#5 – The Orphanage
I can’t remember my past. All I knew was that my mother left me at the doorsteps of the orphanage. I had adapted quickly into the new surroundings. I made friends. I watched—as some of them found new homes and new ones kept replacing them.
I was one of the few kids that never got adopted. But somehow, I just never cared. And despite that I could leave, I decided to stay and help out.
The rumor was there even before I had come to live in the orphanage. The fourth floor, which was an old library and music room, was off-limits. No one was allowed inside that the floor had never even been cleared out of the things in it. Rumors say that when you enter the 4th floor, you’ll start to hear the piano.
No one dared to step foot in it.
The rumors said that it wasn’t the playing of the piano that people should be scared of. It was when the piano stops playing.
More curious than scared, I along with a few friends climbed the old, creaking stairs towards the rumored haunted floor. And as we did, the piano hadn’t started playing. But instead it was already playing. We just couldn’t it hear below. We started to look around when one of the adults saw us and scolded us.
“Don’t worry,” I said to them. “It’s probably just Maris and the other. Maybe they left a cassette tape playing in there to scare us,”
“But why though?” Pia asked her eyes wide with fear.
I gave her a smile as I patted her in the head. “The floor seemed to be unstable. They probably found out scaring kids works more than telling them,”
I had no idea how wrong I was.
That night, as we slept—I was awoken by the sound of the floor woods. I never thought much about it. Someone was probably just sneaking out. But then, something woke me up once more.
This time, it was a sharp, ripping sound next to me. I opened my eyes and fear gripped at my whole being. In front of me was something not human. It was tall, boney thin, and it was covered in blood as if he bath in a tub full of the scarlet liquid. Its big, round, and crazed eyes glowed red in the dim-lit room. A horrendous, relished smile on its lips, revealing its yellow, sharp teeth.
I knew I should scream; tell everyone to run. But my body seemed to be frozen in place. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move; much less speak. I watched as it killed everyone in the room. I watched as it ripped their bodies apart as if they were made of papers. I was surrounded by the wet sound of the bones being torn apart.
I dreaded the second. I don’t want to see them killed. I don’t want to see what I was seeing. Why hadn’t it killed me yet? I was the one near the door. It should have grabbed me first but why hadn’t it?
It turned to me. My eyes wide but I still couldn’t move. Everyone was… everyone was dead. It stretched its boney arms towards me and I gasped. There was pain. That was the last thing on my mind. Pain and its bloodshot, evil eyes staring straight at me.
I can’t remember my past. All I knew was that my mother left me at the doorsteps of the orphanage. I had adapted quickly into the new surroundings. I made friends. I watched—as some of them found new homes and new ones kept replacing them.
“This is Kali,” Maris said with a smile.
Thump.
What?
“He will be joining us starting today. Be good to him, okay?”
Thump.
Ever since he arrived, Kali and I had been glued to each other. We grew up to be inseparable. And we were one of the few kids that never got adopted. But somehow, we just never cared. And despite that we could leave, we decided to stay and help out.
Thump.
The rumor was there even before I had come to live in the orphanage. The fourth floor, which was an old library and music room, was off-limits. No one was allowed inside that the floor had never even been cleared out of the things in it. Rumors say that when you enter the 4th floor, you’ll start to hear the piano.
No one dared to step foot in it.
The rumors said that it wasn’t the playing of the piano that people should be scared of. It was when the piano stops playing.
More curious than scared, I along with a few friends climbed the old, creaking stairs towards the rumored haunted floor. And as we did, the piano hadn’t started playing. But instead it was already playing. We just couldn’t it hear below. We started to look around when one of the adults saw us and scolded us.
“Don’t worry,” I said to them.
“Yah,” Kali added. “It’s probably just Maris and the others. Maybe they left a cassette tape playing in there to scare us,”
Thump.
Eh?
There was that feeling again.
Something seemed wrong.
“But why though?” Pia asked her eyes wide with fear.
I gave her a smile as I patted her in the head. “The floor seemed to be unstable. They probably found out scaring kids works more than telling them,”
I had no idea how wrong I was.
That night, as we slept—I was awoken by the sound of the floor woods. I never thought much about it. Someone was probably just sneaking out. But then, something woke me up once more.
This time, it was a sharp, ripping sound next to me. I opened my eyes and fear gripped at my whole being. In front of me was something not human. It was tall, boney thin, and it was covered in blood as if he bath in a tub full of the scarlet liquid. Its big, round, and crazed eyes glowed red in the dim-lit room. A horrendous, relished smile on its lips, revealing its yellow, sharp teeth.
I knew I should scream; tell everyone to run. But my body seemed to be frozen in place. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move; much less speak. I watched as it killed everyone in the room. I watched as it ripped their bodies apart as if they we’re made of papers. I was surrounded by the wet sound of the bones being torn apart.
I dreaded the second. I don’t want to see them killed. I don’t want to see what I was seeing. Why hadn’t it killed me yet? I was the one near the door. It should have grabbed me first but why hadn’t it?
