บท 16: Sight for the unseen

Elma loved working for the Pearl orphanage , despite never saying it in words .

Where else could you get good children labor ? She'd worked in many orphanages , a few restaurants and a dinner but all had fallen short to her expectations .

Her Father had told her a saying ; If a pot doesn't bubble , it needs better fire . So she'd left each one , looking for a place where her soul could bubble over .

Then she'd stumbled onto Pearl orphanage , a children work program in disguise . Atleast that's what she told herself .

What other reason would boys as old as the sailors she'd slept with a long time ago , be doing working and staying in a place full of old ladies ? She'd realized it's because the old ladies had raised them to be nothing but loyal dogs . They snap a finger and the boys move .

But she wasn't like the old ladies in there , she was not holy or porsh . She didn't talk funny or have this strange clothes . She wasn't a nun or sister and was glad and mad for it .

She hated the sisters for their bleeding holy poly talk , but knew to keep her mouth shut about that . She couldn't stand the young ones , the ones that should be sucking their mother's chest and not feeding off her plates .

But most of all she hated the disdain from all of them . The nuns , the boys and even her employer ; the old bag of bones in a dead man's suit . They all looked at her from some high horse , as if they were the bleeding angels of Christ's crypt .

But Elma wouldn't be put down , no , she'd be the one putting everyone down . She was rude with the sisters and yelled at the boys like they were her own slaves . Her father had another saying ; if the pots resisting , stir hard and with a grunt .

Being nice to all the holy polies in the building would have been a waste of her time . She'd decided , a long time ago , to be mean and to show she wasn't beneath any of them . She's see them in hell , every last one of them .

" Sister Elma , the pots bubbling ! "

Elma snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the boy who had called her . Small and curly haired , a runt , barely into his manhood .

" Stir the thing you midget ! " Elma yelled but the boy was too stupid to listen .

He looked at the pot like it was some evil monster and then he let go of one of Elma's favorite ladels . It swiveled for moment and Elma reached for it but it sunk beneath the boiling soup and her hand lay motionless .

" I'm so sorry , sister . I'm honestly sorry ." The boy kept apologizing but stopped when he saw the look on Elma's face .

" Pantry , you're going into the pantry ! " Elma cried and the room fell into a hush .

The pantry was a lower subroom under the kitchen like a basement but for a few things was totally different . The pantry had nothing inside it , since all food had been moved to a newroom . The only light source was a small window the size of a dead cat , the light only lasting three to four hours .

It was a prison cell , worse than the boys rooms , since it was vast and dark . The worse part was that Elma only let a child out if she remembered them . So it was with a cry of panic that the boy began to plead to her .

" Enough ruckus . " Elma said after dragging the boy to the wooden door of the pantry ," What's your name lad ? "

" I'm Milo " the boy said with tears in his eyes and Elma felt disgust . Her father would have whipped a boy for showing some moisture on his eyes . Especially to a woman .

" Well Milo ," Elma lifted the hatch for the door and Milo began his struggles again , " I'll try and remember you're here . But if I forget , don't worry ... you can eat whatever you find in there . "

With that , Elma threw Milo into the pantry like a bag of bad potatoes . He landed with a sad thud and Elma shut the door , locking it to anyone but her .

" Now , you boy ! " She pointed to the one cutting carrots ," Stir the pot and if you drop a ladel , I'll throw you in it ! "

" Yes , Cook Elma ." The boy said and she gave him a smile with her yellowed teeth . He called her cook , not Sister ... a smart boy .

.....

In the early years of the Church when children were seen as commodities by society and tools to use , many horrible acts were committed against them .

Pearl orphanage had many such acts in it's past . One such act was with it's punishment system . The early methods of discipline for Pearl orphanage would be termed brutal , malicious and savage by today's standards .

One punishment was called the plea for grace . When a child committed an offense , they were taken to a subroom below the kitchen , where a nun would stay with them . They would bow their heads , whilst down on their knees and pray for grace .

This would be for days , the nuns changing but the children not even standing up for a rest . They would be fed a sliver of bread and drink water spilt on the floor . Only when the nun watching them saw their spirit break did she take them out . The children seldom acted up again and the method of punishment lasted for nearly two centuries .

Eventually it was deemed barbaric and put to a stop . Few nuns knew about this and even fewer children . Milo was one of those unfortunate souls who knew about the pantry .

