Chapter 2

Just a trigger warning, mentions of death, violence and suicide is in this chapter. Please proceed accordingly

**

Alluna, from birth was very unlucky.

When he was born, he had this very huge mark on his back that does not look like anything in particular, but omits a very ominous feeling. It was just a big patch of skin that is darker than the rest of his body, but one look at it, and it would make a person feel like the death's scythe is a hair breadth from their neck. The doctor and the nurses in the room gasped, one even said that this mark must be a bad omen.

Of course, the baby's parents didn't mind it, and got angry. In fact, in their hearts, they just felt like the boy needed more love than others, that perhaps is the only thing he lucked out on.

As soon as his parents took him home, bad things started to happen in their family. At first, it was subtle, a few random things, such as plates, cups, and the occasional picture frames start falling onto the ground and breaking, without any outside force manipulating the action, not even the wind.

Afterwards, it just continued to get worse, Alluna's father, Amelio who was a successful businessman at the time faced bankruptcy. A rumor that said his wealth was ill-gotten, that he collaborated with thugs to get what he wanted, was spread, even though it was entirely false.

His big brother, who was 9 at the time, got into a car accident with his mother, shortly after the news of the man's business' demise. Antonio, his big brother perished in the accident, and their mother, Abigail's, hands were almost totally crippled, which is the worse thing that could happen for a surgeon like her.

During their time of mourning for Antonio, Alluna was merely a month old. The icing on the cake was, after the funeral that was held for the unfortunate boy, their residence burned down into ashes from an unknown reason. Amelio, despite not being of sane mind from the loss, did his best to save the remaining members of his family, while dying in the process.

Within a span of a month, only Alluna and his mother remained, not a single penny or even a change of clothes, as all of their resources burned down with their house.

For half a year, because they had no other family members to turn to, wandered the streets. They survived on the scraps of food that Abigail found in the dumpsters, while the child fed on the little amount of milk that his mother produced from the lack of nutrients.

Abigail, who cannot further bear the sudden loss of her husband and son, and their pitiful state, took her own life, shortly after leaving her remaining family in the steps of an orphanage in the city.

Alluna grew up in that orphanage, although the people and the other kids there were not too kind of the boy. He was bullied all throughout his stay there, not even a single moment was he spared from such torture from the 'care'takers there, if not from the other children.

The food on his plate was always a noticeable amount less than the other kids', and most of the time, some, or most, would be stolen from his plate, leaving the poor child always with a little to completely empty stomach. Other times, he was physically abused, getting tripped, thrown stuff at, punched, kicked, and often threatened to be killed.

Alluna stayed in that kind of hell until he was barely 9 years old. He was thrown out of the orphanage for standing up for himself.

It was lunch time at the cafeteria of the orphanage that time...

"Go on, then children, get your lunches and eat." shouted a small but fat woman dressed in a nun's clothes, who held a wooden stick on her hand, banging it on the small archway that served as the entrance to the room. The children scurried away in fear, immediately eating their meals after they have gotten them.

The nun was filled with satisfaction upon seeing the children's reactions. She surveyed the room, and grins evilly when her eyes landed on a lanky boy, quietly eating his meal. With heavy strides, and the grin, still in her ugly, wart-filled face, she approached the boy, and struck the space beside his plate with the wooden stick she was carrying.

"Why are you wearing black clothes? Didn't I tell you that I don't like seeing black-colored clothes?" ...yes, the bitc- nun was absurd. She lives for finding absurd things so that she can punish Alluna for it. This time, this is what she found with her scrutinizing eyes, despite wearing black herself.

"I-I'm sorry, Ms. Peggy." Alluna apologizes with a shaky voice, afraid to be struck by the woman's stick. Peggy, the hippopo- nun, grins, having fun scaring the boy.

