Time flew by, and before anyone realized it, this had become Arcia's second year at the orphanage.
Though she was at the age when a child grows quickly, the orphanage meals were hardly nutritious. At best, they filled the stomach. So in two years, Arcia's height had barely changed. She looked almost exactly as she had two years ago. The only real difference was that her once lively and spirited nature had completely vanished.
"..."
The roar of the bus engine, especially when the driver stepped on the gas, drowned out nearly everything else. The vehicle trembled violently from the strain of the old engine, and the vibrations rattled through the hard seats. This must be what people meant by travel fatigue, even if the journey was a short one.
Feeling something shift on her shoulder, Arcia turned slightly. It was Alice.
Perhaps because they'd stayed up too late talking the night before, Alice hadn't gotten enough rest. At some point, she'd dozed off, and now her body had tilted from the jolting bus, her head leaning against Arcia's shoulder.
Arcia looked at her and allowed herself the faintest of smiles. Then she turned back to the window.
Trees danced in the breeze. Light flickered across rooftops. Reflections of houses by the roadside shimmered faintly on the glass. The bus rolled forward until it rounded a corner and disappeared from view.
...
"Prepare to disembark!"
The disciplinarian barked from the middle of the aisle. The children immediately rose, forming a neat line to exit through the bus's side door.
"Wake up..."
Arcia nudged Alice gently. The latter rubbed her eyes sleepily, clearly still not fully awake.
"We're there...?"
Alice asked groggily.
"Time to get off."
Arcia whispered back.
She noticed the disciplinarian's gaze sweep in their direction, so she quickly acted like nothing had happened and joined the others disembarking.
"How many in total?"
On the open lot, a foreman wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel slung around his neck. He called out to the orphanage disciplinarian who was walking over.
"Twenty. We've got a lot of work back at the orphanage, so this is all we could spare."
"That'll do."
The foreman didn't bother with small talk and strode straight toward the lineup of children.
"No wonder they're stuck doing this kind of grunt work..."
The disciplinarian muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at the foreman's blunt attitude.
"Listen up, all of you!"
The foreman stopped in front of the group and shouted:
"You'll be cleaning the glass stacked over there. I want them spotless—no stains whatsoever. If any of you break a pane during cleaning, the cost goes on your orphanage's bill. Got it? Then get to work."
With that said, he turned and left for the factory building.
A middle-aged woman and a younger one then led the children to the workspace and demonstrated how to clean the glass. They picked out a few of the older, stronger kids to handle transportation duties, then handed cleaning tools to the rest. And so the work began.
As usual, Arcia and Alice worked together, along with a small boy who was assigned to their group. The three of them filled a basin with water and followed the demonstrated steps, adding cleaning solution. A dust-covered pane—streaked with who-knew-what—was brought over and placed in their basin. Arcia and Alice poured water onto it while the boy joined in the scrubbing.
Soon the water turned a muddy gray-black—and that was just the first pane. Alice called over the hauling kids to take the cleaned pane away, and they brought a new one in its place.
This one looked much cleaner, with almost no dust. The three quickly washed and dried it. The pressure then shifted to the transport team—only the side-stacked panes were truly dirty. The ones in the middle were better. Meanwhile, the rest of the children were picking up speed.
"You are to finish at least one-third of the warehouse's glass today. Dinner comes after that."
After observing the children for a while, the middle-aged woman confirmed their pace was fine. She left those instructions and then began scrubbing glass herself, along with the younger woman. Compared to the orphanage children, the two women worked quickly and efficiently—cleaning three panes in the time it took a child to wash one. They even handled their own hauling.
As the afternoon wore on, the day's labor gradually wound down. The foreman returned to inspect their progress, then had some workers package the clean glass and stack it by the warehouse door.
"Hey, that guy's been staring at you this whole time..."
The small boy elbowed Arcia and gestured subtly.
She turned and followed his gaze.
A man stood there—barefoot, unkempt, wearing a filthy gray shirt. He looked like one of the laborers the foreman had brought in earlier. Hidden beneath his messy black hair, his deep blue eyes stared fixedly at Arcia. He didn't even flinch when she noticed.
