For Saiya, destiny was a harsh mistress in the dictation of her life’s story. It had taken everything from her until there was nothing left in life. Now, all that remained was to drift away like a fall leaf blowing in the wind. She found the days monotonously passing her by as she slowly but surely approached the end. A small part of Saiya hoped that the day would arrive soon, but she knew it was only the fear talking. Not the fear of living, but the fear of moving on.
She sat on her small, worn-out bed while reflecting on her life. Saiya often had these thoughts when left alone for too long. She glanced over at the empty bed a few feet from her. It had been half an hour since her roommate had left for the morning. Their living space was rather sparse. Besides their beds, there was only a desk and chair for furniture. But even this left the room rather cramped. It wasn’t like her old home, a small house at the edge of Urada, but Saiya couldn’t bring herself to complain. It was better than the alternative.
Most of the others were already up for the morning, but she wanted a little more time to herself. Saiya brought her attention back to the book she was reading, Fundamentals on the Biology of the Human Body. She adjusted her mana lantern brighter to get a better look at the pages and continued reading. The light tended to dim if left on for too long. The human body held a certain fascination for her. Everything, from the contraction and expansion of the diaphragm to the continuous pumping of the heart for the flow of blood, has to go right for a person to remain alive. If one system in the body went wrong, then it would lead to the end of that person’s life. The human body was such a delicate but impressive force of nature.
Saiya took a sip of the tea she ‘procured’ from the kitchen. Finding the tea was cold, she channeled mana through her hands into the cup. In seconds, steam rose from the drink. The second sip was much more satisfying. Saiya stared at her reflection in the liquid. She thought about the pale skin and blue eyes of her father and the long, flowing blond hair of her mother. They were always so proud of how much she resembled them. Saiya found herself missing them all the more. It had been two years, yet the agony from that day never went away. Would they be as proud of her now as when they last saw her as a carefree ten-year-old? She drank the last of the tea to dispel those thoughts and returned to reading her book. She would have to remember to sneak the teacup back into the kitchen later.
After only a few more minutes of reading, a call came from the hallway. One of the caretakers announced that breakfast was ready. Saiya put away her book, got out of bed, and got dressed for the day. She used to have only a worn cream tunic, brown pants, and shoes to wear. But she had recently discovered a cloak that had been thrown away. It had some small tears in it, but was in acceptable condition. One could never get ready too soon for the chill of fall. That, and the outer layer of clothing brought a certain level of comfort to her that was missing before. Ready for the day, Saiya left her room and made her way down the hall. Several other kids and teens of various ages exited their rooms as well. It seemed that she wasn’t the only straggler this morning.
They all walked downstairs to the dining room, where several tables were arranged. A dozen kids were already eating breakfast. At the end of the room, one caretaker was at a long table with food. They served portions to the kids as they approached. Altogether, there were about two dozen teens and kids in the room. Saiya waited until the line had cleared before making her way to get food. She was greeted by the caretaker and handed breakfast. It was only bread and porridge, but she didn’t mind. She found a spot with no one else around and went there to eat.
As Saiya enjoyed her meal, she allowed the quiet gossip of the other kids to wash over her. She found the white noise to be rather soothing to listen to. While the others may enjoy each other's company, Saiya preferred the quiet of solitude. Not even the occasional glance or murmur thrown her way ruined her mood. She ate at a languid pace, allowing herself to enjoy the morning. It wasn’t like there was a rush to accomplish anything after all. It took half an hour for everyone to finish breakfast. Afterwards, one of the caretakers instructed them to form a line in the middle of the room.
The caretaker handed out chores for the day. Since there were so many of them, they often assigned them only one task and allowed them to do as they wished for the rest of the day. While some kids may complain about having to work every day, Saiya found she didn’t mind. It was the least they could do so they could live there. She was assigned to sweep the hallways and public rooms. Fortunately, that was one of her favorite tasks. It allowed Saiya to do one of her favorite pastimes.
The kids all dispersed to complete their assigned tasks. Saiya walked to the cleaning closet and grabbed a broom to begin her task. Soon, she found herself sweeping the kitchen with company. Three teens were cleaning the dishes and talking among themselves. They were distracted, so she saw an opening. Quietly, Saiya got closer while sweeping and listened in.
