Keep On Walking

Welcome To OCCH

When Scarlet opened her eyes, the sun was already going down. She couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep, but it must have been quite a while ago.

The train was getting slower, the blur of motion outside gradually becoming clearer. In the distance, Scarlet's eyes fell upon something large. She pressed her face up against the window of the old train and strained her eyes to try and make out what it was.

It looked like a house, but a greatly big one. More like a castle than a house. It was old and worn down. She wondered if it was abandoned, or if some old lady still lived there all by herself, separated from the world.

Faintly, Scarlet made out the word "Orphanage". Her face lit up a bit. If it was an orphanage, that means there would be many other children there, without parents, just like her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

After another few minutes of the train slowly gliding down the tracks, it came to a halt outside the huge house, the "orphanage". Scarlet's eyes opened wide in wonder, and she tilted her head up to try and take in everything at once.

Behind her, she heard the train door creak open.
"Come on out, little one," the old train driver called out, "we're here now." He was holding the small door to the train cabin open, letting a ray of sunlight inside. Scarlet turned her gaze towards the man, and slid out of her seat.

She cautiously walked over to the door and thanked the man for holding it open for her.

The orphanage towered above Scarlet. It looked even bigger now than it had done from a distance. Scarlet began stepping towards the building, but stopped when she realised that the train man wasn't coming with her. She glanced behind her and saw that the man was already inside the train, getting ready to leave. She waved her small hand towards him, and he waved back, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Scarlet drew in a deep breath, and slowly walked forward towards the gigantic doors of the orphanage, rolling her suitcase behind her.

When she got to the front steps, she knocked. She didn't know if she should knock or not, but out of politeness, she did.

Scarlet waited a little while. She wondered if she should knock again, but before she had decided, the door swung open.

There was an old lady at the door. She had her grey hair tied up in a bun, and had on a pair of large, circular glasses. She was wearing a purple dress, so long that it touched the floor, and so old that the colors were fading.

"Hello," Scarlet smiled at the lady, "I'm Scarlet. I should be...uh..." she trailed off, not sure what she was supposed to say.

The lady looked her up and down, examining Scarlet. She finally looked at Scarlet's face and gazed into her eyes. "Sorrow," She whispered.
"What was that?" Scarlet didn't want to sound rude for not having have heard what the lady said.
"Oh, nothing. Come with me, dear, I'll show you around." She smiled and opened the door wider so that Scarlet could enter.

The first thing noticeable upon entering is the huge hall. There was a desk in the middle, reaching both ends of the hall, and behind the desks, drawers full of papers and, most probably, documents. The ceiling was high, and there were four chandeliers hanging, casting shadows.

Scarlet stared in wonder, never having have seen such a huge room. The hall also had a few doors. The old lady walked towards one of them, and gestured for Scarlet to follow. She did as she was asked, and walked inside the room.

This room was more normal sized than the hall. The ceiling was on a normal height, and there were no fancy chandeliers. Instead, a few lamps hung from the ceiling, and the room was filled with people. Children. Teenagers. Orphans.

Their attention was focused entirely on Scarlet. They stared at her in silence, occasionally whispering something to each other. Their eyes were wide, though of what reason, Scarlet didn't know.

"This is Scarlet," the lady said, "She is new here, just arrived. Please take care of her, she's been through some traumatising events." The orphans nodded. Didn't say anything, just nodded. Maybe they were just shy, or maybe they hadn't seen a new person in a while. After all, this place was out in the middle of nowhere.

"Crimson." The lady snapped. Scarlet was startled by her sudden change of tone, but it quickly returned to normal when a girl stood up.

She was quite tall, and had long, black hair. She wore a brown sweater and a short, purple skirt with black tights underneath. She had one of her eyes covered by her long, flowing hair, and seemed to be quite shy. When she stood, she had her hands brought up to her chest, holding them together tightly. She was staring at Scarlet, not looking at the old lady at all. She seemed to shake slightly as she walked forwards.

"Show her around," the lady said, before she turned, and left, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Scarlet was left in a dim room, full of orphans, which were intently staring at her. She didn't know what to do, or what to say.

The girl, Crimson, stepped towards Scarlet. She looked into her eyes, and whispered a weak "Come with me, I'll show you around." Her voice was shaky and quiet, barely audible if not for the utter silence in the room. Scarlet just nodded, and was led away to another door at the end of the room.

Crimson held it open for Scarlet, following her inside after. She led her down a dimly lit hallway, which was full of doors. "This is where we sleep," She said, "I'll show you to your room. The place we just came from is the common room. Where we can be social. There's also a garden, but that's out of bounds most of the time." Crimson's voice was so quiet, it almost sounded like she was mumbling to herself.

"Here," She stopped next to a door with the names 'Crimson&Scarlet' on it. "This is my room, and now also your room. We get to share," She said.
Scarlet nodded. She still had no idea what she should say.

"Come," said Crimson, "I'll show you around the rest of the orphanage. Afterwards, I'll tell you our basic rules."
"Alright."
"Oh, and uh..." Crimson trailed off, "Welcome to OCCH."