Leo watched as the many children snatched multi-colored candies off the shelves from outside the candy store. He had no opinion, no words to say, and no feeling of jealously towards them. He just simply stared at them with curiosity.
His pockets were empty, the loose folds of his light brown vest held not a cent. Sticking his hands in his pant pockets, he turned and treaded down the street.
When he came to a large iron gate, he gazed up at the high towers of the dark factory. Although he had never been there before, he felt something draw him towards the factory. This puzzled Leo for what could possibly be so alluring about an old rundown deserted place. Of course he had heard stories about it being haunted and other such nonsense, but they were just stories.
The sky was beginning to grow darker. He knew he had to get back to the complex before she got angry.
Suddenly, Leo felt a hand slap on his shoulder, causing him to nearly jolt out of his skin. His body went cold.
"I see you are curious about this factory." A sly sinister voice whispered in his ear.
Leo shuffled round, quickly stepping some feet away from the stranger. His face was surely white when he caught sight of the figure's face. He quickly sighed when he saw that the figure was only a impecunious happy tinker. Even so, he kept his guard up since these were dangerous streets and no one could be trusted in these harsh times.
"My apologies for startling you…" The tinker smiled tenderly, despite being dressed head to toe in wet rags and dirty clothes. He even has a spot of dirt smudged on his cheek.
Leo just watched the tinker cautiously, pondering his friendliness, noticing the strange man's mysterious blood-red eye.
"Pardon me, but were you looking at that factory there?" He gestured towards the factory with a long finger.
Leo didn't say a word, just simply stared perplexed at the man.
"You know, that factory holds a great many things, wondrous things that would make your hair stand on end and your jaw drop to the floor." He held up a finger and pressed it to his lips. "I would steer clear of the place if I were you."
"Why?" Leo answered, his eyes boring into the tinker. The tinker turned his back on the boy, and began to walk away, but before he did so, he spoke these words, "Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out."
"Leo, where have you been off to this whole time?" Madam scolded, her face growing red as an apple, the lines of her face tightened. With masculine strength, she shoved Leo into the main room, and with a strict voice, she said, "You have chores to do here. If I catch you wandering back in here during chores, so help me I—"
"Ms. Penstemon!" One of the boys, a red-head that Leo had forgotten the name of, ran up to the Madam, completely out of breath. "Charlie spilled the hot wax on the floorboards. He burned his hands." This startled Ms. Penstemon so much that she seemed about to strike him but he had stopped only inches from her so if she wanted to smack him, she had to step closer. With fiery brown eyes, Ms. Penstemon glared at the red-head then threw a disgusted look in Leo's direction.
"That good-for-nothing boy!" She raged angrily, wildly trudging her bulk down the hallway.
Everything was silent for a moment. The red-haired boy stared at Leo, with shy bright blue eyes. Leo stared back, unsure of whether to make conversation or not.
Suddenly, a tear ran down the red-haired boy's face, and this made Leo uncomfortable. "Is Charlie alright?" Leo asked, softly, trying not to look the red-haired boy in the eyes.
"He's alright but I'm not so sure about now though…I just…panicked…" The boy twiddled his fingers nervously, with a sad face.
Leo didn't know how to answer. He was very honest about things and that often got him into trouble. He found if he held his tongue, he was spared from harsh punishment more than usual.
There was a loud thudding noise that came from down the hallway, followed by three more like it. The other boy twitched while Leo stood still but knew the same punishment would await him when Ms. Penstemon returned.
"So Leo, I heard that you wandered off again today? Did the beldam punish you?"
Leo didn't answer the pig-faced girl as she propped her hands on her small hips and did not budge. Leo simply scanned the pages of his book, his mind trying to veer off into some distant place.
"You're so weird. It's like you enjoy getting beaten." She folded her arms, circling her head around to glance at all the other faces in their beds.
Charlotte or "Lotti" as the other kids called her, was one of the few that the other children couldn't stand. She was snobbish and prideful, with a slight streak of sadism. With every word she spoke, she lashed out at the others after their punishment, and praised herself as the good "daughter."
She curled a lock of her pink hair with the tip of her finger, smirking with a sense of confidence. "You guys are all so stupid. I never get in trouble. You should follow my example." She remarked.
"Who would do that?" one black-haired boy chortled. "All you do is blame others. I saw you today. You spilled the wax that burned Charlie's hands." The boy held her icy gaze, with disapproval.
"I… did not!" Lotti stammered, her face reddening.
"Yeah right." The black-haired boy snorted, his thick eyebrows furrowing as he gave her a sarcastic but mocking look before pulling the covers over himself.
Lotti crossed her arms and turned back to Leo. Leo continued reading quietly. Lotti had a thought to swipe the book away from Leo but she knew better than that. Leo, she knew, would not hesitate to pull her hair or even push her to get his book back. She held her breath, puffing her red face up and stomped away to her bed.
After several minutes had passed, a small silvery voice whispered in Leo's ear. He was startled out of his reading, turned, and gawked at the eyes of Elizabeth.
"So did you go to the candy store again?" Elizabeth asked, giving Leo a clever smile.
Leo stared down at his book, ignoring her.
"Oh come on, I know. You are not very skilled in sneaking around, are you?" Elizabeth scooted next to him, her wavy auburn hair swishing behind her as her eyes surveyed the pages of his book. Leo knew she couldn't read, so why was she trying to?
"I lived on the streets for a while so I just…" She started.
"Why do you sneak out?" Leo asked, with a cold voice.
"Why do you sneak out?" Elizabeth asked right back, but with an obvious sense of humor in her voice.
Leo slammed his book close. "I can't read." He said, bluntly.
"Am I the reason you can't?" Elizabeth asked, playfully.
Leo slid the book underneath his bed, and plopped down on the side of his bed.
"I understand. You want to see what you don't have." Elizabeth's golden eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon, escaping through the boarded-up windows. "But y'know, that only makes things more painful for you."
She stood and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Try not to get caught next time."
Leo's growing navy blue eyes followed her as she walked away and tucked herself into her bed.
Elizabeth was the eldest among the other children especially Leo but despite her age, she was quite silly. Silly but kind she was, and she always gave good advice. She did have a nasty habit of correcting Ms. Penstemon though and Ms. Penstemon wouldn't have that. In any way, not one child was spared from Ms. Penstemon's personality.
Leo pondered what Elizabeth said that night, about his reasons for leaving every day, for visiting outside the orphanage, for peering into the windows of vast stores and markets. He didn't feel so strange now that another felt the same way but there were more curious matters. More than anything else, what was on his mind the most was the astonishing moment with the mysterious tinker he had met that day, and the puzzling unnerving words he spoke thereafter, "Nobody ever goes in, nobody ever comes out."