She overheard one teen, a dark-haired girl, say, “-going to miss Olira around here. That girl was a ray of sunshine while she was here.” She scrubbed the dishes in the first sink before handing them to her right.
The second teen, a taller boy, replied, “Yeah, but those kinds of kids always leave here quickly. I’m almost surprised it took so long. I wish someone would come take me.” He rinsed the dishes handed to him before giving them to the last teen.
The third teen, a younger boy, spoke up. “It’s not always a good thing though. Some bad folks might adopt you and make you do their work. Or worse, you could have even more rotten luck and they could sell you off instead.” He dried the dishes before putting them away.
The taller boy replied, “Maybe at other places that would be the case, but Urada Orphanage is different. The caretakers here actually give a crap about us.”
The younger boy said, “Those are just the stories I hear about when I go out. It scares me sometimes when I think about it.” Saiya could see him cringe at the thought.
“Don’t always listen to what you hear outsiders say. A lot of it is just rumors and nonsense stories.” The taller teen waved his hand dismissively as he talked.
The dark-haired girl interjected, “Speaking of which, I’ve heard that a traveling minstrel is going to be at the town square for the next few days. They always put on such wonderful shows. Perhaps we could-” Saiya swept out of range to hear them further. Nothing too interesting, but any knowledge was good. She finished sweeping the kitchen before taking her leave. Saiya doubted that the three ever knew she was there. It was an improvement from when she first started doing this. The caretakers had given her a few lectures about eavesdropping, which shouldn’t be repeated. It had been almost six months since she had last got caught, so now everyone’s guard was down around her.
Saiya swiftly finished all the public rooms on the first floor. There was hardly any other gossip to eavesdrop on. But she got another opportunity while sweeping the second-floor hallway. Two older teenage girls were in their room with the door open. It looked as if they had already completed their tasks for the day. She deliberately slowed down her sweeping to listen in while staying out of sight.
Saiya listened in and heard one say, “-tripped over herself? I almost couldn’t keep myself from laughing.” There was giggling between the two.
“I know, right? I swear that most of the people here can’t walk on their own two feet. Just yesterday, I saw Alitar run his right foot into the corner of a table. The squeal he made was hilarious. He’s still walking gingerly on it today,” a second voice replied. “He’s fifteen at this point, right? How does he expect to get a job at this point if he’ll trip over himself walking through a door?” The two giggled even more.
The first voice spoke again. “Speaking of which, have you found anything yet? I’ve been looking, but no one has wanted to hire me yet.” The two quieted down at this point.
The second voice was more subdued now. “No, not yet. But we still have over a year, right? There’s still time. We just have to keep working on it.”
“You’re right. We’ll find something for us eventually. By the time we’re eighteen, we’ll be living together in our own apartment. All it takes is finding the right place. In fact, why don’t we go look now?” The first voice said. The other voice gave an affirmative. Upon hearing this, Saiya silently moved further down the hallway and kept sweeping. Within moments, the two teenage girls came out of the room and walked past her without sparing a glance. Not too close, but more caution would need to be kept in the future.
It took her only a few minutes to finish her task for the day. Saiya began to walk back to the cleaning closet when she was suddenly pushed from behind. She just caught herself from falling and turned to see two teenage boys a few years older than her. One was blond with blue eyes, while the other was a brunette with hazel eyes. Both were almost a foot taller than her and wore dirty commoner clothing.
The brunette glared at her as the blond said, “Watch where you’re stepping, omen girl. You wouldn’t want to hurt yourself. Then again, it would be just what you deserve.” Saiya ignored the words and just stared off to the side. They weren’t worth the effort. They’d get bored before long.
“You deserve a lot worse than a fall after what you did,” the brunette continued from the blond’s words. “After all, the rest of us are here because of bad luck. You’re here because of the consequences of your actions. Did you enjoy painting yourself with their blood? It’s something an omen like yourself would relish in.” The two continued to laugh at Saiya, who did her best to ignore their taunting. She turned around and walked away. Her indifference only annoyed them.
