Lara and The Mansion in the Woods

    Another day, nothing interesting to do. I sat here at the bench under the oak tree. I always think that I’m living in a purgatory and my life would begin as soon as I reincarnate. My life was a mess pre “purgatory” times. It’s been years now and I still remember everything that happened.     I was ten and my brother was 7 when our parents died. It was a cold night, just like any other winter night. I gazed at the fresh snow falling by my window, mom sitting beside my bed and same as dad to Lincoln. They both tucked us in bed, Mom smiled as she sang our favorite lullaby. We felt loved by both our parents. They kissed us goodnight and left the room. “I’ll remember this forever” With that, I closed my eyes, and drifted of to sleep     I woke up In the middle of the night, startled from the sound of gunshots just outside of our home. I immediately grabbed Lincoln and tried to protect him. “Lincoln, wake up!”    His eyes flew open. I hugged him tightly. I was slowly panicking and going through the possible reasons why there were gunshots outside. Lincoln yelped, jolting me back to reality. "Where's mommy? I want mommy!" I tried to comfort him, "It's alright, they'll will come soon, they'll protect us, but first, i want you to stay as quiet as possible, ok?..." He nodded “good.” "Mom, Dad" I thought.     I wanted to run to them, to make sure they were okay. I would have to go downstairs and see for myself. I thought for a moment, then decided to bring Lincoln with me. I can’t afford to leave him here where no one’s protecting or keeping an eye on him. I was about to open the [door] when my mom rushed inside and quickly locked it. She gathered us in her arms and hugged us tightly, her arms trembling. “I love you both” she said, smiling sadly, at us as if she’s bidding goodbye. I was confused. I asked, in a hushed tone, “Mom what’s going o-”     I was cut off when someone came slamming the door. Gunshots were fired through the door. We were trembling in fear but Mom moved fast and hid us underneath the bed, put a finger to her lips, and promptly went and hid in the closet. He was still banging at the door when he screamed, “You can run but you can’t hide Cecil!”     The man had a deep voice yet it sounded so obsessed and crazy. He yelled so loud it hurt my ears. He succeeded in breaking the door open and stormed in. My heart pounded, I saw the man was wearing wet boots with blood splatters on them. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes. I pushed my brother farther but accidentally hit his face with my elbow. “ouch!” I quickly covered his mouth and shushed him but it was too late. “Oh, there you are, you little rats”     said the man, his voice triumphant, as if he just finished a meal. He sounded vile I felt my feet getting cold and my eyes now opened wide. I can see the fear in my brother’s eyes. His voice sounded familiar, but I can’t remember who it was. He was about to look under our beds but mom abruptly went out of the closet and quickly rode the back of the robber putting all of her strength and body weight into him.     She bravely pierced his eyes with her two thumbs. He yelled in agony. I was looking from where we hid, I wanted to help, but instead, I saw his face, with blood gushing from his eyes. The man stood up and hit mom against the wall; I couldn’t move, I was paralyzed too afraid. With all her strength, she never let go. Unfortunately, he was still holding the g*n and quickly pointed it to mom freeing two bullets as he pulled the trigger.     She dropped to the floor facing us letting out tears. She was motionless, panting for air trying to stay alive. I saw her life slowly fade away through her eyes but she’s fighting, battling with Death himself. We knew that the cops were here as we saw bright blue and red lights flashing through the window in our room. “You b***h! You called the cops?!” The man was exasperated and spat on my mom’s dying body, covered his face with a strange looking mask and then ran away. I was petrified, so afraid and still trembling from fear but we crawled out of our hiding spot and quickly reached for our mom. I held her hand but it was cold. I pleaded to God at that moment but there’s no angel nor saint who helped us. Dread solidified in my heart. Even then I knew it was her final moment but I couldn't do anything, tears went down my cheeks. “Take this... this will be the key… one day you will understand...” she struggled as she handed me the pendant grandma gave to her. “Don’t you ever forget... I love you…” She didn’t finish her words and died.     