Carla Braun, while explaining the lesson, raised her eyes from time to time to observe Adam.Her gaze was not merely that of a concerned teacher.It was something deeper... and more hesitant.
Adam looked to her calmer than he should be.So immersed in his silence that it seemed nothing in this world could touch him.And for a moment, she felt something she didn't want to admit:Fear.
Most students she had seen over her years of work would collapse, cry, scream, or at least show some human signs.But Adam…Adam seemed like a machine wearing a human face.
And she couldn't help but compare him to Neil.Neil was strange too, but a different kind of strange:Curious, obsessed with discovery, with something alive even in his arrogance and dry tone.
But Adam…He was a strangeness that reminded her of black holes.No light came out of them, no reflection, not even an echo.
She felt a small shiver.She wondered to herself:Could this boy, who looked so silent and broken… be more dangerous than everyone if he ever decided to do something?
Then she caught herself and quickly cut off that thought.But when she looked at him again, she couldn't deny that… she didn't understand him.Nor did she fully trust what might come from him.
Carla lifted her head from the records where she was noting attendance, then said in a calm voice:"Krista Lenz… please proceed."
Krista lifted her eyes lightly, her face showing signs of distraction.Her thoughts all morning had been chasing one thing: Neil's repeated absence.The one who never left his seat unless he chose to, with his familiar pride… why was he absent this time?And why had he been absent all these days?
But she composed herself and stood near the table, holding in her hand the research file she had worked on all week.
Carla gave her a brief look, then gestured for her to begin:"Please… explain your topic."
Krista cleared her throat a little, then spoke in a clear voice:"My research topic is about 'The Girl Who Bears the Sacred Heart.'"
She paused a moment, looking at the papers in her hands as if gathering her scattered thoughts.Then continued:"According to ancient legends, the Sacred Heart is a rare essence born once every few centuries. It is said to be a source of perfect purity… or perhaps a source of ruin if stolen or broken."
She lifted her gaze toward the classroom, her eyes passing over Adam unintentionally, before returning to Carla."This research explores how this legend might be more than just a story… there is evidence that real people throughout history carried something resembling this heart."
Carla was listening, but she noticed that unsettling look in Krista's eyes: the look of someone searching for something they cannot name.A look in which curiosity blended… with an anxiety she didn't want to admit.
"Have you found any modern examples or evidence?"Carla asked her softly.
Krista nodded her head slowly:"Yes… there are vague reports about a girl… it is said she appeared a short time ago… but the information is scarce and unconfirmed."
Then she lowered her voice as if sharing a secret:"It is said this girl may be… of the blood of those who made history with their blood."
For a brief moment, the whole classroom felt that fleeting coldness that comes when living legends are mentioned.Even Carla, who usually avoided emotion, found herself studying Krista carefully, wondering inwardly:Is what she's saying pure fantasy… or is this story beginning to draw closer to their reality?
…Carla looked at Krista for a long time, then at Adam sitting in the corner, pale-faced, staring at the window as if hearing nothing.Something in her heart began to stir.
She spoke calmly, but there was a hidden note of concern:"And what do you mean by 'of the blood of those who made history with their blood'? Is that just a metaphor… or is there a direct connection?"
Krista hesitated a moment, looking around as if she didn't want to be seen as eccentric.But she answered in a softer voice:"I'm still researching that part, ma'am… but some manuscripts suggest that the bearer of the Sacred Heart is never born by chance… rather, they are the product of a special bloodline, chosen since ancient times, and… their end is often tragic."
Carla's expression changed for a moment, a strange feeling overtook her—it was neither fear nor confusion… but intuition.The intuition of a teacher who had seen what was never spoken.
She looked again at Adam. He still did not react.Did not clearly breathe.As if sitting there with only his body, while his mind and soul were absent behind a wall.
She thought, Mary… did you know? Were you hiding something from me?
Then she asked Krista a question that sounded simple but carried more than it seemed:"Do you think this girl… might actually be among us?"
Krista didn't answer immediately.She bit her lower lip, then said:"Not exactly among us, but… maybe very close."
A complete silence settled over the classroom.Some students started whispering, not grasping the depth of what was being said.
Carla slowly closed her notebook, then said in a firmer voice:"Thank you, Krista. Your research is excellent… and very interesting."
Then she turned to Adam, finally addressing him:"Adam… do you have any comment on what you heard?"
He lifted his head slowly… his eyes red but dry, looking at Krista, then at Carla.And said nothing.
But something in his eyes was speaking.Something like the truth… or its end.
