adopt them on a regular basis. He was a rough looking man, and although he said all the right things, there was something about him that always put me and the other children on edge. There was just something about him that didn’t fit. When he came around our hopes and prayers turned into fear and we tried to avoid him if we could. He came and adopted a different child every few months, proving to the staff at the orphanage that he had the monetary background to care for them. He even donated to the orphanage on a regular basis. As you can imagine, the orphanage staff was always eager when he came.
I once overheard the head master asking the man why he needed so many children, to which the man responded with his love for children and his own wife being unable to bear offspring of their own. He mentioned that he felt it was God’s own calling that he care for as many children as he could and raise them in the way of the Lord.
Well, it so happened that one day this same man came and adopted me. The day that I had waited so long for was anything but what I had expected. The joy of being taken away from the orphanage turned to ash in my mouth as I stood by the man filling out paperwork to claim me as his own.
I thought the day would come and I would be jumping with joy, but in that moment I felt more like a slave than a child. The man didn’t say much to me as he thanked the staff at the orphanage and I followed him out of the building.
I had nothing in the way of belongings but the clothes on my back. I can still remember waving goodbye to the children who stared wide-eyed at me from the dirty windows of the orphanage.
The man still said nothing as we made the journey to his estate. I had a better look at him now, though. He was a large man with rounded shoulders and a pale complexion. His face was firm and not unkind, but different somehow, like he was privy to information that would crush a normal man.
We drove in silence for a few hours until we reached this very canyon and made our way through the winding dirt roads. I can’t remember exactly where we turned off, but before I knew it we were at a huge stone mansion. It was the biggest house I had ever seen. It was bigger than the orphanage. I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a castle.
I stepped out and shivered, even though there was no wind. Everything was in perfect condition, from the large lawn to the gargoyles that stood guard at the gates and roofs of the property.
Over the next few months, things went from strange to stranger. I was given my own room and introduced to the staff and other children that ranged from my own age all the way up to sixteen or seventeen. There were servants, guards, maids, cooks, and about ten to twelve other children. None of the staff seemed like they wanted us harmed, but the other children and I agreed there was something very off about the place.
I found that every single child had been taken from various orphanages, some even coming from as far as a state or two away. None of us were told what to do while we were there and the staff seemed content to let us amuse ourselves so far as we did not cause trouble. During this time I didn’t see the man that had adopted me again.
My days were spent playing outside with the other children, reading, or exploring every room in the huge mansion. Just when I started to shake off the chill of my new surroundings, it started happening. Children started going missing. They were just gone, as if in the middle of the night they had woken up and walked right out the front doors. When we asked about what had happened to them, we were told that the master of the house had sent them away overseas to receive an education.
We received the news, skeptical to say the least, but what else could we believe? This disappearing act happened more and more often. Whispers were starting to pile up and theories roamed the empty halls. The servants even seemed to be on edge. As the children left, more came
I once overheard the head master asking the man why he needed so many children, to which the man responded with his love for children and his own wife being unable to bear offspring of their own. He mentioned that he felt it was God’s own calling that he care for as many children as he could and raise them in the way of the Lord.
Well, it so happened that one day this same man came and adopted me. The day that I had waited so long for was anything but what I had expected. The joy of being taken away from the orphanage turned to ash in my mouth as I stood by the man filling out paperwork to claim me as his own.
I thought the day would come and I would be jumping with joy, but in that moment I felt more like a slave than a child. The man didn’t say much to me as he thanked the staff at the orphanage and I followed him out of the building.
I had nothing in the way of belongings but the clothes on my back. I can still remember waving goodbye to the children who stared wide-eyed at me from the dirty windows of the orphanage.
The man still said nothing as we made the journey to his estate. I had a better look at him now, though. He was a large man with rounded shoulders and a pale complexion. His face was firm and not unkind, but different somehow, like he was privy to information that would crush a normal man.
We drove in silence for a few hours until we reached this very canyon and made our way through the winding dirt roads. I can’t remember exactly where we turned off, but before I knew it we were at a huge stone mansion. It was the biggest house I had ever seen. It was bigger than the orphanage. I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a castle.
I stepped out and shivered, even though there was no wind. Everything was in perfect condition, from the large lawn to the gargoyles that stood guard at the gates and roofs of the property.
Over the next few months, things went from strange to stranger. I was given my own room and introduced to the staff and other children that ranged from my own age all the way up to sixteen or seventeen. There were servants, guards, maids, cooks, and about ten to twelve other children. None of the staff seemed like they wanted us harmed, but the other children and I agreed there was something very off about the place.
I found that every single child had been taken from various orphanages, some even coming from as far as a state or two away. None of us were told what to do while we were there and the staff seemed content to let us amuse ourselves so far as we did not cause trouble. During this time I didn’t see the man that had adopted me again.
My days were spent playing outside with the other children, reading, or exploring every room in the huge mansion. Just when I started to shake off the chill of my new surroundings, it started happening. Children started going missing. They were just gone, as if in the middle of the night they had woken up and walked right out the front doors. When we asked about what had happened to them, we were told that the master of the house had sent them away overseas to receive an education.
We received the news, skeptical to say the least, but what else could we believe? This disappearing act happened more and more often. Whispers were starting to pile up and theories roamed the empty halls. The servants even seemed to be on edge. As the children left, more came