“He’s lying, Mama! His eyes are blue!”
A chestnut-haired boy tugged at a woman’s sleeves, hiding his face from the stranger in front of them. The woman looked down at the child and then to the man sitting in front of her, and she smiled apologetically.
“Now, Callie, remember what I said about jumping to conclusions? Mr. Snowbell doesn’t even have a Gift of his own.”
The middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a warm, grandfatherly demeanor smiled at the boy. “That’s right, little one. I may just be an ordinary man, but I still want to give children like you the chance to have someone who loves and cares for them.”
The woman chuckled. “See, Caleb? We still have a lot to learn about your Gift, so let’s not start accusing people, okay?” She turned to Mr. Snowbell. “My sincerest apologies, Mr. Snowbell. I hope you understand that he’s just a child and didn’t mean any harm.”
Mr. Snowbell’s brown eyes—that Caleb saw as a bright azure—twinkled as he reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair, but he pulled his hand back when the boy flinched away. “No offense taken, Ms. Fallasia. Kids his age are just eager to voice out their thoughts, that’s all.”
“Thank you, sir. Now off you go, Callie, keep playing with your brothers and sisters. We’ll continue the class after I’m done speaking with Mr. Snowbell.”
Caleb pouted. He hated it when adults disregarded his abilities. He had pink irises, a characteristic he guessed was shared by Gifted that could affect or see into other people’s minds, but a lot of his ‘siblings’ had blue. It was his Gift. He knew how it worked. Who were they to tell him that he was wrong?
As much as he wanted to stand his ground, he knew better than to argue with his Mama. She didn’t have a Gift herself, but she was still devoted to running the orphanage filled with about forty children, all of different ages and Gifts. Even at the tender age of nine, he already understood how hard it was to take care of a large number of children, especially those with supernatural abilities.
He dropped his shoulders and sighed, walking back to the main hall where the other children were playing. Before he entered the doorway, however, he looked over his shoulder one last time. A chill shot down his spine as he locked eyes with Mr. Snowbell. The rest of the old man still exuded that friendly aura, but his blue eyes seemed to glare at him scornfully. Caleb felt his chest tighten and quickly dove out of sight, leaning against the wall for support. He gripped his shirt, trying to calm himself down. He tried his best to trust his Mama’s judgment, but there was a voice screaming in the back of his head that everyone was in danger. He knew for a fact that he wasn’t, but deep down he wished that he was wrong.
***
“Your name?”
A policewoman stood in front of the ashen-faced and teary-eyed boy, trying her best not to intimidate the child.
“Caleb…,” the boy whimpered. There was a gash across his cheek, which had been stitched and bandaged by paramedics.
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“And your last name?” she continued.
“Galland,” he stuttered. Galland wasn’t really his surname—his parents preferred to stay anonymous when he was sent to Audrey Fallasia’s orphanage. He chose the name from his favorite novel’s main character.
“Are you able to tell us what happened there, Caleb?”
He looked up at the policewoman. Tell her? If he could, he could act it out down to the most minute details. The crazed and bloodied face of his ‘Mama’ would forever be ingrained in his head, and so would the agonizing cries of his ‘siblings’. As much as he wanted to help the officers, his head started to spin when his mind went over what happened just two hours ago.
“I have a headache,” Caleb said.
The policewoman nodded and walked over to one of the other officers, whispering something to him. After a while, she came back holding something in her hand. She knelt down in front of him, placing her free hand on his shoulder.
“They call you Callie, right? Are you okay with me calling you that?” she asked. “You can call me Carla, by the way.”
Caleb nodded. “It’s fine.”
Carla smiled at him. Caleb liked how brown her eyes were. It was the same shade as Ms. Fallasia—the eyes of the ordinary people. Those who aren’t cursed with this ‘Gift’. The kind of person that Mr. Snowbell said he was.
“Alright, Callie. We think it’s best if we bring you to a place called Asphodel. Do you know what that is?”
Caleb nodded. He overheard the older children talk about it. From what he understood, it was a secluded and heavily militarized village specially reserved for the Gifted that the government deemed ‘good’. He wondered what the criteria for ‘good’ was in their eyes. Perhaps they thought that the morals of children were too ambiguous to safely reside in Asphodel, and that’s why they had to stay in orphanages. Ironically, though, they all ended up becoming victims to their own orphan keeper.
“The government thinks you’d be safe there, and they can help you learn more about your Gift. You can either go there or live in a regular foster home, but you’d need to hide your Gift from other people. Ordinary folks don’t always understand people like you. What do you think?”
Caleb shook his head. His ability—although he didn’t fully understand it yet—didn’t seem to be capable of hurting people anyway. Well, except hurting their feelings if he wrongfully accused someone of having a Gift. He wished that people trusted him more, though. Maybe he would’ve been able to save his ‘family’.
“I’ll go to Asphodel with you,” he replied in the most confident voice he could muster. He admitted that he was nervous, but he figured that it was better than being forced to hide his Gift from those around him.
Carla nodded, and placed her hand over his. Caleb felt something cold wrap around one of his fingers, and when she lifted her hand away, he saw a silver ring with something engraved on it.
“I’m afraid an ordinary person like me can’t get in. But don’t worry, you’ll be safe there,” she reassured him. “When you get to Asphodel, just show this ring to the officer at the entrance. He’ll bring you to your dorm.”
“Is it like another orphanage?”
Carla chuckled. “I’d say it’s more like a school. You’ll meet other people like you, and they’ll help you get the hang of your Gift. Don’t be nervous, Callie. Trust me, they’re nice.”
A small smile formed on Caleb’s lips. “Thank you so much, Ms. Carla.”
The policewoman ruffled his hair. “Come on, then. Let’s bring you to your new home.”
Caleb took her hand as he was led into a police cruiser. The driver passed an envelope to Carla, and she tucked it into her bag. Caleb watched from the back window as the orphanage, the only home he’d ever known, became a small speck in the distance.