"This way."
Maya nodded quietly.
She walked without asking where they were going.
The hallway stretched ahead, bright and clean. White walls replaced the old wooden ones she had known.
Strange smells filled the air.
The strangers stopped before a door.
One of them knocked softly.
A calm voice answered, "Come in."
Inside, a doctor in a white coat sat behind a desk covered with neatly arranged papers. Several unfamiliar instruments rested nearby.
The doctor looked at Maya for a long moment,
"So...this is the new child."
One of the strangers handed over a folder.
"Complete examination. Full medical assessment."
The doctor nodded, "Ok ."
Maya walked forward on her own and stopped where he pointed.
The doctor crouched until he was closer to her height.
He spoke gently, though Maya understood very little, "We're going to make sure you're healthy."
Maya only blinked.
The examination began.
Her height was measured then her weight.
A small light was used to look into her eyes.
Another to examine her ears.
The doctor listened to her heartbeat and breathing.
He gently checked old scars, bruises, and the marks that still remained on her small body.
He quietly wrote notes onto the chart.
A nurse arrived carrying a small tray.
The doctor spoke softly, "Blood sample."
Maya watched the tray and simply held out her little arm when it was gently guided into place.
She had learned long ago that adults expected obedience.
The needle entered. She didn't pull away, didn't cry, didn't even flinch.
The nurse looked surprised.
Afterward, more tests followed.
The doctor observed every response.
He watched how little emotion appeared on her face.How she waited after every answer, as though expecting another command.
When the examination ended, Maya stood exactly where she had been told, hands folded together.
Waiting.
Finally, he closed the file.
Then he looked at the strangers,
"Physically, she is severely malnourished."
He turned another page.
"Multiple healed injuries. Developmental delays consistent with prolonged neglect and isolation."
His eyes rested briefly on Maya, who stood silently beside the examination table, waiting for another instruction.
"I'll have the laboratory reports tomorrow."
He glanced at the strangers.
"The blood work, neurological findings, and the rest of the examination results will all be ready then."
One of the strangers gave a short nod,
"Very well."
The other replied calmly, "We'll wait."
The doctor nodded once before returning to his paperwork.
The strangers turned toward Maya,
"Come with us."
Without a word, Maya followed.
They walked through another quiet hallway.
Unlike the cold, isolated house she had left behind, this building carried the sounds of life.
Children laughed somewhere in the distance.
Soft footsteps echoed across polished wooden floors.
A breeze drifted through an open corridor, carrying the faint scent of freshly cut grass.
They stopped before a white wooden door.
One of the strangers opened it.
Click.
The room was small, but it felt warm.
Golden afternoon sunlight poured gently through a large window, filling the space with a soft glow.
Thin white curtains swayed lazily in the breeze, dancing whenever the wind slipped through the slightly open window.
Outside, green trees stretched toward the sky, and birds occasionally landed on their branches before flying away again.
Near the window stood a simple wooden bed.
Its crisp white sheets were neatly tucked beneath a soft blanket, and a plump pillow rested at the head of the bed.
Beside the bed stood a small wooden table.
Upon it sat a clear glass vase filled with fresh flowers.
Small blue wildflowers, a few pale pink blossoms.
Their gentle fragrance spread quietly through the room, replacing the smell of damp stone and rust that Maya had lived with for years.
A simple wooden chair rested beside the table. The polished floor reflected the sunlight in soft patches of gold.
The walls were painted a calm cream color.
There were no iron bars. No dolls staring silently from every corner. No photographs covering the walls.
The room felt peaceful in a way Maya had almost forgotten was possible.
She stood silently near the doorway.
Her eyes slowly traveled across the room.
One of the strangers looked around the room before turning to Maya,
"You'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll take you somewhere better."
The other gave a small nod,
"You'll be safe here."
Maya looked at them for a moment.
Then simply answered in a quiet voice,
"...Okay."
The two strangers exchanged a glance.
Then they walked toward the door,
"Get some rest."
Click.
The door closed gently behind them.
Silence settled over the room.
For several long moments, Maya remained exactly where she was as though waiting for another instruction.
None came.
A soft breeze drifted through the open window, making the curtains sway.
The flowers on the table moved ever so slightly.
Maya slowly turned her head toward the bed.
Clean.
Much softer than the thin blanket she had known.
