--
In one of the orphanage rooms, "Linda" sat on a wooden chair, the white lamps covering the place with whiteness, facing a camera and a filming crew made up of only two people, one of them watching the camera and the other sitting on a swivel chair watching "Linda," saying in a serious tone: "Go ahead."
Linda said:
"Hello… my name is Linda Carline de Miranov," she said with a voice carrying innocence mixed with a light sense of humor, "I am now fifteen years old, and I only have three years left before I leave this gloomy orphanage."
She takes a deep breath and continues:
"I was born in a huge palace surrounded by forests on every side, to a noble and very wealthy family. My father used to call me the jewel of the house, and my mother never left me for a moment, while my two older brothers protected me from everything, even from the stings of the cold."
A moment of silence, then a distracted look… and her voice drops:
"Until that… fateful day came."
A flashback appears: a luxurious hall decorated with gold and candles, the guests' laughter rising as music fills the place. Her grandfather had held a grand party for her sixth birthday. Suddenly…the lights went out. Silence fell, then screams began. Sounds of smashing, crying, heavy footsteps. Little Linda crawls in terror under the table, her small hand clutching her trembling white dress. And when the light returned…everything was covered in blood. Bodies scattered on the floor, disfigured faces, her father's eyes open without life, her mother in his arms, and her brothers silent…they were all dead. She was the only survivor.
______
The camera moves slowly to a boy sitting on the same chair.
"My name is William Grant, I'm seventeen, and I have five months left before I leave this place."
He gave a forced smile and continued:
"I grew up in a military family. My father was an army commander, and my mother a respected teacher. I had a twin who looked exactly like me…but we were completely different. I was born healthy but not very smart, while he was intelligent but his body was weak."
He lowered his gaze for a few seconds before continuing:
"When I was eight, I was the reason they all died…
We had all gone on a camping trip. My father was driving the car and my mother was sitting in the seat beside him. In the back my brother and I were playing a game on the video console, and while I was playing I wanted to show my father how skilled I was in the game. I brought the game screen close to my father's face, and he started saying, 'William, move the game away from my face, I can't see the road.'"
"My mom was saying the same thing until my brother shouted, 'Truck! There's a truck coming toward us!'
Suddenly I dropped the game console and screamed as I saw the truck approaching us. My father tried to avoid it until the car flipped over.
I don't remember the crash well, but as soon as I woke up inside the car I saw a sight I wish I had never seen in my life. My brother, who had been beside me, his body and head were separated. I looked at my mother and found her body soaked in blood, a piece of glass piercing her stomach. I screamed amid the blood and scattered glass… but suddenly I heard my mother's voice as she sighed, 'William, get out of the car and get help.' Without saying a word I got out quickly to look for help, until I heard a loud explosion behind me. I turned and saw the car exploding before my eyes…"
_____
The scene shifts to a third girl, her curly orange hair flowing over her shoulders and a confident smile on her face:
"I'm Rosie Lancaster, sixteen years old, and two years away from leaving this place. I was born to parents who run a huge company… they were rich, but they never gave me any affection. I was that child left alone in her large room…
until my younger brother came along when I was five, and he became their favorite."
"I always saw them give my little brother a kind of attention they had never given me.
As for me, I had no name worth mentioning among them.
One day I tried to play with my brother, but my mother quickly pulled him away while shouting, 'Don't touch him.'
It was painful to see myself trying to be loved with no success."
Her eyes widen as she continues:
"At nine, I decided to run away. I went out at night, in the rain, and ran with no direction. I thought I was free… but freedom was only the beginning of another hell."
______
The camera shifts to a young man in the corner of the room, his eyes sunken and his voice cold:
"My name is Elias… in two months I will leave this place. Since I was six I worked with my mother in the bar… yes, that's what they called work. Until the day my mother got sick, I started carrying goods for money. I was saving to buy her medicine… but when I came back, I found her a cold corpse. I stayed beside her for a whole week until the neighbors complained about the smell."
______
The camera shuts off, and Linda leaves the room to find her friends waiting.
She asks childishly, "Why do they force us to film our cursed past?"
Rosie laughs bitterly: "Because they think that when we grow up, we'll watch and see how we ended up here."
Elias scowls: "Damn it… who wants to remember this hell?"
While everyone is distracted, the four move toward an old wall with an opening and slip outside.
In the hidden narrow passage, Elias and William are already out, while Rosie tries to squeeze through but gets stuck.
Linda laughs and pushes her from behind, shouting loudly, "Come on, big-butt!"
Rosie's face turns red as she looks at William, who also seems embarrassed.
In another place with different people, Jude—one of the most famous video-game YouTubers—stepped out of his Lamborghini, accompanied by his two friends: Camelia, the girl obsessed with her rock-band look, and Karm, who seemed fearful of everything. They entered a nearby café close to the orphanage.
---
As the four of them slipped out through the gap in the wall, they all headed to their usual spot:
a large hall filled with gamblers. Linda was talented at backgammon, used to competing with many men—among them famous travelers, wealthy businessmen…
This time one of the richest men in the city set a big wager on her, and in return, if she lost, she would have to join him in gambling work.
Linda agreed gladly as she prepared to win a large sum.
But as soon as she won, the man ordered his guards to seize them. Linda and her friends fled the gambling hall at full speed with the guards chasing them.
In the city streets, the sound of footsteps drew closer, and suddenly, in front of her, was a shiny black Lamborghini. Linda leapt gracefully over it, a move that amazed everyone.
On the other side, Jude was coming out of the café with Camelia and Karm when he saw the scene and his eyes met Linda's for a moment. He raised his phone and called his bodyguard: "Bring me a new car… this one got dirty."
It bore the marks of Linda's dirty hands.
Camelia said sarcastically, "Oh, why another car? We can just wipe off the stains."
But Jude had another reply: "I don't like other people touching my things."
Linda and her friends managed to escape and returned to the orphanage at sunset. But as soon as they entered, they found the director waiting, and beside her stood George, the spoiled child who had tattled on them.
The director, her face stern, said coldly, "Do you think you can break the rules?"
Punishment was imminent, but Elias stepped forward: "I'm the one who took them out… they have nothing to do with it."
The director stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away. William was about to speak, but Elias cut him off with a hand gesture from behind.
They only watched him in silence… knowing he had saved them at his own expense.