The blond grabbed Saiya around the wrist and pulled her back. “You think you can just ignore us like that? How about we teach you a lesson?” Before he could say anything more, a caretaker briskly walked into the hallway and interrupted him. Saiya guessed she must have heard the commotion and investigated. She reached the three of them and glared with her arms crossed.
“Just what do you two think you’re doing?” the caretaker asked. The blond let go of Saiya and backed away a few steps. All their previous bravado had abruptly vanished.
“There honestly wasn’t anything happening, ma’am. We just wanted to have a chat with the omen here, is all,” the blond said. They kept their eyes off the caretaker and fidgeted. She stared at them, unimpressed.
“Don’t call her that. I heard enough on my way over. What happened wasn’t her fault, and bringing it up in such a way is cruel. Go to your room and wait there for me. Obviously, you aren’t working hard enough if you have time to bully others.” The two of them turned and rushed down the hallway. They both glared at Saiya as they passed, but she didn’t pay them any heed. As they turned the corner, the caretaker’s expression softened as she turned to Saiya.
“Thank you,” Saiya murmured, staring at the floor. The caregiver gently smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Saiya felt a familiar icy chill as she took a step back to remove the hand from her shoulder and stared at the caretaker. Unconcerned about the gesture, the caretaker began to talk.
“Don’t let what they said hurt you. I and the other caretakers know you had no say in what happened. Don’t let the opinions of others make you think otherwise.” Saiya only shrugged in response. Satisfied that she got that point across, the Caretaker continued. “Now, I know it’s hard right now, but I’m sure that it’ll get better. Before long, you’ll be able to move past it as a stronger person. Though I’ve noticed that you continue to prefer being alone, why don’t you try to make a few friends around here? It may help make things easier.”
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Saiya looked away in response. It was easier said than done, especially when most didn’t want to be around her. The talk between the two girls from earlier came to mind. Things were difficult enough without choosing to associate with an omen. Why would they hurt themselves by being friends with her? Besides, as much as Saiya wanted companionship, she wasn’t sure she deserved it. Even now, trying to move past that day was almost impossible.
She still remembered the blank stares their lifeless bodies gave her. The soft dripping of the blood-painted room. The unnatural shadows that defied the faint candlelight that filled the room. Even now, it took all her strength to resist flashing back. A gentle shake on the shoulder snapped her out of it, and Saiya saw the caretaker give her a concerned look. She ignored her to pull out a necklace from under her shirt. It was a gift to her from her parents for her birthday. The necklace was made of cheap materials but held an interesting etched design Saiya couldn’t decipher. It allowed her to remember better times and calmed her racing heart. With a settled mind, Saiya turned back to the caretaker.
The caretaker fidgeted in place and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Well, just think about it. Try to take it easy for the rest of the day, okay? Goodbye.” The caretaker pivoted around and strode down the hallway the same way blond and brunette went. Saiya turned and walked toward her room in the other direction. Just as she was about to get out of earshot, she heard the caretaker reprimanding someone for not being where they should be. She didn’t hear the rest as she walked away.
Saiya entered her room and sat on her bed. She grabbed one of her books from under the bed. She could go back to reading the book from this morning but had something else in mind after what happened just now. The book was more philosophical in nature, Amedori & Demadori: The Fate of a Soul. She always found the subject of the higher beings that governed them to be fascinating.
As she read, Saiya pondered life after death. The book claimed that the soul was judged by its actions in life. Those with good morals spent eternity in heaven with the Amedori, while the immoral were cast away to the Demadori in hell. It made her wonder, how were the lives of those who passed on judged? Was it the Amedori who judged the soul? If so, what were the criteria that they followed? Was staunch belief in the holy lords above required, or could one still be moral without it? Perhaps it wasn’t they who determined it, but some higher force at work. Or even a law of the realms that all beings within were subject to. After all, the Amedori didn’t create the realms even if they ruled them. At least, that’s what the legends said. However, that begged the question of what determined morality. Was it a concrete thing, or did it change as the eras passed? Saiya wondered where her parents had ended up when they died. She hoped they would end up with the Amedori to live in everlasting peace. Though if they did, it was unlikely she would get to see them when her time came.
