I never liked the Jainus Orphanage. We obeyed a strict lifestyle with only the bare necessities. Still, we had a family. A pseudo-family, is what Lilis Jainus called it. She acted as our older sister. I never believed it was a pseudo-family though. If anything, I felt as if it were the only real family I had.

Things started to change when Leonas, the older brother of our pseudo-family, was taken away. The military of Arundal needed as many soldiers it could get its hands on. Sadly, they saw our brother as fit enough for service.

A few weeks later, a new addition came in. Before this new addition, I only had Lilis, the older sister; Gaius, the hamster; and Marius, the caretaker. Of all of us, I used to be the youngest. Then, the new member arrived.

Lilis introduced me to Octavia right after we ate our noon meal. Apparently, her family casted her out because of some weird fortune teller. She came from a foreign land dressed in rich silk like a princess. I didn’t like her.

Over and over, Octavia would continue to pester me. She had a hard time speaking, and had a quiet voice. At the time, I thought she was some spoiled rich kid who expected everything to be handed to her. I didn’t take into account that she had been in the exact same situation as I, an orphan.

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Octavia stopped trying to talk to me at some point. Instead, she stuck around with Lilis. Lilis noticed this, and she started to try and get us to talk. These attempts didn’t work, and I continued to act coldly to Octavia.

During these times, Octavia cried a lot. She didn’t have the strong mental fortitude she had now. Every time she tried to speak to me, I gave her the cold shoulder. Some misconceptions came to her mind because of this. Lilis scolded me heavily for causing Octavia to cry so much.

Four years after Octavia came into the orphanage, Lilis disappeared. We were not given a reason by our caregiver, only given the fact that she would never come back. That night, Octavia came to my bed.

She sniffled, saying, “C-can I sleep here tonight?”

Before then, she always hung around Lilis, even sleeping with her. I recalled the emptiness I felt when we lost Leonas. Night after night, I would stare at his empty bed, feeling an immense amount of loneliness. Looking at Octavia that time, I recalled the despair I felt when he was taken away.

So, I let her sleep on my bed. Of course, I kept my back to her the whole time, but I could feel her breath pass onto my back rhythmically. Ever since then, I think we became a bit closer.