"William, is it ? May I sit down ?" I asked as I cautiously approached him, trying not to disturb him any more than he already was.

"What do you want from me ?" he replied without opening his eyes, his voice imbued with icy indifference.

"Nothing special, I just want to get to know you," I said with a big smile, hoping to break the ice.

But William wasn't fooled by my acting. He opened his eyes and stared at me with an intensity surprising for a child.

"Has anyone ever told you you can't lie ?" he challenged, his brown eyes piercing through my mask of self-assurance.

"Oh yes," I thought, because he was the one who told me over and over again in our previous life. But I couldn't tell him that.

"Hey Luca, what are you doing ?" shouted Kim as she came running up to us.

"Me ? I was asking William if he knew any places to hide," I improvised quickly, trying to divert attention.

"I see," Kim replied, clearly skeptical.

As for William, he merely glanced at us.

"Please excuse my brother for disturbing you," said Kim with a hint of embarrassment.

"It's okay, apology accepted," William replied as he slowly stood up, then headed inside the building without another word.

"Luca, why did you approach him ?" asked Kim, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Sorry, but I was desperate to find a good hiding place, haha... Is there anything else ?" I tried to change the subject, well aware that my answer was unconvincing.

"Yes, you're weird today. But anyway, let's go join the others,"

"Okay," I replied, following him.

My mind, however, was elsewhere. In the past, it had been Kim who had approached William first. This time, it was different, and I couldn't help but wonder how it would affect things..

…

…

…

The next day, I approached him again, but he quickly rejected me. Nevertheless, I repeated this action every day until he gave in.

"Okay, Luca, that's what your name is, isn't it?" he said one day as he turned to face me, a gleam of defiance in his eyes.

"Yes, and I..."

"Wait! Before you continue, I want you to tell me your true intentions," he interrupted abruptly, his gaze piercing.

"What do you mean ?" asked I, feigning innocence.

"Don't take me for a fool. I've made inquiries about you and your brother. I know your parents are still alive, but you're here because there's no one to look after you," he declared confidently.

Honestly, it didn't surprise me that William had done some research on me. He was always suspicious of people trying to intrude on his privacy. It was a characteristic of his personality, even in our previous life.

"Besides, what's the point of coming to see me ? If you want to make friends, there are other kids in the orphanage who are much nicer than me. And if it was your brother who had come to see me first, I could understand because he's the sociable type" he added, his tone becoming increasingly accusatory.

I took a deep breath. It was time to put my cards on the table.

"Look, William, I'm not trying to pity you or intrude on your private life for no reason. The truth is, I need your help," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

William raised an eyebrow, obviously intrigued but still wary.

"And why should I help you, a kid I barely know ?"

"Because you're the only person here who could understand my situation and help me find a solution," I replied, my eyes fixed on his.

"My brother has a brain tumor and we need money for his treatment."

A heavy silence settled between us. William continued to stare at me, looking for the slightest trace of a lie in my eyes.

Finally, he sighed and dropped onto the bench behind him.

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"And you think I can help you find this money ? How ? I'm in an orphanage just like you," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I know you know ways to make money. I'm willing to take risks, whatever it takes." I replied, determined.

William remained silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then he straightened up and stared at me with renewed intensity.

"Taking risks, you say, hey hey."

A wave of unease passed through me. I sensed something was wrong.

"Looks like tonight you're sleeping at the orphanage."

"Eh yes," I replied, a little hesitantly.

William rose from the bench and came close to my ear to whisper, "At midnight, meet me here with the orphanage money hidden in the safe."

"Wait, you want me to steal the orphanage money !?" exclaimed I, incredulous and shocked.

But William didn't reply. He merely smiled and walked away, leaving me alone with my tormented thoughts.

I shook my head vigorously, refusing to believe that William was that kind of person. In our previous lives, William had never stolen anything, let alone committed a crime. He had always been clever and cunning, but never malicious.

All evening, his words echoed in my head. Did I really have to do what he asked? Was it possible that he had an idea in the back of his mind, a solution I hadn't yet seen?

I decided to trust him, despite my doubts. After all, in our past life, William had always been a trustworthy person.

At midnight, I slipped out of bed, taking care not to wake the other children.

I silently made my way to the headmistress' office where the safe was kept.

My heart was pounding as I wondered if I was doing the right thing.

But every second counted for my brother, and I had to take that risk.

After picking the lock on the office door with a paper clip, I entered and headed for the safe.

