Part 17 – The Orphanage and the Vision of the Gate

The sun was beginning to set as they drove towards St. Luke's Home for Children. The tension in the car was thick, the weight of their dwindling time pressing down on them. Only five days left.

Maya sat in the backseat, staring out of the window, her fingers absently tracing patterns on the cold glass. The world outside blurred—then shifted.

The vision struck without warning.

She wasn't in the car anymore. She was standing before an old iron gate. Rusted, ancient, its bars twisted like skeletal fingers. There was something ominous about it, something that made her heart pound in her ears.

She felt herself moving forward.

A warning rang in her mind—Do not open it.

But she couldn't stop. Her hands reached out, fingers wrapping around the cold iron. She pulled.

The gate creaked open. A wave of cold air rushed past her.

Inside, she saw children.

Dozens of them. Their faces pale, their eyes hollow.

They were crying. Some reaching for her. Some whispering.

"You shouldn't have come."

Maya gasped and stumbled back—

And then she was back in the car.

Her breathing was ragged, her hands trembling.

Aditya, who had been sitting beside her, grabbed her shoulders. "Maya! What happened?"

She stared at him, the vision still burning in her mind. "The gate," she whispered. "I saw a gate. And I opened it."

Arjun, who was driving, frowned. "A gate? Where?"

"I don't know… but there were children. Crying. They said I shouldn't have come."

The car fell silent.

"We're almost there," Arjun muttered. "Let's see if this orphanage has any answers."

---

The Orphanage

St. Luke's wasn't what they expected.

The building loomed ahead, hidden behind thick, overgrown trees. The windows were dark, the walls cracked with age. There was no sound. No movement.

But the worst part—

The gate at the entrance was exactly like the one in Maya's vision.

She felt her stomach twist.

"We're really doing this?" Aditya asked, eyeing the eerie structure.

Arjun pushed open the car door. "We don't have a choice."

Maya's eyes remained locked on the gate. She had already opened it in her vision.

What if that meant it was too late to turn back?