A gentle breeze blew through the field, scattering some dandelion seeds in the air. The sun shone brightly in the vast, clear sky, bathing everything beneath it in its golden light. Amidst this peaceful landscape was Alian Silver, a twelve-year-old girl, smiling warmly.

Gathering the blankets hung in the orphanage courtyard, Alian hummed a cheerful tune. Her soft voice mingled with the whisper of the wind and the rustling of leaves, creating a symphony that seemed to catch the attention of the animals hiding in the nearby bushes. Every task she performed, no matter how simple, filled her with satisfaction and enthusiasm, perhaps because of the relief of knowing she was useful to her mother, despite the difficulties and heavy responsibilities for her young age.

"Hey! Allen, Mrs. Luz is calling you!"

With flushed cheeks, her eyes shone with joy at her mother's call.

"Yes! Thank you for telling-

She turned her head looking for the person, but again, there was no one there.

She finished folding the blankets and stacked them in the basket, carrying them with difficulty back into the orphanage. A huge cloud of smoke emanated from the artisanal chimney, along with a fragrant aroma of herbs and cooked meat. At the kitchen door, her bare feet echoed, and anticipating a reprimand for walking without shoes, she covered her ears.

"Mom?"

Luz Silver's gaze was fixed on the clay pot, automatically stirring the stew without making a sound. Alian understood that this pot ensured delicious flavors in the meals, so assuming her mother's immense concentration on the food, she smiled affectionately and hugged her, rubbing her face against her mother's waist.

"Thank you, Mom. I love you so much, so much," she said, repeating the last word with a loving tone, trying to express her gratitude for the day's future dinner.

Luz Silver stopped her hand, her body, her heart, and looked at her daughter. A lump formed in her throat, impossible to avoid. A mother's mind was always attentive to several things at once, a unique ability; however, Luz Silver felt dimmed in those moments.

Her light began to flicker.

"I... love you too, Alian," she said in a clipped tone, or at least that's how Alian felt, unable to perceive her mother's true heart vibrations. "Help me serve quickly, the food will cool down."

Alian nodded obediently and went for the wooden plates, unaware of how unusually quiet and worrying her mother was. Alian couldn't help but wonder if something beyond the usual was affecting her mother. But, trying not to be intrusive, she decided to focus on the task at hand, hoping the silence would disappear like the aroma of food when it runs out.

"Alian, would you like a bigger house?"

Her mind wandered. A big house. The cabin where she lived with her mom wasn't bad, but sometimes things piled up and she felt suffocated. However, she had never commented on it so as not to make her mother feel bad.

"Yes, a big house would be great," she said reluctantly as she placed the last plates on the stone table.

"Do you want to have siblings?"

Alian's eyes widened with excitement, and her face lit up. Her cheeks blushed more than usual and her lips let out a slight laugh. Her hands, small and agile, began to move nervously, squeezing and releasing the apron enthusiastically.

"Are you going to have a baby, Mom?" she exclaimed excitedly. "I would love to have siblings! We could play together, eat together, and... and it would be amazing!"

Luz chuckled.

"No, I'm too old for that."

"Then why...?"

Luz sighed and crouched down to Alian's height.

The bangs that covered much of her face were tucked away. Mother and daughter looked at each other in silence for a fraction of a second, as if words were not enough to convey something Alian didn't know.

A fragile longing desire escaped in words.

"My girl, stay alive," Luz said seriously, caressing her daughter's chubby cheeks, remembering the rapid passage of time. "Live and don't worry about old things. Be happy, okay?"

Alian nodded, confused. The last few days, after the Annual Examination Day, had been strange. Her mother spoke with deep and melancholy words that she didn't fully understand, but she felt they were important. The attitude of the orphanage director and the other children had also changed. The director, who had always shown coldness and disdain towards Alian, now greeted her with a strange courtesy, almost as if she felt obligated to do so; and the older children, who used to ignore her or mock her, started congratulating her for something she didn't fully understand.

A shiver ran down her spine, filling her with uncertainty.

