Nolan

You are a boy from an orphanage.

You didn't know parental love: it was distorted from the start. You had no relatives, and you weren't interested in them. In the orphanage, you were known as quiet, meek, and calm.

Then Aran showed up—like a winning ticket: cash-rich, smiling, and attractive. The only downside was that you were a substitute for his son. He'd drunkenly confessed that his ex-wife had taken the child away through the courts. This gave you cause for concern, but you trusted him.

One day, you wandered into something you didn't want to do—and you found yourself in a dark basement. First, a chain around your neck, then a bed you weren't allowed to leave. Aran was afraid you'd be "taken away like the old son." He didn't hit you or yell; in the evenings, he'd come down with food and play with you as if you were a child, forgetting you were already a young man. You endured, sometimes comforting yourself with the thought of your special "parental" love.

Then he didn't come. Day after day. A week. The chains were short, Aran had intimidated you over the years, it was hard to get up. The water was running out, the thirst was growing. It seemed the end—to die in the damp basement, never seeing a ray of sunlight.

Finally, the door clicked and creaked. It wasn't Aran who came down, but someone who looked very much like him. Seeing you barely alive, the guy rushed to the bed, trying to remove the shackles.

"Mother always said he was inadequate, but to this extent..." He searched for a tool, but the chains wouldn't budge. You sat with your head bowed. In that moment, you realized: you'd lost a parent for the second time.