I barely slept that night.
Aria's words kept replaying in my head.
Someone in this orphanage is hiding the truth about your childhood.
My childhood?
I'd spent almost my entire life within these walls. I knew every corridor, every classroom, and every rule Mrs. Agatha expected us to follow.
Or at least, I thought I did.
The following morning, Aria barely looked at me during breakfast.
I was beginning to think she'd changed her mind when a folded piece of paper appeared beside my plate.
I opened it beneath the table.
OLD STORAGE ROOM. AFTER EVENING PRAYERS. COME ALONE.
I looked up.
Aria was already leaving.
The hours crawled by.
When evening finally came, I waited until the other girls had settled down before slipping into the corridor.
The old storage room was at the back of the building. We weren't allowed inside, and nobody had explained why.
The door was slightly open.
"Aria?" I whispered.
No answer.
I pushed the door.
Dust filled the air. Broken chairs and cardboard boxes were scattered everywhere.
Then I noticed a small wooden box resting on a shelf.
My name was written across its lid.
TAYA ZARAH.
My heart began to race.
I opened it.
Inside was an old photograph of two little girls standing beside a woman I didn't recognise.
The girls looked about five years old.
One was smiling.
The other was crying.
But that wasn't what made my hands tremble.
Both girls had my face.
I turned the photograph over.
Someone had written a message on the back.
The truth was supposed to stay buried.
Below it was a date.
The date I'd been brought to the orphanage.
A sound came from behind me.
I spun around.
Aria stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable.
"Where did you get this?" I demanded.
She didn't answer.
"Aria, who are these girls?"
She slowly closed the door.
Then she looked directly at me.
"One of them is you."
I stared at the photograph.
"And the other?"
Aria's eyes filled with tears.
"That's the girl you've been told never existed."
Suddenly, we heard footsteps approaching.
Aria grabbed the photograph from my hand.
"Hide!" she whispered.
The door handle began to turn.
And then a woman's voice spoke from the other side.
"I know you're in there, Taya."
I recognised that voice immediately.
Mrs. Agatha.
But how did she know I was here?
And why did it sound as though she'd been waiting for me?