“Wake up call. Get ready in fifteen minutes. No breakfast. Meet people that are not going to adopt me anyway. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. “

These thoughts ran through Jo’s mind as she made her bed. 6:30 am was WAY too early to wake up on a Sunday! But it was not like she had a say in this matter. Jo was an orphan. Her mother died when she was born, and her father abandoned her a year later. She did not know what it was like to have parents, she did not have siblings, and she did not even go to school. She only wanted one thing in the entire world: to be adopted, so she could lead a normal life. She let out a sigh and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Someone’s come to get you!” yelled Marge, the mean woman who was in charge of visitors and people who wanted to adopt. “Come and see him!”

However, she was not very good at her job. In the past, she had forgotten to check the adopter’s qualifications, and the girl who got adopted was never seen or heard from again.

“Me?” responded Jo in disbelief. “Are you sure?” The response was an ambiguous “Yes…” Jo did not want to stay in this horrible orphanage any longer, so she quickly packed her bag, and dashed down the stairs. She could not wait to meet her new father. She knew he would be wonderful. She wondered what he would look like. She had always pictured a tall, fit man with dark hair and a model-worthy smile. What Jo saw next shocked her.

He was not much taller than a teenage boy, and his face was badly shaven. Dark circles outlined his unwelcoming eyes. His clothes were badly kept, wrinkled and the top even had a large red stain. Jo was confused. Was this her father?

He cleared his throat and mumbled: “Are you Jo?” Jo opened her mouth, but no sound escaped.

“I’ve come to adopt you.” The man’s voice was harsh and deep, nothing like what she had imagined her father’s voice to be.

“Still, a father is a father,” she told herself. Jo thought he looked unapproachable, but that did not mean that he was not fit to adopt her. Besides, the orphanage would not make the same mistake twice. Jo took one last look at the orphanage.

The man took an ugly green coat from the coat hanger and put it on. “If he didn’t look dull then, he does now.” Jo said to herself as she followed him to an old blue Subaro. She quietly stepped inside, not enjoying what she saw of her father so far. Tears came to her eyes. She bit her tongue, begging them not to fall. The man switched on the news and started driving.

“We have an anonymous tip about a patient escaping the asylum. His whereabouts are unknown right now. He is about 5’5”, 130 pounds, and has last been seen in a green coat,” said the news reporter.

“That’s strange,” thought Jo, and noticed how the man’s knuckles were suddenly gripped around the steering wheel very tightly.

“He murdered two men and stole their car: a blue Subaro. If you happen to see him, call the police immediately. Be aware that he is mentally unstable,” finished the news reporter.

Jo unlocked her door silently, praying that he would not notice. Just as she was about to open the door to escape, she heard him yell, and she turned around. He flung a knife at her face. She felt the skin on her cheek break, and saw her deep red blood. He lunged for her. She opened the door hastily and tumbled to the sidewalk, just as the car crashed into the truck in front of them.

Jo flinched at the crash, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She opened them to see two men picking up an unconscious body from the wrecked Subaro. Jo sighed and touched her cheek. Her face and neck were covered in blood. She saw a white handkerchief being offered to her by a tall man. Jo took it and looked up to thank him. When she saw his face, she froze. She saw the eyes, nose and smile that she saw every single time when she looked in the mirror every day. A small strangled sound left her throat. The man winked and strolled away.