"This is your third offense for the day! It hasn't even been half a day, and you have already made a lot of mistakes." Of course, said mistakes are made according to Pigg- Peggy's absurd standards. "This is why your parents left you here. They must've known beforehand that you were a stupid boy, that they just decided to abandon you, instead of wasting their time raising you!"

"That is not true! My parents love me!" Alluna's eyes brimmed with tears, the latter part of his words were quieted down, as he himself isn't sure if his parents really did love him. The boy didn't want to believe the elepha- nun's words, but a small seed of doubt was planted in his heart, making him consider the woman's words.

"If it isn't true then why are you here, hogging all of the food that should've been for the other kids? If they loved you, then why aren't you with them?" the whal- nun cackles, the other children started to jeer and laugh as well.

Alluna grips the wooden fork tightly in his hand, doubt, shame, and anger rising from his heart.

"Why aren't you saying something? You must be hurt because you know it is the truth! That your parents left you because they don't love you!" the woman mocks further.

The boy, who couldn't take what the nun was saying any longer, glares at her eyes. He raises his hand that was holding the fork and drove it straight to the fat bitch nun's eyes.

Long story short, he was kicked out of the orphanage.

After then, he roamed the streets, just like what they did when his mother was still alive. Of course he did not remember such memory since he was a baby then.

The night had dawned and Alluna, who was desperate to find a shelter, found one under a stone bridge, where he slept with an empty stomach.

"P-please, sir! Let me go, I promise I'll pay you back, 2- no, 4 times the amount I owe you, just don't kill me, please! I beg you!" a pleading voice sounds from a distance, that suddenly woke up Alluna that was slumbering on the cold floor.

"Really?" Followed that voice, a cold one replied.

"Y-yes! I promise, I will pay yo-" For a short moment the man who was pleading bore joy and relief in his voice... that was until a loud sound of a gunshot cut him off, silencing him.

"That's what you said last time, you bastard," the gravelly, cold-voiced man said. "Clean this place up, dispose of the body quietly. I want it done before I finish this cig."

"Yes, boss." A group of maybe 3 or 4 people says simultaneously. After that, no one had spoken, only rustles of footsteps, and a dragging sound was heard.

Alluna, who was listening to the conversation, was confused and curious about what happened. The poor boy who had no idea of what had transpired in the place, stood up and went towards where he heard the voices.

"Look what we have here," chills went up Alluna's spine and he froze on the spot. He looked to his right side and saw a tall, big man wearing a black suit and pink floral undershirt, with gold chains hanging on his neck and an almost finished cigarette on his lips. "What's your name, boy?"

"Ms. Peggy said that my name is Alluna because it was written on the back of my hand when they found me." Alluna answered without a hint of fear in his voice. Only the innocence of a small child can be noticed from it.

"Who is this Ms. Peggy?"

"The bad woman who hurt me a lot in the house." Alluna answered with a frown forming on his brows and distaste on his words.

"And where is this house? Do you know how to get back there?" The man, who raised his brows, asked.

"I don't know, but there are a lot of other children, and women wearing black and white dresses in there. And they also told me to never come back."

The man has heard in the afternoon that there was a boy who was kicked out of the orphanage nearby because he stabbed a nun in the eye with a fork. When he figured that this must be that boy, an evil thought crossed in his mind. 'This boy will be useful to me.'

"Say what, Alluna, do you want to come with me? I have a lot of candies and sweets at my house." The man laid his trap.

"What are those?" Alluna tilted his head, not knowing what the man said. The man was taken aback, how could this kid not know what candies are?

"They are delicious food. I'm sure you'll love them." The man smiled sweetly then held out his hand for the boy to take. "Let's go."

For the first time in his life, Alluna felt joy in his heart. He thought that this man is very kind because he wanted to give him a lot of delicious food, so without much hesitation, the boy took the man's hand. The both of them started walking to the direction of the voices earlier, and Alluna suddenly asked,

"Mr, what is your name?"

"Ombre. You can call me Ombre."