The Lie | Teen Ink

The Lie

February 14, 2018
By CoraP BRONZE, Greene, Maine
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CoraP BRONZE, Greene, Maine
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I creep along the hallway trying to be as quiet as possible. If I wake up Ms. Hathway I’ll never see the light of day again. Ms. Hathway is the cranky, old woman who runs the orphanage and is the only person allowed in her office. The reason why I’m creeping down the hallway so late at night is that I’ve got to know more about my real parents. See, I was left on the steps to the orphanage when I was only 3 months old and that’s where I’ve been my entire life. I’m 13 now and think I’ve waited long enough to hear more about my real parents. The only thing I know about them is that they’re dead, they died in a car accident that happened while they were on their way home from a night out. I was left at the orphanage by my uncle who didn’t want me.

I reached the door to Ms. Hathways office and pushed it open a little bit to make sure she wasn’t inside. She wasn’t. I opened it all the way and tiptoed inside. I know all of the files on the kids at the orphanage are in the filing cabinet in the corner of the office. I went over to the cabinet and opened it up. It was in alphabetical order so I went down to the m’s and looked for my name. At that exact moment, I felt someone grab my shoulder and turn me around. When I saw who it was I felt my heart drop to my stomach. It was Ms. Hathway. She made me stand up and screamed in my face “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU KNOW YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE.” She dragged me by the back of my shirt down the hallway before I had time to reply. She shoved me down the stairs of the cellar and shut the door which sent me tumbling down. I knew I was doomed but I still tried to get out. I ran up to the door and pounded on it but it was no use I was never getting out of here. The cellar was dark and smelled damp and was very crowded. I felt around trying to find some source of light but was unsuccessful. There was nothing I could do so I just curled up into a ball and fell asleep crying.

I didn’t sleep for very long because when I woke up it was just becoming morning. I got up and looked up out of the tiny window that was at the very top of the wall. It looked out at the field behind the orphanage. I could just barely make out the creepy cemetery that belonged to the orphanage and was no doubt filled with dead children that had once lived in the orphanage. I had absolute certainty that I would soon join them; but oh how wrong I was. The next morning I woke up cold, tired, and hungry. I walk over to the fireplace on the back wall and warmed myself by the fire but I didn’t stay for long because someone would be down to check on it soon. I was sitting by the fire for no longer than 5 minutes when I heard the door to the cellar unlock and one of the kids from the orphanage come down. I only knew her by the scar that ran down her left arm, her name is Zoe but I don’t know her last name. She got her scar for an unknown reason, she never talks to anyone and stays to herself. She’s an assistant to Ms. Hathway and obeys her every order.

I ran back over to my corner to stay out of her way but instead of walking over to the fireplace she walked toward me. I kept backing away but no matter, she kept walking toward me. “ W-what are you doing” I whispered, she didn’t answer me but instead she gave me the key to the gate that covered the window, keeping us in. I was really confused I didn’t know what to think. After she gave me the key she just stood there for awhile and then after what seemed like forever she finally said one word “Go.” I just stood frozen unable to comprehend what just happened after a few minutes she was back upstairs and out of my sight. As soon as she was gone I stood up and walked to the window, I had no way of telling if this key really was the right key but if so Ms. Hathway is going to notice it’s missing soon. I put the key in the hole and turned it hoping, no praying that it would work. If I got caught I was done for and so was Zoe. As I slowly turned it I started to sweat but it clicked and the lock came right off. I took off the gate and opened the window, all of my instincts were saying run away but I couldn’t. I lifted myself up out of the window and then I ran around to the front of the building. There was only one way to get in without drawing attention and that was going to take some time

