Disclaimer: I do not own Linkin Park.

This is purely fiction! =P

hey guys! thanks for reviewing my last story. It was very nice of you. =) good luck to everyone of you.

Prologue

The night of Southern California was unusually cold.

St. Benedict’s Orphanage stood tall in the hills of Agoura, Los Angeles like a quiet phantom.

Like many orphanages, the place was crowded with children without homes. Some children were truly by definition orphans, and some were simply orphans because their parents are homeless themselves.

Because they depended on donations and funding from Catholic Church, there weren’t much they could do for the children except feed them and provide roof over their head. The policy was that after the kids hit the age of 18, they must find a job and move out. If the kid was lucky, the Reverend Mother of the orphanage usually found the first job for him or her.

Either way, the fate of an older orphan was determined to be unfortunate.

That cold night, St. Benedict’s Orphanage had received a new member. Everyone’s attention shifted onto the boy that had just been brought to the dinner table. The boy seemed to be about 8 or 9. The boy’s face was oval shaped like an almond. His eyes were two dark brown buttons, a color that matched his dark hair. Peculiar thing about the boy was his eyes. The boy’s eyes had such sorrow in it, yet it wasn’t gloomy. People in the room felt as though his eyes captured them in time for quite a while.

Reverend Mother Catherine tapped the table lightly and introduced the boy herself.

“Now, kids. This is Michael. Michael Shinoda. He is the new member to our orphanage. So please be kind to him. Show him around. Make sure he gets used to this place.” She beseeched to the crowd of kids.

Catherine looked around and found an empty spot next to the red haired girl and nodded at Mike.

“Michael, you may sit next to Anna.”

Mike quietly walked towards the red haired girl and sat next to her without a word. Anna had a hair red like the dry brick wall of the orphanage. Her face was milky white and angular unlike Mike’s smooth feature. She smiled at Mike briefly and quickly lowered her eyes as Catherine started the prayer.

Mike ate quietly as children talked over dinner. Anna glanced over at Mike from time to time but she didn’t talk to him. When the meal was over, Anna took Mike’s hand and showed him around the orphanage.

“This is where we sleep. For now we share the big hall together. Reverend Mother told us that it’s because older kids got the rooms to themselves and young kids like us can’t afford to have our own rooms. But when we grow up, we can have our own rooms too.” Anna explained excitedly. Mike remained quiet.

“That’s where the meal’s prepared. When we get older, we have to either help the kitchen or help clean the place.” Anna impatiently took Mike to other room, almost prancing.

“That’s the Grand hall. We hold mass there every Friday. Are you baptized?”Anna asked.

Mike nodded.

“Follow me. We’re going up to the rooftop.” Anna pointed up at the ceiling.

Mike followed her up to the rooftop where he could see the whole city of Los Angeles at one glance.

Mike drew in deep breath as he saw the whole city lighting up beautifully.

“Yep. Isn’t it beautiful? I usually come up here when I feel like I’m going to go crazy.” Anna smiled as she whispered.

Mike brought his knees together closer to his chest.

“I want to be an actress. What do you want to be?” Anna looked at Mike curiously.

Mike thought about for a minute or two. What did I want to be?

“I don’t know.” Mike murmured. He pulled his knees closer to his chest and buried his face on top of it.

Anna and Mike sat in awkward silence.

“My mom was an actress you know,” Anna broke the silence trying to ease the mood. “My father told me she was the best of the best in Broadway, New York.” She smiled in faint memory of her father.

Mike did not respond to that but looked at her in a sympathetic way. His eyes sparkled with water.

“What happened to your parents?” Mike asked out of curiosity.

Anna paused for a moment. “They divorced.”

“Oh.” Mike muttered.

She must have been one of those kids that were abandoned even though their parents are not dead.

Mike felt sorry for her. The memory of his parents rushed back like an unhealed wounds.

“How about you, Mike?” Anna looked at Mike.

Mike lowered his eyes and paused for a moment like Anna.

“My parents died of car accident.” Mike replied.

“I’m so sorry.” Anna quietly squeezed his hand.

Mike shook his head lightly to tell her that it’s not her fault but the memories of that night kept haunting him like a ghost.

Snow days always bothered young Mike Shinoda. It was good that he didn’t have to go to school but it made him impatient because it delayed his parents’ arrival. His father and mother worked at the same office and neither of them could come home early for Mike that day.

Mike watched TV, listened to radio, drew pictures, and looked out the window trying to kill time but his parents were still not home.

Mike sat there dully waiting for his parents to come home. His babysitter was supposed to come and take care of him but for some reason, she was delayed as well.

Then Mike heard the phone ring and ran for it rapidly.

“Hello?” Mike answered the phone.

“Mike! Honey. It’s mommy. I’m so sorry, baby. Mommy and daddy are caught in the snow. We’ll try to be home as soon as possible.” It was his mother.

“Mom. I’m scared. Be home fast!” Young Mike sulked and threw tantrums over the phone like a little baby.

“Yes, yes. I know baby. Mommy just called Becky. She’ll be there as soon as possible just in case mommy and daddy don’t make it home in time. So be a good boy and wait a little bit more, okay?” Mrs. Shinoda tried to calm her boy down.

Mike nodded and hung up the phone, a little bit relieved that his mom promised him she’d come home promptly.

Just as he hung up, he saw Becky pulling up in their driveway. She and Mike sat together and played games until 6 but still no sign of his parents.

Becky called Mike’s parents many times but their cell phone seemed to have died or something.

That’s when Becky turned the TV on to see how bad the weather is and instead of weather news a report of car accident was being broadcasted in a local news station.

Multiple car crash; death of numerous local residents coming back from work.

That was the name of it. Mike and Becky were staring at the TV anxiously hoping that it wouldn’t be his mom and dad.

But unfortunately, few minutes later, they were visited by three police officers, telling them Mike’s parents had died from car crash an hour ago.

“I’m so sorry, Michael. The last call your parents were trying to make was to you.” A police officer told him bluntly.

Mike didn’t know why everything sounded so far away. He didn’t know at the time but later he heard that his mom and dad were trying to make calls to Mike caught in the snow. However, reception was not good and it kept on disconnecting the calls they were making. Obviously that distracted them from concentrating on the road and it caused a horrendous accident that Mike had never even expected.

“It’s my fault…” Mike swallowed his tears as he muttered.

“Mike?” Anna quietly looked into his eyes when Mike’s tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Shh…don’t cry, Mike.” Anna wiped away his tears quietly. Mike could not hold in his sadness any longer. He buried his face between his hands and started to sob loudly while Anna comforted him in her arms.

“Good night.” Anna whispered as she slipped Mike into the large hall.

“You too.” Mike softly nodded back and walked into the room.

Kids were all asleep and Mike had to watch out so that he would not step on these kids. Mike crawled into his bed. It was nothing like his comfortable bed in his own home but he knew that now he had no choice.

Mike softly squeezed the teddy bear his mom bought him for birthday. It was the last gift she had ever brought home.

Mom, I’m so sorry…

He whispered quietly as tears welled up in his eyes. It was too late to regret, Mike knew. Mike softly sobbed as he fell asleep.