She stared at it for a long time then....walked over.
Instead of climbing onto it, she carefully pulled the blanket down from the mattress.
Holding it in both hands, she spread it neatly across the wooden floor.
She smoothed out every wrinkle with quiet, practiced movements.
Only when she was satisfied did she lower herself onto it.
She curled into a small ball, resting her head on one arm.
The bed remained untouched beside her.
To Maya...Beds belonged to other people.
The floor felt familiar.
Within minutes, her breathing became slow and steady.
She fell asleep on the blanket beneath the bed, as though that was the most natural place in the world.
Outside the window, the evening breeze continued to rustle the leaves.
~~
The white bed stood perfectly made.
Its blanket had been pulled neatly onto the floor.
Curled beneath the edge of the bed, Maya slept quietly on the blanket.
Her breathing was slow.
One small hand rested beneath her cheek.
The mattress beside her remained completely untouched.
To anyone else...It would have looked unusual.
To Maya...It was simply where she believed she was supposed to sleep.
The projection lingered on the image.
No one in the living room spoke.
Mahim stared at the screen.
His shoulders always straight with military discipline, slowly sagged.
"...She didn't even think the bed was for her."
Mahi's voice was barely audible,
"My little girl...She thought she belonged on the floor."
Farhan closed his eyes tightly.
"...Nobody told her to sleep there. She chose the floor because that's what had become normal."
Faha looked away from the screen, wiping at his eyes.
"She finally had a warm bed...and she couldn't believe she was allowed to use it."
"She was only four, she shouldn't have to learn that comfort isn't meant for them."
~~
Morning arrived quietly.
For the first time in years, Maya woke to sunlight instead of the sound of a lock.
Golden light spilled through the window, warming the wooden floor where she had fallen asleep.
Birds chirped outside.
For several seconds, she lay perfectly still.
Then she quietly sat up, the neatly made bed beside her remained untouched.
A soft knock echoed through the room.
Knock... Knock..."May I come in?"
Maya looked toward the door, "...Yes."
The door opened.
A middle-aged staff member entered, carrying a wooden tray with both hands,
"Good morning."
He set the tray on the small table.
Immediately, the room filled with the comforting aroma of freshly cooked food.
Warm porridge, fresh bread, a boiled egg.
A glass of warm milk.
The steam rose slowly into the morning air.
Maya stared.
Her eyes lingered on each item one by one.
The bread looked impossibly soft, the milk was still warm.
She couldn't remember the last time food had smelled like this.
The man noticed her silence,
"Go on, It's all for you. You should eat."
A pause.
"After breakfast, we'll take you to see the doctor."
Maya lowered her eyes, "...Okay."
She sat carefully in the chair.
Her back remained perfectly straight, held the spoon with both hands, almost as if she were afraid to drop it.
Before taking the first bite, she glanced toward the door, no further instructions came.
Only then did she begin to eat.
Not because she wanted to enjoy the meal...
But because she had learned that meals were tasks to complete correctly.
She finished every last bite.
Not a crumb remained, she drank the milk.
Then quietly placed the spoon back exactly where she had found it.
The man looked pleased,
"Very good. I'll wait outside, when you're ready, come out."
He gave her one last smile before leaving.
Click.
The room became silent.
For several moments...she remained seated.
Then....A faint discomfort stirred deep inside her stomach.
She frowned.
The feeling spread quickly, her stomach tightened, she instinctively wrapped one arm around her abdomen.
The warmth of the meal, which had felt comforting only moments before, suddenly became unbearably heavy.
Her breathing quickened.
A wave of nausea climbed into her throat.
She stood abruptly.
The chair scraped softly across the floor.
She hurried toward the bathroom, the moment she reached the sink, her body could no longer hold the food.
She vomited. Again and again.
When it finally stopped, she remained bent over the sink, both small hands gripping its edge.
Her breathing came in short, shaky breaths.
Her stomach cramped painfully.
Tears streamed silently down her face from the force of vomiting.
She simply stood there, trembling.
She looked into the sink.
Confusion slowly appeared on her face.
She had eaten exactly as she had been told.
She hadn't left anything behind.
She had been a good girl.
Then...Why had her body thrown it away?
The food in the bowl at the old house never made my tummy do this. This food did. They're different.
She rinsed her mouth with water.