That was the sight I never wanted to ever remember. The cops arrived and saw us beside our mother’s dead cold body with blood all over the floor. Dad was recovered downstairs holding a bat with blood all over it. I saw the floor stained with his blood. We lost both our parents in one single night. We ended up here at the orphanage and lived the same routine all day, every day for the next succeeding years of our lives.     I don’t even count the days anymore. No more hateful Mondays or thank God it’s Friday. I can’t even tell the difference between the days that passed. Almost always the same. Wake up, take a bath, study, eat, recreate, let’s call it a day, then sleep and repeat. Next thing I know I’ve been here for 4 years. My brother got adopted 3 years ago, well lucky for him he got “reincarnated” already. Now I’m 14 and soon I’ll reach my legal age. 4 years more to wait. It hurts me seeing my friends go one by one getting adopted enjoying life with their new families and here I am, still waiting. It made me feel a little less lovable. My hope of getting adopted is fading away. “Lara Page” I thought to myself “you’re thinking too much again” I added, and I let out a deep breath. Before, my good friend Kate was the one telling me this but she got adopted about 6 months ago. I could use some company sometimes, but people here are more focused on their jobs rather than talking to orphans like me. I’m the oldest in this orphanage and that makes me feel more alone and unfit. The kid that’s near my age, she’s 11 and we are very different from each other. Right now, I’m just waiting for my 18th birthday so I can finally go out of here and decide for myself. Although my hope is fading away, I still want to feel that warmth; being included. That feeling of not being alone and having someone to talk to. I’m at the edge of getting lost in my thoughts again when I heard a familiar voice, well everyone here is familiar coz I’ve been here for 4 years, “Lara! Come here now dinner is ready” its Ms. Alice Bloom the director of this orphanage. She’s middle aged, probably at her late 40s with graying long hair that is always in a bun and rounded glasses. I can recognize her from afar because she always wears her favorite dark red sweaters and a long black skirt that is below the knee in length. She dines with us occasionally, especially if the visitor for the week is someone wealthy. She always wants to impress. “Coming!”     I cheaply replied then stood up from the bench me and my friend used to share during recreation hours. The huge tree that was so small grew older and taller through the years. I looked at the tree for a bit, but before I [got] lost in thoughts again, I stood up and started to get ready for dinner.     As I went into the dining area, the long wooden table was filled with a lot of delicious food. I sense that something very special is about to be announced since she only gives us this treat once in a blue moon. Most of the time we eat vegetables and a simple soup for the side and a fruit for dessert. Once we all got seated, the kids feasted with the mashed potatoes and gravy. I went for the roasted chicken since I missed eating this. Mom used to cook some on special occasions. When we all finished eating, she brought out a piece of paper. “license everyone!” she shouted loudly and her voice was so loud even me at the farthest heard it loud and clear. The room was silent and everyone was looking at her. She let out a smile “Ok everyone, this weeks visitors are the Fletchers, they live in a huge mansion just outside the city”, she enthusiastically said, “I want you all do dress up and behave well, no one is to loiter, shout or have a tantrum just for this day please behave”, blah blah I mimicked her in my head. She always says the exact same thing. When I was younger, I used to listen a lot because back then I used to have hope and be optimistic but now, I have low hopes, but I still cooperate since I want my remaining years here peaceful, my past is enough to keep me awake at night and I just don’t want to add up more. As we all got finished and done cleaning, I slept in my bed and tried to think of something else. It's 8:00 now and the lights are off. The moon shines so bright its rays went through the window. I always stare at it, I don’t know why but it makes me have this thought that maybe my brother is also staring at it from his room or wherever he’s at. They thought it was partially his fault that we got caught but it's only me and him now. Someday I wish we’d see each other and get to talk about things that happened. “sweet dreams mom” I thought to myself while clenching the pendant mom gave me. That night was the warmest and the coldest night ever. “I wish you never died” I let out a tear and I didn’t notice that I drifted in the realm of dreams again.