The orphanage was not built like an asylum, in fact it looked more like a regular mansion.

  The hall, on the ground floor, was where they had their meals and spent their leisure time. Mother would arrange events like balls, and charity functions in the hall and therefore, it was decorated lusciously. The walls were covered with vintage wallpaper with candle holders placed after a fixed interval along with a luxurious chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. The dining table was long and was made of mahogany wood varnished so lavishly that it felt like a glass was layered on top of it. There were 7 chairs placed on either side of the table and a big well decorated throne stood at the end of it. That was where Mother sat.

  On the second floor was Dan and Chris's room, it was the floor for the older children, particularly teenagers, while the younger children had their rooms on the ground floor. Mother's chambers were on the 3rd floor, it was also the floor where no one was allowed unless explicitly asked by Mother. The only person who freely entered or exited that floor was Chris. The kitchen was outside in a shed along with a small playground. There were bathrooms on each floor for males and females. There were 2 rooms along with the hall on the ground floor, each room with 4 children, 2 rooms along with bathrooms on the second floor. The girls lived in one room and boys in another. Of course the girls' rooms were bigger. And the 3rd floor was where Mother lived.

  There weren't many kids, just 13. Mother believed that having less kids improved the quality of living. 5 of them were teens, with Lydia, Dan, Chris being 17, while the other two, Amelia and Liza, 15. Dan barely had any interactions with other younger kids except the twins of 7 years, Molly and Tim, who were the youngest at present.

  There weren't any staff, everything from cooking to cleaning were done by the children. This was one of Mother's many policies. She believed it would improve the social and practical skills of the children. Schooling was done outside. Everything was funded by various charities Mother hosted and her own personal connections. Anyone after the age of adulthood no longer had the right to stay at the orphanage.

  Mother, their caretaker, owned the orphanage. She was a rather calm, analytical woman, rarely getting angry and extremely beautiful. One could hardly guess her age, her vibrant golden brown hair was always professionally styled according to her luxurious clothings and jewellery. Her deep blue eyes would make anyone mesmerised. Her makeup made her look youthful and sophisticated. Lydia and Amelia were in charge of helping her get dressed and so given permission to enter the 3rd floor only in the mornings and nights.

  According to Mother, she was fair with everything, but her standard of fairness was not that of equality but of exchange. She placed children on ladders, with her favoured ones garnering her love and attention and unloved one garnering all the ignorance and hate. Dan was no beloved child of hers.

  Her strategy made the children eager, eager to win her love and attention, as they could see the misery of the disliked one, and no one wanted to be in his shoes…. in Dan's shoes….

  As Dan stepped into the quiet hall he felt the hair on his skin prick up shivering, making him stop at his tracks.

  "Daniel…” Mother's low cynical voice echoed through the hall. Dan looked across the table until his gaze met Mother's. Her strong displeasure made Dan instinctively lower his gaze so as to not meet her eyes.

  The seating was straightforward, the favoured sat next to her and the disapproved, the furthest from her. Everyone was accepting of it as long as they were not the last. Chris and Lydia were just next to her on the left and right.

  “Late … Late once… Late twice… Late all the time…” her low sarcastic voice penetrated Dan's ears. “ … when shall you learn, child?…" she asked with skepticism.

  He opened his mouth when he watched Mother's hand rise in his vision. His voice didn't leave his lips.

  Crank

  The throne moved back.

  Tap tap tap…

  Mother's heels made the floors shriek.

  Dan followed her beautiful sparkling blue evening gown dragging along the floor until she stood right in front of him.

  "Daniel… my child..", she lowered her face to Dan's level. She was a rather tall woman. Her voice was cold and slow.

  ".....Mother..", Dan uttered, defeated and frightened.

  "Haha…” she snickered. “Yes... I am your Mother, and Mother’s words are …..ABSOLUTE…"

  Nothing moved and no one spoke, as if the space was empty and Dan was the only resident and so Dan felt her words resonate throughout the hall, almost deafening. She straightened her posture and faced her throne then slowly turned her head and gave him a look of disappointment. “So… my child… when I tell you to come… you are not to be late… Do you understand?”

  She walked back to her throne. There was complete silence as Dan was the only one standing. As she sat on her throne and waved her hand in the air. Dan felt his feet move towards the furthest seat and felt the air suffocating him. He slowly turned and looked at her. Her expressions had softened and she looked at everyone with a wide smile. It was only then that he took a seat.

