Bringer of Bad Luck

Chapter 10

In just a second, Crimson had nowhere to call home. The building she once lived in was willed to one of her relatives, a relative that did not wish to inherit a burden such as Crimson.

In fact, none of the relatives wanted to take in any extra baggage, just as Victoria had predicted.

Therefore, because of her relatives' lack of enthusiasm in taking care of their dead family's daughter, Crimson was forced to be put into an orphanage.

The orphanage was actually one that Victoria had had a hand in organizing for Crimson's enrolment. The personnel were extremely familiar with Victoria and they shared similar faiths. The people there blindly believed Victoria's tales of unnatural deaths and occurrences that seemed to originate from fantasy stories, where werewolves and vampires should be found roaming in the night, searching for a victim to test their savage ways on.

According to Victoria's story, they should've avoided too much contact with the little devil; therefore, before anything else they organized for Crimson to have her own room. She retained many things that her father had bought her such as clothes and a few toys, so she didn't have a problem at the moment in the case of clothing. The room Crimson got was supposed to be meant for one of the caretakers, therefore, it was well-equipped. It also had an adjoining toilet and bath which was quite convenient for the caretakers that wished to more or less put Crimson in a cage.

They'd carefully thought everything through. In the case of Crimson getting clean clothes, Crimson would have to put her clothes in a basket situated outside of her room at a specific time in the night. For her to get food, her meals would be put outside her door for her to get, and when she was done, she'd replace the empty dishes outside her door. Otherwise, Crimson would have no contact with the outside world. She'd have to clean her own room, change her own sheets, clean her own toilet at least once a month, anything they thought she needed, it would be put outside her door for her.

When put into the orphanage, Crimson was unable to meet or even get a glimpse of other children. When she was brought to the orphanage, all the other children had gone to school and the like, when only children under the age of five would be present, however, even with children there, the adults ensured that the children were in a secure place away from the path Crimson would take to get to her prepared room. The person who led Crimson to her room was in a flurry and rushed the process, quickly trapping Crimson in her appointed room. The only good thing about the room that Crimson may have appreciated was that the room had a window where Crimson could leisurely sit and take in the practically unchanging scenery of the houses that were situated near to the orphanage. The person outside the door quickly gave her instructions, and most importantly she continuously stressed on the point of Crimson not leaving the room unless it was to pick up something outside her door. When such instructions were given, as always, Crimson said nothing, her expression didn't seem to be an aggrieved one nor an angered one, rather, she was neutral and calm and she only glanced at the door as though she could see the unnecessarily trembling woman on the other side.

That traitorous lawyer who was in cahoots with Victoria, this man, since the day he'd done such a terrible deed, he didn't have one peaceful night. Every single night was a nightmare and everyday was the thought of what he'd done. The fingers of guilt gripped him, eating away at his flesh and digging into his bones. After a few days, the man looked quite haggard, completely contrary to the looks of a man who'd just gained a fortune a few days ago.

Eventually came the thought of seeking forgiveness, he had to do something, anything to curb his guilt, this guilt that he knew might drive him to insanity or carry his thoughts to the border of suicidal ones. He questioned himself, why did I go through with it? He didn't need to do such to live a comfortable life. He regretted it no matter how much he thought of it, in conclusion, he wished he hadn't done such a shameful thing, yet he called himself a lawyer, he cursed himself for helping Victoria, and cursed Victoria for being so vicious.

Finally, the man came up with a plan. He knew that in Victoria's plans, she hadn't made any for Crimson to attend school; therefore, he made some of his own. He would continue Crimson's homeschooling, however, this time he would have someone teach her via a computer. Henceforth, the man made it so that his plans would be seen through. In addition, he bought books for Crimson, he didn't really know what she would read and he'd never had children, however, from what he'd seen of the young girl in his boss' funeral, she seemed pretty mature, therefore, he bought both children's books as well as books that would usually be viewed as boring by children around Crimson's age. He also though about the violin that his boss usually said that the girl could play, therefore, he bought new violin strings and items that were used for a violin's maintenance. All these things, including writing utensils, were delivered to the orphanage, and the man ensured that everything was placed outside of Crimson's door for her to take. He gave instructions about when her tutor would contact her via the computer. He also questioned, from behind the door, whether she knew how to actually operate a computer, however, he received only the sound of silence, therefore, he just assumed she could. It wouldn't be his fault if she couldn't; he'd done everything he could at the moment for the mute child.

Thus, the man was able to temporarily quench his thirst for forgiveness. Such a repentant soul, trying to change the past by influencing the present, was he not selfish? What had Crimson ever done to him, yet he thought that by gifting knowledge, that he had saved himself. How conceited, if he wasn't guilty, he surely wouldn't have done anything for Crimson, if it wasn't for a few nightmares that had not allowed him to sleep soundly, would he have even remembered the child that he had stolen many things from?

Indeed, to others, would this man not seem to be kind, taking care of his ex-boss' child by buying her items, but, how self-centred was he truly?