Curled tightly against the cold concrete floor, Maya slowly drifted into sleep.
Her body folded in on itself, knees drawn to her chest as though she could somehow make herself smaller against the endless chill.
One arm rested beneath her head, the other wrapped weakly around her ribs.
The metal collar around her neck caught the sterile light,its faint glow the only sign that this place would not forget her, even in sleep.
Exhaustion claimed her long before comfort ever could.
The aching cuts on her hands, the soreness in her muscles and the weight of everything she had learned became too much for her weary mind to carry.
Her breathing gradually settled into a slow, uneven rhythm.
The room remained silent.
Even in sleep, her body stayed curled tightly, as though some part of her expected danger to arrive at any moment.
She looked less like someone resting and more like a frightened child instinctively trying to protect herself from a world that had shown her no mercy.
The floor was hard enough to make every bruise ache.
The collar around her neck dug into her skin whenever she moved, so she stopped moving altogether.
★
(Maya's first-person perspective)
Looking back...I was so stupid.I genuinely believed someone would help me.
I waited.
Every morning every night... I kept thinking, 'Maybe today.'
I thought sooner or later, an adult would walk through those doors.
I thought someone would see frightened children hear them crying and put an end
to it.
I couldn't imagine a world where every grown-up simply looked away.
★
~~
The projection showed the little girl asleep on the bare concrete floor, curled into herself beneath the cold white light.
But it was no longer the image that held them captive, It was her voice.
"I genuinely believed someone would help me."
Naya's shoulders began to tremble.
"She waited...She actually waited for someone to save her..."
Farhan slowly lowered his head.
He had seen cruelty.
But nothing had prepared him for hearing a child speak about hope as though it were the greatest mistake she had ever made.
"Don't say that...my little sister....Do you know what hurts the most?"
No one answered.
"She didn't lose hope because she was weak. She lost it because every adult she met proved she was wrong."
Faha's fists tightened at his sides.
"The worst part.....is that she still blamed herself.She called herself stupid when the adults were the ones who failed."
~~
★
My younger self believed adults always came when children needed them.
I really believed that.How foolish I had been.
I thought every locked door would one day open.
I thought if someone discovered what was happening beneath that orphanage, they would stop it.
I waited.
I waited through the mornings, through the endless nights.
Every set of footsteps outside my door made my heart race.
Maybe this time. Maybe someone finally found us.
But no one ever came.
Looking back...I want to shake that little girl.
I want to tell her to stop waiting.
I called myself stupid, Naive.A pathetic little idiot who kept waiting for a rescue.
Because I believed someone would come.
Looking back... isn't that almost cute?
★
~~
Absolute silence.
It was the silence of several people whose minds had simply...stopped working.
Her voice continued to echo through the room.
'I was so stupid. Because I believed someone would come. Looking back... isn't that almost cute? '
No one even seemed certain they had heard her correctly.
...
Fahad blinked once, his eyebrows slowly drew together, "...Cute?"
His voice came out uncertain as if he genuinely believed he'd misheard.
He looked around the room as though expecting someone to explain.
Farhan slowly turned to look at him,
"No...I mean, she actually said 'cute.'"
The single word came out sounding almost offended.
Across the room, Fahan slowly lowered the glass in his hand, "...Cute?"
The single word hung in the air.
...
Fahim adjusted his glasses.
He stared at the projection for several long seconds before looking at Maya herself.
His expression had become strangely clinical,
"I have a medical question."
He continued in complete seriousness,
"Is her frontal lobe functioning correctly?"
Several people nearly choked.
Fahish coughed violently.
Faha inhaled too sharply and almost started choking on air.
Farhan whipped around, "What?"
Fahim folded his arms,
"She just described years of captivity."
He counted on his fingers.
"Isolation. Psychological conditioning.
Complete abandonment.
And then....she reviewed her own trauma
and she concluded by asking whether her younger self was cute."
A long pause.
"I find that medically fascinating."
Faha coughed again.
"You...You cannot diagnose someone because they insulted themselves."
"I'm not diagnosing."
Fahim replied calmly.
"I'm asking whether severe trauma has altered her pattern of emotional interpretation."
