Chapter 1: The Little Garden

Chapter 1: The Little Garden

Arthur Riley, now called Simon Morgan, was being washed by a beautiful middle-aged woman in a small bathtub. It had been almost a year since he was literally kidnapped and thrown into this world. He lived in the Little Garden Orphanage, which was run by Director Victoria Leblanc.

Director Victoria came from a wealthy family from the south of France who ended up migrating to England after the start of World War II. Victoria's mother lost her husband to the Germans during the fall of Paris, so they both decided to settle in England afterward.

She herself never knew her father, but she still greatly admired him for fighting against the German invaders. Life in England was not so difficult, using the financial assets, both mother and daughter lived a stable and comfortable life. Victoria married an older man at the age of 16 and had one child with him. Her husband died shortly after due to tuberculosis, and Victoria took care of her son alone, giving him the best education possible.

Meanwhile, her mother decided to run an orphanage on one of the family's old properties, which was not well received by some other relatives, but they accepted it when she gave up part of her inheritance. Frankly, with the money that her husband and son-in-law had left, both of them could live more than comfortably, but they wanted to do something more.

The house was not quite a mansion, but it was a huge house with several rooms and a little garden in the back, as well as a large library and a large dining room.

While her mother ran the orphanage, Victoria took charge of keeping some of her husband's businesses running, being careful not to let others take over while she prepared her son to take over everything. It was only in 1975 that she allowed herself to relax.

Her son, although a little arrogant, was intelligent and knew how to handle things, so when he took over the business, he did it in an exemplary manner, leaving no room for possible traitors and usurpers. Meanwhile, Victoria decided to occupy herself by taking her elderly mother's place at the orphanage, she hated not having anything to do and liked the children.

After giving little Simon a bath, she dried him off and dressed him in a cute outfit.

- Okay, now you are clean and smelling good. I bet a lot of parents will want to adopt you.

Simon heard these words and snorted a little, releasing some drool.

- Oh, come on, Simon, you can't behave like this. What if they don't think you're cute?

- Blew BO may (fuck them)

- Yes, yes, I know you don't like them, but you need a home, don't you? Let me take you.

Simon hated adoption day, he felt like a product that would soon be purchased. The eyes of those couples who appeared with beautiful smiles and looked at him with hopeful eyes made him feel like an abandoned dog who was being evaluated to see if it was worth it or not to adopt him, and he hated that.

Simon hated this feeling because it was the same one he felt when he encountered the entity that sent him here. He seemed to finally understand the phrase that said, "Weakness is the original sin".

Of course, Simon didn't hate the world or anything, he wasn't crazy. He just missed his mother, his friends, and his common life.

It was just the feeling of helplessness that made him sad and made him want to grow faster so he could use alchemy. In the short time he lived in this world, Simon felt as if he had begun to understand some things that he couldn't even imagine before. Of course, Ed and Al's knowledge and talent were immense, but they still managed it somehow.

The only problem was that his mentality slowly began to regress, and, whether he wanted to or not, he began to act like a baby, even though he did not want to, and that scared him.

Simon was then taken to another room, where he was with some other babies who were watched over by Lucia, a lady who had worked at the orphanage since its founding, and Thomas, a veteran of the Second World War who never managed to adapt to life outside it but who, for some reason, found peace inside the orphanage, taking care of the little children and teaching them many things. In the room, Simon stood next to Thomas. The veteran had black hair with some places already turning white, a full beard and that deep look that seemed to see through anyone.

Thomas never talked about the war to anyone, he had a son who sometimes visited him at the orphanage and a grandson who was almost 5 years old. The son asked his father several times to come home, but he never did.

He always responded with the same phrase: "I can't go back yet, I hope you understand." Simon wondered what he meant by that, but being just a baby, he couldn't philosophize with him. War trauma is a complicated thing, Simon understood that, and his only hope was that one day Thomas would be willing to share his story with someone and achieve peace so he could return home.

While he was waiting, a little girl, approximately 8 years old, entered the room. She was redheaded, had small freckles on her face, and had a beautiful smile.

- They arrived, and the parents who came to adopt us arrived.

- Heloise, stay calm

- But…

- There's no need to rush, just calm down and drink a glass of water.

The little girl, Heloise, was a very energetic little girl who often caused some confusion for the staff but was honest enough to admit her mistakes, so she was very loved by everyone present. She was also the one who spent the most time with director Victoria, and Simon liked the time he spent with her. To say it another way, her innocence was pleasant and comforting, and it made him forget about all her problems for a moment.

After a while, a couple entered the room and looked at the children as if they were evaluating them. Children like Jacob, one of the oldest boys, did not show false hope, as they knew that because they were already older, they would be unlikely to be adopted and would generally be one of those who would live in the orphanage until they were 18 years. 

Carrying out an adoption always involved the youngest, at most those aged 8 like Heloise. 

Luckily, Principal Victoria's pockets were deep, and she was always concerned about providing a quality education for the children who passed through here, although not everyone stood out, and some even turned to more... informal jobs, and that's why they ended up dead or arrested.

There were always those who prospered, and with the contacts of the large family that was formed, they grew and, in one way or another, provided some help for the orphanage.

Frankly, the list of people with a certain influence in different areas of London who had some connection with the orphanage was a little scary. For example, there was a case of the kidnapping of a child from an orphanage.

A former resident who served in the police covered the case personally, and with him was a figure with some influence in the London underworld who was also a former resident of the place. In the end, the police found the boy inside a house, but unfortunately, it was too late, the boy had been killed, and then his body was desecrated. The culprit was a 40-year-old man who, due to police incompetence, ran away that day and disappeared.

But in fact, the policeman turned a blind eye to him, and he was captured and tortured for almost 2 weeks before finally dying and having his body fed to dogs without the right to a decent burial.

Anyway, Simon was still a baby and didn't have to worry about such matters for at least another 4 years. In the end, the couple chose a 2-year-old boy for adoption, and then they left. Heloise was sad about not being adopted once again, but not wanting to cry in front of her friends, she just smiled at everyone and then went to her room.

Meanwhile, Simon was carried by Thomas to the dining room, and so another day passed in his new home in this new world.