KIRT
Kirt's life was never easy. As he regained his memories, he found himself in an orphanage. Life there was without parents, but it was peaceful in its own way.
The children were grouped according to age, given food, education, and taught a few morals. He wasn't aware of the outside world, so it didn't feel like a prison to him.
But when he turned eight, his barracks were changed. At first, he felt happy .....like he had been promoted..glad to be placed with the older boys. But that wasn't good luck. It was only a start of his cursed life..
One night, he felt strange hands on his body. He was terrified, wanting to scream, but found his mouth tied with a piece of cloth. He tried to free himself but couldn't. He couldn't see who was doing this to him, but his ears caught a whisper:
"Stop moving... only five minutes... it won't hurt."
But it did hurt ... like he was being torn apart from the inside. For days, he couldn't even stand properly. He still didn't know who had done it.
Then it became a routine. At first, once a week, then every two days, and eventually, every night. He was given something in his food or water that made him too weak to recognize the person or protect himself.
One day, without anyone noticing, he switched his food and water with another boy's. .
That night, he waited for the sinner. Soon, he saw the orphanage's school teacher slowly approaching his bed.
This time, the darkness worked in his favor. He had filled his bed with clothes shaped like his body. Before the man could touch the pile, Kirt attacked him from behind, cutting his back with a knife he had stolen from the kitchen.
The man wanted to scream but didn't dare ... if caught, he would be questioned about why he was in Kirt's barracks at night. Without making a sound, the wounded man left and never showed up again.
Kirt's life became somewhat safer, but he still couldn't sleep at night. He was deeply traumatized by the incident and longed to leave the place where his innocence had been stolen by force.
He kept looking for
opportunities to leave that place. Twice he tried to escape but failed because of the tight security. Then, one day, a glimmer of hope appeared.
When he turned nine, a couple came to the orphanage for adoption. It was surprising ... most couples preferred children aged three to five. Kirt saw this as his chance to escape the hell he was living in. He bathed, dressed neatly, and presented himself well. His efforts paid off ....the couple chose him.
He was overjoyed, thinking his cursed life had finally shown him some mercy. He imagined being their only child, showered with love. But his hopes shattered when he discovered they already had three children.
He soon realized why they had adopted him ... they needed a servant who wouldn't require a salary. His life there was even worse than in the orphanage. He worked like a slave and was given leftover food at the end of the day.
Their son, the same age as Kirt, stole money from his father's wallet and blamed Kirt. The couple beat him with a rod while their son stood in the corner, wearing a smug smile.
That smile was the breaking point for Kirt ... he wanted to wipe it off the boy's face forever.
Kirt turned to the couple and said, "Yes, I stole the money, but I want to confess in front of the police."
The man, who had trust issues, often noted down the serial numbers of his money. He had warned Kirt before: "Don't you dare steal my money, or I'll call the police."
Thinking they'd get their money back, the couple called the police. The man handed the list of note numbers to the officer.
"Now tell me where the money is!" the officer demanded.
"Sir, I didn't steal the money. The couple adopted me, but they treat me like a slave. The money was actually stolen by their own son ..you can search his room," Kirt replied.
The couple's young daughter chimed in, "Uncle, he's right! When I asked my brother to give me some, he refused. I'll show you where he hid it."
She complained to the police with the same ease she'd use when telling her parents about her brother.
The police recovered the money from under the boy's mattress, with the same serial numbers the man himself had given to them.
The police fined the couple and took their son into custody.
A few days later, Kirt ran away. He hid in a cargo train and reached Bangkok, where he met Aunty Fern. She needed someone to guard her canteen at night but couldn't pay a salary. Kirt agreed .... he already had insomnia and couldn't sleep at night anyway.
He joined a free school, and Aunty Fern gave him some money to buy books and stationery. He wasn't interested in studies and often slept at the back of the class, making up for his sleepless nights. But he was naturally intelligent, always passing with minimal effort.
For food, he sometimes did the thing he hated most ... selling his body. But eventually, he pulled himself out of that darkness too and started living without carrying that burden on his soul.
Still, he never forgot what the world had done to him. And deep inside, he carried a burning desire to return to the world what it had given him ... only with much greater force.