Deep in a dark forest stood an orphanage.
An orphanage lost in the middle of nowhere.
It seemed to have always been there, forgotten by time, forgotten by the world.
In its silent courtyard, children wandered like shadows in search of light.
A few children played in silence, tossing a dull ball or swinging slowly, their eyes empty, on rusted chains.
In a forgotten corner of the yard, a boy of about twelve was scratching the dusty ground with a dry branch.
He traced the outline of a bird, focused, almost possessed.
The wind seemed to have stopped, as if suspended, waiting.
Then, without warning, the lines of the drawing trembled… The bird's wings unfolded with a sinister crack, like stillborn paper.
Slowly, the creature pulled itself from the ground.
It was not a bird—it was an abomination.
Its plumage was dull, frayed, stuck together by black fluids. Its eyes, two gaping holes, oozed a living shadow.
Its flesh seemed rotten, its cracked beak revealing a malformed tongue.
The boy, frozen, felt his heart stop for an instant. Fear flooded him like poison… and the dead bird stared at him.
The skeletal bird jerked its head up like a disjointed puppet.
Then it advanced… slowly.
Its legs cracked with every step. Its half-open beak let out a strange wheeze, a breath from beyond the grave.
The boy, paralyzed with terror, scrambled backward on his hands, his eyes wide.
The bird kept coming… closer… closer…
**CRACK.**
A sharp, brutal sound. The bird was crushed under a rigid black heel with a single, clean stomp. Its body left only a shapeless black stain on the ground.
Before him stood a woman, draped in a long, austere dress. The fabric, a deep black, seemed to drink in the light. A dark veil covered her hair, framing a face as pale as chalk. Not a wrinkle. Not an emotion. Just that white, empty, haunted gaze.
She stood straight as a shadow stretched between two worlds.
She slowly lowered her eyes to the boy, and her voice fell like a guillotine:
— *"Be more careful… Next time, what you unleash might not be so easy to kill."*
She knelt slightly, bringing her face close to his, and added in a graver tone:
— *"Never forget… What you carry is not a gift. It's a curse."*
Then, without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel, her long dress brushing the ground like a shroud.
And behind her, one could almost swear… the shadows followed.
A few moments later, five children approached the boy, their light footsteps barely breaking the courtyard's silence.
They were all different, like pieces of a strange puzzle. There was a girl with a curious gaze, her eyes wide open as if she were trying to understand the world around her. Another, a boy with messy hair, seemed calmer, his hands in his pockets, as if he'd grown used to staying silent. A shy little girl played with a lock of her hair, her gaze evasive but curious. There was also an older boy who didn't seem in a hurry to speak, and a girl who smiled—but it was a soothing smile, as if she already knew everything.
They stopped around the boy, studying his face with a certain gentleness.
— *"She's a bit scary, Mama, isn't she?"* one of them said lightly, almost laughing.
The boy, slightly embarrassed, lowered his eyes. Another added with a kind smile:
— *"You're new, huh?"*
He nodded, feeling a little more at ease.
Then the bright-eyed girl spoke in a calm, almost reassuring voice:
— *"You'll get used to it here. Here, we all have… special things."*
The boy looked up, intrigued but not fully understanding.
She continued with a small, mysterious smile:
— *"We all have… unique abilities. It's a little different from what you might know. But you'll see, you'll get used to it."*
The boy, surprised, murmured:
— *"Really? You too?"*
She smiled at him, this time sincerely, as if she understood him perfectly.
— *"Yes. Us too. But don't worry, we manage."*
She paused, her gaze softening, then added:
— *"We've formed a little group here. Maybe we could… show you how things work. If you want, of course."*
The boy, nervous but curious, waited for the next revelations. The five children exchanged glances, as if making sure everything was in order. Then, the girl who had spoken first took the floor again.
— *"Right, we forgot to introduce ourselves, didn't we?"*
She smiled and leaned in slightly, as if to give the moment some solemnity.
— *"I'm El,"* she said in a calm voice, but with a certain firmness in her gaze. *"I touch things and reset them. Well, if I touch something, everything turns… into a kind of flavorless black and white. It's… like erasing a drawing you never made. If that sounds scary, it means you understood."*
The boy stayed silent, absorbing the strange words. El gave him a reassuring smile before passing the word.
— *"I'm Del,"* said a boy with disheveled hair. His tone was mysterious but carried a quiet unease. *"See, I can enter the world of mirrors. That world is… the opposite of everything. Every reflection hides something, but if you go in, you never know what's following you or what you'll find there. It's… weird."*
He paused, lost in thought, before snapping back.
— *"Anyway… you just shouldn't go alone."*
Next was a small girl with an evasive yet determined gaze. She nervously played with a strand of her hair.
— *"I'm Ome,"* she said, shy but with a certain authority in her voice. *"I see pieces of the past… like visions, you know? Everything I touch shows me fragments of past stories. Not other people's pasts, no, but moments trapped in objects, walls, the air. I have memories that aren't even mine."*
Her eyes locked onto the boy's, as if she were trying to gauge his reaction.
— *"But be warned, it's not always pleasant… You see, sometimes the past catches up to you."*
The boy nodded slowly, disturbed but fascinated by the idea.
The older boy, who never seemed in a hurry, took a step forward. He didn't talk much, but his eyes seemed to observe everything around him with deep attention.
— *"I'm Sig,"* he said simply, hands still in his pockets. *"I can cancel out all sound around me. Everything you hear becomes silence. It's good for thinking, but it's also… a little unnerving when it lasts too long. A world without sound, you know, gets heavy fast."*
He paused, as if weighing his words.
— *"And sometimes, you forget what noise even means. It's like… locking yourself in a windowless room."*
The last to introduce himself was a boy with a strange, soothing smile, as if he already knew all the answers. He leaned forward slightly.
— *"I'm Thet,"* he said in a soft but grave voice. *"I have a little shadow demon that follows me. It doesn't speak, it doesn't move visibly. But it's there, always there, somewhere in the shadows. It can be useful sometimes, but when it gets too present… let's just say it's… hard to handle."*
He ran a hand through his hair, looking lost in thought before adding, almost as a warning:
— *"When you hear it, it's already too late… that means it's starting to wake up."*
---
The five children exchanged glances. Their introductions had been strange, almost distant, but deep down, they shared a silent bond. That bond was the curse they carried. They knew life in this orphanage was no accident. Every power had its price, and each bore their own burden.
The boy suddenly felt less alone—but also more lost. It was both fascinating and terrifying to find himself in a place where everything seemed warped by strange abilities, curses impossible to understand.
A long silence settled. The children waited, perhaps to see the boy's reaction. He wondered what would happen now. Would he be able to join this group? Or was it a trap he could never escape?
Finally, the bright-eyed girl, El, broke the silence in a gentle voice:
— *"You'll get used to it. But first, remember what Mama says. Here, everything has a price. So if you want to be part of our little group, be ready for anything."*
The other children nodded slowly, as if they knew they had no choice.
The boy took a deep breath, knowing that, no matter what, he had just stepped into a world from which he might never fully return.
After a moment of silence, he looked up at them, a timid smile forming on his face, and finally murmured, almost like a secret:
— *"My name is Elio."*
The other children nodded slowly, as if sealing a silent pact around him.
And all the while, the one they called Mama watched them from the second-floor window.
Behind the dust-veiled glass, her empty gaze seemed to pierce through the haze of the moment, as if she could read their hearts.
She didn't move. She didn't even blink.
She watched.
Always.