“It’s a girl!” the doctor exclaimed. I was just born, and I was the first child. My mother looked tired and weary, but that didn’t stop her from holding me close. My father put a comforting hand on my mother’s shoulder and smiled.

“She’s perfect.” Fast forward to where I am here now and I ain’t perfect anymore ya’ll. Even ask Adin and he will agree 100%. But how I came to be not so perfect is an interesting story to hear about, so let’s begin from when it starts.

The stone building didn’t help at all with quenching the uneasiness and fright inside of me. Not even the pit of loneliness. My parents have both died the accord of the war happening. I wish it would end already, but I was young. 3 years old to be exact. I sometimes didn’t know how to communicate except for a few babbling words. I was maybe the most illiterate child in the whole town. Most likely the whole orphanage now. Life isn’t fair, is it?

A tall woman with a young boy, about 6 years old, following behind her, came to greet the now shaking me. The lady had very goldish brown looking eyes. She didn’t have that look of disgust, but rather a very motherly look. Her long brown hair was tied nicely in a tight bun, with her fringe set looking gorgeous on her. The young boy on the other hand had piercing green eyes and messy brown hair. He was a little taller than me, but I didn’t let that intimidate me.

“Hello there, gorgeous. What’s your name?” the pretty lady asked. I looked at her, clutching my small cloth filled with the little I had.

“Annaliese…” I said with as much confidence as possible even though I was freaking out. The lady smiled at me.

“That’s a very nice name, Annaliese,” she replied, smiling warmly. I felt myself smile back at her.

“I’m Jacinta and this is Adin,” she continued, gesturing towards the boy. Pathetic.

“He’s an orphan, like you.” I stared at him, and he stared back at me. I could see the pain through his eyes, and he did as well in my eyes. He smiled slightly at me, and I gave him a toothy smile. Adin laughed. Jacinta looked surprised.

“That is the first time he laughed in months,” she said still shocked. Even though I was only 3, I understood more than anything.

“W-would you like to be m-my friend…?” Adin questioned quietly. I nodded.

“Yes please.” We both broke out into smiles, and Jacinta as well. She then picked me up and walked back inside, Adin skipping in front of us.

After introducing me to everyone and getting washed and changed, Jacinta brought me and Adin to the dining room. It was more a hall than anything. There were 5 big tables. One for the big kids, who were nearly adults. One for the kids in between, for kids younger than 10, one for the people who looked after us and helped us, and one for the younger ones, like babies to six-year-olds.

Jacinta sat me and Adin next to each other and went to get us some food. The big kids got food themselves, but we small kids got served the food. Since the war caused everything to be scarce, there wasn’t much to pick from to eat. My stomach growled from not eating for days, at which Adin turned to look at me.

“Hungry, Annaliese?” Adin asked me. I nodded. A few seconds later Jacinta came with our food. We had mashed potatoes with a little bit of meat. Jacinta sighed and smiled.

“I managed to sneak some extra meat,” she said cheekily with a wink. I and Adin giggled and began to eat. I had some trouble, but Jacinta helped me. That night, I went to bed with a full stomach of food and love. I finally found a place to call home.

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