Madison Greyblade
I picked a book from the shelf and placed it on the table. There was still steam rising from the teacup on the table, showing that it was still hot. As I sat in the chair, I picked up the book on the table. I drank from the cup after returning to the page I had previously bookmarked. The aroma of this exotic beverage was out of this world. With each sip, I'm shedding my pent-up stress.
"Cora makes the greatest tea in town. That girl has so much potential, and it's collecting dust in this orphanage corner. " As I took another sip, I reflected.
She is no longer the weak young girl I remember her to be. She grew up to be a lovely lady. But I pray no child grows up without parents. That's too much for a child to bear.
I put the book down for the time being since I couldn't concentrate on it. I took a piece of paper from a drawer and placed it on the table. It said,
My dear Maddy, I'm settling in nicely here. I hope you're not having too many issues on your end as well. I heard you built an orphanage in our father's memory. I don't want to bring it up again... But you know what you're doing, don't you? It's one thing to desire to aid the orphans. But what about naming the orphanage after our late father? Are you sure you're not crazy? I loved my husband, and he consented to marry me, although I had no reputation at that time. But if you try to make things more difficult than they already are, I will not sit with my arms crossed either. Keep that in mind! Please do not contact me since I am changing my phone number. I wanted to tell you these things directly, but you understand, I don't want to talk to you, right? If you need money, I can transfer it to you, but never, ever call me again!!
-I did not know my sister despised me so much. When I first discovered that I had received a letter from her, I was overjoyed because it meant she was finally reaching out to me, but the contents of the letter showed otherwise. No matter how many times I read that, I can tell she's warning me not to interrupt her 'Happy Married Life.'
Everyone believes that my brother and sister murdered my father for the inheritance. But it's not as straightforward as it appears.
My parents first had two children, both of whom were girls. My father regarded them as a liability rather than an asset. He desired a son to carry on the family lineage. Instead of having another child, he adopted a small kid from an orphanage. That youngster was my brother… my step-brother. He was a bright young man of his age. He had high regard for the elderly and undertook more than half of the labour in the orphanage. He was praised by everyone in the orphanage. Many people were envious of him, too. He was the ideal lap dog who could be the heir to the family business, or so my father imagined. To avoid being the youngest in the family, my mother gave birth to my third sister and me.
My brother was taught etiquette from the day he was adopted. He assisted my father in difficult political situations as he grew. My days with my siblings were always pleasant and warm. It was all fine. Even though my brother was not of the same blood as myself, we never thought of him as an outsider... but some disagreed. I did not know that at that time.
My father caught my first sister and brother doing something inappropriate for siblings. He had lost control of the person he thought he could manage, who was now a crafty bastard sleeping with his daughter. It had to have come as a surprise to him. It was the night my father was murdered.
I did not know until I overheard their talk. They talked about how they were going to escape to a faraway location and have a happy marital life after they received their share of the inheritance, all while scheming to assassinate my second sister.
Even though I had my suspicions, I didn't get it at first. But once I told my second sister about the assassination planned for her by my brother and first sister, she filled in the blanks in my mind. My second sister is astute, calculative, and always shows an interest in the things that profit her the most, but she is distant from her blood sisters.
She devised a plan to maintain this secret and, hence, the family's reputation. She informed everyone that it was the desire for money that drove them to murder their father. Everyone believed her, including my mother, who had never fully embraced my brother as her own. The news of her husband's death drove her to commit suicide the next day. My buffoonish father brought him in for the sake of our family's reputation, which led to his and his wife's deaths. I don't want to agree, but he was stupid.
My third sister was a naïve little girl who always looked up to my eldest sister. She became entangled in this mess with no time to react. Even now, she doesn't know why she was imprisoned. In the end, none of them were happy, and the Greyblade family plunged to the ground.
If only my brother had never been adopted... I know it's foolish of me to dwell on the past... But things would have been quite different. My father and mother would still be alive, and therefore I would still be with my family, being pampered by my sisters.
I ripped the letter in my hand into shreds, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the dustbin. When I think back, every time I see Axel, I think of my brother. He was the same... smart and from an... orphanage. It always annoys me. I can't blame Axel for that... but I can't help myself. I don't want him to turn into my stupid brother. Unlike my idiotic brother, he is a smart child who is upfront about his feelings. I could never show him the motherly affection that I did for Cora and others. I feel a little bad about it, but Cora took my place in that predicament. She truly grew into a lovely young lady.
I first discovered Axel in front of the entrance one early morning. By the way he appeared, I could tell he was only a few nights old. It was warm as I drew him into my embrace. Instead of me providing warmth to the boy, I received a motherly embrace for simply being near him. It appeared as my mother had come to me to put an end to the worries of her child. It felt good.
I retrieved a gold-plated ball an inch in size from another drawer to my left. I studied it intently to comprehend the ball. It had some intricate drawings on it that I couldn't make out. When I initially found Axel, he was clutching this in his tiny hands.
I never gave it much thought, but it appears to be something valuable. Perhaps something her mother left for him?
“I'll return it to him tomorrow. Maybe he'll be able to figure out what this is? He's always adept at figuring things out.” I put the ball back into the drawer. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, my consciousness slowly drifting away.
Axel
I turned away from Ava's corpse. She was no longer alive. For a long time, I refused to accept it. I was still hoping that if I brought her here, she could be treated. I must have been kidding myself all along. The world was in unprecedented chaos. And how would an orphanage know what to do in such a situation? I must be completely delusory.
At that moment, I was experiencing a wide range of emotions.
