Capítulo 13: Tragedy
Serana walked to the gates with a feeling close to terror but it was more horrified than scared . The place was an absolute drab .
How's any soul supposed to survive such a place ? She wondered as she looked at the Pearl orphanage .
It was wide , sqaure cut and as grey as her grandmother's hair . There were small windows that had steel bars on them . There was a wad of poison ivy climbing the walls and Serana guessed they were intentional .
This is what county prison is like , she reckoned . She'd never seen anything more horrible in her life , and she'd washed her grandmother's warted feet !
But besides it's ugliness , there was the fact that it was filled with religious zealots , who would burn her on a stake if she said she was a witch . So why was she at this very ugly place , risking her life too ?
Because she was desperate .
Business had been going down ( Well , it hadn't been good to begin with ) and her money was dwindling . This was mainly because the rat in the wall had given birth to legions ( Serena didn't know when . She hadn't even known her rat was a girl .) and now they had eaten her food and nibbled her clothes . The ones she had on then , was what she had hanged on to dry , all her clothes were ruined . And she needed food .
At first she had thought of prostitution but had decided against it . What if she ran into her husband ? She'd die before going to bed with him again !
Then she'd thought of getting another job , but what kind and where ?
She wasn't well liked in town , often called the ' voodoo woman ' . She doubted anyone would offer her a job . She couldn't go out of town either , she had no one to help her. Her family was too far and she didn't know how to contact them . Actually no , she didnt want to contact them . She'd not return to her grandmother's house , not for anything.
But that left her with no options .
Atleast , that's what she had thought this morning until she saw the pentagram and remembered the boy and his friends . She had never gone to collect her money , why would she risk her life ?
But now she was desperate and would die either way at the shop from hunger . Serena shuddered and felt the pit of her stomach .
Empty , she thought sadly , she hadn't eaten anything but a biscuit and a tin of water . And that was last night ! If she was turned down today , she'd go home and grab the shovel in the backroom. She would use her last bit of strength to dig a hole ; Her grave .
Well , she thought , here goes all . She reached up and opened the gate , it moved without a sound . Serena walked in and as she did , the gate shut with a clang behind her .
It's the wind , she told herself , it's only a wandering gale . She said it all the way to the door of the orphanage .
...
Sister Anthony looked at the woman infront of her , trying not to spit on her face .
She knew as working secretary and gateskeeper , it was her job and duty to show all those who entered the orphanage a loving grace like the almighty .
But for this woman infront of her she couldn't even pull her lips into a smile .
" Mrs Fox . How do you do ? " She said and Serena breathed an internal sigh .
The woman infront of her had been glaring as if she wanted to skin her alive for nearly five minutes . But she didn't know her . So why the hostility ?
" Have we met ? " Serena asked with a smile ... that fell when the other woman said ;
" No , but I met your husband . He spent a long time with my unordained sister . "
Serena swallowed and cursed her husband's lechery for the millionth time . She looked at the woman infront of her .
Strong muscles hidden under a gentle demeanor . Was she a farm girl in her youth ? Serena wondered but didn't have the nerve to ask .
She turned her eyes around the room they were in instead . It was a small space , with a desk taking half of it . There was a window , shut with steel bars and Serena turned and looked at the door . Solid oak .
Was this an office or a tigers cage ?
" May I ask why you've come ? " Sister Anthony asked civily ," Adoption , perhaps ? "
" No , no , no , no , I ain't a mother figure . " Serena said and the other woman gave a look that said she knew that .
" I came to collect money ... from a purchase made by some of your young ones . " Serena said and Sister Anthony frowned as if insulted .
" Mrs Fox , believe me . " Sister Anthony said condescendingly ," No boys , in our orphanage would buy things from the likes of you . "
Hunger built on anger and Serena grew furious . How dare this high and mighty tramp talk to her like some diseased widow , she thought angrily .
" Well , sorry to burst your bubble but there are some young ones who took things from my shop . " She said ," And if you're refusing to pay then that means you're motivating stealing ."
" Name em . " Sister Anthony said looking at her coldly ," I dare that satanic tongue to say their names . "
" It was Stuart , a big one named Link and another one , Henry or Henric . " Serena said from memory .
" That is hogwash . " Sister Anthony said ," And I will prove it . I'll bring them here and if one of them says they didn't take anything ... you are hitting a frying pan with your face before walking out that door ."
Serena didn't have a moment to say anything as the other woman got up and stormed out of the room .
Was she supposed to stay or follow ? Serena wondered . She looked at the desk , nothing but a paper , a bottle of ink and a pen .
This would be my hell , Serena thought as she leaned back in her seat . She yawned and shut her eyes . Just a little bit of shut eye , she thought , who knows how long it will take that mean woman to find those boys . In the time being she could -
Serena sat straight as if stabbed by a needle , her eyes were opened wide as she looked around her as if searching for something . She got up and looked around in three circles ... it was on her third turn that she came face to face with something else .
She drew back as it looked at her . Fear gripped her as she looked at it's eyes and it's face lined with sorrow . What tragedy must have struck to leave it like that ? Serena wondered and it seemed to read her mind . She saw it's eyes fill with tears and they rolled down it's face . She heard it's pain and a compulsion came over her and she reached out a hand .
That's when it vanished .
Serena looked around one last time before taking her seat . She couldn't believe it . That , here of all places . If she had been a wicked witch she'd have tried something but since she wasn't , all she felt was a sense of pity . She wondered how it came to be in a place where it would likely die ?
" I hope that woman comes back with something to eat before I eat her table " , Serena said out loud and felt a faint chuckle .
Good , she thought , not all sad is it ?
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
NixelLazuli
NixelLazuli Truth be told , Serena is not hated in town but she just has a hostile aura around her .... because she has trust problems .
Yes , we are wondering what this ' It ' is .
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