Farhan pointed dramatically across the room.
"Finally! A sane person!"
...
Faha almost inhaled the water he had been drinking. He coughed violently, "No—"
[ cough ]
"That doesn't—"
[ cough ]
"I actually agree with him.
There is something profoundly concerning about a person describing psychological torture..."
He paused.
"...and then rating it on a scale of cuteness."
...
Fahan rubbed both hands over his face,
"I unfortunately understand what she means."
Everyone looked at him.
"It's not the torture she's calling cute.
It's herself. The little girl who honestly believed adults would save her."
His voice softened.
"She's mocking her younger self.
And somehow reached the conclusion
that the embarrassing part was believing
adults would save her!"
...
Farhan slowly sat down,
"I hate that you're right."
He looked toward Maya ,
"...Who makes fun of their own childhood innocence?"
...
Fahish leaned back in his chair.
"I think.....we've discovered an entirely new category of coping mechanism."
"What category?"
Fahish shrugged, "'Extreme emotional self-sarcasm.'"
A beat.
"Patient exhibits severe trauma.
Primary symptom —calls catastrophic childhood experiences adorable."
Several people gave him flat looks,
...
Fahim's gaze never left Maya,
"This isn't humour."
Everyone turned toward him.
"This is what happens when someone's brain can no longer remember innocence without feeling embarrassed by it."
The room fell silent.
~~
[Morning ]
No sunlight slipped through the ceiling.
Inside, morning was measured only by the cold hum of machinery and the sharp white lights that flickered to life overhead.
The tiny concrete room brightened with the same lifeless glow that never seemed to change.
Maya stirred, her body protested immediately.
Every muscle ached from the previous day's trials.The cuts across her hands had stiffened overnight.
And her neck throbbed where the metal collar had rested against her skin for hours.
She opened her eyes slowly, disoriented for
a brief moment, before reality returned all at once.
A heavy metallic click echoed outside her door. The reinforced lock disengaged with
a mechanical hiss.
The steel door slid open.
Two young women stepped inside.
They wore spotless white uniforms without a single crease. Neither of them spoke.
Without asking Maya to stand, without offering a hand...
One of the women simply reached down, caught hold of the back of Maya's loose
shirt with one hand and lifted her into the air.
Maya gave a small gasp of surprise.
She dangled helplessly, her arms and legs hanging beneath her, looking less like a person and more like a frightened kitten.
Her tired body swayed with every movement.
The woman didn't seem to notice.
Or perhaps she simply didn't care.
The second woman glanced at a tablet in her hand, quietly confirming Maya's identification.
"Subject Seventeen."
Suspended in the woman's grasp, Maya instinctively curled her aching fingers around the fabric near her shoulder.
No one acknowledged her discomfort.
To them, she was not a frightened child.
Equipment to be transported from one room to another.
Without another word, the two women turned and carried her into the endless white corridor.
The corridor stretched on in perfect silence.
Every few metres, thick steel doors lined the walls, identical in shape and without a single window.
The only sounds were the quiet footsteps of the two attendants and the distant hum that never seemed to stop.
At last, they halted before one of the reinforced doors.
A small panel beside it flickered to life.
ACCESS VERIFIED.
Hydraulic locks disengaged one after another with a series of heavy metallic clicks.
The massive door slowly slid aside.
Sterile air drifted into the corridor.
The room beyond was enormous.
Far larger than Maya had expected.
Bright lights poured down from the ceiling, illuminating every corner with clinical precision.
The walls were smooth concrete, interrupted only by ventilation ducts and observation cameras mounted high above.
Long metal benches stood in neat rows across the room.
Neatly arranged across the floor stood rows of simple metal chairs.
In front of each chair rested a narrow bench, identical in size and perfectly aligned with every other one, creating flawless lines that stretched from one end of the room to the other.
Dozens of teenagers were already inside.
Some sat quietly with their heads lowered.
Others leaned silently against the walls.
A few stared blankly at the floor, their expressions empty as though they had long since forgotten what curiosity felt like.
Not a single conversation filled the room.
Only silence...The kind of silence born from exhaustion rather than peace.
