Painful World

A nine-year-old girl emerged from the car when the door opened. She was dragged to what is known as an orphanage by the guard who had opened the door for her by pulling her hand. The girl entered without resistance and heard cries and screaming. It felt like a nightmare.

He hurled her into one of the rooms with a few little girls seated on the floor, then locked the door behind him. Their ages ranged from eight to eleven years old. They were in miserable conditions. one of them had a broken arm, the other didn't have an ear, and another had lost an eye. Some of them were staring at her and whispering. The others didn't even care about her.

She passed the two who were whispering, glared at them, and sat in the corner. The room was completely empty, everything was white, even the other girl's clothes. All of them were wearing a white shirts with a medium-length white skirt, and they were barefoot. She knew they would definitely get her the same clothes as the girls anytime soon. She kept staring at the roof in boredom. She knows she will end up like those girls, but for some reason she wasn't scared.

After a while, a guy wearing a lap coat opened the door and told her to come with him. She went with him with no hesitation. "Well, at least now something interesting is about to happen" she thought.

They kept walking in the hallway, then they passed by a wide hall. There was nothing special about it except for its space, but she noticed a boy with scars doing nothing but standing there.

They finally reached a room that had a sign on its door: "laboratory." The guy knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, it opened, then a woman showed up.

"Who is this? Is she a new child?" The woman said.

"Yes. All of the information about her is in this file."

"Bring her in." 

The guy pulls her by the arm inside the room then carries her up to put her on a bed. Afterward, he went out, leaving her alone with that woman. The woman opened the file and then started reading it.

"So, Aiko, it says here that you killed your mother. Is that true?"

"No."

'Well, your grandmother brought you here saying that you murdered your mother."

"Can you believe that a nine-year-old girl killed her own mother? That old woman has lost her mind. Despite the fact that she is my mother, how can I kill an adult? Please tell me she didn't say anything like she had a gun."

" No, she didn't. But she did say that you were controlled by demons. And believe me. If you were controlled by a demon, you would be more than capable of killing adults, including your mother."

"Demons? You actually believe they exist? How old are you? Nine? Wouldn't it make more sense that my grandma was the one who killed her, and she is trying to pin it on me since I am the only one without an alibi? Ever thought of that?"

"Demons do exist. And yeah, maybe you are right. But where were you when your mother got killed?

Aiko remained silent.

" I guess that settles it."

"How about this, I will ask you one question, and if you answer it I will answer one of yours."

"Alright, then what is your question?"

"What is this place? And don't say an orphanage because it's obviously not."

"This is a place where we clean the children's souls."

"Seriously, clean children's souls? From what demons?"

"Actually, yes. Children around 4–16 are easily manipulated by demons. And we are helping those children to get rid of them."

"You're helping them by torturing them?"

"It's not torture if it's for a good reason. Now it's your turn, where were you the night your mother died?"

"It was 12 a.m. and I was supposed to be asleep. However, I didn't feel like sleeping, so I went to a forest near our house to get some fresh air."

"But why the forest? That is not a regular option for a child."

"I remember saying that I would only answer one question, and you already asked me one."

"You know, during this little conversation I realized that you are a little smart for your age."

"Is this why I was called here? For you to play a detective game with me?"

"Of course not. I was just a bit curious about this whole murder thing."

"Then what am I here for?"

"You will find out."

Right after she said that, the door opened and the same guy holding a bottle entered the room with two guards behind him. As the guards pin her to the bed, she observed the guy filling a needle with a purple liquid from the bottle. Following that, the woman retrieved the needle and proceeded to walk to Aiko, stating, "This is the outcome of our most recent experiment. Let's see what happens to your demon when I give it this." Then she forcefully stuck the needle and emptied it in her neck.

Aiko screamed, she felt a tremendous pain as the drug began to flow into her body. She couldn't breathe because blood was pouring out of her mouth. And then, she passed out.

After she woke up, she found herself in the same room with the girls. She sat upright, then noticed that she was wearing the same clothes as the others. She took a moment to remember what happened to her before one of them asked her: "What did they do to you before they threw you here?" Aiko answered: "They gave me a drug." Another girl said: "Lucky."

Aiko then realized there were way more painful things waiting for her.