It turned to me. My eyes wide but I still couldn’t move. Everyone was… everyone was dead. It stretched its boney arms towards me but there was a sudden shadow that passed by me and the next thing I knew, the monster was thrown back towards the window, taking the curtain down with it.
The light from the moon provided lit up the shadow. And my eyes widened once more. It was Kali. He had always been a lanky man with little strength, wore baggy shirt that made him looked thinner. But at the moment, Kali looked different.
He looked so strong. And he was shirtless, showing me his perfectly muscular back. He was wearing a black pants with a dark yellow cloak loosely wrapped around his waist. He was holding into a long, thin pole.
It had happened so fast. The monster was up on its feet as soon as it hit the floor. Kali turned to me, picked me up and shook me.
“Get up! Wake up from the trance!” he shouted.
Thump.
There was it again.
I blinked once and slowly, I could move my body. When he saw that I was finally able to move, he smiled. The smile that I always love graced his lips. But our moment was short-lived as the monster picked Kali up and I rolled down the bed.
The monster lifted Kali up his head and pulled at his hands and feet. I tried to look around for a weapon and I saw the pole that Kali had dropped. But before I could pick it up, it started vibrating and flew towards the monster. It embedded itself into the monster’s chest and the monster dropped Kali.
He rolled to the ground and pulled me up. We ran. I never looked back. We ran through the hallways and I saw that each room were in the same state.
Every single one in the orphanage was dead.
Kali pushed me out the balcony door but before he could exit as well, something suddenly pulled him back and the door shut with a resounding bang.
My breathing came in gasps in fear of losing even Kali. I ran towards the door and pulled it open but the double set wouldn’t budge. I kept trying to force it to open, filling the silent surrounding the sound of rattling as it echoed on.
I gave up on the doors and ran towards the railings to see if I could jump down since I was on the third floor. But as I leaned over the balcony, I saw my mother waving at me from under the street lamp, holding the hand of a kid.
Holding the hand of a younger… me?
As I met my own eyes, everything came flooding back to me. Why I was delivered to the orphanage by my mother. Why I couldn’t remember anything. Why I never had the urge to leave.
And most of all, who I really was.
I was sent to the orphanage to stop the monster and put everything back into place. For the orphanage had been trapped in time, repeating the horrendous happenings all over again. No one could enter its time except for a kid. That was why I had been sent.
But—I failed to save the place repeatedly. I would be killed by the monster even before I could remember why I was there. I saw their deaths a hundred times. Felt my own death a hundred times as well. I always failed; not even being able to fight before I was killed like the rest of the people.
So each time, my ‘mother’ would drop off a younger me, to infiltrate the world the monster had created. And I would relive everything all over again, not a clue that I had before. I had gotten sucked into the curse.
But this time, I had managed to get out of the room.
Thump.
Because in all of the memories I saw, there was something in there that hadn’t been there before.
Thump.
Kali.
So that was what I had been feeling since the day he arrived. My mind was trying to tell me that something had changed. Kali wasn’t in any of my old memories of the orphanage. He was a new variable in the repetitive world.
And he might be the answer I was looking for.
“Don’t come closer, Krianna,” I ordered. “It’s not yet finished,”
Thump.
It’s not yet finished? Krianna had always been on time. Because this world always resets itself as the clock chimed 12 on the night that everyone died. But it wasn’t resetting yet.
Because Kali and I were still alive?
Suddenly, the double door opened and I spun around to see Kali staggered to the balcony. I quickly ran towards him and gave him a hand. I gently guided him towards the railings, on the opposite side where Krianna was waiting.
“Where is it?” I asked. “Is it dead?”
Kali leaned in towards me and wrapped his arms around me. “Yes,” he answered. “Do you really think that mere weakling can kill me?”
I smiled, burying my head in his neck. “Oh, I know,”
“Now, you can join your friends,” it replied in a sinister voice.
The monster raised its hand to deliver the final blow but I stopped it by holding onto its wrist.
“Do you really think me stupid to believe you’re Kali? Why did you think I brought you to the end of the balcony?”
“A fall at this height will not kill me,” it answered with confidence.
I gave him a smile. “No. But it will give me the upper hand,”
I suddenly pulled the two of us off the balcony, keeping my arms wrapped around him. The monster tried to fight but I held on. It was clearly shock at my sudden display of strength as it tried to bite my neck. But I spun us around so that he would receive the blunt of the fall.
As soon as we were on the ground, I wasted no time and attacked. I pulled it by the back of its neck and raised my knees to its chest. AS the monster doubled over, I jumped behind it and pulled at its hair until it was bent over. I pressed a finger over its temple and the monster found itself unable to move.
“I remember you enjoy killing me so much that you always save me for last,” I growled in its ears. “How is it felt to know that your sheep is actually a wolf?”
It growled at me but he couldn’t move. Then, I heard footsteps. I smiled at him as he lazily walked towards us, rubbing the back of his head.
“How—” the monster stuttered. “I killed you already!”
Kali stopped in front of us with a smirk on his face. “Hold him properly, Silverwick. It’s time to put those souls to rest,”
Kali spun his pole in his hands before he pointed it to the monster. And at the end of it came a fire, engulfing the monster in a matter of second.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
