Year 3408 VEC...
A woman who is wearing a traditional servant uniform noticed someone from the grassland owned by the ruling viscount of their town. Realizing it was a little kid, she quickly removed her veil covering her head and hair and carried the kid to orphanage where she is staying.
"Lucy! Agatha!" the woman shouted as she barged the doors open.
One of her colleagues who appeared to have a black braided hair quickly assisted her. They laid the unconcious and weak kid on a vacant bed and removed her wet clthes. Their eyes widened, seeing some burn injuries on the little kid's skin.
"What happened?" the eldest matron inquired as everyone rushed to the vacant room. "A little girl?"
"She seems to passed out due to hunger and dehydration. But..."
The matron carefully touched the burn marks on the skin of the kid. Her shoulders dropped and sighed deeply.
After changing her to warm and comfy clothes, the innocent kids staying in the orphanage approached the bed and stared at her. "When she will wake up?"
One of them shrugged, faintly smiling. "Let's hope that she'll play with all of us sooner, okay?"
They all left the room and returned to what they're doing. The eldest matron, whose name is Fatima, approached Cristiana. "We'll be taking the custody of that little girl. I'll go at the County Hall to fix the papers."
"Thank you, Fatima."
"There is no need to thank me, Cristiana. After all, we vowed to fulfill our duty, right?" The eldest matron patted her shoulder. "I'll leave now."
"Yeah. Have a safe trip."
The county government of Delroy approved the orphanage to take full custody of the nameless lost girl. All matrons and even the kids took care of the sleeping kid. They would damp her skin and hair using a lukewarm towel, change her clothes regularly, and would even sing songs or tell a story. The kids started playing in the room where she is frequently, waiting for her to wake up.
A week after, while Titania, one of the youngest matrons of the orphanage, was changing her clothes, the little girl's eyes slowly opened. The green eyes of the girl fascinated her, making her unable to move for few seconds. As soon as she realized that the kid was staring at her, Titania quickly stood up and rushed outside.
"She's awake now!" she yelled after finding them all at the backyard.
All the kids and sisters rushed to the room and they found the little girl sitting and staring outside the window. Their eyes were filled with amazement as they stare at her. The little kid diverted her full attention to them. "Where am I?"
Fatima smiled and went to her. "We're glad that you are awake now, sweetheart. You're in the Delroy County Orphanage."
"Delroy County Orphanage..."
"Yes." They both looked at her stomach as it grumbled. "Do you want to eat first?"
The little kid nodded so they served her a loaf of bread and a bowl of warm cream soup. Agatha took a spoonful and blew it carefully to cool it down. She stared at it for a long time before slowly opening her mouth for a taste.
"How was it?" Agatha asked her.
She faced her and nodded. "Tasty."
After eating, she watched the other kids play at the patio garden of the orphanage. Seeing the little kid only remained sitting, Cristiana approached her. "Don't you want to play with them?"
It took her few seconds to answer. "I don't know."
The little kid's response made her confused. "What do you mean by you don't know?"
"I don't know my name." Her eyes widened, with her hands started to tremble. "They were asking for it, but I don't know my name."
"D-Do you remember something?"
The little kid shook her head. "I don't know." The matron's eyes pooled with tears, so she averted her gaze and calmed herself. The little kid noticed her, so she stood from sitting and held Cristiana's hands. "Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"
"No... no. You said nothing wrong." The matron hugged her and started crying. Still with empty eyes, the little kid moved her hands and started patting her back. "We will take care of you until you got your memory back, okay?" The little kid only nodded, still with nothing in her mind.
*****
The next morning, the little kid woke up earlier than everyone. She went down of her bed and loitered around their orphanage. She stopped in the middle of the patio garden and stared at the dark sky. The little girl raised her right hand, reaching for the sky. "The sky is dark... and so is life..."
It was just five in the morning, and the sun isn't rising yet. She went to the closed gates of the orphanage and opened a side to observe the people passing by. Some had their eyes diverted to her, in awe seeing her appearance.
The little kid went out the orphanage and wandered around the bustling city of Bolvair. As she walk, her eyes were only laid around, ignoring people who stare at her.
She halted in front of a table where five men are talking about the horse racing competition. "I'll put my bet on Wilheim Nicholas," one of the guys announced. "He has a real speedy horse!"
"I think Francis Jameson will win."
And so, their conversation became a light debate, arguing on whom they will bet.
"Oh, a little girl?" a grey haired man uttered, causing his pals to look at the little kid. "Are you lost, kid?"
"Horse race..." she whispered, causing them to be puzzled. "May I see the newspaper?"
Even in the midst of confusion, one of them handed her the newspaper. The little kid read the information about the upcoming horse racing competition later by afternoon. The five men faced each other and shrugged.
