Chapter 8
The soft music filled the room, a rare sound within the cold, rigid Hydra facility. Elise watched 616, guiding her patiently through the simple steps she was teaching. At first, the girl hesitated, her movements stiff and uncertain. But as the rhythm repeated, she began to loosen up.
The doctor smiled. It was an unlikely, almost surreal scene. A child who had been molded into a weapon was now twirling lightly through the space, her eyes shining with a spark of curiosity.
But then, something different caught her attention.
The Winter Soldier was there, as he had been for the past two months, motionless, observing. But the fingers of his right hand were tapping lightly against his thigh in time with the music. A small, unconscious movement.
Elise couldn’t help it—her gaze fell on him, studying him discreetly. The moment he realized her attention was on him, his expression shut down. His fingers stopped moving, and his hand clenched into a rigid fist, as if punishing himself for that fraction of a second when his body had reacted without permission.
616 didn’t notice. She stopped twirling and looked at Elise with a subtle gleam in her eyes.
"I liked it," she said, simple and direct, but with a small smile at the corner of her lips.
Elise smiled at her proudly. In these almost eight months since she had met 616, moments like these were rare but precious. In the first few months, the girl barely spoke—every response was mechanical, measured, devoid of emotion. But now, here she was, experiencing something new and genuinely enjoying it.
"I'm glad you liked it," Elise replied gently, watching as 616 still seemed to process the unfamiliar sensation.
The doctor reached out, tucking a strand of the girl's hair delicately behind her ear—a simple gesture, but one that 616 did not recoil from. Before, any touch was met with tension, with alarm. Now, there was acceptance.
"You know, this is what children do," Elise continued, her voice filled with warmth. "They play, they laugh, they discover new things... and they enjoy them."
616 tilted her head slightly, as if pondering her words. Then, as if echoing the feeling she had just experienced, she spun around once more—this time without hesitation.
Elise let out a soft laugh, feeling warmth spread through her chest.
Hydra wanted 616 to be a weapon. But at that moment, she was just a girl learning how to be free.
The Winter Soldier, watching the scene unfold, felt something stir within him as he saw 616 like that. For a brief moment, he almost allowed himself to see it differently.
But he couldn’t.
Adjusting his stance, he erased any trace of emotion from his face.
616 was just a mission. A tool. Nothing more.
--
The classroom was cold and sterile, illuminated by artificial lights that cast harsh shadows over the perfectly aligned desks. 616 sat with a rigid posture, hands resting on her knees, eyes fixed on the board where the teacher lectured about genetics and human reproduction.
"DNA is composed of pairs of nitrogenous bases and determines all the characteristics of an organism. Each individual receives half of their genetic material from one parent and the other half from the other parent. That is how..."
The teacher's voice was monotonous, indifferent. To him, it was just another lesson. But to 616, each word resonated in a strange way.
Father. Mother. Genetic inheritance.
The diagrams projected onto the board illustrated the fusion of cells, the formation of a new being from two others. The concept was simple, purely biological. Yet, something inside her stirred—an unsettling thought she couldn't ignore.
She had never stopped to think about it before. She had always been 616. She had only ever existed here, in this controlled environment, under Hydra’s rules. But now… she began to wonder.
If all people came from someone, then what about her?
Her gaze drifted to the corner of the room, where the Winter Soldier stood, motionless as a statue. He was always there. Always watching.
An impulse rose within her before she could suppress it. She raised her hand.
The teacher hesitated, surprised. It was rare for 616 to ask questions. He paused his explanation and looked at her with impatience.
“Yes, 616?”
She wetted her lips, feeling a strange weight in her throat. But she asked anyway:
“Do I have a father and a mother?”
Silence fell over the room.
The teacher did not answer immediately. His eyes hardened as if the question irritated him. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold and sharp.
"That information is not relevant to you. Focus on the lesson."
616 blinked, confused.
"But... all people come from someone, don’t they?"
The teacher's irritation became evident. He pressed his lips together, turned back to the board, and simply ignored the question.
"Moving on... DNA is responsible for all hereditary traits..."
616 felt something sink inside her. A silent frustration.
She looked again at the Winter Soldier. His eyes were on her, fixed and intense, but his expression was unreadable.
Did he know the answer?
She wanted to ask. She wanted to demand. But the way everyone seemed intent on silencing that question made her hesitate.
So, she simply lowered her hand and turned her attention back to the screen, even though she was no longer absorbing anything being said.
The Winter Soldier kept watching. He noticed the subtle way her shoulders dropped, as if something inside her had been crushed before it could even fully form.
And for the first time, he felt a discomfort he couldn’t name.
He had an impulse to step forward, to interrupt that damn teacher, but he held back. He quickly reminded himself of his mission: observe, not interfere. That was what he was supposed to do.
As the teacher continued the lesson, 616 looked at the Winter Soldier, her expression filled with anguish. He watched her in return, his blue eyes locked on her, but showing no visible emotion.
The lesson had ended, but 616’s question remained like a shadow hovering over her mind. She stood up without a word, her steps firm, yet her expression weighed down by restless thoughts. The Winter Soldier followed right behind her, silent as always, his presence constant and unwavering.