"Better be careful."
The boy patted Arcia's shoulder, then returned to his work.
Alice had just returned from returning the tools and spotted Arcia gazing off. Following her line of sight, she too saw the man.
"!"
She instantly grabbed Arcia's hand, startling her.
"Come on. Time to line up for dinner."
Alice pulled Arcia behind her, meeting the man's stare head-on with a cold glare. Finally, one of his fellow workers called him away, and he turned and left.
...
After dinner, Alice thought they'd take the bus back. But the foreman informed them they'd be staying overnight—there was more work the next day. Their sleeping quarters? The very same warehouse they'd cleaned.
The same middle-aged woman handed out filthy burlap sheets for the children to sleep on. Exhausted from the day's labor and unable to wash up, the children collapsed on the ground. Despite the disgusting smell on the sheets, many fell asleep almost instantly—Alice and Arcia included.
The noise faded. The street outside, always bustling with delivery trucks during the day, grew quiet. In the stillness of night, only the distant hum of the boiler, the creak of wind-blown windows, and the snoring of children filled the air.
And in that stillness, a shadow crept silently into the warehouse.
It blended seamlessly into the darkness. Not a sound betrayed its movement. Even opening the window, it chose the one freshly oiled hinge to avoid a creak. Silent as a ghost, it glided past the sleeping children, and came to a stop beside a golden-haired girl.
"Grr... uh..."
Strange sounds came from its mouth. And in the dark, its faintly glowing blue eyes made it clear: something was terribly wrong.
The figure gently lifted Arcia from the floor and began to retrace its steps. Still, not a sound.
Only a ghost could move like this.
CLANG—
But then—an ill-timed crash.
The figure froze.
Arcia's head had bumped into a broom, which then fell onto a metal bucket. The noise was enough to wake her.
But the figure didn't panic. It simply clamped a sweaty hand over Arcia's mouth and tucked her under one arm before continuing toward the window.
"..."
Realizing the danger, Arcia kicked and struggled. But the man was too strong. His arm didn't even budge. Even biting down with all her strength had no effect.
"Huh?"
The sound had woken Alice. She caught a glimpse of the man slipping through the window. At first, she thought she'd imagined it—until she saw Arcia's empty bedding.
"That bastard..."
She hadn't thought he'd really try anything. And this fast—on the very same night?
No time to think. She leapt to her feet and raced to the window. Grabbing the broom that had fallen earlier, she climbed out and pursued.
To her surprise, the man was already all the way at the factory entrance. Even sprinting, Alice took twice the time to catch up.
She pushed open the tall green door and entered the factory. It didn't take long to spot him—on the second floor's metal walkway.
He was standing still now. One hand gripping Arcia by the throat, lifting her high above his head. Below them? The furnace pit. Inside, molten glass blazed crimson, radiating heat that singed the air.
"What the hell is he doing?!"
She'd assumed he was some creep with perverse intentions—but now it looked like he was going to throw her into the furnace.
Panicking, Alice scanned the factory. She spotted the stairs on the right and ran for them.
Luckily, the man remained frozen, not dropping Arcia—but time was running out.
SMACK—
Alice slammed the broom across his back.
No reaction.
His mouth moved, whispering something incomprehensible.
"Let her go!"
She struck again. Back, arms, legs—anywhere she could reach. Still nothing.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
A worker had woken up and spotted them.
"Someone! HELP!!"
He saw the man holding Arcia over the furnace and shouted for backup.
"...Answer... the Master's... call..."
Alice, panting, finally understood the muttered words. But before she could react—
the man let go.
"Got you!"
Alice lunged forward and thrust the broom out. She caught Arcia at the last second.
"Don't let go!!"
Lying on the walkway, Alice gripped the broom with all her might. The furnace heat made it almost impossible to keep her eyes open, but she pulled with everything she had.
"Almost... grab my hand!"
Their hands locked tightly.
Relief flooded Alice—until—
"What—?!"
The man's body suddenly flashed past her and vanished into the red glow below.