A Deprived Childhood

One

"My life sucks."

That's what Antonia always thought about her life. She thought she was a pathetic orphan girl with no happiness. The first part wasn't true but the second was more of a fact. She lived in a depressing orphanage anyway.

The orphanage was dark and gloomy. Cobb webs surrounded the corner of the walls and water leaks came down through the roof. The wooden floors would creak with even a simple step. It was cold, isolated from the world, which made no sense since orphanages should be close to town but this one wasn't.

There was only one old lady running the orphanage with only eight kids all together. Every child seemed okay with the place. They didn't complain or bicker over the cold beans, they ate daily, or the holed fabric they called blankets. The age range was from the youngest of four to thirteen years of age.

Except for Antonia, she was here her whole life. Thirteen years to be exact. The orphanage used to be in the middle of a busy village until they were now in the middle of nowhere. Her parents dropped her off at a very young age. A month old was when she came to know the orphanage. That's when her depressing childhood came in.

Time flew by, only seven more kids were brought to the orphanage. It hadn't changed since. All the other kids where cheerful, probably since they're still young. Antonia was rude, cranky and it wasn't just because she already had her period but since she never knew how the outside world was like.

After a while she gave up and isolated herself from all the other orphans in her room. Her room was her sanctuary. It even had the depressing feel to it just like Antonia felt. It was small, and cold. One window that was too dirty to ever see the sunrise and only cracks in the walls to see to the next room. Any type of insects lived in that room along side her.

What did pop out of her whole entire room where the ghostly drawn pictures on one specific wall. They were all colored in with a dark shade and they were all the same thing, a small girl. The wrinked paper took up all her wall and she would stare at it every night before she eventually fell asleep.

Depressing as Antonia sounds, her appearance was as well. She had dark bags under her eyes due to the lack of sleep. Her hair was black and always a tangled mess. She was as pale as the full moon and as skinny as a stick. She always wore a gray dress that reached mid thigh. She had no desire to show any beauty.

Other orphans despised Antonia, probably because she was always sad or mad. Everyone avoided her. When it came to eat those horrible cold beans she would eat at the far corner. Except for one little girl who was quite fond of Antonia.

Her name was Anne. She was quite opposite of Antonia. She was younger too. Anne was ten years old with rosy cheeks and curly little pigtails that could make anyone smile by just looking at them. Of course Antonia didn't smile at Anne's pigtail, she thought they were stupid and a waste of ribbons. This didn't bother Anne. That was the reason she was so intrigued by Antonia.

Antonia had no care for the world which made Anne realize how mature she was. Anne was the only one to appreciate the presence of Antonia. They didn't hit it off quite in the beginning, but they grew to be like sisters. Although they were friends, it didn't stop Antonia from saying rude remarks toward little Anne. She just grew to love Antonia's rudeness even more.

One day while Anne and Antonia were isolated from the rest of the orphans, Anne asked the biggest question Antonia ever had.

"What is the outside like, Antonia?"

For Anne did not know Antonia spent her entire life here. Antonia grew angry at Anne's question but surprisingly calmed down. "I'm not sure Anne, but I am quite sure that I don't intend on finding out." Antonia said sternly.

Anne gave Antonia a confused look but Antonia only sighed and stood up. That was the last Anne saw of Antonia all day.

Two weeks later...

The orphanage lady came up with a day where she grabs all the orphans and brings them to pray. They pray for a family and happiness in life. They sat in a circle holding hands on the cold floor.

Antonia loved this day until she was five. Finally when she was five she faced reality. The reality was she was never going to find happiness and she would never find a family to call her own. That's when the depression kicked in.

Antonia even almost committed suicide but some orphan ruined her chance. That's when the lady told Antonia to draw to let out everything she felt. The wall of drawings was her stress relief.

The day, where everyone prayed, relied on a special decor. They put up candles all along the walls, flowers on tables, and fruit on counters. The decoration made no sense but nothing in that orphanage did.

That day Antonia bailed on praying session and went straight up to her room. Drawing sounded better than praying for something she knew wasn't real.

She decided it was time to go to sleep but then smoke grew from the cracks on the walls. Antonia heard screeching but she thought it was their skinny black cat. She stepped from her bed and peeked under the crack of the door.

She saw orange and red and lot of smoke. She decided it was time to care for her own life. Great moment to care, right? She tried opening her rusty little window, until black engulfed her vision. Her body fell limp.

She opened her eyes to see she was outside the orphanage. The orphanage had flames coming out of everywhere. Antonia saw a body coming out of the door. Antonia squinted her eyes to see Anne. It didn't even look like Anne.

Anne was covered by burns. Blood seeped out of the holes in her body. Her body was limp, swollen, and red. She walked a couple of feet before falling to the ground.

Antonia got closer to see her friends body sprawled on ground. Antonia couldn't bare to see Anne. She clearly knew Anne didn't make it. Antonia's body shaked but she got up and started walking away from her horrible childhood.

She leaned against a tree until she saw even more flames engulf the orphanage. She cried for what felt like hours. Antonia never cried. She looked back to see her horrible childhood burn down. She couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Antonia did the only thing she could think of. She got away from the tree and ran.

She ran, ran, and ran towards her new life. Without ever looking back.

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Hey Kids, New Book! This starts off in third person but next chapter will be first person.

Love anyone reading, bye babes×