Abandoned Girl

Chapter 5: Another Birthday

Rachel and Ella have been great friends for the last 4 years, and tomorrow marks Ella's 14th birthday. Even though kids aren't allowed to wander around at night, they always bend the rules for Ella on the nights before her birthday. On every night before her birthday, she goes out to the little courtyard the orphanage has and sits under the old oak tree.
"Rachel, I'm going to..." Ella began to state but was cut off by her friend.
"I know the routine. Go do your thing. I will probably be asleep when you get back, just an fyi." Rachel said.
"Thanks." Ella replied, walking out of their room.
Ella then began her walk down the hall and then out the door to the courtyard. Once she got outside, she headed over to the tree and sat down.
Once she got situated, she reached down to her pocket and grabbed something. It was an old photo, all bent and faded, with a little tear in the bottom left hand corner. In the right hand corner, a small date was written in yellow ink. The date was October 1st, 1999. The picture showed Ella, her mom, and her dad in front of tree that looked like the one Ella was sitting in front of right now. But there was a difference between the two trees. The one in the picture looked happier than the one Ella is by. But also there is something similar between Ella and the old oak tree. They were both forgotten once in their lives, and the only thing that can fix the broken bond that was formed is...well, a miracle.
She set the photo down in her lap and looked up at the stars. As she did this, Ella heard the nearby church bells strike midnight. Midnight meant it was the day. It was November 4th, Ella's 14th birthday.
Ella continues to look up to the stars as she whispers to herself, "Happy Birthday to me."
Then she goes to go grab the photo and looks at her parents. A little tear slides down her cheek. As she look at the photo, she went to hold the only thing that was connecting her to her past. Ella's key necklace. But there is one problem. The key is gone!
"Uh...where is my key?" Ella frantically asked herself.
She stood up, put the photo back in her pocket, and look around the tree. Still, there was no sign of the key anywhere. Now Ella is really upset.
"Where did that key..." Ella began to ask herself before she was interrupted by a loud crash from inside.
After waiting a few moments, she decides that she better go see what was that loud crash. She left the courtyard and entered the building. As she did, Ella heard the big crash again. She heard it come down this one hallway. Ella headed down the hallway and it led to a door. She heard it again and it came from behind the door. Ella reached for the handle and opened the door. The room was completely dark inside. Ella then turned on the lights and on the ground was a broken vase, clearly smashed multiple times. Next to the vase was...
"Uh...who are you?" Ella asked puzzled and frightened.
Before her eyes was... a boy! He had black hair and looked about the same age as Ella. He was wearing a blue shirt and brown pants. He also was wearing red sneakers. He laughed at the question, and began to walk towards Ella. As he did this, Ella stumbled backwards, a little frightened and startled. Then he answered her question.
"My name's Owen."
"Well, Owen, what are you doing here?"Ella questioned.
"Same reason why we are all here." Owen responded.
"Well wait until I tell Mr. Trevor that someone is running around past midnight breaking stuff." Ella stated. She wanted to feel like that she was in charge. But on the inside, she was scared. She was scared of this "Owen" kid. Who was this kid?
"I don't think he will believe you." Owen mocked Ella.
"How would you know that? Besides, if he sees the evidence then he will have to believe me." Ella taunted back.
"Yeah, sure he will. Also, why are you up past midnight?" Owen replied.
"None of your business. Well, come on!" Ella demanded as she grabbed Owen's hand and ran down the hall towards Mr. Trevor's room. As they reached his room, Ella knocked on the door. After a few moments, Mr. Trevor answered the door.
"Ella, it's almost 1 a.m. What's the...?" He began to ask but was cut off by Ella.
"Mr. Trevor, this boy right here named Owen is up past midnight and..." Ella states but is interrupted.
"Ella..." Mr. Trevor states, trying to get Ella's attention.
"...and I believe he should be in trouble or something because..." Ella continues.
"Ella..." Mr. Trevor tries again.
"...Because I am the only one who is allowed out on this night past midnight and..."
"ELLA!" Mr. Trevor snaps. Finally, that got her attention.
"What?" She asks.
"No one is there." He replied. As he did, Ella looks to her side and... Owen is right there.
"Told you so." Owen said.