Krista cleared her throat, trying to regain some composure, then clasped her hands in front of her and spoke in a voice first low, then gradually steadier:"…I mean… that sometimes… the family that chooses you to be part of it is more loyal than the family you were born into…"
She paused for a moment, feeling her words might offend unintentionally, then continued:"The father or mother who decide to adopt a child… don't do it out of duty or blood… but because they truly want to… because they chose to give them a chance at a new life…"
She lifted her eyes to Carla as if seeking silent approval, then continued, her tone growing more passionate despite the embarrassment:"And of course, not all bad parents are biological… but sometimes… adoption means that love isn't imposed or just a habit… it's something a person decides with their heart…"
For a moment she seemed to forget her shyness, and added with a hint of calm:"I wanted to talk about this because… because I think it's an important topic… especially in a world full of wars and losses… many children think they're a burden or that they don't deserve love…"
Then she lowered her head again, her cheeks flushing red once more:"That's all I have…"
Krista, after finishing her words, quickly lifted her eyes to Adam, her face still red with embarrassment, as if silently blaming him for forcing her to expand on a topic she wasn't ready to present this way.
But Adam didn't look sarcastic or indifferent this time.He was staring at her with steady eyes, as if trying to understand something that had never occurred to him before.Her words kept echoing in his mind in an unexpected, disturbing way:
"…The father or mother who decide to adopt a child… don't do it out of duty or blood… but because they truly want to… because they chose to give them a chance at a new life…"
He felt something like a strange prick beneath his chest, unsure if it was annoyance, curiosity, or just a cold longing he wouldn't acknowledge.
For a moment, he wondered silently to himself:Would this have been real… if my mother… if Mary Ethan hadn't really been my mother? Would she have chosen me too?
Then quickly, he shut that thought away like an old door inside his chest.But despite everything, he couldn't expel that echo from his mind.
At that moment, amid the distraction her words had left, and the low voices in the class, a thought rose inside Adam… not an emotional thought, but closer to "a new equation" in his exhausted mind.
If my life has no taste, no real pain or real happiness… maybe it's because I've been waiting for something that never comes.But if I make my complex thoughts… my tool, if I use them instead of letting them consume me… maybe I will find something that belongs only to me.
His mind began working in its own way, not driven by feelings, but by an internal need for order, for direction.He wasn't seeking balance, but control.He wasn't looking for the meaning of life, but for a goal to tear through the void.
Revenge? No… not now. Not while I'm weak.Mila? Yes, but she's not enough of a motive yet.I need something that makes me wake up every day without laughing sarcastically at the clock striking.
And so… in a strange silence, among classmates who didn't notice his change, Adam chose to live.But in his own way.
Not to be normal.Not to feel something.But only… to reach.
I need training… knowledge… a way to turn this internal wreckage into an unbreakable machine.
And the first thread of the journey began to glimmer in his mind:
Power… is not a privilege, but a rational solution to an irrational life.
At that moment, Carla lifted her head from the attendance book and spoke in a clear voice:"Alright… let's continue the round. Everyone tell me what your next goal is."
A girl in the class raised her hand enthusiastically:"I want to become strong… so no one can defeat me!"
Some classmates smiled and nodded appreciatively.
A boy stepped forward and said hesitantly:"I want to become knowledgeable… so I can understand how everything works."
Then another raised his hand and said:"I want to help my father in his shop… he's worked so hard."
Carla wrote down the goals with satisfaction, then looked at Krista, who seemed a little tense:"And you, Krista?"
Krista took a deep breath, then said loudly with determination:"I want to become so strong… that I become a princess!"
The next moment, most of the students burst into loud laughter.Some lowered their heads to hide their smiles, others covered their mouths with their hands to avoid making it worse.
Krista's face turned so red it nearly matched her hair.She lowered her eyes, trying to pretend it was nothing.
But one thing caught her attention amid the laughter…Adam.
He was sitting there, looking ahead without any reaction.No ridicule, no surprise, not even pity.As if he didn't even understand what was supposed to be funny.
She lifted her gaze toward him in embarrassment and curiosity all at once:"…Why didn't he laugh?… Did he not hear? Or… is he different?"
Silence fell for a few seconds before Carla's voice lifted it:"Adam… you haven't said your goal yet."
He lifted his head slowly.He looked toward the window for a moment as if searching for something there.Then turned his gaze back to the teacher and spoke in a calm voice, with no tone of feeling:
"I wish I could die now… that's easier than deciding a goal."
Everything in the room froze.
All traces of laughter and whispers vanished.Even Krista stared at him in complete shock.
Carla felt a tightness in her chest, tried to speak but words didn't come immediately.
At that moment, it seemed Adam didn't notice he had said anything unusual.His voice was honest to the point of discomfort… as if describing something self-evident.
Then he rested his elbow on the table, laid his cheek on his hand, and closed his eyes.As if he had finished speaking.
and the entire class fell silent.