Kara Ariak

Chapter 1

They say the eyes are the window to the soul...

Yet, Kara mastered the art of closing the blinds.

Words rushed through her mind, spiraling uncontrollably.

'Alone.'

'Worthless.'

'Abandoned.'

Around people, Kara acted like they wanted an almost thirteen-year-old to act: happy, curious, and excited. She wore her long brown hair in two braids down her head to appear even more so.

But it's all a lie.

It's midnight, and she's alone in a park. To the everyday person, it may seem peaceful, but to Kara, the silence was suffocating...

So, she let the blinds open, allowing tears to roll down her cheeks, falling like a waterfall from her blue-green eyes. And several pained sobs to escape as the words continue to spiral.

'Waste of space.'

'Unworthy.'

'Imbecile.'

No one noticed she wasn't in her room at the orphanage she's been growing up in since she was a baby.

None even cared...

They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but Kara closes the blinds every single day.

After an hour of crying, Kara headed home: Smith's Orphanage.

On her way there, she sighed when she saw three empty cans of coke on the ground.

Kara rolled her eyes before picking them up and throwing them in the trash, mumbling about how it was 2022, how could people still litter?

When she reached home, she slipped through the window and laid down on a mattress on the floor.

She sneezed.

She was cold. But none cared, her only clothes were old and worn out, yet none cared. She sighed and slept.

Waking up three hours later in a cold sweat, the girl got up to ready herself for school.

'Kara,' a woman's voice whispered.

Said girl got spooked looking around searching for the voice which called her name but found no one.

"You're losing it, Kara Ariak," she scolded herself as she went downstairs to prepare breakfast for the whole orphanage before her guardians could show up and get annoyed with her.

The thought made Kara flinch as she started making the toast and prepared the eggs.

'Kara...'

Again she looked around spooked, searching desperately for who was calling her, who even bothered to learn her name.

"Who are you?" she asked softly yet determined.

'You must find me, child,' the voice replied.

Kara started hyperventilating since the voice was just gone...

As if it was never there.

"No, Kara, I think you are definitely losing it," the girl explained to herself, continuing with the breakfast.

Bravely, she took a piece of toast from what she had made. The caretakers wouldn't notice one slice of toast missing, right? Right?

Starting another day at the miserable place she called school, Kara headed to her classroom for homeroom, where she was met by Francis James William, or FJW as he is called, the school star.