/
In Lillian’s whispered words, Theo raised one eyebrow fiercely, then lowered it back with a sigh.
He still didn’t seem to trust her.
“Ha
, what kind of tricks are you going to help me with?”
“There is a way.”
But it’s not a story to be told in such an open place. Instead of following her words, Lillian grabbed Theo’s wrist.
“What, what is it?”
“Shh.”
Lillian raised her index finger over her lips.
“I need to move places.”
***
The procedure for adopting orphans from orphanages is simple.
‘It’s just exchanging a ‘certificate of custody’.
All young children are issued by the state a ‘certificate of custody’, which gives the adult the right to make all decisions about the child. Usually, the parents of the child have it, and the nursery school delegates custody of the child by handing it over to the adopter.
“Perhaps the director has ours. Then,”
“If I run away with the certificate, that means the damn director can’t give me over to Loubet.”
“Yes.”
“Fuck! I didn’t know this until now.”
Theo spat out a curse and tousled his hair annoyed.
He seemed quite shocked by what Lillian had just said.
‘No wonder.’
These contents were thoroughly hidden from the children in the nursery school. Knowing this, the children might be aiming for the certificate.
If the deed is lost, there is no way even the director can claim the right to the child.
If a child runs away from an orphanage, it is a story that there is nothing to do because there is no certificate.
A little while ago, Lillian led Theo into the closet. The room, where no traces of childhood were left, was unbelievably cold for being a space where girls talked about their dreams.
But it was also the perfect place to share secrets.
Lillian told Theo many stories in the closet.
The first is that there are things Lillian needs to bring from the director’s office, and the second is about the ‘certificate of custody’ the director will have.
Theo was confused at first when he heard this, but luckily he quickly understood the situation.
Of course, the look of confusion remained, but Theo’s face was forged more than ever.
It was a good sign.
Theo frowned as if trying to organize his thoughts, then suddenly opened his mouth.
“Hey, how the hell did you know all this?”
“Don’t you remember? Swan’s room was near the director’s office.”
The director and teachers kept their mouths shut, but Swan and Lillian were good at sneaking out from the eyes of adults.
“You can hear everything as you go, even the things we need to eavesdrop on to know anything.”
“Fucking bastards
”
“It’s not that wrong. What would you do if you knew this? If you don’t know the handwriting, you won’t be able to recognize the certificate.”
“
 Really.”
“Yes. But I know I can steal both your and mine.”
And even the locket Swan said.
As long as you enter the director’s office and find out where the certificate is.
In Lillian’s words, Theo’s face calmed down. The sharpened face of the boy had an atmosphere similar to that of Lillian.
“You’re asking for a chance to get in there, I mean.”
“That’s right”
“Is there a way?”
“I’ve been thinking about it
.it might be a little dangerous, so I’ll do something else.”
“No, let’s do it.”
“Why? You didn’t even hear what it was.”
“I just heard that the director will be away tomorrow. He’s going to get an invitation or something. At most, he will go wash the feet of an old nobleman.”
Invitation
A newspaper article flashed through Lillian’s mind. A post that said a banquet to celebrate the return was scheduled for the coming Sabbath.
‘The director wants to attend that banquet!’
And it was clear that he was trying to show that he had brought Maynard’s daughter with everyone. Only by putting on such a splendid show will the name of the orphanage be known to the great aristocrats gathered there.
That would mean that Lillian only had four days left.
There is no time to think of anything else. Lillian nodded her head after her hesitation.
“
OK, let’s do that. Instead, we have to be careful not to get hurt.”
“You know I don’t like being sick, so we’ll do it tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
Before the director returned, I had to finish everything as quickly as possible and leave.
There is nowhere to retreat now.
***
Hehe-ing-
The carriage carrying the director left the orphanage raising a cloud of dust with a loud noise. Lillian, who was watching from a distance, opened her mouth.
“Are you ready, Theo?”
“Of course, Lily.”
“I wish you luck.”
As usual, Lillian said something that Theo couldn’t understand and then disappeared without answering. She swayed little by little as her wildly cut brown hair receded from her figure.
‘Anyway, it’s like ice.’
It’s hard to attract someone. Especially, they use difficult words every time and leave without caring about the other person.
When Swan was alive, she seemed to have been quite sociable, but after Swan’s death, she completely lost her smile. She has become someone you don’t want to talk with.
Theo suddenly remembered last night.
―Let’s start the operation as soon as the director leaves. You must never fail. Never.
As Lillian said, she looked straight into Theo’s eyes. It’s really strange how such a spirit can come from the body of a little girl.
Lillian probably didn’t know, but her eyes were brown from a distance but greenish from up close. It was a slightly creepy, impressive experience to see the green eyes in the moonlight staring at him.
It probably means that Lillian is just as desperate.
‘Though I don’t like it.’
Still, the word “unfortunate” seemed to be a little cool, and Theo turned his steps, thinking that he would use it later.
Even if he didn’t like Lillian, he had a job to do.
It wasn’t even that difficult.
All you have to do is throw a match into the warehouse.
It was tea time for teachers and free time for children. This means that there are no teachers outside the building.
I could see kids rolling around and running around on the wide lawn.
Theo deliberately circled along the outer wall to avoid being noticed. Theo’s steps were cautious, as they would come in droves to play pranks if he caught the eye of the children.
And we finally reached our destination.
A warehouse was full of flour that was distributed just a week ago.
―Theo, do you remember last winter when we didn’t even eat bread because we didn’t have flour?
— Of course. You only ate it in the summer.
―At that time, there was an explosion at the floor factory, so the ration was not received.
— What? Did the generator explode?
―No. Flour-like powders become bombs in closed spaces on all sides with little complaint. It’s fascinating.
Lillian’s explanation didn’t take long, but Theo immediately understood what the girl was saying.
In short, if there is a little complaint, it means you can burst this warehouse.
But at the same time, Theo could see why Lillian hesitated.
The teachers would go crazy if the warehouse exploded, but Theo, the culprit, was likely to get hurt. Plus, there was a risk of being identified as a culprit.
‘Fucking pussy.’
Are you hesitant because you’re afraid of that?
Theo’s lips curled up. Theo smiled mischievously, baring his fangs, and took a crumpled piece of cloth from his pocket, tied it to a stone the size of his fist, and set the end on fire.
Creek, squeaking.
The match is about to burn, and the fire that has moved to the cloth begins to eat away little by little.
Theo took a few steps back and tossed it with all his might into the spear above the shed.
Crackle!
The moment I heard the sound of windows breaking.
Pop, bang!
The warehouse exploded. No wonder, all the windows in the warehouse were shattered, and even the wooden walls began to crack.
As if from a fireworks display, there was a murmur as soon as the successive explosions ceased.
“What is this sound?”
“Hey, you punk!”
“Wow, it smells so savory!”
The children who were playing nearby came running first. The children cheered when they saw the flour leaking from the ruined warehouse.
“Snow! It’s snowing!”
“No! It’s flour!”
“Wow!”
Whether it was snow or flour, it didn’t matter that much to the children. It’s just a fun toy.
Children threw themselves into the ground piled up like a mountain. White smoke billowed from wherever they lay, followed by the laughter of children covered in flour. Theo watched them from a distance, then pretended not to know anything and moved his feet towards them.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?”