The breeze outside the orphanage began to dissipate, and the clouds began to appear. Twilight had given way to a quiet and serene night. The cool night air brought with it the gentle rustling of leaves being moved by the breeze, creating an atmosphere of calm and mystery. Crickets made themselves present with their nocturnal melody, and the bright eyes of owls could be seen in the distance through the orphanage windows, illuminated by the moonlight.

Inside the orphanage, the children lay in their rooms, preparing to sleep. Alian, fulfilling the task assigned by the director, checked off the names to confirm everyone's presence before extinguishing the candles in the rooms.

"Done!" she exclaimed as she organized the papers, climbing the stairs to the director's office to deliver the list and the day's reports.

The director's office was an unpleasant sight, gloomy and suffocating, especially at night. The light from the only lamp in the room flickered weakly, casting elongated shadows that seemed frightening. Alian knew that if she held her breath, she could quickly leave without having to breathe in that strange incense scent that permeated the air.

She walked with determination, feeling the weight of the nocturnal silence and the charged atmosphere of the room. Upon arrival, she saw the old table that served as the director's desk and left the papers on top, trying not to disturb or touch anything in that place.

"Huh? What's this?" she murmured, noticing a sheet lying under the table, picking it up to read. "Hmm, my name?"

As she read the sheet with curiosity, Alian didn't notice the multiple footsteps approaching. The footsteps echoed in the hallway, but she was absorbed in the content of the sheet. The written data seemed to describe her in every detail, but above all, they emphasized the incident on Examination Day. Her mind began to feel dizzy and she tried to hold onto the table, thinking about finding an explanation.

When she finally paid attention to the noise, it was too late. The door was open and Alian's heart skipped a beat in her chest. She saw several familiar faces approaching quickly and the dim light of the lamp flickered, creating unsettling shadows on the floor.

"Is that the girl? Doesn't she look too small?" a hoarse and unfamiliar voice said from the end of the hallway.

Alian's heart pounded hard as she backed away in fear, seeking refuge in anything nearby. The tension in the air was noticeable. She had been cornered for no reason, her feet trembling, and as she tried to run, she stumbled miserably, at the mercy of everyone.

"Mrs. Luz, your daughter is the blessed one we requested, right? If it's discovered that there's an impostor, you know what can happen," said the director, who had just arrived, apparently satisfied by the tone in which she spoke.

With difficulty, Alian raised her face to ask what was happening when she saw her mother, with a bewildered and anguished look.

"Mrs. Luz, my girl, come."

Alian froze. Her legs didn't respond, in fact, they seemed to have become numb. Her arms trembled with fear. Her chest breathed heavily and her mind warned her that something was wrong, that everyone was hiding something from her.

"Mom?"

Luz looked at Alian with eyes full of distress and sadness. She knew what was going to happen and couldn't do anything to stop it.

The knot in her throat tightened with every passing second.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. I have to reach Lanze with the two children in four days, the journey is long, so if you'll excuse me to finish the work..."

"Mom? Mom, who is that man? Mom—!"

Before Luz could answer her little girl, the elderly man with a hoarse voice quickly approached and firmly grabbed Alian. She tried to resist, but she was too small and thin to fight back. The old man dragged her away, ignoring Alian's cries, pleading for help from her mother.

"Mom! Mom, help me! Mommy! Mommy, please!"

As she screamed, her mother cried inconsolably on the floor, helpless for everything that was happening. Alian couldn't see it, but her mother was silencing her cries with her hands, struggling internally not to go to rescue and save her daughter, by lying on herself what was best.

Finally, no shout was heard when the carriage galloped quickly with the two blessed children inside. The old man, impatient to move forward without any inconvenience the route that awaited them, had whispered a spell on Alian's forehead, making sure to leave her unconscious during the next hours.

From the orphanage window, Luz followed with her gaze the departure of the carriage. Her eyes still had contained tears that reflected the pain, helplessness, and anger that mixed within her chest. However, there were no screams or words of protest; only the heavy silence