The cool water couldn't wash away the burning in her throat.
Her stomach still ached.
Years of severe neglect and poor nutrition had left her small body fragile.
A normal breakfast—perfectly healthy for most children—was suddenly too much for a digestive system that had spent years surviving on inadequate food.
Quietly, she wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Straightened her clothes.
Opened the bathroom door.
Then walked back to where she had been told to wait. Hands folded together as though nothing had happened.
~~
The projection lingered on the bathroom for several long seconds.
The tiny girl quietly wiping her own face after being sick.
No one in the living room moved.
They simply stared at the frozen image.
A four-year-old child...Standing alone after vomiting.
Only cleaning herself up because she believed that was what she was supposed to do.
Mahi covered her mouth with both hands as tears poured uncontrollably down her face.
"No...When she was little...she wouldn't even drink milk unless I cooled it just the way she liked."
A sob escaped her,
"I used to worry she'd skip a meal because she was being picky..."
She looked at the screen,
"...Now she thinks she's done something wrong just because her body couldn't keep food down."
Mahim slowly lowered himself into a chair.
His hands shook.
"She was sick and her first instinct was to hide it."
Farhan pressed both hands against his forehead.
"...Did you notice?
She vomited...and then immediately cleaned herself up.
She wasn't worried about herself. She was worried about causing trouble."
His fists tightened.
"A four-year-old...already believed she wasn't allowed to inconvenience adults."
Naya was openly crying.
"She was only four...Most children cry over a scraped knee.They call for their mother and she— "
"What kind of childhood teaches someone that?"
Fahim slowly removed his glasses.
Across the room...Anik remained perfectly still.
" She didn't even think...that someone might help her."
Silence returned.
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤔🤔🤔🔥🔥🤔🤫🔥🥲🥲🤫🔥🔥🤔🤫🥲🤫🔥🤔🔥🤫🔥
We traveled until we reached a place they called..."The Holo of Fair."
Memory Reconstruction — Maya's Perspective
You might be wondering...
' What is the Holo of Fair? '
That's a fair question.
Most people have never heard the name.
You won't find it on a map.
You won't find it in government records.
He....he....
Hummmm,
The human brain is extraordinary...Yet most of its true potential is never realized.
They believed emotions were chains.
Love distracted, fear weakened.
Compassion delayed decisions.
Grief consumed time, hope clouded judgment, every feeling was a flaw.
So they began asking a question,
"What happens... when the human brain is pushed to its absolute limit?"
That question became their obsession.
And from that obsession...
The Holo of Fair was born.
Its real purpose was hidden far beneath the surface.
It existed for one reason alone:
To discover how far a human mind could be pushed before it stopped being ordinary.
Or...Before it broke completely.
"Children were fed, Educated. Protected.
At least, that is what people believed.
The orphanage supplied children."
Nobody spoke.
"Most of the people above never knew what existed below. The real facility was underground."
Fahan stared at her.
"Children were taken young enough that their minds could still be shaped.
Because it is easier to rebuild something… than to destroy it first ,They were stripped of names.
They pushed the mind past its limits—The goal was transformation, to create individuals who no longer hesitated.
Operatives who could move through the world like shadows— Beings capable of surviving anything—capable of becoming human weapons. "
Fahad slowly folded his arms,
"They experimented on children."
"Yes."
Farhan looked horrified ,"How many?"
"Thousands entered."
"How many survived?"
"As far as I know, only seventeen subjects passed in twenty years."
A chill swept through the room.
"Machines in human form.
It was divided into 2 phases.All subjects are given names according to their phases.
★ phase one - code A ★
The first phase began the moment the children arrived.
Here, the captors tested obedience and fear response. Small rewards—water, sweets, warmth—were given selectively, always followed by pain, deprivation, or public humiliation.
If a child reached for comfort, it was ripped away; if they dared speak of connection, the consequences were immediate.
they forced the children to recount events repeatedly, sometimes under subtle hypnosis, sometimes under pain.
★ Phase Two - code B ★
Once the children were "broken" to a degree, phase two began: the application of full cognitive testing and conditioning.
Here, the captors aimed to push the human brain to 100% capacity.
Complex puzzles, mazes, simulations, and moral dilemmas were layered atop physical stress.
Children were forced to process extreme trauma, fear, and decision-making simultaneously, creating a calculated detachment.
