The Orphan

Sol woke up with a sweat. It has been a week. Ever since she saw the moon princess on a trip to the market, the throbbing headache and the scary dreams won't go away.

He stood up from his bed and went to the only window in his attic room with just a mattress on the floor and a chair and a table that will lose one of its legs sooner or later due to termites. He is the oldest kid in this orphanage so he got to have a room, in exchange for helping around the facility, it is free accommodation and food. He also works as a newspaper boy circling around their tech-filled city where no one really reads newspapers anymore but still prints news every day. A small change to earn, adding coins to his savings so he can move out of the orphanage one day and live on his own. Yeah, that's the plan.

He looked out of his window and saw the tower of the Almazan Family, the most prominent family in the city, and also the home of the moon princess.

"Luna." He whispered to himself.

"Who's Luna?"

Sol turned around to see a dark-skinned boy with curly hair and golden eyes, he was hugging a toy bee from the nearby fast food chain.

"Hey Tino, what are you doing up here? The stairs are dangerous." Sol picks up the boy and carries him on his side.

"Sister Marie told me to fetch you so we can have breakfast. I woke up very early today!" Tino proudly said.

Sol laughed and tickled the boy.

"Alright. Let's go get breakfast." together, they went down the very steep and crackly wooden stairs from the attic of a 3-story old building. It is one of the structures that the meteor missed, but of course not without damage.

Sol helped with the breakfast and got the kids to get ready for school. The children are sent to a nearby public school and are picked up by the school bus. After a quick cleaning around the house, he shouts goodbye to the nuns that run the places and heads to his work. Or should we say works?

As soon as Sol rode out his bike, the beggars on the streets called out to him.

"Hey there yellow boy! Good Morning!" they waved.

"Good morning, Markus! Hey guys! Stay out of trouble!" he shouted back.

Yellow boy. His bright blonde hair stood out very well in a city of dark-haired people. Sol has a disease called albinism where his skin has little to no pigment as well as his hair. His eyes were the color of the sky, skin as white as snow, and hair as yellow as the sunflower. Doctors said it is very rare. He thinks it is the reason his parents gave him up, he is weird, not normal. But of course, the sisters told him otherwise.

As sister Marie told him, his mother came knocking on their door on the verge of giving birth. But they didn't even make it to the bed, right in the middle of the stairs, his mother gave birth to him, just as the light of the rising sun enters the window and basks the mother and child. The rays of the sun reflect in his blonde hair and his snow-white skin absorbs its warmth. It was magical, as the nuns always say. But the next day, his mother disappears. No letter, no goodbyes.

Sol always argues that maybe his mother got scared of an abnormal boy like him, but the sisters recall his mother smiling lovingly and holding him tightly in her bosom.

Sol guessed he'll never know.

He arrived in the printing shop, collected his part, and sped off to throw newspapers to every house and establishment under his list. He stopped at a traffic light in front of a TV store. The news showing the Moon Princess and the Lunar Eclipse that will happen today, or tonight rather. As he looked at the newspaper that he had, it also read the event. He wondered why he only read the headline now. Green light! Sol moved on. He only has until 9 in the morning to deliver the newspapers or the sun will burn his skin.

"Thanks for today, Sol!" the owner of the store bids him goodbye.

"See you tomorrow!" he waved and went on to count his money.

The sun seems cooler today and Sol can smell the freshly baked croissant in the bakery across the street. Maybe he can get one before he moves to his next appointment. He crossed the street and entered the bakery. The smell of baked goods wafted in the air. The bakery is full of people picking up orders or making one. He went straight to the counter and ordered his croissant.

"Where are you up to, Sol? It's still early for the day." Lana, the cashier, asked.

"I was booked to help with the festival at the Almazans." He answered as he handed over the payment.

"You'll cook there?"

"Help with the kitchen. Yeah. And maybe some other things."

"Alright. Drop by later in the evening or early morning tomorrow if you can. We'll surely have a lot of leftover bread for the kids today."

"Sure. Thanks. Bye!" He waved as he left the store.

Sol went back to the printing shop to fetch his bike. He wore his jacket that was previously wrapped around his waist and rode off to the center of the city, with the half-eaten bread between his teeth. He stopped once in a while at stoplights to eat it and also to look at the decorations on every street for the festival.

Ah! The Lunar Eclipse. It is very much celebrated here in Bulan compared to the Solar Eclipse, which they see as a bad omen as the omega happened on a day like that. But today is a special day, it is the day that the moon princess will be offered to the Moon Goddess Mayari. People are hoping that Luna will receive a premonition or a prophecy about the future of the land as it is the first Lunar eclipse of the seventeenth year of the princess.

Sol reached the gates of the compound. The doors that are usually closed are now wide open. Letting everyone go in and out, to see the palace-like façade of the compound or to help with the preparations. He parked his bike near the house of the guards. And just as he was about to enter the staff door at the farthest side, it opened and a figure in a hood knocked him down, making it fall on top of him as well.

"Oh! I'm so so sorry. I was not looking! I really apologize." the figure, which is a lady, sat on her knees, heads going up and down in apology, said.

"It's okay. I'm okay. Are you alright?" he asked

The figure froze, still looking down and physique covered in a black hooded cape. Sol was confused but as he was about to touch her, she swiftly raised her head, eyes locked into his.

"It's you." she said. Sol was confused even more.

"Me?" pointing to him. But as he stares back into her eyes, he recognizes who he was talking to.

"Yes! It's you!" She stood on her knees and grabbed him by the arm. The sudden movement made the hood of her cape fall, revealing the long black hair with fine silver streaks and big brown eyes.

"Luna."