These thoughts lingered as Saiya read her book. She was so preoccupied that the call for dinner came as a surprise to her. The entire afternoon had passed without her even realizing it. She made a note to read the rest of that book series. Luckily, the orphanage was close to the town library, so she could satisfy her passing curiosities. As Saiya entered the dining room, she noticed that most of the others were already seated and eating in the dining room.
Dinner passed without any complications. Saiya got her meal quickly and found an isolated seat for herself. Beef, carrots, and potato stew with a roll was the dinner for the night. She ate peacefully for a few minutes before her skin began to crawl. She looked up and scanned the room to find Blond and Brunette glaring at her. Luckily, multiple caretakers were in the room eating, so they would be unable to do anything. Saiya was one of the last to finish her meal. She noticed that Blond and Brunette were cleaning up the dining hall. It seemed like they got their punishment for the earlier incident. She slipped out of the dining hall and returned to her room.
Upon returning to her bedroom, Saiya saw her roommate was there for the first time today. She was a young redhead with green eyes and pale skin. She was drawing in a leather notebook. Her roommate noticed Saiya enter and gave a simple greeting. She took off her cloak and shoes and sat on her own bed without responding. Her roommate turned back to her drawing without comment. The sun was setting as Saiya began her evening routine.
She began by channeling a small flame at her fingertips. Starting at her thumb and then extinguishing it. Then she repeated with her pointer finger. Then again, with her middle finger, ring finger, and pinky. She then began again with her other hand. She did this repeatedly for several minutes. As time went on, she felt the exertion. She could feel a slight burn in her veins from the repeated channeling. With the last flame extinguished, Saiya let out a breath to recover. After a minute, she began the next exercise.
The palms of her hands glowed in a soft teal light as mana gathered. As the energy was released, her hands then dimmed. She does this at a steady rhythm. Saiya had done both exercises hundreds of times at this point. It was almost as easy as breathing. Still, this was only a drop in the ocean of possibilities. Soon, the burning sensation came back, and Saiya stopped again. Her body started to feel fatigued, and her heart raced.
It took several minutes to recover. She used to stop at this point, but had recently found a new exercise to try. Taking a deep breath, Saiya closed her eyes to concentrate. Over her pointer finger, a tiny teal ball of light formed. Saiya focused, barely managing to keep up the effort. Her hands began to shake, and sweat formed on her forehead. She tried to hold it for as long as possible.
“Never have I seen something so amazing yet so futile,” her roommate said. The sudden interruption caused Saiya to lose her concentration, and the light was extinguished. With annoyance, she glared at her roommate. That was the first time she had gotten so far. The redhead, seeing that she had Saiya’s attention, elaborated further. “I’ve seen you practice almost every night since I moved here a year ago. Slowly but surely, you improve. You just did something I’ve never seen anyone else do. I’ve heard that those mages and the like can manage that easily, but to see you do it is another thing entirely. But you want to know what the funny thing is? None of it matters. You know as well as I do that neither of us has any future. We’ll be stuck doing menial jobs from the time we’re kicked out of here until the day we die. So I have to know, why do you bother?”
Saiya took a moment to ponder this before asking her own question. “Why do you draw every day?”
The redhead looked confused by the question. “What do you mean? I draw every day because I enjoy it.” Her roommate paused for a moment. “Oh, that makes some sense. But the dedicated practice day after day? It’s not like you will ever be able to get a medium to cast anything. Those balls of light will be all you ever get to do.” Saiya didn’t respond and started to practice again. After a few moments, the redhead gave up on the conversation and went back to drawing. She muttered to herself, “Fine then, I was lucky to get a sentence out of you.”
Saiya didn’t hear her as she thought about what the redhead had said. Why did she practice channeling her mana every day? It wasn’t like she was ever going to cast fire, manipulate the earth, or summon any water. You had to get approval to obtain a medium capable of casting spells. Sure, she could use utility mediums available to anyone, but those didn’t need practice to handle. It would be almost impossible to get approval anyway. The only reason she could think of was curiosity. Everyone has this power inside them, but almost no one bothers to do anything with it. They just let it sit there their entire lives. But was that enough to dedicate so much time to it?