All types of training are provided, pushing the body to its limits.
Phase two also introduced emotional engineering. Moments—friendship, care were artificially allowed, then cruelly severed.
This created a map of attachment and loss in the brain, forcing children to associate hope with punishment.
By the end of phase two, children were no longer wholly human in their reactions.They could calculate, adapt, survive. "
The hall froze.
" And the terrifying part?
In the last 20 years, only 17 people have passed ' Phase one '. "
The room erupted.
"What?!"
"Seventeen?!"
"Out of thousands?"
"That's impossible!"
Rahi murmured,
"Those were the ones the Holo of Fair kept."
"Code A had seventeen survivors."
"Yes."
"And Code B?"
Maya's gaze lifted, "One."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Farhan stared.
"You're telling me only one person completed the second phase?"
"Yes."
"...Who was it?"
"It was me."
"What the — "
"It is not possible for anyone else to get through that phase. Because my brain structure was different."
The statement sounded absurd.
"It was... unusual. The researchers became obsessed with it."
Fahim frowned, "Obsessed?"
"They said my brain processed information differently, adapted differently. My brain could handle things that nobody else's brain could."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
Several relatives stared at her.
"The room where they kept me was white. There were no colors. Only a cold, sterile brightness."
Fahad felt a knot form in his chest.
"Day and night became meaningless. A cage that allowed the world to watch, but never to reach in.
Inside it—was me.
Back then i was too small.
My feet barely steadied me on the cold floor, No toys , no voice calling my name.
Because I had no name anymore.
Only a number '17B.'
They did not speak to me like a child. They did not look at me like a human being. To them, I was something to test. "
Farhan swallowed hard.
"What kind of people do that...?"
"They smiled when results were good."
"And when results were bad?"
"They increased the testing.
~~
The first days were silence.
A silence so deep it pressed against my ears until even my own breathing sounded foreign.
I would sit in the corner, knees pulled close, eyes fixed on the glass—waiting for someone.
Anyone.
No one came. Only shadows moved beyond the walls.
And then, one day—the silence broke.
The floor beneath me shifted faintly, a mechanical sound humming through the chamber.
A section opened, and something was pushed inside, It moved.
Not human, not animal. Something in between—unnatural, restless. Its presence filled the small space too quickly, too wrong.
I froze. My breath stopped before i even understood why.
Fear, at that age is instinct and instinct told me—run.
But there was nowhere to go.
The glass reflected me from every angle, no corner to hide in,no place to disappear.
The creature moved, slow at first, then faster—closing the space between me and them.
Outside, silhouettes watched.They wrote things down.Measured reactions— my response to it.
When i stumbled, when my small body hit the floor, when my hands scraped against the cold surface trying to push myself away—
no one came to help. "
A few relatives looked sick.
Maya tilted her head slightly,
"Looking back...I was so stupid."
Several heads lifted.
"I genuinely believed someone would help me."
A soft laugh escaped her, a strange smile,
"I kept waiting every day.
I thought eventually an adult would walk through the door and stop it."
A pause.
"Isn't that cute?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Fahad blinks once, then twice.
"...Cute?"
Farhan looks genuinely horrified, "Cute?"
Fahan slowly lowers his glass, "Cute?"
Fahim adjusts his glasses.
Then stares at Maya for several long seconds.
"I have a medical question. Is your head actually functioning correctly?"
Several people almost choke.
"You just described being trapped in a glass enclosure with experimental creatures and then called yourself cute."
She thinks for a moment, "...Still cute. "
Faha almost choke.
"FIRST LESSON :
★TRUST NOTHING, OBEY EVERYTHING.★ "
Mahi stared, "They trapped you."
"Yes."
"They terrified you. Then why are you calling that cute ?"
"As long as I survived, I suppose it's a little funny now."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT CUTE."
Fahan rubbed his face, "I agree with him."
"There is something profoundly concerning about her ability to describe psychological torture and then rate it on a scale of cuteness."
"THANK YOU."
Farhan pointed dramatically at Fahim,
"Finally, a sane person."
Fahish leaned back slowly,
"I think we've discovered a new category of coping mechanism."
"What happened after that lesson?"
The amusement vanished from Maya's face.
" Days blurred into something shapeless.
They fed me—just enough.
