(Pov - Emily Parker)

Emily found herself in her office, a relatively simple space: a desk with a computer, a calendar beside it, and a photo of her with a younger girl on the desk. In the picture, Emily had not yet reached adulthood.

The little girl next to Emily wore a sincere, sweet smile. Whenever Emily looked at that photo, the world seemed simpler, and nothing else mattered besides that image. Lost in distant memories, she was pulled back to reality by knocks echoing on her door.

Emily quickly reorganized herself, leaving those memories behind. She didn’t think they would be useful at that moment; she had goals to achieve, and that was why she had become a researcher of anomalies.

“Come in!”

With that simple word, the door opened. Laura entered, and as she closed the door behind her, she walked toward Emily’s desk with some papers in hand. Upon entering, Laura noticed the photo on the desk but knew it was a sensitive topic to discuss in Emily’s presence, so she decided to ignore it.

“Boss, here are the results of the research we’ve gathered so far on the new anomaly. It would be good if you could take a look”

After hearing this, Emily took the papers from Laura’s hand and began to flip through them. About a week had passed since the anomaly arrived at their institute. During this time, they conducted some simple tests that helped them better understand the nature of the anomaly.

-

Name: To be determined.

Anomalous Danger Class: To be classified.

Gender: The anomaly presents itself externally as a girl, but it is likely to lack distinct feminine traits. Additionally, it has been confirmed that it also does not have masculine traits. It’s possible that the anomaly has neither sex.

Intelligence: More tests are needed, but the anomaly has shown some understanding in conversations when gestures are used. Its intelligence does not resemble that of an adult; it may be closer to that of a five-year-old child.

Anomalous Power: Unknown. Possible anomalous power not yet cataloged.

-

No matter how much Emily wanted to be optimistic, the information she read about the anomaly was practically nonexistent. In summary, they still had nothing that would allow them to classify it, not even its anomalous power was known. If she had to take a guess, she would say the anomaly’s power was related to its eyes, but Emily couldn’t speculate much beyond that.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

As Emily attentively observed the papers in her hand, she noticed that Laura seemed uncomfortable. She was shifting from side to side, as if feeling uneasy about something.

“Laura, do you have something else to tell me?”

Laura finally looked at Emily when she asked the question. Having worked with Laura for some time, Emily knew her way of thinking well. In a way, although Laura was timid, she also displayed remarkable courage when it came to anomalies. In fact, all researchers shared this duality.

“We received a visitation order from the Central Research Institute”

Emily raised an eyebrow upon hearing that name. After all, the Central Research Institute was practically the base where the most dangerous anomalies were stored, including those that could not be contained. The place where Emily was at the moment only housed less dangerous and more easily controlled anomalies. Therefore, it was surprising that a visitation order had arrived.

“Who is the order from?”

When Emily asked the question, Laura turned her gaze to the side, clearly uncomfortable. This reaction gave Emily a clue about who it could be.

“The order... came from the director”

It was exactly who Emily had imagined. To be honest, she didn’t like the director very much, even though he was her superior. They both had a complicated history, especially regarding how they preferred to handle encountered anomalies. Additionally, the director was eccentric and aroused distrust in every sense.

“If that was all, you didn’t need to be so anxious”

“But... the boss seems to dislike him”

“I really don’t like him, but what can I do? In the end, he remains my superior”

Emily merely shrugged as she said this. It wasn’t about belittling herself, but the hierarchy within the organization was quite rigid. After all, mistakes could not be made when dealing with anomalies.

“We still have some time before that old man arrives. Let’s get organized on this side; honestly, I don’t want to give him any reason to complain in my ear after the visit...”

Laura just nodded in response to Emily’s words but still had another question in mind. Taking a deep breath, she spoke, keeping her voice low but still audible.

“So... about the director, he came to check on the newly discovered anomaly, right?”

Emily gave Laura a brief glance before leaning back on the desk and nodding, confirming her friend’s words. Unfortunately, Laura couldn’t hide her disapproval regarding the director’s actions. This was a common occurrence when it came to him, and his methods were often unwelcome, as they tended to create problems.

“Don’t worry about that. Although he is my superior, I’m the one in charge here. He can’t just come in and move the anomaly without my permission and a valid justification... of course, that doesn’t change the fact that he could make something up, but I’ll do my best to prevent that from happening. I’m also interested in this new anomaly”

***

(Pov – Protagonist)

Honestly, I was starting to get tired of this place. It’s been a few days—probably three to four—since the only thing I see is the color white. Although scientists occasionally come to visit me, it doesn’t relieve my boredom; in fact, it just makes me feel like a pet trapped in a cage.

However, there’s a critical problem: if you ask me if I can get out of this place, the answer is no. Not even using all my strength can I break the walls surrounding me. I have no idea what they are made of, but they are incredibly sturdy. The upside of it all is that they always provide me with food—and it’s always different. Thus, mealtime is something I genuinely look forward to.

Unfortunately, my boredom still persisted. Was there nothing that could just happen in this place? Maybe I was being overly pessimistic, but strangely, just as I thought about this, the light went out. I got up from where I had been lying and looked around. The only visible thing in the darkness was my glowing golden eyes, which looked like lanterns.

(Did they forget to pay the electricity bill for this place?)