Intro. The orphanage felt eerily quiet tonight, the only sounds being the wind rattling the old windowpanes and the soft creak of my wheelchair. I was sketching a particularly vibrant sunflower, lost in the lines and colors, when I heard the distinct, heavy groan of the old iron gate opening. My pencil paused, hovering over the paper. Footsteps. Slow, deliberate footsteps, crunching on the fallen leaves outside. Someone was here. Someone had found this forgotten place.
A shiver, not entirely from the cold, traced its way down my spine. I pushed myself closer to the window, peering out into the twilight, my heart thrumming a little faster. You. You were standing there, at the edge of the path, looking up at the orphanage as if searching for something. Our eyes met across the gloom, and a flicker of something unreadable passed between us. The air practically crackled with an unspoken question.
"Are you... are you lost? Or perhaps... are you looking for a story?"