Every Monday Zoe gets the mail and brings it to Ms. Hathway, I just have to wait till then to get in, the only problem is I was put in the cellar on Friday and I spent a night in there so It was only Saturday I still have two more days to go and I have to get back to the cellar or someone will notice I’m gone. I ran back to the cellar and put the gate back on the window so no one would know I left. In order for this to work, I have to put something in between the lock so I can open it without the key. I looked around on the floor for something useful and found a bobby pin on the floor from a previous kid. I slid the bobby pin into the lock and then closed it back up. I then left the keys by the fireplace so Zoe could come get them. Now it was just a matter of waiting and watching.
On Monday I knew what to do I had thought it all out over the past two days. I would listen for the mail truck to pull into the yard and then I would unlock the gate and move to the front of the house. Once I was at the front I would wait for Zoe to walk out the front door. As soon as she walked out I would wait for the mailman to give her the mail and then I would wait for her signal. I was waiting for Zoe to make the signal when I realized that it would be tough to get inside. While I was thinking I looked up and Zoe was winking really hard at the mailman, at first, I thought she had something in her eye and then I realized it was the signal. I stood up and walked to the front door where Zoe was standing, I immediately walked up to the front door but before I could reach it Zoe pulled me back. “What are you, crazy, Ms.Hathway could be right inside, you need to be careful”. She pulled me back and opened the door herself she then peered inside and motioned for me to enter

When I got inside she closed the door and headed for the kitchen. “Where are you going,” I asked, “I need to get to my parent's file”. She just kept walking and didn’t stop to tell me what to do. “Hey, did you hear me, I need to get to my parent's file.” At that, she spun around and turned on me, “Keep your voice down, and I know you have to get your parents file but you were just in the cellar for 3 nights without food, you need to get some food in your system.” That shut me right up because I just realized that she was right, I hadn’t eaten food since the day I was thrown in the cellar and I had gotten so used to no food while I was down there that I forgot I was starving.

We walked into the kitchen after Zoe made sure the coast was clear. I sat down at the counter while she grabbed a piece of bread and put it in the toaster. “Why are you helping me”, it was the only thing I could think of to keep the silence away. She didn’t answer right away as I've learned is just her way of communicating. “If at least one of us makes it out of here alive at least we all have a chance at being saved.” So she was helping me for the benefit of everyone but me, great. “You barely know me and yet your willing to trust me to get you and everyone else here help,” again she took some time to answer the question but eventually she answered me. “ I know more about you than you think.” This answer made me a little uneasy because I was right about not trusting her but there was no going back now. Zoe handed me the toast and then walked out of the kitchen, I followed suit and made sure I was quiet. When we got to the door of Ms. Hathway office Zoe reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. “How do you get all of these keys, doesn’t Ms. Hathway notice they’re missing.” She didn’t answer me but instead opened the door shoved me inside and closed the door. “Hey what the heck, why did you do that.” Instead of dwelling on it more I turned around and walked to the filing cabinet. I opened it to the M's like before and found my name. I pulled out my file and closed the cabinet then I walked to the door and knock on it to let  Zoe know I was done. She opened it and let me out, I walked to the front door and opened. This was it I was finally free I could go live the way I wanted. “Good luck and here’s 20 bucks to get out of here.” And just like that, I was gone.

I can’t believe that I let people lie to me like that. After all of these years, my parents are alive. I read the file once I was on a bus on my way out of there and what I saw was the best thing I’ve ever seen. On the paper in front me it had a section named “parents” and underneath that it said living. I knew they were still alive but no one would tell me anything about them. I didn’t know where I was going but I needed to find my parents before it was too late. I had no idea where to start but I thought a good place to start would be the police station.
I walked into the police station and was immediately hit the smell of coffee and sweat. I walked up to the desk and asked: “Hi I’m trying to find my parents.” The guy that was sitting there just ignored me and continued about his duties. “Hey I said I’m trying to look for my parents, can you help me.” At that he looked up from his computer and stared me down for what seemed like forever, then finally he said “ Sure kid, what are their names.” It took me a minute to realize that I didn’t actually know their names. I take out the file on my parents and looked for some names. I finally found them and told the man sitting at the desk. “Their names are Mark and Megan Miller if that will help you find them.” He gave me a weird look and then went off in search of a paper. When he came back he looked very tired and worn out. “Here you go kid, hope you find what you’re looking for”, and with that, I left the police station.