Maya's eyes slowly moved from one face to another.Some looked no older than thirteen.
Others were perhaps sixteen or seventeen.
Every one of them wore the same plain grey clothing. Every one of them looked far older than their age.
Thin shoulders, healing bruises....Fresh bandages wrapped around arms and legs.
Scratches crossed pale skin.
Some stood with visible limps.
Others held an arm close to their chest, protecting injuries that had not yet healed.
A few stared blankly at the floor, watching nothing at all.
Some walked with careful, uneven steps, favouring injured legs that had never been allowed enough time to heal.
Others carried bruises in shades of deep violet and fading yellow, silent reminders of trials that had ended only yesterday.
Pain had become so ordinary that it no longer deserved words.Their eyes told the truest story.
Some were dull and empty, as if every dream had quietly drained away.
Some remained constantly alert, flicking toward every sound, every movement, every opening door.
Every single one wore a metal collar.
Every collar glowed the same colour.
Green.
The soft emerald lights circled their necks like quiet brands, casting faint reflections across pale skin. Rows upon rows of green.
For a brief moment, the room looked almost beautiful—
Like countless emeralds scattered beneath white light.
Maya instinctively lowered her eyes to the collar around her own neck.
The same green glow reflected faintly across her trembling fingers.
The young woman finally loosened her grip.
Maya's worn shoes touched the cold concrete floor, though her knees almost gave way beneath her.
She caught herself at the last moment, drawing a slow breath as the ache in her
body flared with every movement.
The attendant never looked at her.
Instead, she stepped forward and addressed the room in a calm, emotionless voice,
"Everyone... take your seats."
Children who had been standing against the walls quietly pushed themselves upright despite their injuries.
Those already on their feet moved without a word, each walking toward a chair as though following a routine.
Metal chair legs scraped softly against the concrete floor.
A few stared blankly ahead, their expressions empty, while others kept their eyes lowered, never daring to meet anyone else's gaze.
Maya remained still for a heartbeat, uncertain.
Then, after glancing around, she slowly walked to one of the empty chairs.
It was far taller than she had expected.
For a moment, she simply stared at it.
The seat reached almost to her waist.
She swallowed quietly.
Slowly, she placed both small hands against the cold edge of the seat.
She tried to pull herself up.
The effort sent a sharp ache through the cuts across her hands and her tired muscles quivered beneath the strain.
She managed to lift herself only halfway before her strength gave out.
Her feet slipped back onto the concrete floor with a thud.
For a brief moment, she stood there breathing a little harder, staring at the chair as though it had suddenly become another obstacle.
Around her, the older children climbed into their seats without a word.
None of them looked at Maya.
Everyone had already learned the same lesson.Here, every child climbed alone.
Maya lowered her eyes, Then she tried again.
This time, she pushed with one foot while pulling with both hands.Her elbows finally hooked over the edge of the seat.
For a second, she hung there awkwardly, kicking her feet helplessly in the air.
Before gathering the last of her strength and dragging herself onto the chair.
Rows upon rows of children now faced the front of the enormous room.
Perfectly aligned, perfectly silent.
The two attendants stood for a brief moment, their tablets glowing faintly in their hands as they scanned the room.
Without another word, they turned.
The massive reinforced door slid open with a deep mechanical rumble.
They stepped into the corridor.
THUNK.
The heavy hydraulic locks engaged one after another.
Click. Click. Click.
The sound echoed across the vast chamber before silence settled once more.
The silence lingered for several long moments.
Then—
The reinforced steel door slid open once again with a low mechanical rumble.
Two scientists entered.
Their white laboratory coats were immaculate, identification badges
rested neatly against their chests.
Neither of them acknowledged the children.
To them, the rows of silent faces might as well have been another collection of laboratory equipment.
Between them, they carried a polished stainless-steel tray.
Neatly arranged upon it were dozens of small chocolates.
Each piece was wrapped in smooth, brightly coloured foil that caught the sterile white light overhead.
Against the endless grey concrete and lifeless white walls, the tiny flashes of colour looked strangely out of place.
Almost innocent.
The scientists moved methodically through the rows. One walked down the left side.
The other mirrored every movement on the right.
