whatever reason. I still couldn't trust her fully, but we didn't have a choice. Our variety of friends was small, in fact, it was just Mary.
Mary took a seat next to us on the table after having brought a chair to us. She smiled broadly and glanced at both of us for a brief moment before she spoke up. “How are you two doing?” "We're doing fine, making our homework." Mellanie replied, shoving a paper over the table for Mary to see, it having a simple drawing on it, much like a floor plan of a building, in fact it was the orphanage. As far as I and Mellanie knew it, though. I returned a suspicious smile back at Mary. "That's... a part of your homework? Seems weird to me." Mary said with an amused chuckle while she looked over the drawing. "Hmh... Well, we need your help." Mellanie asked quietly and carefully as well while she glanced at me. "Yeah... uhm... we have a plan on how to get help from the outside, but we need your help for that. First of all we need to know where we can get a phone or a computer to get in contact with the outer world. You don't have any idea where to get that by any chance?" I asked Mary in a serious tone. "You two are insane... I would risk everything. What if it fails? It will all come down on me!" Mary replied in a somewhat angry tone, unusual for her. "Just need you to distract someone." Mellanie said quietly. "God damn... okay... okay. I will do that." She said with a sigh and frowned some before she looked up at us again. "I bet you don't have a plan where to do that yet?"
I shook my head and looked at Mellanie. "Where will depend on you really." Mellanie said, meaning to ask where they would have the easiest time to find a computer or phone. "The doctor. He is not the head of the orphanage, but he has both a computer and a phone. I could easily distract him." Mary explained with a smile. "You mean the doctor that gave me the medicine?" I asked with a curious expression. "Exactly him." She replied with a nod. "So we go to his office then?" Mellanie asked to make sure. "It's next to the infirmary. I will try to lure him there, but you will have to be fast. I am not sure how long I can distract him. When do you plan to do that anyway?" She asked. "Also depends on you, when you think it’s the right time." She replied quietly. "It should be done in your free time. Otherwise they will easily notice that you were missing somewhere else and they would get back to you two." Mary said with a kind smile. "Okay... sounds like a plan. We will do it tomorrow then, after lunch." I said with a confident expression, thinking that this won't be failing now that I had the support of Mary and Mellanie and no longer had to do it alone. "And what if we did this at night?" Mellanie asked slowly. "I suppose that would work as well." Mary replied with a shrug. "Whatever suits you both better." “Think we can sneak around more easily without the doctor getting unwanted visits at night... Although, does he live in his office?" Mellanie asked, doubting the doctor really would spend the night there as well. "Unlikely... but he tends to work rather long, but doubt he lives there. The room will be locked when he's not there." Mary replied, seeming like she was thinking. "So it’s best when he works late then." Mellanie replied with a nod. “Should wait until they have checked that everyone is sleeping, after that you can sneak out. I will be waiting at the infirmary... well, I will be working there. I have long shifts, you see." Mary explained. "Okay." I replied simply and looked over at Mellanie to see if she agreed with it. "Sounds fine by me." Mellanie said with a nod. "So we do this tonight then?" "Can do... just visit me in the infirmary when you are ready and I will distract him." Mary replied and stood up. "Thanks..." Mellanie said while casting a smile at me. "Don't mention it." Mary said as a final note and began to make her way out of the library.
I returned the glance and smiled back, it was as if whenever I looked at Mellanie, I fell in thoughts. "I will knock on your door tonight to pick you up, okay?" Mellanie asked me. "Hmmmn..." I sounded only while I continued to stare at Mellanie. "Hey?" Mellanie asked with a frown but also a smile before she poked her finger in my cheek.
I let out a giggle and blushed slightly at the sudden poke on my cheek. "Every time... we have eye contact... it feels like... like my heart is... s-skipping a beat." I stuttered in a quiet tone. I didn’t really know what I was talking about. It was as if someone else took control over me to say these things. "Hm... you're just nervous for tonight." Mellanie said. "Aaahhn... uhm... yes, I suppose you are right. S-sorry... I am just... really nervous." I said with a sigh, the plan not being the only thing that made me worry. "You can come into my room instead of knocking, you know." I added with a soft smile. "As long as we're quiet." Mellanie said with a smile. "Don't worry; I didn't plan to tickle you or something." I said giggling and reached with one of my hands towards Mellanie.
Mellanie let out a content breath as she looked at me, wondering still what was really going through my head. "Give me your hand." I asked quietly and in a kind way while I smiled at her. "Are you going to read my hand?" Mellanie asked with a smile, holding it out to me on the table. "Sure!" I replied laughing and took Mellanie's hand in my own and began to run my thumb along her skin, smiling broadly. "You have such a soft skin, Mel!"
Mellanie giggled a little. "So what do you see?" "A cute and responsible girl that clearly likes to spend her time with another girl." I replied with a broad smile. "I never knew that I was cute." Mellanie giggled a little. "I think I can read you through your own hand as well." Mellanie added with a slight smirk. "You can? Go ahead then!" I said giggling and looked into her eyes while I waited for Mellanie. "Okay... let's see." Mellanie said with a smile, closing her own eyes, clearly making me curious. "Mhh... hope it's nothing bad!" I said with an amused and curious expression, still looking at her while I waited. "Hm... can't say this is bad." Mellanie replied with her lips curled up in a mischievous smile. "Wh-what is it then?" I asked in a concerned way. "Do you like cuddles?" Mellanie asked with her eyes still closed. "Damn yes, I do! Why?" I asked with a curious smile. "And you like to cuddle me?" Mellanie asked while keeping her eyes closed but she kept smiling. "I do... y-yes. Can I cuddle you now?" I asked in return with a curious smile. "Not here, once we're out. But then you can. Something to look forward to." Mellanie said, opening her eyes and looked at me in my eyes. "But that might take a while... can't we cuddle some later when we meet in my room?" I asked with a smirk. "Not safe. Remember?" Mellanie reminded me with a whisper. "Nobody will see it... come on. You gotta take a risk sometimes." I replied with a smile. "We're taking a risk tonight when we go to that doctor's office." Mellanie replied quietly. "I know... so it doesn't matter anymore if we additionally risk some cuddling before that." I said. "What if something happens we can't get that call out anymore, we'll let everyone down." She replied
I let out a sigh and nodded lightly. "I guess you are right. You always are right." "Not always right. Just trying to think things over, something you forget sometimes, but you're smart." She replied "Not smart enough sometimes." I said with a shrug, looking at her, "But that's why you are here, to think things over."
We had spent the rest of the time in the library to finish our homework and talk about some other things that were unrelated to the event for the other day. Once we were finished with the dinner, we both made our ways back to our rooms to wait for the right moment.
The worst part of our plan was probably the long waiting time. In that time I was going through the whole idea once more and it did nothing but make me doubt about its success. Mellanie was right, I really was always thinking of the worst, at any time. But there was no return now. I really didn't want to be the cause for the plan to fail.