The drive from the bus stop to the police station was 7 bucks so I only had 13 bucks left and that wasn’t going to get me far so I had to make sure to conserve it. When I stepped outside of the police station I finally looked at the paper the guy handed to me. It was an old newspaper clipping and on it was a picture of a worn down house and the caption read “Miller house abandoned with the baby inside, parents are nowhere to be seen.” I looked at the picture and realized I had no idea where this house is, but there's got to be someone in town who does know.
I walked around town for what seemed like forever asking people if they knew where this house was but no one seemed to know. Maybe they knew but no one wanted to tell but in any case, I was getting nowhere until I asked an old woman. I saw her on the corner of a street with bags of groceries in her hands. I walked up and tapped her making her turn around to look at me. She was a small woman who looked like she was shriveling up because her skin was so wrinkly. I asked her if she knew where the house in the photo is and she told me, “why yes I do but why would you have any interest in that old thing, no one's been there for about 13 years now, speaking of which you seem to be about that age yourself and you kinda look like the little baby that was abandoned at that house.” When she brought that up started to sweat but I had to keep my composure so as to not give away the fact that she was true. “Oh no ma'am, you must have me mixed up with someone else, I'm just interested in this because it’s for a school project.” Hopefully, she won’t catch on and I can just be on my way. “Oh well  it’s down the block on the left you’ll be able to see it when you get there.” I thanked the old woman and was on my way to the house before it was even dark.

I was standing outside of my house, the house that my parents abandoned me at the place that was the beginning of my loneliness. I should have been happy but I wasn’t,  I resented this place and everything it stood for, I’m glad that it’s worn and broken. I walked up to the door and pushed it open. Inside was dusty and dark and smelled of rotting wood. I walked into the entrance and was immediately pushed back against the door by this weird force. “Hello, is anyone there.” I got no response but instead was met by a woman in her 30’s. She had bright green eyes just like me and blonde hair that was turning gray at the ends. Then a man comes out around the same age as the woman, he has brown eyes and light brown hair with freckles just like me. These must be my parents I thought to myself. “Mom, dad is that you.” They didn’t respond but instead glared at me with a deathly look. And that’s when I realized that I was still floating in the air by an unknown force but by the looks of it it was being controlled by my mom. “Mom, how are you doing this, where have you guys been the newspaper said you disappeared.” Again I was met with death glares until my dad looked at me and his expression softened. Then I was being put back on the ground. “Hello son, it’s been awhile, I suppose you have a lot of questions,” my dad says. Well, that’s one way to put it. “Yeah I do, let’s start off with how can Mom do that with her hand.” I mean it wasn’t the first question that popped into mind but I felt like it was the most important. “Well, first of all, she’s not the only one who can do it, I can do it as well and second we’re not human but there’s really no word for what we are.” Not human what the heck if they aren’t human than how did they have me. And if they really are my parents then do I have the same power thing as them. “Ok well that clears up a little bit of stuff but I’m still confused about one thing.”

“Ok son, ask away”
“Why did you abandon me”
“Well that’s part of the reason why you're here, we abandoned you because we got a message before we had you that our future son would become much more powerful than we could ever be and that we needed to destroy you”
“What, but if you knew that then why did you have me in the first place”
“Well I don’t know if you can tell but I and your mother weren’t planning you, you just sort of happened”
“But weren’t you supposed to destroy me”
The entire time I and my dad were talking my mom was sitting in the back listening to our conversation and it was making me a little uneasy. She hadn’t said one thing to me or dad the entire time I’ve been here.
“We were but we were still human in a way so we sent you to live with your uncle away from any harm from us and so you wouldn’t learn the ways of our power”
“That makes sense but why am I here and do I really have that power”
Just then mom cut in with a laugh that sounded as dead as she looked. “So naive, you really have no idea why you are here, even after Mike told you everything, poor Mason who never grew up with parents or friends.” She didn’t sound like my mom at all and she called me by my first name, unlike my dad who was acting like a real dad. She suddenly threw my father across the room rendering him unconscious. She then grabbed me by my collar of my shirt and lifted me up off the ground, she was much stronger than she looked. “Mom what are you doing, DAD ARE YOU OK.” He didn’t move and just then my mom threw me across the room but I didn’t pass out. I felt a splitting pain hit my head and I reached up to touch my head when I pulled my hand back in front of my face my hand was covered in blood. My mom starting walking towards me with a look on her face that made her look ugly and mean. “M-mom what a-are you d-doing.” I was talking with a stutter because I hit my head so hard. “ I’m finishing what I started.” At that moment I felt something that I never thought I would feel in a moment like this, I felt not scared, or angry, but I felt relieved. I was tired of suffering and being alone with no one but myself. And I wasn’t mad at my mom, she was just doing this to protect herself and dad. In the final seconds of my life I looked up at the women I thought I could call my mother and smiled.



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