3 Years Later
[
Name: Lev
Class: None
Titles: None
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 0
Wisdom: 0
Perception: 9
General Skills:
-
]
The training had slowly ramped up in intensity. A lot of it focused on dexterity and perception. The Director often reminded the children—who were no longer children but would always remain that way for her—to avoid any sort of heavy weight lifting that may stunt their growth. Staying true to her word, she had them focus on exercises that prioritized running and making use of their five senses. The constant exhaustion allowed Constitution to easily keep up with the rest of the attributes. Any doubts he had about Mr. Richard’s words about speed requiring strength were dispelled when the strength attribute kept rising alongside dexterity.
As Lev was walking down the hallway to his room to sleep for the night, he was starting to realize that it was empty and quiet. Once that fact settled into his mind, his guard was instantly raised. At first, he had thought that the orphanage was unusually silent, thinking he would start hearing sounds the further he ventured into the orphanage’s halls, but that was not the case. Despite being close to his room, it was still eerily noiseless.
Where the hell is everyone?
Slowly peering inside his room, his gaze slowly swept from corner to corner, noting the absence of his friends. Moving on, he proceeded further into the hallway, where it separated into the Left and Right wings. Trying to look for his friends before anyone else, he took off to the right, toward the classroom. By now, sweat was rolling down his neck, and his heartbeat was erratic. Still, he was utterly focused on scanning his surroundings and making his footfalls as silent as possible. Stopping just before the classroom door, he leaned in and peered inside. It was completely dark and silent.
Hoping to find something that would clue him on whatever the hell was going on, he went inside. Suddenly, there was movement to his right. Lev brought his arms up to defend against any potential enemy when all the lights turned on and—
“Happy Birthday Lev!” rang out the voices of over two dozen people.
…
Slowly, his adrenaline-fueled mind caught up with the present. He looked around as if in a daze, noticing his friends standing in front of a table with big, goofy, yet sheepish smiles. Director Oriana and Mr. Richard were sitting on padded chairs to their left while the rest of the kids were standing around the table in a semicircle. On the table was an 8-pound chocolate cake boasting three smooth layers. At the very top was a now-lit candle, and on the front of each layer was a word written with white cream.
“Happy”
“Birthday”
“Lev”
Stunned into speechlessness, it took a few seconds for him to form any words. “Y-you…” he started but thought better of it. As the adrenaline slowly wore out, an involuntary laugh slipped from his lips, ending in an explosive sigh. The next words that he vocalized came from the bottom of his heart, accompanied by a bright smile.
“Thank you.”
****
Lev was the oldest child in the orphanage and also the most hardworking of them all. Due to his unusual maturity, he had always been kind to the other orphans, willing to help them at every turn. It earned him a lot of goodwill among them, especially when physical training started, and he assisted others in maintaining proper form. All the members of the orphanage had collectively decided to throw a party for when he came of age, which resulted in today’s night’s festivities.
Once again, Lev found himself in the Directors office. The circumstances, however, were wildly different. Still all warm and fuzzy inside from the party, this might have been the worst possible time to have this talk, but it was necessary. He had turned 16 years old after all, and was at a suitable age to begin a new chapter in his life and move on from the orphanage. Sitting face-to-face with Director Oriana, Lev got comfortable in his soft chair, ready to face his fears head-on.
Nobody spoke for a while, lost in their thoughts. It was the Director who broke the silence first.
“How old were you when you were first registered here, Lev?” she asked.
“12”
“If someone asks your age now, what would you say?”
“16”
“And if I ask?” she questioned, looking directly into my eyes. Lev’s back was already covered in sweat, his earlier bravado already waning. But he was determined to not hide it from her, to whom he owed so much.
“40, technically.”
Director Oriana scanned his face, looking for any signs of lying or trickery. Eventually, she let out a sigh when she discovered none.
“I had already suspected it,” she said in a somber tone.
“I know,”
“You never did think of me as a mother figure in your life, did you?”
“No.”
She leaned back into her chair, staring at the ceiling, trying to get her thoughts in order and find the right words to ask the next question. Instead, she gave up on that and asked bluntly:
“How?”
It took some time for Lev to formulate an answer, and after a minute, he simply answered, “I have scattered memories of a young man who died in his early twenties. They are basically just social experiences and simple scientific and mathematical concepts. There's no negative effect on my person or mind.”
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“Is this why you were always a bit stand-offish around other children?” she queried with a hint of worry in her voice.
“Well, kind of. It was odd having to wrestle with childish replies or adult responses in my head whenever I talked to anyone. It was only after the search and rescue party came back empty-handed and my parents were officially declared dead that I got access to these memories.”
“But if these memories are messing with your head, then they should be immediately removed before—”
Lev was already shaking his head before the Director’s suggestion and cut in. “I solved this particular issue a while ago. You don’t need to worry.”