The sound of his boots echoed softly against the facility’s corridors as she walked toward the room where Dr. Elise Wagner awaited her. Here, at least, her questions had space to exist.
Upon entering, 616 did not sit down immediately as she usually did. Instead, she walked toward the small bookshelf in the corner of the room. Elise watched in silence as the girl ran her fingers along the spines of the books, hesitant, as if unsure of what she was looking for. Then, she pulled one of the volumes free and carefully opened it.
It was a children’s book. The illustrated cover depicted a family of elephants in a lush green field. Elise recognized it immediately—the simple story told the journey of a baby elephant and its relationship with its parents.
It was the first time 616 had taken the initiative to pick something on her own.
“Why did you choose that book?” Elise asked curiously, keeping her voice gentle.
616 remained silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on the colorful pages.
"I don't know," she murmured, but her expression said otherwise.
Elise exchanged a brief glance with the Winter Soldier, who stood motionless by the door. His face was a mask of indifference, but there was something in his watchful gaze that made her wonder what he thought about all of this.
The doctor turned her focus back to the girl.
"Do you want to read a little?"
616 hesitated before nodding. Then, without another word, she carried the book to the chair and sat down, keeping it open on her lap.
Elise watched her for a moment before settling down beside her.
"You know, this is the story of a family," she said gently. "A baby elephant and its parents."
616 slowly turned the page, her eyes fixed on the illustration.
"What does it mean to have parents?" The question came suddenly, but it was heavy with something Elise had already expected.
The doctor took a deep breath.
"Parents are the ones who take care of you, who protect you and teach you about the world."
616 furrowed her brows, absorbing the words.
"Then... do I have parents?"
Elise felt the Winter Soldier’s gaze on her, but she didn’t turn to him. She kept her eyes on 616 and said, as gently as possible:
“Yes. Everyone does.”
The girl gripped the book tighter.
“Who are mine?”
Elise didn’t answer right away. Instead, she shifted her gaze to the Soldier. This time, she truly looked at him.
And he remained motionless.
“Sometimes, circumstances prevent a child from staying with their parents.”
Silence stretched between them.
Elise watched as 616 flipped through the book carefully, but there was something in her expression that showed she wasn’t just absorbing the words and pictures—she was deeply thinking about something beyond the simple story of the elephant family.
With the patience she always carried, Elise leaned forward slightly and began reading softly, following the words in the book:
"The little elephant was always very happy when he was with his mother and father. Together, they wandered through the fields, and whenever he felt sad or afraid, his mother would hug him, saying: 'You are my most precious treasure, my little one. I love you more than anything.' His father was always there to protect him, guiding him with care."
616 stared intently at the page, absorbing the story, but the silence that followed grew heavier. The girl's expression began to change gradually, and Elise noticed that something was wrong. She turned the page, but 616's eyes remained fixed on the text, the tension within her seeming to build.
Then, she broke the silence.
"Why did his parents go after him?"
Her voice was quiet, but it carried something Elise recognized instantly: fear.
"Because they love him," Elise answered gently.
Suddenly, 616 shut the book with an abrupt motion. Her eyes were wide, her face pale, as if she had just made a terrifying discovery.
"They don’t want me..." she whispered, the words barely audible.
Elise leaned forward quickly, noticing the anguish in 616's eyes. She moved closer and placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders, looking at her with both firmness and tenderness.
"What if... what if there's something wrong with me? What if I don’t have parents because they didn’t want me?" Her voice faltered, and her breath became uneven, the beginnings of panic growing within her.
Elise didn’t hesitate. She leaned in and enveloped the girl in a firm embrace, feeling 616’s small body tremble against hers.
"No, my dear. That’s not true. You’re not to blame for anything."
616 didn’t respond, she simply clung to Elise tightly, her stifled sobs shaking her body. Elise gently ran her hand through the girl’s dark hair, as if she could calm her with that touch alone.
"If you were my daughter, I would be the happiest mother in the world to have you."
616 sobbed against her shoulder, holding onto Elise as if, for a moment, she could believe those words.
As Elise comforted 616, the Winter Soldier watched from a distance, his gaze firm, but something was different this time. He couldn’t shake the feeling of discomfort, the tightness in his chest as he saw the pain etched on the child’s face. He took a step forward, an impulse to go to her and do something, anything, to ease 616’s suffering.
But then, he stopped.
He remembered his mission. It was not allowed. He was not permitted to act with feelings, to get involved. He focused on the command words that had always been drilled into him: ‘Observe, do not interfere.’
The soldier closed his eyes for a moment, trying to push away the thoughts that began to surface. And it was at that instant that images from his past began to flood his mind, as if fragments of something he had buried long ago.
He saw a blonde woman, with wavy hair, a gentle and nurturing expression. She was holding a small blonde child, with intense blue eyes. The woman whispered to the boy as she held him tightly:
‘You are the best son I could have. I love you more than anything, you are my reason for living.’
The memory faded as quickly as it came, leaving only an overwhelming emptiness in his chest.
The Winter Soldier blinked, returning to reality. His jaw tightened, and he took a step back, regaining his rigid posture.
He shouldn’t feel anything.
But why, then, did his chest hurt so much?