Page 7 of The Asylum
“Yes, and someone likes to play with a ball. Further knowledge I’ve discovered is that there are alleged to be over three hundred deaths that occurred there. The information from an investigative team stated the children were half-starved, all pale and weak, and most wouldn’t speak. It was hard to differentiate between boys and girls because they all had shaved heads to stoplice. There is also a record of girls being moved to an adult wing as soon as they started their periods,” Harry replied.
“Shit,” Sunny muttered, looking disgusted. I couldn’t disagree. What animal treated kids like that?
“The orphanage was overcrowded and underfunded. Those children knew nothing but misery. They had the most basic amenities, and half the time, they didn’t even have hot water. Their food was substandard, and many died of malnutrition. They were the unwanted and the forgotten. After the investigation, the institution continued for two further years before being forcefully closed. They reckon there was only one official death record, and a nurse hid it. Nobody has ever found it, and she was rumoured to have died before she could release it,” Harry concluded.
“Well, fuck,” I hissed. No doubt the culprits were long dead, but they deserved to be exposed for their cruelty. How could they have lived with themselves?
“Did we bring the ball and bear?” Callie asked, turning to Sunny, who nodded. He wore a backpack like mine, but I bet we carried different things.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and then spoke to the room. “Hi, my name is Callie, and I don’t mean any harm or disrespect. I’m aware people have visited and been cruel and horrible. That is such a shame, and I apologise for their actions. I want to talk to you if possible. Maybe you can begin by telling me your name,” Callie said and paused. “Or how old are you?”
I watched as Callie posed several more questions, holding out a recorder. Callie waited in silence for a few moments longer and then pressed stop and hit play.
I leaned in, interested in seeing if I could hear anything. I didn’t hear a name, but I could swear I caught weeping.
“Did you all catch that?” Callie asked, rewound the audio, and replayed it. She turned the volume up to maximum, and hervoice boomed from it, almost deafening us, but we clearly heard crying.
“That’s a child,” I said wide-eyed.
“Yeah,” Sunny agreed.
Callie proposed a few more questions and repeated her actions.
“Hello, I can hear you weeping. Are you hurt or frightened?” Callie’s voice asked.
“Scared.”The whisper floated in the air, and the hairs on my arms stood up.
“What’s your name?”
“Mathew,”the boy responded. He sounded so young; my heart ached.
“How old are you?”
“Five.”
“Why are you crying?”
“Hungry.”
“Damn,” I hissed, shocked.
“Welcome to my world,” Sunny muttered.
“Magic, would you like to ask anything?” Callie said, and I felt a pang of worry. This was a child, spirit or not; it was a kiddie.
“Callie, he might be frightened of me,” I replied.
“Try,” Callie urged.
I shook my head, but my mouth opened anyway. I asked a series of questions before Callie held up a hand and pressed replay.
“Hi, dude, I’m Magic. I ride a motorbike if you know what one of them is.”
“Vroom,”Mathew said, and I smiled.
“I’d like to talk to you, but I don’t want to upset you. If I ask something that upsets you, say no. That’s okay to say. Did you die here?”
“Hungry. Yes.”
