Life is unpredictable. Every one has good and bad childhood but for me it was a dark childhood. Let me tell you about my childhood story.

My name is Alex. I'm an 11-year-old orphan who lost his parents at a young age. I was adopted by an old man named Henry Kolkiwn, a famous doctor in our town. However, Henry has a tragic past—he lost his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in an accident. He loved his grandson dearly, and their deaths left him lonely and withdrawn. He rarely speaks.

It’s been a month since I started living with Henry. Sometimes, he seems suspicious and behaves strangely. He doesn’t let me go outside to play with my best friend, Kevin Lolpik. There are also rooms in the house I’m not allowed to enter, which makes the place feel more like a prison—dark and lonely. Still, Kevin sometimes sneaks in when Henry isn’t home, and we play together.

As usual, Henry prepared dinner and barely said a word. After dinner, he brought a warm glass of milk to my room. I didn’t feel like drinking it, so I pretended to take a sip and spat it out after he left. Later, he returned to my room, and I pretended to be asleep. After he left, I began to hear strange voices. I gathered my courage and decided to investigate.

I followed the sounds to Henry’s room and slowly opened the door. To my shock, there was no one there—but I could still hear loud screams and cries. I searched the room and discovered a secret door hidden beneath the mat. I hesitated to open it, but I can hear the sound more clear and louder. Fear overtook me. I ran back to my room and hid under my blanket, trembling.

In the middle of the night, Henry entered my room again. He sat beside me and began chanting strange words. I don't know why but I was unable to move a muscle, I was just pretending to be asleep. After a while, he left. I was relieved but also exhausted and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I was still shaken by the night’s events. It was already 7:30 AM, and I had to get ready for school. As I left the house at 8:30, I glanced toward Henry’s room and saw him standing at the window—his face filled with fury.

At school, I couldn’t stop thinking about the last night. I wasn’t paying attention during the lecture, just staring at the blackboard without blinking. My best friend Kevin noticed and called my name: “Alex, Alex, Alex.” He walked up to me and finally shouted, startling me.

Kevin asked, “What happened?”

I replied, “Nothing. Just feeling a little low.”

Eventually, my homeroom teacher noticed my strange behavior and suggested I go home and rest. As soon as I heard the words “go home,” my body started trembling, and anxiety took over. I suddenly fainted in the classroom.

I was taken home by our office clerk, Mr. Krill Koflin. When I woke up, I was already in my bed, and the time was 11:59 PM. Strangely, its lots silent then ever. I felt tired, and my eyes soon closed again.

A few hours later, I felt a strange sensation on my arm, but I was unable to open my eyes or move. Then I started hearing someone screaming: “Help! Help! Please leave me!” I was terrified—completely frozen. Eventually, the screaming stopped. Fear and exhaustion wore me out, and I fell asleep again.

I woke up around 6 AM and couldn’t find Henry anywhere. But in his room and in the kitchen, I saw several large black bags. I was curious and went to open one—but just then, I heard Henry’s car outside. So I quickly ran back to my room in fear.

Henry rushed into the house, locked his room, and then entered mine. He said, “wake up you are getting late for school. You can play with your friends till 8:00Pm".

I was shocked by his sudden change in tone.

As I was about to leave, Henry added, “I’ll be going somewhere today, so don’t come home until 8:00 PM.”

I didn’t know why, but those words made me feel uneasy. Something inside me whispered, *“Whatever happens, don’t go home until 8:00 PM.”*

At school, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Jovik Saldrom, asked, “How are you? Feeling better?”

I replied, “Yes.”

Then he asked, “Do you know when Mr. Krill Koflin left your house yesterday?”

I said, “I don’t know. When I woke up, it was already 11:59 PM.”

Mr. Jovik said, “Okay. Because since yesterday, Mr. Krill has been missing. His wife called the school, asking if they have any information regarding Mr Krill”

I immediately recalled the screaming I had heard the night before. But I didn’t mention anything— about last night because I was afraid .

After a few hours, I was called to the principal’s office. Inside were two police officers, Mr. Jovik, and the principal.

“Are you Alex?” one of the officers asked.

I replied nervously, “Y-yes, sir.”

“We need you to take us to your home so that we can enquire and try finding some clues. And We’d like to ask a few questions regarding Mr. Krill’s missing.”

I froze. The room went silent. I could hear my heartbeat, my breathing, and the ticking of the old wristwatch my mother gave me before she died. Anxiety gripped me like a noose.

Mr. Jovik stepped in and said, “Please don’t take Alex right now. He’s not well. Let me go with you instead.”

Something inside me snapped. I shouted, “No!”—so loudly it startled everyone.

After a pause, I took a deep breath, gathered every ounce of courage, and looked up.

“I’ll take you to my home,” I said.

We reached my home. All the windows and doors were tightly shut. We knocked, but there was no response. Eventually, one of the officers forced the door open.

As I stepped inside, I noticed the black bags from the kitchen were gone.

The officers searched the house. Room by room. Then they entered Henry’s bedroom. But again—nothing. No evidence. No clues.

One officer stood near the spot where the secret door lay hidden under the mat. I wanted to speak. I wanted to shout, *“Check under the mat!”* But I froze.

Just then, a calm voice behind us said, “Officers, may I ask why you’ve broken into my house without permission?”

It was Henry.

Everyone turned, startled. No one had heard him enter.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kolkiwn,” the officer said. “Given the circumstances, we had to enter.”

“That’s quite alright, Officer Krilvin,” Henry replied with a faint smile. “You’re just doing your duty. And I, too, am about to begin mine.”

His words chilled me.

The officers apologized and left.

Henry turned to me with a strange smile. Not kind. Not fatherly. Something dark. As he walked away, he whispered, “I think it’s time to pluck the fruit before it spoils.”

*Pluck the fruit? What fruit?* There were no trees in the yard—only dead ones.

That night, for dinner, I was surprised to see pizza on my plate. We usually had only plain bread with soup and vegetables.

Henry walked in and said, “Eat well and stay healthy, my child. You need to be useful to me.”

Then he left the room.

Something was terribly wrong.

After dinner, I felt sleepy and dozed off. In the middle of the night, I heard loud noises. I was too scared to open my eyes. Then came the chanting—this time, closer. In my room.

Suddenly, the chanting stopped. I shut my eyes tightly.

I felt something—or someone—draining energy from my body. I started to feel weak, then lost consciousness.

When I woke up in the morning, I was tired. My arm hurt. I looked down and saw small needle marks. I thought maybe they were mosquito bites.

As usual, Henry stood by the window, watching me leave for school.

At school, I learned that both officers who had visited my house had died under mysterious circumstances.

A flash of everything that had happened rushed into my mind. I ran to my homeroom teacher, crying.

“I don’t want to go back home,” I sobbed. “I’m afraid.”

Mr. Jovik asked, “Does Mr. Henry beat you or hurt you?”

I cried, “No.”

I wanted to tell him everything. But I couldn’t speak—as if someone had clamped my mouth shut. Not physically, but… something unnatural.

Seeing me struggle, Mr. Jovik hugged me and said, “Don’t worry. I can’t help you right now, but I’ll find a way. We’ll try to get you adopted into another family.”

I felt a small sense of relief.

As I was leaving, Kevin stood by the door. He grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to the playground.

“Alex,” he said, “I know something’s wrong. I can feel it. Please tell me—we’ll face it together.”

I broke down and cried. Then I told him everything.

Kevin listened silently. Then he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

He made a plan: the next day, we’d both fake being sick and stay home. As soon as Henry left, Kevin would sneak into the house.

We were going to uncover the truth about Henry Kolkiwn.

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