"She is d…dead," the reverend sister stammered, her lips trembling as her hands touched the neck of the pale little corpse lying in the rain behind the orphanage in the middle of the night.
Sister Agatha and Reverend Kindness had only stepped out of the orphanage to pack the girls' clothes to prevent them from getting soaked when they came across a body lying there—and surprisingly, it was one of the girls.
The thunder cracked as lightning flashed across the dead body's pale face. The woman jolted back, fear flooding her as she looked around, her hands making the sign of the cross. They didn't care about the rain soaking them both.
At this point, they had something even worse to think about. Cold puffs formed from their lips.
"Not again," Reverend Kindness muttered to himself through gritted teeth as if the rain itself was listening. His eyes stared at the dead corpse, yet his mind was not on reality.
His hands shook as his foot frantically moved against the ground anxiously—an action that could be overlooked because of his calm face.
This was the seventh death this week, and this would make it the seventh burial. He moved swiftly as he carried the girl. The reverend sister turned to him, fear in her eyes as she looked around again to make sure no one was there.
She turned back to the reverend, who was staring blankly into the thin air as if something was watching them.
"Where are we going? She is dea—" she was interrupted sharply.
"Shut up. We must bury her now. The rain will not stop us," he spoke, his face cold and yet his black eyes were wide with warning.
"This is not the first death this week," he spoke, pausing as his lips widened sardonically...almost painfully. "And it will certainly not be the last," he added his black hair stuck to his face.
Sister Agatha didn't just tremble..she began to shake, like she was about to run.
The M&C Orphanage, popularly known as the Miraculous Mind Children Orphanage, which was for girls—was known for their kindness and well training for children. But who would have thought that a marvelous thing was really happening?
Upstairs, a thirteen-year-old girl's hands clamped to her mouth. Her eyes widened with fear as she looked down. She had seen it all. Yeara's heart began to beat hard, fear filled in her eyes.
Her long white hair fell to her back. Her green eyes filled with terror—this had never happened before…or has it?.
She had come here to tell Reverend Agatha she could not sleep and had happened to look through the window, only to see this.
Her breath trembled as thunder struck and lightning blinked. Her body shuddered.
Yeara became an orphan after her parents died in a carriage accident. The carriage fell into the water, and they drowned inside.
Their death was so unfortunate that rumors flew that she was a witch. Because her parents' death was so tragic and mysterious, they were not even given a proper burial since their bodies were not found. She was sent here when she was six.
Her relatives refused to take her, scared they might inherit the curse or she might bring bad luck to their children.
All girls who came there had their fate already written. They were taught ladylike ways, different languages, and beauty tricks.
When they turned nineteen, they would be taken to the grand ball, where dukes and princes could choose to marry them.
They believed that way they were creating a future and if they were not chosen, they would become reverend sisters.
"H..Heaven save m..me…" Yeara's soft voice broke in stammers, trembling as she looked down. Her legs began to shake. Her emerald eyes watched as they began to leave, but then her heart stopped as Reverend Kindness halted in tracks and….
His head snapped up.
Yeara gasped, her body shifting backwards. She ran out of Sister Agatha's room.
She was supposed to be asleep now. Her legs pounded across the tile as she ran upstairs to her room.
The girls' room was at the top floor. The second was their class floor and the reverends' room, and the last was the hall for food and visits.
Yeara's eyes blurred as tears fell from them. She ran so fast, her bare feet slapping hard across the tile.
She finally reached the door and pushed it open, then closed it gently so she wouldn't wake the others. Inside the room, rows of bunks were lined up with sleeping girls.
She lay on her bed and pulled the duvet over herself, her heart pounding hard against her chest.
"Did they s..see me?" she asked herself. Her hands moved to her gown squeezing it tight. She turned her gaze to the other side.
Her friend was sleeping. She turned her gaze back to her usual spot, pressing her lips tight.
That body…
She saw her face clearly.
It was Nancy—one of the girls at the orphanage, the same one Reverend Kindness had told her about when she asked curiously why she wasn't in the dining hall. He had said she had been adopted.
All this while, all she had been told was a lie…
Her cracked voice came out low and scared, as if the walls could hear her.
"So… they lied to me..to all of us?"
She took a deep breath. She needed to sleep.
Just then she felt a hand tap her. She gasped loudly as she jumped up, but it was no one other than her close friend, Ella.
"Oh heavens, Ella, you scared me," she whispered, lowering her voice as she looked around before looking at Ella pointedly. Ella giggled softly at her friend's cuteness.
"Where have you been all these while? Why did you leave?" Ella asked as she raised her head to look at Yeara, who pressed her lips together, her body shaking.
"Anyways, that is not important," Ella spoke with a smile, noticing Yeara's silence.
"I thought you were asleep," Yeara said, relieved.
Ella sat on her bed. Her midnight-black hair was packed loosely into a bun. Her pure black siren eyes looked worried as she spoke.
"I could not sleep," she said before standing. She lowered herself on the bed, taking a pair of shoes in hand. Yeara raised a brow at what Ella was doing.
"Ella, what are you doing?" she asked as Ella tied her shoe. She looked outside and sighed—it was still raining.
"Wear your shoes as well," she said.
Yeara moved, confused. She did not know what her friend was doing, but regardless, she wore her shoes.
Everything was happening so fast. She had not even told Ella about what she had seen…she couldn't.
She knew she would be in great trouble if any of the sisters came in and saw them awake.
"Why?" she whispered as she tied her shoes.
"Because we are escaping tonight."