Without speaking, each stopped beside a narrow bench..... A single chocolate was placed in the exact centre.
Then they moved to the next and the next.
The soft taps of chocolate meeting cold metal echoed faintly through the silent room.
Tap..... Tap..
No child reached for the chocolate.
Most of the older children simply stared at the small wrapped sweet without expression.
Only a few of the younger children looked at it with quiet confusion.
When the last chocolate had been placed, the scientists stepped back.
The room remained silent.
Rows of untouched chocolates rested on the narrow benches, their colourful wrappers glimmering beneath the lights.
No one moved.
One of the scientists stepped forward. His voice was calm, almost pleasant.
"You may eat the chocolate."
The words echoed through the room.
No one reached for it.
The silence deepened.
Maya slowly looked around.
The older children sat perfectly still.
Some stared at the chocolate without blinking. Others had quietly lowered their heads.
A boy near the front swallowed hard, his fingers curling tightly against the edge of the bench until his knuckles turned pale.
A girl several rows away was trembling so badly that the metal chair beneath her gave the faintest rattle.
Another child kept glancing between the chocolate and the scientists as though
trying to decide which frightened him more.
No one looked excited.
They looked afraid.
It was the fearful recognition of children who had learned that nothing in this place was ever given without a price.
The brightly wrapped chocolate no longer looked like a treat.It looked like another test.
The scientist waited patiently, "Eat."
The older children exchanged quick, anxious glances before immediately looking away again.
No one wanted to be the first.
No one wanted to be the last.
Maya looked down at the small chocolate resting on the bench before her.
She remembered the hunger that had followed yesterday's trials.
Her stomach twisted painfully.
Slowly, she reached toward it.
Several children noticed.Their expressions tightened, but none of them spoke.
Maya hesitated for only a heartbeat.
Then, believing she was expected to obey, she carefully unwrapped the chocolate and ate it.
The room grew even quieter.
Every eye seemed fixed on her.
The scientists merely watched.
She lowered her hand after finishing the small piece of chocolat.
One of the scientists looked down at the tablet in his hand.
A line of text flashed briefly across the screen.
He gave a small nod.
Then, for the first time since entering the room, he looked directly at Maya,
"Thank you, Subject Seventeen."
His voice was soft, "You followed instructions."
The words echoed strangely through the silent hall.
The scientist inclined his head by the slightest amount,
"Your cooperation is appreciated. Subjects who cooperate make everyone's work easier."
Nothing in his tone sounded sincere.
Maya blinked in surprise.
The words felt so unexpected that, for a fleeting instant, she didn't know how to respond.
Around her, several of the older children slowly lowered their eyes.
Their expressions darkened.
Others stared silently at the untouched chocolates before them.
None of them looked relieved.
If anything...They looked even more afraid.
The scientist calmly made another note on
his tablet.
"Subject Seventeen demonstrated immediate compliance."
He tapped the screen once, "Record updated."
Rows upon rows of chocolates remained exactly where they had been placed.
Not a single child reached for them.
The two scientists stood at the front of the hall without speaking.
Their eyes moved slowly from one child to the next, carefully observing every face, every trembling hand, every lowered gaze.
One scientist finally broke the silence,
"...Interesting."
His voice carried effortlessly across the room,
"It appears the majority of you have once again chosen non-compliance."
No one answered.
The scientist took a slow step forward.
Tap..... Tap.....Tap.
He stopped between the rows.
"I sometimes wonder.....whether you children misunderstand your position."
His gaze swept over the silent room,
"You are not here to negotiate.You are not here to decide which instructions deserve your cooperation."
His expression remained perfectly calm,
"Your only responsibility is obedience."
A boy near the front instinctively shrank into his chair. A girl bit down on her trembling lip until it turned pale.
Still...Not a single chocolate was touched.
The second scientist glanced at the untouched rows and let out a slow
breath through his nose.
There was no anger on his face, only irritation,
"Disappointing, So many reminders and yet you continue to resist even the simplest instruction."
His eyes became colder,
"Disobedient children require discipline."
The effect was immediate. A ripple of fear passed through the room as several children flinched without thinking.
While others stiffened at the mere mention of punishment.