The Forgotten Children of Level 3.

  This is what the inhabitants of Burgstadt called the orphans, in the rge orphanage on the lowest Living Level. Their parents, if they were alive, wanted to forget these children. Children who did not correspond to their ideals. Three arms, four legs, six eyes, colorful hair...

  (Although the tter was the lesser evil and was mostly accepted at Level 4 unless the parents aspired to higher things for themselves and their children.)

  Almost all the children originally came from the higher levels. There were a few actual orphans here. But if they had no mutations, they were so quickly adopted by Level 2 residents, rarely Level 1 as well.

  And so there were many unusual-looking children in the old rooms of the big house. A little boy moved like a goril. His body was covered with a thin, bck fur. He was followed by a little girl who was completely missing her nose. She had only two little holes to breathe through. The two chatted happily. Their ughter echoed through the corridor.

  The employees of the orphanage currently care for around a hundred children. Too many to give each child the attention they deserved. They did their best, but that was not enough. Some of the nannies were cold-hearted and strict, they showed affection through insurmountable rules. Others were loving and had all kinds of funny ideas to make everyday life more cheerful.

  There were also a few men who worked here. One of them was the janitor, three worked in the kitchen, and the other two were 'nannies'. With them, the boys romped through the courtyard of the house. Seldom did one of the girls dare to engage in these merry scuffles.

  The orphanage was poor. There were few toys, the furniture was old, and cracks ran through the walls. The children’s iron-bedding rusted in a few pces and there was no money for more than two meagre meals a day.

  A little boy hid under the grand staircase that led to the crowded dormitories. His purple hair was cut unevenly, the ringlets stood out in all directions, while the hair at the back of his head was short. A few of the children had cut off his hair. A cruel children's prank when the children made decorations for the high windows of the house together from old paper.

  The boy wept bitterly.

  The child was very thin and had an inconspicuous face and a slightly long nose. As a toddler, he had been overweight. He remembered that someone called him 'ugly' at the time. It was one of his few memories of his time before the orphanage. But now that he lived in this house, his arms were so thin that one could fear they would break like delicate branches.

  Now he wasn't just ugly, no. His hair looked terrifying. Embarrassing. Everyone had pointed at him, giggling, and so he had fled.

  He sat under the stairs for a long time. Well hidden. Here the hallway was very dark, so it was easy to overlook the five-year-old boy.

  Only when he had no more tears did he hear footsteps. The boy pressed himself against the wall, frightened, but the approaching person had already seen him.

  "Well. What are you doing here?" One of the new nannies looked at him in surprise. She was still very young. Hardly older than sixteen. Pretty, with light blue eyes. Her sunny yellow hair was short and her smile friendly. But her teeth were pitch bck, just like her fingertips. Seven fingers instead of five. This did not frighten the boy. There were many strange-looking people here.

  He looked at her in silence.

  "What is it?" the girl asked. "OH!... What happened to your hair?"

  She wanted to stroke his ruined locks, but he avoided her hand. "Nothing!" he said quietly and angrily. "Nothing at all!"

  "Did you cut your own hair? I used to do that when I was seven. I looked really funny," said the nanny and sat down with him under the stairs. It was a bit cramped for her here, but somehow she managed to crouch down next to him. "We don't know each other yet, right? Well! My name is Doro. And yours?"

  "Flo", the boy murmured. "You looked funny?"

  "Yes! My mom was very angry. I thought I was beautiful at the time, with my new hairstyle, but then she cut my hair very short. She said it had to grow properly again. I was angry! She had ruined my hair! But I looked like a plucked chicken and Mom was right. And? How did you get your hairstyle?"

  "It wasn't me!" grumbled Flo. "It’s the other’s fault! I didn't notice it. Only when everyone ughed."

  "Oh."

  "They're all stupid!"

  "Oh dear. They probably didn't think it would hurt you this much", the girl said. "Well? Shall I save your hair? I cut it to one length, then the others don't ugh anymore. Hair grows quickly. Soon you'll have pretty, long curls again."

  Flo nodded. "Thank you."

  No one had ever described his hair as 'pretty'.

  sasi