***Knock knock knock
"Karina, can you hear me? Are you okay?"
"Ohhh, Karina… Karina!"
"Girl, it's all sorted out, just hang in there. You know what? I was smart about it, everything looked perfectly normal. Ah, one more thing... I'm sorry. I forgot about the photo, my bad. Come on, say something!"
"Oh God, why aren't you answering? … I need to check what happened!"
He ran away from the door, heading outside.
In that pitch-black darkness, Karina had climbed onto an old table, sitting directly under the moonlight seeping through the small window above. She had heard Szymon, but didn't answer—because she knew exactly what his next move would be.
Minutes later, the noise began. Then came the clattering of junk. Szymon moved a board aside, and suddenly appeared before her, saying:
"Good grief, you scared me! Why didn't you answer me?"
She didn't respond, only stared at him with an empty gaze.
Szymon crawled out of the opening, then rushed over to her:
"Are you alright? Damn… she looks like she's… cursed!"
He meant Magda.
"Damn it… she said you needed to be punished for touching her things. But tomorrow, I'm getting you out. I promise!"
Karina said quietly, "Let's leave this place."
Szymon replied, "What? No, we can't… Let's stay here until tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll stay with you."
"It's alright. You can stay if you want."
She stood up to climb down, but he quickly grabbed her:
"Are you crazy? That'd be dangerous, let's just keep quiet, please."
"You don't understand… I don't want to go back. I want to leave this place… forever."
He tried to calm her down, but she pushed him away and limped. That's when Szymon noticed the wound on her leg. She had stopped the bleeding by pressing on it and had wrapped it with cloth from her own clothes.
"Oh my God, is it serious?"
"It's fine. I stopped the bleeding, just like Doctor Piotr taught me."
Then, she suddenly became sad, and sat down, resting her head on her knees.
Szymon wanted to do something to comfort her, so he stood up, saying:
"Then come on... let's go to the orphanage. Zuzanna's keeping watch for us, and maybe she can do something for the wound."
When they exited through the opening, Szymon said:
"You know what? Mir rushed to make sure the room's door was locked… That idiot hates us so much. She didn't even know it was you, but still started cursing."
"I didn't notice what she said. Maybe because I lost consciousness for a moment."
Szymon: "Really?"
As they stepped outside, Karina turned her head toward Szymon. There was a large bruise and swelling on her head. He looked at her sadly and silently thought:
"You're so strong, little one..."
Karina was surprised to realize they were inside a back facility, also dark, like separate rooms divided by plastic curtains. Equipment was scattered or covered, and the smell was awful. The place evoked a silent horror, sending chills down the spine.
Szymon held her hand and led her outside, then closed the opening. That's when he remembered her injury and said:
"Sorry."
"It's alright. I feel better now."
Karina moved, this time toward the fence.
"What are you doing?" Szymon asked.
Karina: "I told you I want to leave. I'll go back to our old orphanage."
Szymon: "you told me it burned down and vanished! Where would you even go?"
Karina: "I don't know. But I'll look for Doctor Piotr. He told us he'd always be ready to help us."
Szymon: "You don't even know where that place is, or how to get there! What if he left, or wasn't there at all?"
Karina broke into loud sobs for the first time in front of him. Szymon rushed to hug her. Then he took her to the restaurant, where they snuck in through an old chimney vent.
Szymon said:
"Jan was the one who showed me this opening... and he disguised it so it wouldn't be discovered."
They sat there. Then Szymon quickly went to bring Zuzanna, who came carrying a first aid kit. She cleaned Karina's wound, tears in her eyes. She didn't say a word, because Szymon had asked her not to question Karina about anything... not even the photo.
Silence settled among the three of them like a weight unspoken, yet understood.
We stayed there, sitting in the restaurant. Zuzanna brought us a blanket and warned us to stay alert. We had to remain vigilant until morning—but we dozed off.
Luckily, Szymon woke up at the break of dawn.
"Ah, Karina, wake up, it's morning, you have to go back," he said, taking the blanket to return it.
Seconds later, he came running back:
"Hurry, hurry, someone's up. Maybe it's Madame Magda!"