Milo stood up and tried to look around the room but it was too dark and so cold he felt his bones shake . Or was it fear and despair ? His eyes slightly adjusted to the dark and he saw outlines and clearer shapes .

The small window , not enough room for escape . The bare grey walls and cement floor made him think of a prison cell , but the room was too vast . Fifteen feet wide from left to right and seventeen from the entrance to the end of the room .

Milo put his hands on the wall and moved slowly around the room . He found nothing . He was alone . No chair , no carpet and not even a spiders web . He eventually slid down to the floor and crouched in despair .

It wasn't his fault . He was afraid of bubbling water and the soup had looked absolutely dangerous . Sister Elma would let him out who knew when . He was trapped , utterly trapped . He felt tears in his eyes and a sob rise .

" Alone ."

He raised his head slowly , what was that ? He'd heard something .

" Alone ... all alone ." The whisper came again .

" Hello ? " Milo said softly . The other voice was a whisper again . It was distant and yet close .

" Is anyone there ? " He asked getting up ," Sister Elma ? Anyone ? "

" All alone ... all on my own ."

" Who are you ? " Milo asked , he was afraid of going insane . Many children had ended up mad in this room .

" Please ... Please don't let me be mad ." Milo whispered a prayer .

" Is anyone there ? " He called again but this time silence rained in the darkness .

Milo whimpred , this was it . He was going insane , hearing voices in an empty room . He crumpled to the floor . He wished he had a mother and a father then . He would have someone to think about but he had none .

He had no family , no friends ... he was alone . He lay on his side and wept softly .

" All alone ... All on my own ." The voice whispered after a few minutes and he thought it was Elma . Was this a new way of torture ? Had Pearl orphanage gone back to it's old ways ?

" Alone ." The voice said again and he grew mad . Was this a cruelty good for the soul ? Why were they doing this to him ? Why him ?

" Alone ... all alone ." The voice whispered .

" Shut it ! " He yelled ," Shut your mouths . I'm here , isn't it enough punishment ? Leave me . Leave me alone ! "

The darkness echoed his words and the voice didn't return . Milo sighed and wiped his tear stained eyes . They'd left him alone ... finally . Milo shut his eyes and let his mind succumb to the pain he felt .

.....

Elma felt like cursing the heavens for her luck . She walked with a ring of keys in her left hand and a candle in her other hand , heading for the pantry .

Someone had tatled on her with the Reverend father and she'd been called up in her sleep to release the boy from his punishment . The bleeding cheek ! Where was the discipline in this place ? Wasn't the pantry used for teaching young ones to stay in line ?

She grunted with disgust . A load of hypocrites , the whole lot of them , she thought . They say punishment is good but are nothing but softies . For the millionth time Elma thanked the Almighty that she'd never given birth . Her ? A mother ? Ha ! When hell froze and pigs flew .

She moved into the kitchen slowly and looked around her domain . Here she had power , here she was as good as that old man . No one could question her or test her here . She was the goddess in this place she'd remain one .

She turned to the stairs behind the back door . They had a small passage that led to a door ; the door to the pantry . She fumbled for the key , taking her time . Let the boy enjoy a few seconds of discipline and when she opened the door she'd yell him awake , bring the fear back into his cold body .

" Wake up you bleeding sod ! " She yelled as she opened the door . She smiled maliciously but it quickly dropped when she didn't get an answer

Was the boy ignoring her ? She gritted her teeth and stormed inside with the candle waving left and right . She'd smack his jaw of it's hinges , no one ignores her in her domain .

There !

She saw the boy huddled by the far wall , his back to her .

" Ignoring me will you ? " She stormed towards him with rage ," I'll give you a punishment that'll teach you a bleeding lesson that'll - th - Ahhhhh ! "

The candle dropped to the ground and Elma screeched like a banshee , waking everyone on floor one and two .

The candle on the floor moved and illuminated the boy who was now laying on his side . He had a far away look in his unblinking eyes , it was a look with a name .

His hands were red and wet with blood , his fingernails gone . His face was sad and forlorn , tears still on his eyes and it would have been as if he was crying if it wasn't for the look in his eyes .

It was the look of pain and death . Milo's spirit had broken and he'd gone insane , digging his fingers into the ground and dying from blood loss . Elma quickly rushed out of the room still screaming bloody murder and it was unfortunate she did .

If she had stayed , she would have heard Milo open his mouth one last time and say his last word .

" Alone ."