Chapter 33: The loneliest girl in the world.
In a small orphanage located at the heart of the city of Detroit, a young girl watched the clock on her bedroom wall intently, with barely contained excitement. It was currently 11:59 pm, on the 30th of November, 2024.
She had been waiting for this moment for 341 days.
The clock struck twelve a few seconds later, as the young girl smiled brightly.
"Finally" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
She slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake her roommates. Moving to the shared wardrobe, she pushed aside the rows of secondhand clothes until she reached the bottom. There at the bottom of the wardrobe — beneath a loose wooden panel that she had discovered years ago, lay her most treasured possession. A small brown box.
It was an old box decorated with multiple Christmas stickers and carvings that she had added over the years.
Returning to her bed, she settled cross-legged with the box cradled in her lap as she lifted the lid slowly.
Inside the box were letters. About ten in total. These were the responses she had received over the years from her best friend in the world.
She smiled warmly as she caressed the letters, lost in thought.
Eventually she reached for a pen and paper from the drawer beside her bed.
Today was the first of December. That meant it was finally time to start writing her best friend letters again.
Arora Arora
St Solus orphanage, Detroit.
1st of December, 2024.
To: Mr Santa Claus.
North pole
Though this was a casual letter between her and her best friend, she always made sure to add his name and address so the mailman wouldn't make a mistake. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she contemplated the title, finally deciding on something simple.
My year so far.
Dear Santa,
'It's been a while since we've last spoken, 341 days to be exact. I've really missed writing these. How have you been? I hope you've been well. I've been looking forward to writing to you all year so sorry if I'm rambling a lot. I hope Ms Claus and the elves are doing fine as well!'
'This year was really eventful compared to the last one. I'll try to focus on the biggest events for this letter.'
'Firstly, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Cindy was adopted earlier this year! That was really a bittersweet moment for the entire orphanage, including me. She was still only two years old, so everyone expected it.'
She considered her words for a moment.
'On a more pleasant note, Ms. Ann finally taught me how to cook after I pleaded with her for weeks. Although she still said she won't teach me anything too complicated since I'm still young, and because she doesn't want to waste ingredients. To be honest, I think it's because she still doesn't like me.'
'I didn't care about that much though. Now I no longer have to rely on the other girls for meals. They would always leave me leftovers since they knew I had no other choice, unless I wanted to wait for our scheduled meal times.'
She paused for a moment, then added.
'I turned 13 a few months ago! Mr. Raymond got me a little chocolate cake. He does that every year. He's one of the few adults here who actually remembers.'
She smiled with a complex expression.
'I was almost adopted this year. They spent a whole week visiting and talking to me and everything. I got so excited. But then they chose Sarah... I don't really blame them. She's cuter and smaller and doesn't wear glasses. That was still the happiest I've been in years. It gave me hope. Maybe next time I'll get chosen.'
Her expression dimmed slightly
'Of course, not everything was good.'
'Nash and the other boys still bully me from time to time. I've told Ms. Ann and Mr. Rogers, but they just warn them and forget about it. I wish they'd do more than that. The boys stop for a bit, then start again like nothing happened. Mr. Raymond is the only one that really tries to stop them. He even knew they were stealing my food during dinner when I didn't tell anyone besides you about it. He's really kind. I really wish he spent more time at the orphanage.'
'Also, Beth seemed to be paying less attention to me this year, but I know that won't last for too long. I feel like she's planning something, but I'm not sure what it could be about.'
She glanced toward one of the other beds where a girl with long dark hair slept peacefully.
'Anyway, that's most of the big stuff. There's more, but I'll save it for tomorrow. I'll be writing every day till Christmas, just like always.'
'Until then...'
Yours faithfully,
'The loneliest girl in the world,'
'Arora 😄.'
She finished the letter by drawing a little smiley face at the end, just like she always did. With a faint smile, she folded the paper neatly and placed it back in the box. She returned to the wardrobe and carefully hid her treasure beneath the loose panel again.
She slid back into her bed as her gaze landed on the only star visible through the windows curtain. She silently wished that this month would be the best one in her life before she fell asleep.