The Orphan’s Inheritance

Abernathy's Orphanage Home (Burdly Town)

The clock had barely struck six, but the halls of Abernathys Orphanage were already noisy with the usual sounds of morning.

Bare feet moved across the cold floors, the clatters of brooms and buckets filled the air, and the quiet murmur of orphans half-asleep yet dutifully carrying out their tasks was heard through the corridors of Abernathy.

Anya stood at the edge of the room, waiting, as she always did, for her name to be called for floor duty. The same routine, every day.

But this morning, her name wasn't called.

She frowned, she was confused. She couldn't have missed it, could she? She made her way to the front of the room, making her way through the other children, and approached Grace Dudley, the stern woman in charge of handing out the chores.

"Grace," Anya said hesitantly. "I didn't hear her name. Am I on a different task today?"

Grace turned to her with that all-too-familiar look of disdain. Her arms crossed, lips pursed and she spoke with irritation in her voice.

"Have you forgotten what today's date is?" she asked, her tone carried annoyance with it.

Anya blinked, her heart suddenly sinking. "What… what do you mean?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "It's the 4th of September, Anya. Your birthday."

Anya stared at her, trying to understand. Her birthday. Of course. How could she not have realized? But that wasn't what made her worried. It was what the 4th of September meant at Abernathys.

She was eighteen.

"I'm… eighteen," she whispered to herself.

Grace let out a humorless laugh. "That's right. Eighteen. You know what that means. You're no longer eligible to stay here. Pack your things. You'll be signing out today."

Grace's words hit Anya hard in the gut. She stood frozen, with her mind at unease. She knew this day would come eventually, but she had never let herself fully believe it was real. Not until now. Her hands trembled as she fought back the panic in her chest. She had nowhere to go.

"I—" Her voice faltered as she tried to speak, but nothing came out.

Grace waved her hand dismissively. "Just hurry up. We don't have all day."

Anya turned and walked away, with a heavy heart and a spinning head. What was she supposed to do now? Where could she go? She had no family, no money, no plan. Her steps took her to the far end of the orphanage, to where Lacey was carefully making the beds.

Lacey, was her only friend here.

Lacey looked up as Anya approached, her expression began softening when she saw the tears hanging in Anya's eyes. Without a word, Lacey abandoned her task and rushed to Anya wrapping her arms around Anya.

"What happened?" she whispered, her voice was filled with concern.

Anya couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she clung to Lacey with her fingers digging into the back of Lacey's shirt.

"I have nowhere to go, Lacey," she sobbed into Lacey's shoulder. "Nowhere…"

Lacey stroked Anya's hair gently and she whispered, "It's going to be alright, Anya. I promise. We'll figure something out."

Anya wanted to believe her, but the fear and uncertainty that she felt were impossible to ignore. Just as the tears began to subside, a voice interrupted their moment.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Anya barely had time to react before Grace stormed toward them. She roughly pulled Lacey away from Anya, her grip was firm and her expression was filled with disdain.

"Haven't I told you already, Anya? We don't have all day! You need to pack your things, and you need to do it now," she snapped.

Anya stepped back, Grace's word stung her, but this wasn't new—Grace had been like this from the very first day she arrived at Abernathys. For reasons Anya had never understood, Grace had always had it out for Anya. And now, as she faced her final hours here, Grace's satisfaction was evident.

"Alright," Anya whispered, her voice was barely audible.

Grace crossed her arms, glaring at her. "Good. Don't keep me waiting."

With that, she turned and stormed out of the room. Lacey gave Anya a look of sympathy, but there wasn't much she could do. Anya was on her own now.

She made her way back to the small, cramped room she had called home for as long as she could remember. Slowly, she started gathering her few belongings—clothes, a few tattered books, a small stuffed animal she had since she was a child. As she folded the last of her clothes into the old, worn bag, something caught her eye.

An envelope.

She froze and her hand hovered over the envelope. She remembered exactly what this was. Two years ago, the orphanage manager, Geraldine, had handed it to her with an unusual serious face.

"It's a title deed," she had said. "A huge mansion, apparently left for you by your grandmother."

At the time, it had made no sense. Anya didn't have a family, let alone a grandmother. She had never known anything about her past. Geraldine had mentioned that the deed was dropped off by someone anonymous and that her grandmother had passed away under mysterious circumstances. She had tucked the envelope away, too overwhelmed by the news to think about it.

Now, as she held the envelope in her hands, something clicked in her mind. The fear of having nowhere to go still troubled her, but the deed… it was a place, wasn't it? A real place. Maybe not a home, but it was something. And with nowhere else to turn, it was the only option she had left.

"What if… I go to the mansion?" she whispered to herself. The idea began to take shape, and slowly, it started to make sense.

Yeah, that wouldn't be a bad idea at all. She stuffed the envelope into her bag and zipped it shut.

The time had come for Anya to taker her leave. She stood at the entrance of Abernathys, tears ran down both hers and Lacey's faces as they waved goodbye.

Grace shut the doors behind Anya, with a smirk of satisfaction. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. It was time to face the real world.

She flagged down a cab, and a strange-looking man stepped out. He was older, with a weathered face and eyes. He helped her load her things into the back of the cab, and then they were ready to go.

As she settled into the back seat, he turned to her with an eerie look. "Where to?"

She fished the envelope from her bag and held it up. "Do you know where Crimson Estate is?"

He glanced at the envelope briefly, then looked back at her. "Crimson Estate? What for?"

"That's where I'm headed," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady despite being anxious.

He didn't say anything at first, he just stared at her through the rearview mirror. She shifted uncomfortably, feeling uneasy because of his silence. "How much will it cost to get there?" She asked, hoping to clarify the situation.

"Actually," he said, "I'll take you there for free."

Anya blinked, taken aback. "For free? Why?"

He chuckled softly to himself, his eyes twinkled as he spoke. "Let's just say I have my reasons."

Anya watched him drive, and the town gradually gave way to more open roads. The man's weird response did nothing to ease her troubled mind, but with nowhere else to go, she decided to stay in the cab. After all, she had to find out what was left for her at Crimson Estate.

The ride was quiet. She clung to the envelope, the key to her future, and hoped that whatever awaited her at Crimson Estate would offer the answers and the refuge she so desperately needed.