Anna woke up with a start.
The room around her was completely different from what she remembered. The dark walls and suffocating luxury of the mansion were gone. Instead, she found herself in a small space, dimly lit by the faint light filtering through old, dirty windows.
Around her, dozens of narrow, worn-out beds filled the room. The faded, scratchy sheets made her think that somehow she had been moved to the servants' quarters.
But something didn't fit.
There was something odd about these beds... they were much worse than the ones she remembered from the mansion.
Anna frowned, her mind clouded as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. She looked around again, noting the wear on the furniture, the lack of decorations, and the dusty smell in the air.
'What is this?' Anna wondered.
Everything seemed so strange.
Then, suddenly, she heard a mocking voice from above.
"Are you lost?" a girl said, dragging the words with a smug smile as she peered down from the top bunk.
Anna looked up and saw a group of girls watching her, their expressions a mix of amusement and curiosity.
The stifled giggles among them filled her with confusion.
Before she could respond, the door to the room burst open, and several boys ran in, chased by others who were shouting and flailing their arms.
Apparently, those who had barged in had stolen some toys, and their owners were trying to get them back.
The scene was complete chaos.
Anna watched it all with a sense of unreality.
Nothing made sense.
'Am I dreaming?' she wondered as her heart raced. She felt that something was off, that this place wasn't part of her current life. She looked at her trembling hands and realized something that took her breath away: her hands... were much smaller!
The tiny, soft fingers didn't look like hers. Disoriented, she got out of bed and began searching for something to confirm her growing suspicion.
Her eyes landed on a small mirror propped up against the wall. With unsteady steps, she approached it, fearing what she would see.
When she finally looked at herself, a silent scream escaped her lips. Reflected in the mirror was not the 15-year-old girl she remembered but a child of barely 7 years old.
Her skin, as pale as moonlight, was unblemished, but her eyes, a dull red, now shone with an intensity they had long since lost.
Her lips, delicately shaped and tinged with a soft pink, contrasted with her expression of pure disbelief. Her dark, wavy hair fell in gentle cascades over her shoulders.
Anna touched the mirror with trembling hands, feeling the cold glass beneath her fingers.
The contact was real.
The smell of dust in the room was real... the children's voices laughing, the noise of their footsteps as they ran, everything was real.
But how was it possible?
How had she traveled back so far in time?
Before she could process what was happening, a familiar voice echoed from the door.
"Stop running already!" shouted a boy, entering with an annoyed expression.
Anna recognized him instantly:
Leo.
Her heart skipped a beat.
It was her Leo, the Leo she knew from her childhood.
But... how could he be here?
Leo entered with determined steps, looking at the children running around him with a mix of irritation and authority.
"If you keep making so much noise, you'll get in trouble. You're not supposed to be playing with those toys."
Anna, unconsciously, felt her eyes fill with tears.
Seeing Leo, the same boy she had shared so many adventures with at the orphanage, after what seemed like years of suffering and loneliness, overwhelmed her. The tears began to stream down her cheeks before she could stop them.
One of the boys, seeing her cry, laughed loudly.
"Look! She's crying!" he said mockingly, pointing at her with a malicious grin.
Before she could react, Leo turned and scolded the boy.
"Idiot, don't be cruel!" he said firmly, shooing the boy away with a reproachful look. Then, he turned his attention back to Anna, his expression softer. "Are you okay?" he asked, leaning slightly towards her.
Anna looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and what surprised her most was the way he spoke to her. His tone was kind but distant, as if he didn't know her.
It was… as if she were... a complete stranger.