Sentiment of a Witness

𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚒

When I woke up, I was not outside the Smitts' Bakery where I had fallen asleep against the wall. No, I was in a dark room on top of what felt like a mattress made of bricks with an itchy fabric cloth laid on top of me.

I swung my legs off the side of the bed and slid down to the freezing floor. Where were my shoes? Where was I?

I fumbled my way to what felt like the door. Upon opening it, light flooded inside, revealing that I was correct in my assumptions of the small dark room. It was basic and not very welcoming.

I exited the room, finding a narrow corridor with many other doors along it, stairs leading up at one end, and at the other end, stairs leading down.

I turned to walk down the hall to go down the stairs but turned back, questioning where the people who owned the building were and if I should trust them. The floor creaked under my bare feet before I heard a noise from behind me.

"BOY!!"

I froze, brain whirling as I remembered my mother's cold voice screaming the same word, my name forgotten to her.

I turned around to face the voice, shocked when I saw the person it belonged to – a sheep. Living the life I had, this was my first interaction with a Wunimal major, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Y-yes?"

"Ey, you're the newcomer in Room 32?" the sheepwun gestured his woolly head towards to the door I had exited from earlier.

I nodded.

"Right. You don't know the rules of this 'ere orphanage then, do you?"

I shook my head, hoping that they wouldn't be like the set of rules my parents had enforced the day after we'd found out about my knack.

"Read this," the sheepwun said gruffly, shoving an old, tattered piece of yellowing paper into my hands, "back to your room. You've missed lunch; if you're lucky, there'll be enough dinner for you tonight – you're only a small thing, you won't eat much."

With that, the sheepwun trotted down the tight corridor and up the stairs, leaving me alone in this strange dingy orphanage corridor.

I walked back to Room 32 and drew back the curtains at the window before sitting down on the bed to read the rules of this kid's home.

No child under any circumstances is permitted to leave the Larommi Orphanage premises.No child under any circumstances is to wander around after curfew. Curfew is 7pm to 7am. Children must stay in their rooms or in the main room out of curfew times. Meals will be served at 7:30am, 12:30pm and 6:30pm exactly. If any child is late, they will go without that meal. Children must not bother any adults unless it is of utmost urgency, eg. The kitchen is fire, something is on fire, or if a fellow child has escaped. Follow all instructions given by adults – failure to do this and the adult may deal with the child however they feel suit. The Head of Larommi has the topmost command over everything that goes on, all privileges and repercussions. Children will probably never make it out of the Larommi Orphanage, so they should get used to the way things are and enjoy their time here.

I placed the paper on the bed and sighed – it seemed that I would be spending the rest of my life in yet another hellhole, with stupid rules and probably not a lot to eat.

I wondered what the other kids would be like – would I finally have a friend? Maybe I could put up with this place I did? But I had a feeling that the kids would be just as terrifying as the building we were in.

I waited in my room until the bell chimed short and sharp three times for lunch before heading downstairs, the paper full of stupid rules in hand. As I walked down the corridor, other kids started rushing down after me, desperate to get to the dining hall. I allowed them to pass me, not wanting to be trampled, but also because I didn't actually know where I was going.

Upon reaching the dining hall, I had the paper snatched from me by the sheepwun before being shoved forwards to collect a bowl of soup. Surprisingly, it looked edible... if only it tasted edible too. Still, it was the only food I had been given since Alicea's last day working for my family, which in that moment at the Larommi Orphanage, seemed like an eternity ago.

The other kids seemed to be somewhat friends with each other, snarling at each other across the table. They looked filthy, like they hadn't bathed in a week or more. One boy in particular scared me – he was a larger build, with cruel green eyes, which reminded me of the ones my father possessed. He didn't really like me; he made that much obvious within my first week at the Larommi Orphanage.

Written: 29 + 30 July, 2021

Published: 2 August, 2021

It gets better soon. I promise... hopefully.