Redhead was right that at some point Saiya would be forced to leave the orphanage. It would be impossible to get anything other than a menial job. The orphanage couldn’t afford to give them an education beyond primary school. Academies cost money, and you often had to attend them to enter a skilled profession. Without an education, Saiya was stuck when it came to providing for herself down the line. Worse, as much as the caretakers thought otherwise, the stigma of what happened to her parents would inevitably follow her in town. People didn’t associate themselves with someone labeled as an omen. It made her prospects all the worse, and the future seemed bleak now that she thought about it.
In the end, Saiya wasn’t sure what she was going to do. But she had time to think about it, so there was no need to be overly worried about it for now. The light from outside darkened as the sun fell below the horizon. She glanced over to see that her roommate was getting tired. Practice began again, but not much progress was made. Before long, her roommate put her things away and went to bed. Saiya stopped practicing and lay in bed as well. She listened as over several minutes the redhead’s breathing evened out. Now the only one awake, Saiya got out of her bed and donned her cloak and shoes. She then grabbed the teacup from that morning and left the room as silently as she could.
She made a quick stop at the kitchen to drop off the cup before heading out the front door of the orphanage. Technically, someone as young as she wasn’t allowed outside this late, but none of the caretakers were awake to keep watch. Saiya brought her hood up as she made her way through town. She kept to the shadows of buildings and alleys so that people wouldn’t notice her as easily. Once there was enough distance away from the orphanage, Saiya stopped and began observing her surroundings. It took only a few moments before she found something of interest and followed.
It was a young couple out for an evening walk. From what she could hear, it seemed like they were coming back from somewhere. Saiya approached until she was close enough to listen in. Sticking to the shadows, she followed and observed the couple interacting with each other. From the soft words to the gentle touches they shared, Saiya found it all to be fascinating. She stayed only for a few minutes before moving on to another group. This one was a group of male friends walking down the street. They appeared to be intoxicated, as evidenced by their stumbling gait and slurred words. She found their drunken antics to be rather amusing. She listened to them for a while before moving on again.
Saiya liked to people-watch while out on her walks. She was curious to see how people ticked, and the orphanage only provided a limited experience. While the caretakers were nurturing, her peers were often distant from her and one another. It made things rather cold outside of a few moments of affection. At first, Saiya only snuck away to get some space in the sometimes stifling atmosphere of the orphanage, but as time went on, things evolved.
Outside, she got to watch people interact. They would be with friends and family enjoying themselves, often with no care in the world. It was a feeling that Saiya hadn’t felt in two years. It allowed her to see the connections she desperately missed. Not that she had had any relationships outside her parents before. Even when Saiya was with them, she lived a rather sheltered life. She remembered little, but knew her parents didn’t let her out much. People-watching was a hobby she had picked up as a result. A way of indirectly feeding her need to make connections until she could get the courage for the real thing. Besides, there was a certain thrill that she got when sneaking around. It was another appreciated yet futile skill that she practiced.
Saiya started to head back to the orphanage around midnight. There was almost nobody left out at this time. Besides, she still needed to get some sleep. She decided to take the alleyways back, since she was across town from the orphanage at this point. Saiya kept to the shadows, remaining unseen by anybody still out. A sudden shout from the alley she was about to enter stopped her. Curious, she took a peek to see what was happening.
Inside the alley was a group of three men forcing another man against the wall. The three had knives with which they were threatening the lone man. They all seemed to be talking. Saiya kept to the mouth of the alley to remain undetected. Frustratingly, she was unable to hear the conversation, but she could make an educated guess. Soon, one of the thugs shoved the lone man hard against the wall and spoke up louder. Saiya couldn’t hear everything that was said, but the word money painted a clear picture. Knowing she needed to get back, Saiya walked away from the alley and continued on her way.
