The first thing that came to mind: the noise. I heard the crying of babies, the bustling of kids, some younger, some older, doing chores. The man who brought me here, picked me by the collar of my shirt as I was attacking him the whole way, and walked toward the orphanage.
The rejection of my own family was cruel. I was called a devil, a monster, and other unflattering names. I was born different.
While being left handed, I also have different eye color in both eyes. One was an amber color, which was pretty rare, but my right eye was a startlingly red. Something called complete heterochromia made my eyes have a different color, but, this was four rarities in one body. First, my left handedness, which was commonly ignored but unusual, as less that half the globe was left handed. Then my amber eye. Then my red eye. Then the complete whatever-it-was. The demon, the devil, the monster. The mistake.
They were not far from the truth.
Still holding me, who was fighting and wriggling to get free, the man put me down on the doorstep.
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and stared at me. I closed my cursed left eye, hoping they couldn't see the blood red, but everyone saw.
The whispers, as I was used to, as I clutched my sister's hand. Did I not mention my sister? I barely saved her from the fire. She was unhurt although the flames, my flames, were licking her skin. She was grasping the sparks, giggling when I found her. She was a week till six.
The woman came down and welcomed me and my sister, and ushered us into the same bedroom as I insisted.
"Leo, what's happening?"
Her hazel eyes, which contantly flickered from brown and green, watched me, trusting. I swallowed, steeled myself, reminded myself I couldn't break down in front of her, she's my responsibility now, and answered.
"I dunno, Leonie. Mom had to leave for a while, so now we are going to live here while she's gone."
But she's gone forever, I added mentally.
Leonie wasn't there when the man and I searched for relatives to take care of us. She didn't hear the mean words that was hissed at me, the slamming doors, the anger.
The people who you thought once loved you. But it was just because they loved my mother and Leonie. I was tolerated.
Their acting was flawless.
I once thought they would care. At least somebody will care for me and my sister. But all of them turned their backs at me.
"Where did Mom go?"
Leonie broke my thoughts.
"A place far away," I replied, and patted her head, and she nuzzled against me.