"Did I consider myself a saviour if I was successful in bringing her here?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Even a four-year-old could tell how serious the situation was around me. But I opted to disregard the truths that were swirling around me and had naïve confidence that everything would be fine... that everything would return to normal.
"What exactly is this? Is it a sweet fantasy of mine? " I was dissatisfied with my conduct, yearning for something that was beyond my comprehension.
"Right, I'm just six years old." Sarcasm seeped through my remarks, I thought.
"Axel, you are just a six-year-old who doesn't understand the world any better than a six-year-old would, isn't it?" I yelled at myself loud and clear.
"You should have acted like the kid you were, Axel," I said, echoing across the empty lawn.
"Perhaps, just maybe… Ava might have been saved if I had taken her to the hospital instead of here." I had hoped.
"Wait, who am I kidding? What can a hospital do if the country is in a state of emergency? Will they even contemplate an orphan when they can save individuals who actually pay them? " My inability to help myself made me ashamed. I couldn't even console my only family. I didn't even look at her while she was in so much pain and... dying in front of me.
It felt as if I had abandoned her in her final moments. My dry, parched mouth was left with a bitter taste. I did not know what I was feeling anymore. I, too, do not wish to understand my emotions at the moment either. Instead, I turned away from the plump flesh. An hour ago, this was Ava. I couldn't even recognise her at this point. The joyful girl who used to argue with me was no longer there. I strolled towards the orphanage, my pace steady, looking back at Ava with soulless eyes.
With trembling hope, I opened the closed orphanage door, hoping that everything that had happened up to this point had been a dream. My expectations were dashed as I was greeted by a foul odour combined with the stench of blood.
I entered the orphanage slowly, gazing from side to side. I was shocked at that moment. Many people have died on the street before, but all I felt was contempt and terror, but seeing my loved ones in front of me with no shape or size made my heart ache with guilt. I was so guilty that I was the only one exempted from this agony. Guilt that I was still alive. I didn't recognise any of them.
A pleasant aroma of curry met me in the middle of this foul stench. I walked up to a nearby table where a pot was emitting steam from within. It smelled like radish soup. I was the one who dug up all the radishes in the yard. Madam Madison punished us by ordering us to eat radish soup until there was none left. A fatigued smile came across my face. A huge chunk of melted flesh was on the chair in front of me.
"Which one was it?" I questioned myself, failing to identify them. I went to the still-on gas stove in the kitchen and switched it off. It was topped with a vessel. Whatever was left on the inside had been completely turned coal black. If things hadn't turned out this way, we would be having a warm dinner now. In many aspects, it was regrettable.
Looking back at the kitchen, I went to the second floor, where Madam Madison's office was located. Even if I don't recognise her, I know the only person present in that room would be her.
The door was locked, so I made a hasty break for it.
"How brave of me." I was still in the mood to joke. What a scumbag I am.
I dashed at it again, but it was useless. How can a six-year-old kid's strength be sufficient to smash a solid door? I decided there was no point in trying again, so I walked to the first level and got a hammer from the storeroom.
This time, I slammed the door handle repeatedly.
'Cluck,' it broke, but that didn't make me happy because I had to face the harsh reality now.
When I opened the door to peer inside, my gaze was drawn to a familiar figure laying on the marble floor.
"Madame!!" I yelled. Her body was rotting; I could see brown blotches all over her skin, but the process was happening at a far slower pace than others. Her body appeared to be that of a wounded person rather than a mushy tangle of tissue. For a second, I was overjoyed. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I ran to Madam Madison's side to see if she was still alive... and she was.
I turned her face to face myself. I stumbled backwards quickly. Her half-face was missing, exposing her skull bone. It just took a few seconds for my elation to transform into dread. She was still breathing despite her condition. I approached her and shouted out to her, "ma-madame?"
For the first time, I entered the room. Her hand moved a bit, more like a twitch.
"Is tha-t y-ou, A-A-Ax-el?" Her voice was crisp, and words were barely coming out of her mouth as she said it.
"Yes, madam, it's your dear Axel," I said in a soothing tone.
Her hand grabbed my wrist and drew me closer to her. Her dry lips let out a whisper that I couldn't decipher.
She slid what seemed to be... a golden ball from her hand into my palm.
"Wait a minute, madame! We don't have time for this! Please tell me what I should do. " I did not know what this golden ball was or why it was so important in this life-or-death situation. My voice was filled with rage and confusion as I yelled at her.
"W-W-ear it i-i-t." With each breath she took, her voice became thinner and thinner.
"I'll wear it, but tell me what..." My words became garbled as frustration over my incompetence changed to sorrow filled with remorse.
I wore the golden ball necklace she sought in her last breath. Her quivering muscles ceased, and her face sagged to the side. She was quickly becoming the dreadful spectacle that I couldn't bear to imagine.
The ground shook as I wept in agony. I exited the room to look around... It shook yet again.
"Is there an earthquake now?" I dashed towards the orphanage's door, screaming at the top of my lungs. I couldn't even fully mourn. What exactly is this? Is this God's will? To witness my agony?
"How come I'm the only one who's alive!?" I yelled. "Would you want to see a six-year-old suffer like this?!?" I yelled once more. "Will you be happy to see me live a life of guilt?"I didn't believe in an unknown entity called God, but I needed someone to blame. I wanted someone to feel this six-year-old's wrath.
"Why don't you just make me rot like everyone else?" I exited the orphanage as I shouted for answers that would never be answered.
Looking at the sky... Now I could grasp the magnitude of this catastrophe that had befallen us. A blinding light hit my eyes as I raised my gaze even higher to the sky to behold the magnanimity of this catastrophe.
"What the-?"
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