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  "Anyways… My children, the reason I called you here was-", she snapped her finger and Chris stood up. "-for an announcement…", She looked at Chris with her blue eyes filled with pride.

  "Chris will soon leave for college… I am quite proud of him…unlike some-", she glanced at Dan, giving him goosebumps. "So… I have decided to hold a farewell banquet for your dear brother, Chris.".

  Despite the exciting news there was utter silence. Events were the only time children were allowed to eat a feast and wear good clothes as Mother was not so keen on such extravagances for the children. Of course, there were exceptions.

  "Lydia…", Mother placed her face on her interlock fingers. She looked at Chris from the corner of her eyes and he sat down.

  "Yes mother." Lydia sounded a bit nervous.

  "Liza…” Mother called out.

  “Yes, Mother.” A plump girl sitting right next to Chris responded attentively.

  “hmm… Management, invites and the budget. Invites should be big…". Mother handed them their duties.

  This was how she always distributed work among the children before events.

  "Yes mother", They both responded enthusiastically.

  "Amelia, dear."

  "Y-yes mother!" A girl with a messy bun sitting next to Lydia responded, a bit startled at the sudden call.

  "Tim, Molly..” She called them.

  "Yes mother!", the twins with small stature, sitting right next to each other responded in unison. They were seated beside Amelia.

  “Food… oh and make sure it is PERFECT.". she glanced at Amelia sternly.

  "Yes mother!", they responded in unison. Amelia started fidgeting with her hands. She had made a blunder last time and Mother wasn't very keen on such issues. She had only hoped she would do well this time around.

  She continued to assign other works including decorations, dressing and miscellaneous to the other children.

  “Oh… and Daniel-” she paused her voice cold and dull “-the usual!” she waved her hand to gesture that the meeting was over.

  No one spoke a word as she stood and walked out of the hall. Before leaving she turned her head slightly while her back faced the table.

  “If I find you messing up anything-” her voice was cold and harsh, “…ANYTHING at all-” she emphasised. “You ought to prepare for discipline!”

  Silence

  A loud anxiety played in the air, as he felt many piercing gazes on him. Though she had not mentioned a name, it was as if there were an unspoken rule, that she meant him.

  Tap tap tap

  It wasn't until the train of her evening gown was no longer visible that the hall started bustling with noise.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! We are having a banquet after forever!” Liza was clenching her fists in excitement as she spoke with Chris.

  “fweh! Oh Please!” Chris scoffed. He took a cookie from the cookie jar on the table and looked at Dan smirking. “You have me to thank for this! It's not like some Dweeb could ever provide you with any entertainment-” he stopped and narrowed his eyes “-or maybe he could!” his smirk turned into laughter.

  The event made the children lively, everyone discussed their matters with each other. They were always paired in groups and in those groups Dan never belonged.

  He always ended up alone…

  His usual duties were, cleaning the hall, rooms, toilet, halls, fixing electrical linings, and repair work and plumbing. He had done that for as long as he could recall. On the day of the events, he was responsible for waiting on guests and serving them. On normal accounts these works or chores weren't the problem but the fact that he alone was responsible for all that made him impossible to relax. And the mistakes he made or the blunders he created were never forgiven.

  Events never bode him well.

  Mother had those frequently.

  Dan just stood there staring at the ground. Noise around him made him feel unwanted.

  His head was filled with anxiety and the more he looked at the floor, the more the air around him felt heavier. The noises in the hall started to mash up into intangible words, hoarse, light, and distant. His heart, however, only felt bitterness.

  Everything felt dull and slow…

  Am I truly… alone….? Did anyone ever want my company…?

  To Dan, nobody ever wanted him, even the parents he still loved, the ones he had never met, never wanted him.

  Was I that unlovable?

  This wasn't the first time he felt this way. It had haunted him for years. That's why, oftentimes he felt like disappearing from the world, ceasing his existence. He wasn't welcomed there nor was he happy. The more he thought about it the more he felt like he was gone, until one day he noticed… that he really had vanished into thin air. This gave him life.

  And so, he faded into thin air.

  In the midst of all chaos in the hall Dan had disappeared, without anyone’s notice, silently.