We rushed out quickly. That's when we noticed the light in Madame Magda's office.
Curiosity killed us, despite our miserable state, and we snuck over to the window. She wasn't there—everything looked as usual. That's when Szymon noticed something on the ground and let out a surprised sound.
Then she entered. He covered his mouth with both hands.
Madame Magda walked in carrying a ladder. She placed it by the closet, then bent down to carry something—
To our shock, it was a rifle. Her hands gripped it tightly. It looked new. She climbed up and hid it on top of the closet.
Suddenly, she seemed to notice something—perhaps our shadows on the glass of the closet.
She turned abruptly. We ducked our heads quickly, overtaken by fear.
We had to do something. I told Szymon to move fast—and we ran.
Magda rushed down to check the window. But strangely, we had split up in fear.
He went toward the restaurant, while I ran toward the facility.
Szymon realized and turned to look at me. I signaled him to keep going and hide.
I quickly entered the facility, feeling proud of my escape…
But suddenly, sadness crept in because Szymon wasn't with me.
That's when I noticed how terrifying the facility really was. I imagined sounds and figures, so I rushed into the junk room.
I went back to my spot and noticed my wound had gotten dirty again. I tried to sleep but couldn't.
Sad memories came flooding back—some haunting ones from my childhood.
I thought to myself:
"What a miserable life I have..."
***Karina spoke of her miserable memories. She often repeated that what she had been through was far worse, as she had lived it at a younger age. Karina had always been known as someone without an identity—nothing was known about her origins, not even the name she carried, which was not given to her at birth.
She lived with her four adoptive brothers under the care of old man Broz, a man with two faces: one dark, as he was an alcoholic who exploited the children for begging, and the other kind, for he was the one who took them in and cooked for them. The first was Jacub, then kamil—the eldest—along with his brother Antoni, who was autistic, then Jozef, and finally Karina, the only girl among them.
Broz hadn't wanted to adopt her when he found her, simply because she was a girl. He decided to leave her at the police station and run away. But the children begged him to let her stay, and kamil promised to take care of her. Broz reluctantly agreed, and kamil began taking her and Antoni along during his rounds.
When kamil turned fourteen, he decided to become a "real man" and stop begging. He worked as a porter, then as a vegetable vendor. He was well-liked and hardworking. Karina would often sit beside him, watching him, holding Antoni's hand—even though he disliked it and all physical contact. So kamil tied their hands together, which proved to be a practical solution.
When they found her, Karina was four years old. A year later, she seemed more mature, speaking with spontaneity and intelligence that didn't match her age. Everyone adored her. The name she carries today was given to her by kamil. He said she looked innocent and beautiful, and so he named her "Karina."
Things started to improve. kamil got a spot at the market, and Jozef joined him. They agreed to stop begging in exchange for giving part of their earnings to old Broz, as they used to. The issue was with Jacub, who couldn't accept Karina being close to kamil. He insisted she was his sister too and had the right to take her along. But Jacub had taken a different path—he stole, using Karina as a distraction.
Despite those divisions, their situation stabilized a bit and got better. Until the day they were visited by Broz's nephew, whose name was Brunon. He suddenly decided to stay with them. Brunon was a reckless young man addicted to drugs and alcohol.At first, he seemed friendly, but soon became violent, taking control of Broz, demanding money, and abusing him.
The children noticed the bruises on Broz's body, but he explained them away as falls and the effects of old age. Over time, Brunon's grip tightened, and Broz's condition deteriorated. Bruises appeared on his chest and head. kamil became certain something was wrong. He started observing closely, trying not to leave Broz alone. Each time, he would ask one of the children to stay with him, and surprisingly, Broz agreed—something he usually wouldn't do.
But after a while, Antoni's behavior changed. He absolutely refused to stay with Broz, started experiencing fits of anxiety and agitation, and tried to hide all day. kamil noticed his condition worsening and asked Broz to take him to a doctor. The doctor confirmed that Antoni didn't suffer from any physical illness as long as he didn't show signs of epilepsy. He believed Antoni didn't need medication but should remain in calm environments. kamil assumed the noise and crowd of the market were the reason...