Water came through a narrow slot.Sometimes late , sometimes not at all. Hunger became a quiet companion, sitting beside me. "
"What the — "
"I couldn't bear the pain. They used to inject different types of poison into my body.
It felt like my whole body was going to collapse as if entire body was giving up."
"What happened to the other children?"
A long pause.
"Most of them disappeared."
A chill passed through the room.
Fahim slowly removed his glasses.
For once, even the scientist among him looked disturbed.
"The amount of conditioning required..."
"It worked."
Fahim looked up sharply, "What?"
"The conditioning worked. I learned very quickly ."
Maya lowered her gaze, for the first time, something almost resembling embarrassment crossed her face.
"But I became disobedient."
A few relatives blinked.
"The pain was too much. I was very young.
Very stubborn, too. I wanted to live."
"I thought if I could get out once, I could keep running."
Farhan stared at her.
"You were trying to survive."
Maya shrugged slightly.
"The first time I tried to run—really run—toward a seam in the glass where I thought there might be a weakness...They let me reach it."
Several people frowned.
"They let me believe I had found a way out. They let me hope.
Then—
The floor gave way beneath my legs.
Pain followed, sudden. Enough to steal the breath from my lungs before a sound could form.
I didn't understand what had happened—only that i couldn't stand anymore.
Outside, someone spoke.
'Subject 17B exhibits strong escape instinct. Increase corrective measures.'
Such a quiet word for something that shattered bone. "
Naya wraps her arms around herself.
"How old were you?"
Maya answerd, "Almost two."
The silence afterward felt endless.
"Another day—they brought me something sweet.
Candy.
A cruel contrast to the gray world i lived in.
I stared at it for a long time before touching it, as if afraid it might disappear.
That was the trap.
The moment i took it, the moment a flicker of something soft crossed my face—
They acted.
My hand was taken.
All of my ten fingers—small—met force that did not care for their fragility. Pain bloomed again, sharper this time."
The hall froze as if the air itself had stopped moving.
Farhan stared at her, then at her hands.
Then back at her hands again.
As though he couldn't stop imagining how small they must have been.
Faha's voice came out barely above a whisper, "...Over candy?"
Fahan let out a short laugh, "That's insane."
He shook his head,
"No. That's beyond insane."
Maya answered before anyone else could,
"I remember being confused. I didn't understand what I had done wrong."
Rahi finally spoke,
"They wanted the lesson remembered forever."
Silence.
She nodded once, "Yes,I learned the lesson and remembered forever. They were very good teachers."
Fahad's jaw tightened, "You call that teaching?"
Rahi murmured, "Because, They taught us how to survive."
LESSON TWO :
★HOPE IS A PUNISHMENT.★
A wave of discomfort swept through the hall.
Several relatives looked visibly shaken.
"Please..."
One of the older aunts whispered,
"Please stop."
Another relative shook his head,
"I can't listen to this anymore."
Farhan looked emotionally drained,
"Every answer somehow makes everything worse."
Several people quietly agreed.
"Please don't tell us any more. We understand enough."
Maya sat silently , watching.
Then Rahi spoke, "Why?"
The room fell silent.
"Why should she stop? Oh....Does it hurt?"
A few people lowered their eyes.
He gave a short, humorless laugh,
"My advice was to leave it alone. I told all of you not to do this, But you wanted answers."
Nobody spoke.
"So listen, You wanted the past. Now the past is talking. Why are you all afraid? "
A bitter smile appeared,
"You're suffering from hearing it,
Ohhhh..... how sad? "
The room listened in absolute silence.
Maya's voice remained calm,
"Time did not pass there the way it should. Only cycles of light and dark controlled by unseen hands."
Farhan lowered his eyes.
The sentence alone made his stomach twist.
"Sleep came in fragments, broken by sounds. Distant echoes of things I could not name.
Sometimes they spoke to me."
Her gaze drifted, "Run — Run again."
A pause.
"Try, Let's see how long this one lasts."
Several people visibly flinched.
Fahan stared.
"...They were treating it like a game."
She continued, "And I did, Again and again."
Farhan swallowed hard.
"The first escape lasted six seconds.
The second lasted eleven."
Farhan felt his chest tighten.
"The third lasted twenty-three. After that, they started timing me.
They kept records. They seemed pleased when the numbers improved."