It was a normal day for the children at the so-called 'orphanage'. The house actually belonged to an elderly woman in her forties who took care of children left behind by their parents. It hadn't been recognized as an official orphanage so no government funding was provided. That was a bit depressing for the children there.

The children would sometimes attend classes which were held by people who had moved out of the house/orphanage. Those people also gave them gifts and a lot of their old stuff to them as well.

A lot of things like old phones, laptops, CDs, pen drives and even furniture were common things they'd receive from the townspeople and some others who knew about the orphanage. The children had made good use of them all too. Sometimes just using them as clothing racks or the old woman sold some usable parts to small time businessmen.

Other days, they would work at the farm. This was a way for them to earn money and have food for themselves.

Almost every child there had some kind of hobby to pass the time. Usually it would be something like, making baskets, so that they earn some extra cash for themselves. Some would even set up stalls at festivals.

Though everyone had to tell the old lady what they were doing and where they were going. It was a must rule that needed to be followed.

Today was a cleaning day. Everyone would get together and clean every single spot of the whole house.

That meant that Veronica had to talk to some people as well. It's not as though she hated it, but she was the only child there above the age of 14 who wasn't already adopted. She would get made fun of because of that. The other children liked to make up stupid reasons for why this was so. Some would say that it was because she was cursed or that she was just too stupid.

She was usually the mature and hard-working type, on the outside at least. She would always be busy with something or the other. Always in her own little world. It wasn't as though she didn't like all the children, there were some who were nice to her and she would always take care of them in return too. But they too were kept at a distance.

She always kept her appearance messy for a reason though. She didn't want to be adopted by them. She figured that if she did that then no one would pay much attention to her, then she would only have to wait just a little more.

'I wanna go back to reading the Naruto manga. I still haven't read Sasuke and Naruto's fight on chapter 219. I should probably go and borrow the other volume from big sister soon.

Sasugay.

I wonder where she gets all those jokes and theories. I almost forgot, I also need to read Eleceed on her phone! I wonder if she's well enough to go on a walk now?'

Lily, she was a sickly person but still tried to be energetic and bright. They would spend a lot of time together ever since they ran into each other.

She was the one who was going to adopt her.

Veronica wanted no one else besides her. She understood her and was the only parental figure in her life. Veronica loved her. She wanted to spend the rest of whatever time Lily had with her.

After discussing it with her husband, Lily would soon come in with the paperwork needed. They both knew that Lily couldn't bear children and taking care of a baby was too much for her fragile body. As much as Lily liked children she couldn't handle the responsibility. But Veronica was usually not dependent on anyone. Lily knew that it was probably not something to boast about as Veronica was still a little girl and being so strong is just the result of all her suffering but... She liked it about her. It was like they both just clicked.

'I wonder what manga I should read after Naruto though~

Lily said that Boruto pales in comparison to Naruto but I still wanna read it.'

*Death is the price you pay for love.*