“Are you sure?” She asked with concern now plainly obvious in her words.
“It may seem much worse than it actually is. Believe me, I am Lev and will always be Lev. No foreign set of memories will ever decide who I am and what I will be in the future.”
The Director scanned his face again, looking for any hint that would allow her to act on her worries, but all she found was confidence and acceptance of her worry. Lev matched her gaze with soft eyes. Releasing her breath that she had unknowingly been holding, she leaned back and observed Lev who was trying to stop a smile from creeping up on his face.
“What?”
“Your stoic facade is crumbling,” he replied with an innocent smile.
That made her push air out of her nose before she laughed softly. Lev laughed too, slightly nervously.
“Relax, you haven’t done anything wrong. Except for the one time when you eyed me up and down like a pervert.” She teased, delighted to finally see a normal teenage boy's reaction when Lev became red up to his ears.
“T-that was only once and happened before I could catch myself. Sorry,” Lev fumbled over his words, staring at his feet and apologizing without even realizing it. He perked up when he heard the Director roaring with laughter. It took her a few seconds to control herself. The mirth never left her eyes. She continued with a smile,
“I know, I know. I also remember that a crisp sound rolled down the hallway immediately afterward as well,” She winced, clearly remembering the sound, “Did you have to slap yourself so hard?”
“Yes,” he replied with confidence that left no room for argument.
They both went silent after that, processing the conversation that had taken place so far. They were happy with how it had turned out despite fearing, yet being prepared, for the worst. The relief in Lev’s posture was palpable, and the Director’s slight stiffness had also eased. Eventually, Oriana broke the silence again and got up from her seat.
Moving towards the door, she started speaking, “When I first realized that you were too mature for me to treat you like other children, I instead acted like the big sister I always wished to be. Thank you for making that possible and treating me like a sister as well.”
When she was about to open the door, she heard Lev come up behind her and nervously swallow before calling out, “Director…,”
When she turned around, Lev was standing there, fidgeting in place. Before she could say a word, Oriana suddenly found herself embraced in a stiff hug from Lev whose heart was hammering in his chest. Before she could say anything, a whispered “Thank you for accepting me,” reached her.
Lev broke off the hug and shyly sputtered, “I w-would love to remain your little brother, i-if you don't mind,”
Oriana took a moment to realize what he had said. When she did, a big smile blossomed on her face, and grabbed him in another hug, “And I would love to remain your big sister, Lev. But don't you dare forget that there was never anything wrong with you in the first place.”
The overwhelming tension vanished from Lev’s body upon hearing those magical words. He practically melted into her embrace with immense relief.
Neither of them mentioned the tears. It was the first time they could call someone family in so long.
A small part of Lev felt horrible about not telling her the whole truth. How he had once again opened his eyes when it should’ve been impossible. How his body should’ve become a corpse, but didn’t. The moment mattered too much, however, and he pushed the thought as far back as he could.
****
Lev returned to his room with a tired smile. The earlier exchange took more out of him than he would have ever imagined, but it was the single most worthwhile thing he had done in his life. Every breath felt easier to intake, and his steps felt far lighter. It was late into the night when he finally reached his shared room, only to find his friends barely awake, sitting on his bed waiting for him. They all faced him when he entered and started to stand up to bombard him with questions, slowing down when they noticed his red eyes and relieved smile. Eventually, they all settled on his bed and just stared at him till he started explaining.
“Why are you all still awake anyway? Surely you trust me enough to not just disappear without even saying goodbye.” Lev started, leveling each of them with a firm gaze.
“Well, not everyone here is as det- determined as Mr. Ambition, so we couldn’t be 100% sure even if we were like 99% sure that you wouldn’t just dip on us,” Jack mumbled as he was interrupted by a yawn. Lev couldn’t suppress a small laugh while the girls looked on with a smile.
“If you are here now with none of your belongings packed, does it mean you will be staying here for the night?” Amelia asked with a small voice, to which Lev gave her a reassuring nod. “That’s enough for me then. Good night.” Following which, she threw herself on her side of the girls' bed and promptly fell asleep. Kayla, who looked like she was just about to fall over at any moment and couldn’t form words to say, just went in for a hug. But the hug stretched on… and on…
…
“Uhm, Kayla?” Lev queried when the hug had been going on for over 10 seconds. Her reply came in the form of soft snoring.
Chuckling silently to himself, he picked her up in a princess carry and set her down opposite Amelia. Jack, who was the last one still awake, witnessed it with a twinkle in his eyes, “I wish she was awake during this. Her face would’ve been red like Mr. Richard’s T-shirt,” he mused, making Lev chortle at the mental image. He went over to his bed, the one he shared with Jack, and wished him a good night before the exhaustion of the day slammed into him like a train. Lev’s last thought before falling asleep was,
The hell is a train?