Saiya walked less than a minute before seeing a guard walking past her from the other side of the road. For just a moment, she thought of telling him what was happening, but continued onward. It wasn’t her problem that the man was being mugged. She was under no obligation or incentive to help. Besides, Saiya didn’t want to be questioned on why she was out so late. The caretakers were unlikely to be thrilled about her late-night trips, and she would find herself in trouble. Soon, Saiya made her way back into the orphanage and returned to her room. The night had a touch more excitement than expected, but was enjoyable nonetheless. She crept into bed and slept for the rest of the night.
The next morning came with no extra fanfare. Saiya slept until breakfast and quietly ate as usual. She then stood in line with her peers, waiting to receive her tasks for the day. The caretaker tasked her with tending the vegetable garden behind the building. Saiya was fine with it, even though she wouldn’t have a chance to eavesdrop from outside. She made her way to the garden. While not large enough to feed everyone in the orphanage, its tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and other vegetables helped to save on food costs.
Saiya began by collecting the freshly grown produce. At this point in the season, only the tomatoes were producing, but there were new yields almost every day. Next, she moved on to weeding to keep the plants healthy and the garden tidy. As Saiya worked, she thought about the beauty in the utility a vegetable garden provided. Sure, flowers looked beautiful, but did they provide for you in a way vegetables did? This garden helped to feed the orphanage, and that held a beauty all on its own. Perhaps one day, she could have a garden of her own. She filled her thoughts with possible plants for her hypothetical garden. Once she finished with the weeding, Saiya moved on to watering. She picked up an empty watering can and channeled mana into it. Water filled up from the bottom, and she got to work.
Unfortunately, halfway through watering, Saiya was interrupted by the blond and brunette arriving. They began mocking her, but Saiya tuned them out. She wanted to get done with her task before wasting time with them. And maybe if she didn’t respond, they would leave her alone. The blond didn’t appreciate being ignored as he grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. The watering can fell to the ground as Saiya struggled.
“Gonna listen to us now, omen?” the blond jeered. His grip held firm as she was unable to escape. The blond nodded to the brunette, who came forward. He grabbed Saiya’s necklace from around her neck.
“Give that back!” The two only laughed at Saiya’s demand. Despite her increased struggles, she made no progress. The brunette raised the necklace to examine it.
“We noticed you taking this out yesterday and thought it would be valuable. But it’s only a piece of junk. Why do you even bother keeping it?” The brunette said.
“I said give it back.” The continued pleas only made the two laugh harder. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t break out of the blond’s grip.
“You know, why don’t I just trash it since you want it so much? Should be enough payback for getting us in trouble yesterday.” The brunette put his other hand on the necklace and slowly started to pull. Saiya momentarily freed an arm and aggressively reached out. The brunette took a few steps back in surprise. The blond grabbed her arm again and stopped her. “Hey Alitar, keep a hold of her, would ya?” the brunette said.
“It’s hard when she’s struggling so much. A little help, please?” the blond, Alitar said. She perked up at the mention of the name. Saiya thought about where she had heard of it before realization dawned on her. She raised her foot and stomped as hard as she could on Alitar’s right foot. He squealed in pain and let go of Saiya. Taking her chance, she grabbed loose dirt from the garden and threw it into Brunette’s eyes. He dropped the necklace to wipe his eyes, and Saiya grabbed her necklace. She took off to the sounds of yelling behind her and sprinted out of the orphanage grounds.
Saiya kept running, but her pursuers were close behind. Several times she managed to elude them, but they’d catch sight of her before she could hide. Saiya thought about how to get away when an idea came to her. The traveling minstrel was at the town square. There was likely to be a large crowd there. She could hide there until they lost interest. She ran through an alley to try to gain some distance. Their shouts became more distant as she reached the edge of the town square.
She took a second to catch her breath. Her hands were on her knees as she panted. Saiya wasn’t used to that much running. She recomposed herself and walked towards the crowd. This moment of recovery cost her as Alitar and the brunette caught up with her.
“Thought you could run away, omen girl? We’ll teach you a lesson for that stunt.” Alitar grabbed around Saiya’s collar to keep her from running. Not that it mattered, since the earlier struggle and escape had left her exhausted. It was unlikely anyone would find them in time. She braced herself for what was to come. Saiya didn’t know it at the time, but her distant dream of companionship was about to become a reality.