I'd watched the manager type the combination several times, and fortunately, I remembered.

With trembling hands, I opened the safe and took the money, slipping it into my backpack.

I left the office as discreetly as possible and slipped out of the orphanage, heading for the park where William had arranged to meet me.

When I arrived, he was already there, waiting for me under the shade of a large oak tree.

"Well done, Luca. Now follow me," he said, after checking that the money was present.

We walked in silence to a neighborhood I didn't know.

The buildings were dilapidated, the streets dark and deserted. William led me into an alley where several adults were huddled together.

"William, what is this place ?" I asked, worried.

William paused for a moment and said, "Let's swap bags."

I handed him my bag containing the money and he gave me his, much larger and heavier.

"Put the bag in front of you and make sure it's clearly visible to the people we're about to approach, understand ?"

"Yes," I replied, nervously.

"Good, let's get moving."

We made our way through the crowd until we arrived in front of a cup game stand.

"Hi kids, are you interested ?" said the young man, inviting us to play.

"Sorry sir, but I don't know how to play it. And what do you win if you play ?" said William in an innocent voice.

"It's a game where you can win a lot of money easily," replied the young man.

"Win money ?" pretended to wonder William.

"For example, if you bet 2 coins, you get 4. If you bet 20, you get 40, provided you win," he explained.

"Really ? With all that, I could buy lots of sweets. Luca, do you want some ?" asked William.

"Eh yes, of course," I replied, playing along.

But what was William playing at ? He had to know this man wanted our money. It was obvious.

"The object of the game is simple. All you have to do is find the ball hidden under one of the three cups."

William pretended to hesitate between his bag and mine before choosing his.

"Here, I'll start with this."

The young man, curious, opened the bag to check its contents.

"Wow !!!" Not only he, but the entire surrounding crowd couldn't contain their amazement at seeing so much money contained in such a small bag.

Apparently proud of their reaction, William added: "There's even a lot more in my friend's bag."

The young man's eyes sparkled at the thought of hoarding all that money.

"Well, shall we get started ?" asked William.

"Yes, yes, let's get started. Watch the ball carefully."

I knew this guy was up to no good. What was he going to do to us ? Steal ? Rip us off? I wasn't sure, but we'd soon find out.

"Here," William said, pointing to a cup.

"Congratulations, you've won!" exclaimed the young man.

"Really ?"

To confirm his words, he gave William double the money he'd bet.

"Luca, do you see all that money ?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Alright, let's get on with it then."

William snatched the bag from my shoulders and laid it on the table to bet with.

"William, I don't think it's a good idea to..."

"Luca, do you trust me?" he asked without even looking at me.

"Yes," I replied, hesitating.

"In that case, let's get started, sir."

The young man wasted no time and immediately began mixing the cups.

"There !"

"I'm so sorry, child, but you've lost," he said, lifting the cup to reveal the ball's absence.

"Shit !!!"

Furious, William grabbed the bag he'd won at the start and walked away.

"Luca, are you coming ?"

"Yes, I'm coming," I said, following close behind.

Once out of the way, William whispered to me:

"At the next bend, run with all your might. No, run as soon as someone calls our name."

"But why are you..."

"Hey, stop !!!"

Before I could ask him the reason, the young man called out to us in an annoyed tone.

"Follow me !" William grabbed my hand and dragged us to a place where the adults couldn't chase us.

After about ten minutes, we stopped at an abandoned building.

"William, why did that man chase us ?" asked I, breathless.

"Because I gave him a bag full of rocks," he laughed. "I put a few bills on top so he wouldn't notice the deception."

I understood why the bag was so heavy, but one question remained unanswered.

"Why didn't we pull out as soon as we won the first round ?"

"Do you think they would have let us go ?"

"N-no."

Indeed, if we'd decided to pull out from the start they probably would have stopped us to claim the money, however...

"They ? You mean there were several of them ?"

"Yes, that kind of person never acts alone."

Now everything was becoming clear. I knew William was cunning, but not at that age.

"Good, now let's go back."

"To the orphanage ?"

"No, we're going again," he said, clenching his fist with determination. "I'm going to squeeze every last penny out of them. Hahaha."

Throughout the night, we repeated the same process at various locations William knew. In the end, we had a lot of money a kid could have.

With all that, we put the original money back in the safe, sight unseen.

Although we got a lot of money, it still wasn't enough to save my brother. But thanks to William, I'm sure we can.