It wasn't easy being an orphan, especially when nobody ever really wanted her. And it didn't help that orphanages shipped her from state to state once they discovered her terrible secret. Roselyn had been in at least sixty different cities before she was placed in Gotham City's orphanage where she already knew she didn't belong. The other kids weren't very nice to a new girl being dumped in the cramped building. She also was forced to sleep on the floor and share blankets with two other girls her own age. Roselyn wondered why they even accepted her when they didn't have enough beds for the kids they had now.
Roselyn was an eleven year old girl who was probably the size of a nine year old so it didn't make it easy when she ate lunch with her age group which consisted of children between the ages of eleven and thirteen. Roselyn nervously bit her lower lip and carried her tray of cafeteria food to find a seat. Known as the weird new girl, other kids either snickered at her or blatantly ignored her existence. Roselyn didn't understand why other children didn't accept her when they were in the same boat as her- they were all orphans when it came down to it. But Roselyn was an outcast amongst outcasts so she never really had any friends or felt any sense of belonging anywhere.
So, the girl brought her lunch over to the small corner table at the edge of the cafeteria. The food was horrible and worse than the last orphanage she stayed in. She was rather thin due to multiple skipped meals. She would usually succumb to eating when she felt her stomach caving in on itself after a couple of days without food. Today was one of those days and she forced herself to eat the meatloaf which hardly contained any meat. She drank her milk which was actually good and not expired.
Roselyn watched the other orphans eat and talk amongst themselves. Some of them looked as if they had genuine friendships and she had to admit, she was a bit jealous. She never had anyone she could talk to or joke with. Roselyn had always been isolated by her peers and she knew it would always be this way and she didn't expect to wake up and make any friends while she was in Gotham.
Lunch was over and she and the others had to rush out to make room for the next age group which consisted of teenagers fourteen and older. Roselyn felt even smaller as she made her way through the hallway. She was pushed and shoved into the wall; it had been done on purpose by most people.
Roselyn went outside and made her way to the small garden in the yard. Nobody else would go near the garden as they opted to hang out with one another during their time outside. Roselyn, however, chose to tend to the garden. When she first arrived, the plants had been near death. She decided to take it upon herself to nurture them and help them flourish and she did just that.
"Here's the girl," one of the orderlies pointed to her. Roselyn jumped and nervously looked up from where she was sitting. "Nobody's going to adopt her. She jumps from city to city. We're gonna be stuck with her for a while since she's a reject."
"She's sitting right there," a woman commented to the other.
"Doesn't matter," she shrugged. "I think she's dumb or something. She never speaks."
"Is she? I don't think she should be recommended for the program if she is."
"Oh, no, she's definitely capable. She doesn't talk which is good. It'll keep the crazies from jumping her. But she's a pretty calm kid, I'll give her that. She never had an outburst and seems to go with the flow. I think she'd be great for that rehabilitation program at Arkham. The other kids here are too friendly. They'd piss someone off and end up dead. But not this one. She's a quiet kid who keeps out of trouble."
"Then why has nobody adopted her?" the woman queried.
"Roselyn…she's just a special case. Sad, really," she replied and looked down at Roselyn with fake sad eyes.
"Hi, Roselyn. I can see you like to garden," the nicer of the two pointed out. "How would you like to come with me four times a week to take care of a big garden?" Roselyn just shrugged, not sure whether or not this was a good opportunity. She usually ended up being screwed over when things tended to sound good in her short life.
"See? Doesn't talk," the other woman remarked. "But she needs the therapy. If you can get her to talk, maybe we can find her a good home with understanding parents." She was speaking in a low voice with the person from Arkham. They were speaking in those hushed tones adults tend to do around children. It was easy to forget Roselyn was eleven and picked up on these things more than the younger kids would. "I hate to see a kid without a real home. She's our most extreme case here at the orphanage right now because she won't say anything. The other kids open up to the counselors here."
"We'll do our best. Sometimes garden therapy can help and get her to talk about something she likes," the woman looked down at Roselyn and smiled. The brown haired girl briefly pressed her lips together. "You'll be coming with me tomorrow to Arkham Asylum. But don't worry; you're going to be separated from the criminally insane. You'll be perfectly safe in the garden for two hours."
Roselyn was then led back towards the orphanage. The dead leaves crunched underneath her shoes which were a half a size too small for her. Her gray jacket was the opposite, being at least two sizes too big. This orphanage obviously didn't have a lot of money to work with. Roselyn went back inside and wondered what was going to happen to her at Arkham.
Just a quick author's note- This story will pick up and introduce characters from Batman, however, it will be focused on this original character. Hopefully she's an okay character and you continue to read this. If people like it, I already have the next few chapters already written.