The Night We Met

Part I: Chapter IX

    The flashing screens rolled across Elizabeth's mind until the next morning. This couldn't be true. Miss Jericho, the maidens... why? Why would they sell the orphanage, and more importantly... us? We're not a play toy, we're living beings. People who have the right to stay alive and to have a choice. Not to be controlled by a maniac who wants us traded, or even, dead.

Elizabeth and the others cleaned up way faster to spy on Miss Jericho and the other maidens. As Elizabeth delegated jobs to each person, she kept thinking at the nightmares she saw the prior night. Assuming the future sorrows, she shook her nightmare off and pretended that the incident never happened.

"Guys! Look. It's an old book underneath the bed of Room 28. It looks like an old journal of some sort," Diane calls, grabbing the book and then dusting her hands off on her apron.

    "That looks rather... suspicious. What does the title say?" Elizabeth asks.

    "Uh... I... don't know what it says.." Diane sighs. Her eyes shuffled with concerned, desperate to find the answer.

    Ban snatches the journal. "It obviously says, 'Will You Marry Me, Elaine, my sweetheart?'" Ban smirks with his slyness, concealing his smile.

    Elaine punches Ban. "Don't you dare talk to me that way! I hate you, I always will and no other girl would EVER in a million years love YOU. You stinky little bastard!"

    Ban crawls back to the darkness, where the daylight didn't shine. His smirk faded to a frown, and his eyes dropped sadly. He... was humbled.

    Ban gives the journal to Elizabeth. She reads, "'B.L's Discoveries'" There were some written symbols, in cursive black ink, drawing attention to Elizabeth's eye. It was almost as if she knew what it meant — she just couldn't grasp it's meaning.

    "Who's initials are B.L?" Escanor asked. His eyebrows raised as he browsed the cover of the book.

    "BBL?" Liz asked, trying to make a good joke out of it.

    No one laughed. Not even Elizabeth. Nobody.

    Just absolute silence.

    •••

    Heaven whispers.

   "Elizabeth, come back. Please, we need you here."

    Screams of horror drown her ears.

    "We need your help..."

    A guiding light of gold shone across the horizon. Feathers of pure white and cleanliness reflected onto Earth, showcasing the pure holiness of goddesses, gods and angels.

    "Save Heaven... for you, for me and for your father... your real father..."

    Elizabeth woke up. She heard voices in her sleep, voices that had never talked to her before. Familiar voices, yet different to what she had heard from.

    Everyone was in the lounge, sleeping cosily and comfortably. Well-crafted blankets drifted them to sleep, gave multiple dreams and nightmares to each orphan.

    Elizabeth looked around. It was four in the morning, and their wake-up call was at seven. It was the day of the 'selling'. The posters and brochures must've been sent to all visitors, and today was the day of the auction. The trade, the selling, the marketplace.

    Elizabeth lifted her blanket. She was cautious to not step over anyone who was sleeping, but quiet enough to not wake anyone in the orphanage up. Elizabeth walked around the corridors and tried to find Miss Jericho and the maidens. Her toes quietly crept over the oak floorboards, whilst she peeked through every room to find them.

    There were some magazines lying on the floor that dragged interest for Elizabeth. Magazines that highlighted the headings in red, stickers and even gift packs for the visitors. A trail of magazines lead to a specific room — Miss Jericho's headroom. Her headroom was where she did all of her office work, her plannings, and even all of the activities and announcements for Elizabeth and her friends.

    Elizabeth tip-toed across the hallway. She peeked inside Miss Jericho's headroom, making sure no one was there. To her surprise, the room was left empty, leaving piles and trails of paperwork and worksheets for Miss Jericho and the maidens.

    Elizabeth walked into the room as quiet as a mouse. She stuck towards the wall, walking slowly and peeking left and right in the room. She searched through the paperwork on floor, on the desk, and even in the wooden-built drawers of Miss Jericho.

    Elizabeth read out one of the letters.

    Dear Jericho,
    It has been an absolute pleasure doing business with you. We really could use some new workers as volunteers in the factory. Furthermore, I do warn you that this factory work is dangerous work for younger children below the age of 15. You promised me and my team that no children from your orphanage — short or tall, smart or dumb — is below the age of 15.

    Please also realise that the children would have to work for at least 10 years before quitting this factory work. This means that these children will have no freedom throughout those 15 work years. There are also different chambers of work throughout the factory. There are only one available spots for each children at your orphanage.

    The work shifts in this factory are also very strict. All workers in Chamber A will need to arrive at the factory at 4am in the morning; where their breaks will be at 7:15am to 7:35am, which their work shift will end at 10pm. This is the same for chambers B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I, except for Chamber J where they have to arrive at 11pm and work until 9am — their breaks are at 4am to 4:30am.

    If the workers arrive at least five minutes late, they will be sent to the headroom of the factory. The founder of the factory will chat to them about how important attending work is. If they do it multiple times; multiple being two times, then they will be fired and a permanent penalty will be on their job record.

    Thank you so much for your collaboration with the Soul Factory Ltd.

    Kind regards,
   Bartra Liones
   Director of Job Enrolments

    Elizabeth couldn't believe what she just read. Soul Factory Ltd.? Factory work? Bartra Liones?

    Bartra... Liones?