The windshield wipers on the car squeaked
as they flew back and forth, trying their best to fight off the rain. We crossed the bridge and began driving
through town, still hitting every pothole along the way. Small cafés and convenient stores lined both
sides of the street, and soggy newspapers littered the grimy sidewalks and
gutters. The place felt abandoned. And dirty.
We rounded a corner, and soon the car was
slowing to a stop. As the driver threw
the gearshift into park, I peered out the window, eager to see my new
home. But all I saw was a wall of
twisted metal. The driver opened my
door, and I stepped out onto the sidewalk, my jet-black hair blowing in the
drizzly autumn wind. A tall,
wrought-iron gate loomed above me, like a set of prison bars, and I started to
wonder if the legends were true.
“Don’t just stand there gawking,” said
Delores. “You’ll get pneumonia out
here. Grab your bag and let’s go.”
The driver handed me my tattered suitcase,
tipped the brim of his hat to say “good day,” and then climbed back into the
cab.
There was the sharp sound of metal
scraping against metal as the gate suddenly swung open. All by itself. With my one piece of luggage in hand, I
stepped through the entrance and into the courtyard. Cobblestones covered the ground, though
patches of dead, yellow grass fought through the cracks. It was like walking through a cemetery. Stone statues and fountains were scattered
throughout the yard, many chipped and broken.
I passed a crumbling, three-legged fawn and an angel whose face had
disintegrated long ago.
“Homey, isn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes at Delores’s smart comment
and kept walking.
Black birds scattered as I passed more
decrepit statues, squawking loudly as they flew away in annoyance. The orphanage looked like some medieval
castle. I gazed up at the towering
fortress and couldn’t believe how massive it was. Rows of tall, skinny windows lined all three
floors, and as we walked up the front steps, I was surprised to see the
grimacing faces of several stone gargoyles staring at us, as if they were
guarding some secret. I shivered as I
walked past their disapproving scowls.
