The Ghost

THE GHOST OF THE GREY FOREST

It had been raining for weeks the small town was slowly flooding and the wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Langley sat nice and dry at the top of the hill that overlooked the town. Screams echoed throughout the hallways of the old house Mrs. Langley had gone into labour and Mr. Langley's doctor Wallace and Mr. Langley's house servant were helping to deliver the newest member of the family Elizabeth Langley. An hour later excitement had turned to disgust and disappointment the girl they had hoped for was indeed a boy a small frail boy he did not cry not even after doctor Wallace delivered a hard slap to the baby's backside he remained as quiet as a mouse breathing normally and seemingly healthy despite the frail appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Langley so dissatisfied gave the boy to the house servant and requested that he brought the boy to the orphanage in the next town over they were to try again and hopefully next time will be a healthy beautiful baby girl

The boy which the orphanage decided to name Victor was turning 6 and was celebrating with a banana cupcake with mango frosting and a single candle his favorite treat it was truly a happy place some kids didn't even wanna leave when they were chosen for adoption but Miss Rose was able to convince them they'd be even happier with a family of their own she was the nicest lady you'd ever meet and Victors only friend he saw her as a mother and his greatest friend it's almost like they were fated to meet each other she would bake all sorts of treats for the kids cupcakes cookies you name it surprisingly for one woman she was able told hold down the fort flawlessly she did all the cleaning cooking and made sure every kid had their breakfast lunch and dinner even tucking each kid into bed every night and that's not all she understood the kids better than anyone she spoke to them like a best friend not a guardian or caretaker all the kids felt comfortable telling her anything she was a mother to all she didn't hold one child above the rest they were all equally as important to her

All of this took a devastating turn when Miss Rose slipped on the stairs and cracked her head open she was dead before she reached the bottom of the stairs Victor had been the first to awaken and found her in a puddle of blood heartbroken he wanted to cry but couldn't he dialled 911 and left the phone to sit they would be able to find out where the call was made till then he just sat there tears in his eyes but unable to even make a sound he felt truly alone now. There was a new caretaker a snobby blonde woman with the press on nails and glossy red heels her pointed glasses and her business attire she looked like she was pulled straight out of a desk job from the 80s immediately she was demanding the children get to work on cleaning the orphanage she wanted this place spotless the kids were left to cook for themselves they were worked to the bone to a point where one kid passed out from a lack of sleep but the new caretaker didn't care about them all she cared about was keeping the place in good condition so she can go out with her boyfriend every night leaving the kids on their own for hours if she came back to the place in poor condition the children would get beaten this routine continued for an agonizing 4 years a place of fun and happiness for all children without homes was just another prison for the unwanted

When  Victor had turned 14 he knew he was too old now nobody wanted an older kid they wanted the little one's older kids never got the happiness they wanted they're just left to collect dust in the orphanage until some greasy rich person needed a maid or farm hand or some fuck pet he wasn't gonna wait around to see what became of him even if he survived he would end up getting kicked out once he was of age so it was time to leave. It was the dead of night all of the kids were fast asleep these days that seemed like a kind mercy upon them all. Victor left that night with nothing but the clothes on his back the plan was to take a train to the next city he's heard so many of the kids talk about over the years a place of lights and people may be a family he had to see it so he leaped from the second-floor window into the wet grass and he ran like he was being pursued by blood thirty wardens coming to take him back to that hell hole of an orphanage he ran to the train station and managed to sneak aboard hiding in the storage cart and got cozy behind the bags of travellers it was the longest moment of his life laying in the dark waiting to hear the breaks of the train but eventually he arrived in the city and was confused, to say the least, it was not beautiful or even looked happy it was dark and moist smog filled the air and the smell of chemicals punched him the lungs as he stepped into the streets but he had nowhere else to go so he pressed forward. Eventually coming across a group of older kids hanging out near a dark alleyway he had hoped he would be able to walk by but they started to fallow Victor started to run and so did the boys eventually they caught up to him and beat him for his jacket and backpack even his shoes and was left there to die he had been punched so many times in the ribs that sitting up was an agonizing action that took every shred of will he could muster