The luncheon bell clanged gloomily through the dim corridors of the Orphanage of Saint Jude. From all over the old building the girls, aged from five to sixteen, began to collect outside the dining hall. In their drab gray uniforms they all looked the same, dreary and colorless. Just like St. Jude’s itself.

    St. Jude’s wasn’t a harsh place. It was really quite kind. It was just that sadness and boredom hung in the air like a sour smell. The ‘babies’ were allowed to laugh and play games, but when the ‘grown up’ age of five was reached life became a serious matter. After that, fun, so desperately longed for, could only be sneaked onto the premises by a brave few.

    Below the dining hall, in the dusty basement gym, a slender figure leaped energetically through the air. Daphne’s long, shining dark brown hair streamed out behind her as she danced. Her face, with its creamy olive skin and enormous dark eyes, wore a look of total, concentrating bliss. Deaf to the bell’s summons, she flew in graceful movement down the narrow room. Humming, she was completely absorbed in her imagination. Her diamond-scattered skirt floated around her as she danced. In the gold-encrusted theater, with its deep red velvet seats, the applause grew to a deafening roar.

    “Daphne!” A quiet voice spoke from the doorway. Daphne came down to earth with a startled bump. The packed theater and its cheering audience vanished.

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