The little girl returned the newspaper on the table and pointed a name printed on it. "Jordan Vegas," she said and lifted her sight to the five men. "Put your bets on Jordan Vegas."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I only analyzed the details provided in this newspaper. I don't remember any information about the horse racers in this competition so I relied on this. If you want to win, give your bets to him."
"And what if he lose?"
"Delroy County Orphanage."
"Huh?"
The little kid glanced at the man wearing a muted blue shirt. "I live in the Delroy County Orphanage. If Jordan Vegas lose, I am wiling to run errands for all of you. The duration will be yours to decide."
The five men exchanged stares and laughed. "Well then, we'll take your word, little kid."
She only nodded to them and left the table. Halfway, she stopped and returned to them. "May I ask something?"
"Sure. Go on."
"Is there a library here?"
One of the men nodded. "The only library here accessible for us, low-class people, is the Delroy Public Library. It is quite far from here."
"It's okay. Could you tell me the directions?"
"H-Huh? Okay. See that intersection road?" The little kid nodded. "Take a left turn, then straight ahead. A little kilometers away, you'll see a white building with a huge staircase. That's the Delroy Public Library."
She smiled a bit to them and nodded. "Thank you very much. I'll be on my way now." Letting them say no more word, she started walking towards her destination.
As the little girl stopped in front of the pedestrian lane, she sighted an old woman holding a huge shopping bag whom also stopped. She approached her, making the old woman wonder. The people around also have diverted their attention to her. "Are you alone, Madame?"
"U-Uh, yeah. Are you alone too?" She nodded. "It's dangerous for a little girl to wander around."
"I'm fine, Madame. I suppose you are crossing the road. May I could be of any help?"
The old woman was surprised with the little girl's question. She smiled and took the shopping bag from the old woman's hand. As the traffic personnel raised the red signage for the cars to stop, the little girl carefully held the old woman's forearm and guided her to walk on the pedestrian lane.
As they successfully crossed the road, the little girl faced the old woman and returned the shopping bag to her. "Please do not worry, Madame. My intention to help you is pure and I have no desire to do something bad to people."
The old woman smiled and patted her head. "Thank you very much for helping me. Are you on your way home?"
"No, Madame. I'm going at the Delroy Public Library. Some men told me that this is the way going there."
"Ah, yes. The Library is a white classical building with a huge staircase in front."
"In that case, I'll be on my way now, Madame. Is your destination near here?"
"Actually, that shop is owned by my family," the old woman responded and pointed a bread and pastry shop. "Oh, do you want to drop by first? I'll give you a bread of your choice in exchange of helping me."
"Thank you for the offer, Madame, but --" And her stomach grumbled a bit. The old woman chuckled while she shyly smiled. "I haven't eaten breakfast yet."
The old woman introduced the little kid to her family and gave her bread and warm milk for her breakfast. After eating, she thanked them for letting her eat for free and continued walking to her destination.
Her eyes sparkled in awe as she stopped in front of the library and started taking steps up. The guards of the library gazed at her as she arrived. "Am I allowed to enter?"
Her question confused both of them. One of the guards nodded. "Of course, you are, little kid."
"Thank you very much." And she handed them the paper bag she's holding. "A bread and pastry shop gave this to me after treating me breakfast but foods and drinks aren't allowed inside the library so I'll just give this to you if it is okay for you to eat while on duty."
"Yes, we can. But, it is yours so --"
'I'm already full, Mister. You can have this."
The guards glanced at each other and laughed. One of them received the paper bag. "You're such a kindhearted girl. If you insist, then we'll take it. Thank you."
The little kid only nodded and entered the library. Her mouth gapped as she became amazed on how wide the library is. Her unique appearance gathered the attention of some people inside.
She made her way to the Sciences corner, ignoring the eyes staring at her once again. She stopped beside a man and stared at him with her eyes full of wonder. The man noticed her and smiled at her, confused as well. "Mister, are you a teacher?"
The man's eyes widened. "Y-Yeah. How did you know?"
The little kid smiled and stared at the bookshelf in front of her. "The notebook you're holding contains the lessons you'll be teaching to your high school students, right?" Her eyes wandered around the bookshelf and soon enough, she pulled a book about quantum physics. She faced the man and stretched her arms, handing the book to him. "Is this what you are searching for?"
The man smiled and received the book. "You're too clever for your age. Yes, I'm a high school teacher in Physics. And yes, I'm searching for this book. If it wasn't because of you, maybe I'm already spending an hour here. Thank you very much, kid."
"I'm glad that I helped you. Nice to meet you, Mister teacher."
"Nice to meet you too, kid."
As the man left, the little girl went on the other side of the shelf and searched for an interesting book to read. When she found one, she sat on the floor and opened the book about astrophysics.