Under the warm sunshine, in the late afternoon, children aged 8 to 13 eagerly watered the rows of corn trees that had just sprouted in the field behind the orphanage. The afternoon breeze blows gently, creating a very cozy atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Eliana and Maria stood at the edge of the field, enjoying the sight of the happy children.
Eliana saw the aura of happiness radiating from the children, which was reflected in the pink color surrounding them.
With her right hand raised high and waving, Eliana opened her mouth and shouted excitedly, "Guys, it's time for lunch!"
Some of the children who heard Eliana's shout immediately turned their heads in the direction of the voice.
"It's Eliana!"
"Hurry up, the food is here!"
"Wow, Eli's here! Maria is here too!"
The children enthusiastically ran towards Eliana. Although they were sweating from working hard in the fields, they didn't look the least bit tired.
"Has Eli recovered?" asked one of the boys with great interest, while the other children were also happy to see Eliana in their midst.
Eliana smiled warmly. "I'm fine. Now, let's clean your hands. You must be hungry, right?"
The children cheered and quickly cleaned their hands, ready to enjoy the food. Eliana was a source of inspiration and happiness for them, and they were very happy to be around her again.
After all the children had cleaned their hands, they gathered under a shady tree for shade and sat on a carpet laid out by Maria, then Eliana sat among them, feeling warm and grateful to be back with her friends.
Maria brought a delicious lunch and served it to the children. They cheered when they saw the food. It was a time of great anticipation, and all the children were hungry after working hard in the fields.
Lunch went on happily. The children told stories about their work in the fields, shared laughter, and enjoyed the delicious food. Eliana was very happy to see that everything was going well. She knew that they were all her family, even though they were not related by blood.
As the sun began to set on the western horizon, they finished their meal with great satisfaction.
"Hey, Eli. Are you going to work again after this?" Louis, one of them, asked suddenly. Noticeable that he had dark black hair and rather pale white skin, his blood-red eyes stared at Eliana intensely.
Eliana turned her face to Louis, this year Louis was 13 years old, he was basically smarter than the other children, even with Eliana's ability that she saw from the eyes of truth, she could see that Louis actually had the talent to become a great wizard in the future, "Hmm yes! I'll go, do you want to take me?"
Louis was happy to get such a good response from Eliana, so he quickly nodded enthusiastically, "Alright, let's go now?"
The two of them stood up, ready to leave for Eliana's workplace, and before that they also didn't forget to say goodbye to Maria.
The two of them walked together, passing through the small alleys and towering buildings of the city. As time passed, it began to get a little dark, and in less than half an hour, their steps stopped in front of a large building that looked like a mansion. At first glance, this building might seem like an ordinary mansion, but it was actually a nightlife venue.
It was a gathering place for prostitutes, a gambling place, and also an entertainment place for the upper middle class people.
"Now you can go home, tonight you don't need to pick me up," Eliana said giving orders.
Usually, Eliana returned home around one o'clock at night. However, this time, she didn't want to bother Louis by picking him up like she usually did. She knew Louis must be tired after farming, and at his young age, he needed more rest. Eliana didn't want Louis to fall ill just because he kept working.
Louis wrinkled his forehead and pouted, "Are you crazy? How could I not pick you up? The streets at night are very dangerous. What if some bad guys harm you? Can you fight them off?" Louis scolded Eliana in an annoyed tone. He was worried about her safety.
"Uh, umm," Eliana became nervous. She didn't expect to be scolded by the boy in front of her, even though Louis' words had some truth to them.
Louis was actually a very kind boy and was always attentive to the other children, even taking care of the orphanage children seemed like an obligation to him. However, this evening Louis was quite tired, as was clear from his eyes, he didn't want to trouble Louis any more.
"I think it would be best if you rested more tonight. After all, before entering the orphanage, I was used to roaming the streets," Eliana said as she looked at Louis' chest. She didn't really dare to look him directly in the eye because Louis was a very, very fussy child.
Pletak!
"AWWW!" Eliana squealed in pain when Louis suddenly pinched her forehead a little hard. She held her slightly reddened forehead and looked at Louis sharply. This was what she hated about Louis when he became so chatty, "y-you!"
Louis looked at Eliana seriously, he opened his mouth and said, "You are so stupid, how could you care more about other people than your little body."
Louis was fed up with Eliana who was always working hard and always prioritizing others over herself. He felt angry when Eliana forced herself to prioritize other people's health over her own.
"I do it to feel alive," Eliana said with some annoyance. She just wanted to feel that her existence was valued and not neglected. To her, it was a way to feel that she was truly alive.
"Feeling alive?" Louis looked at her confused. He couldn't understand why Eliana was doing all this to feel alive. He wanted to know more about Eliana's life and what she had been through. That curiosity kept tickling Louis' heart.
"Never mind, just forget what I just said," Eliana tried to change the subject. "Go home and be careful on the road."
Louis still looked a bit annoyed, but he finally nodded. He knew that Eliana was a stubborn person and would not change her mind easily. With a heavy heart, he turned to go home while still feeling worried about Eliana.
"Hyuh... she finally left," Eliana breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she reached into her pocket and from within, she took out a sleeping fairy, placing it carefully on her palm. The fairy was very beautiful, wearing a white dress with braided black hair, and on her back were thin transparent wings.
"Hey, wake up, Mimi," Eliana poked the little fairy's body with her forefinger to wake her up.
"Hoaam," feeling disturbed, the fairy woke up and rubbed her eyes lazily, looking at Eliana with half-open eyes,"What?"
"You know Louis, right? Well, make him fall asleep tonight. Don't let him pick me up. If you refuse my orders or don't do it right, don't expect to sleep near me again," Eliana pleaded matter-of-factly, while threatening the fairy. Not everyone can see fairies or talk to fairies, but Eliana has a special ability to see and interact with fairies thanks to her eye of truth. One of the fairies who often visits Eliana is Mimi, a sleeping fairy who has the ability to put both humans and animals to sleep. However, because of this ability, Mimi often seemed lazy and sleepy.
"Alright," Mimi nodded in understanding. She immediately carried out Eliana's orders by flapping her transparent wings and flying through the air. Despite looking unstable because she was still sleepy, Mimi tried hard to carry out her task. Several times, the fairy almost fell but managed to regain her balance.
After watching the fairy fly away, Eliana turned around and walked to the back door. There, there were two guards with tall, strong bodies. Both stood at attention, staring straight ahead like statues.
"This is my access card," Eliana held out her hand and showed a flat metal box. On it was a dragon-shaped emblem. This was the worker's card that all workers at the entertainment house had. Without this card, they would not be able to enter the mansion.
One of the guards looked at Eliana with a frightening look in his eyes, he picked up the metal flat box to examine it. After observing the authenticity of the object, he returned it to Eliana coldly, "Come in"
Eliana took her access card, walked in cheerfully past the two guards, what she saw first was a spacious room decorated with beautiful ornaments, sparkling clean floors and also a ceiling decorated with large lights like hanging crystals, very mesmerizing.
-To Be Continue