Chương 3: The good boy

A young man woke up feeling very grouchy . He was on a small bed in a room no larger than a closet . The bed took up half the space , with the night stand taking a quarter and the rest was open floor .

The young man sat up and rubbed his hair , making the dark locks a crumpled mess than they already were . He turned over and got out of bed . He was only in a pair of underwear , his clothes ( He only had three pairs of clothes ) were layed under the bed . He pulled out a white shirt of linen , dark brown pants and putting on a pair of grey socks and the brown shoes in the corner , he yawned and left the room .

As he took a step out of the door , he quickly turned around and went back inside . He was appalled , he'd almost forgotten to fix his bed . Father Agner would have been furious with him .

He quickly turned the bed to it's previous glory before her slept on it last night . He sighed happily when he looked at it and then remembering something , he opened the draw on the night stand and pulled out a crucifix . He kissed it and gave a small smile , he'd done good in not forgetting this .

He then put it back and finally left the room . Outside he stood in a long corridor lined with doors , where other children of his age or close ( He was eighteen ) were waking up and getting ready themselves . Nobody needed an alarm clock , Father Agner would never have it .The only thing to mark time was for chapel and when it was time to eat .

He would not have orphanage bell ring for the children to wake up . That would be ridiculous , he'd say .

The boy looked to the left and saw some of the other children were already walking around . This meant the sisters hadn't yet arrived in the corridors . They would kill anyone for loitering . The boy decided to head to the dining hall, even though the bell had not rang for breakfast . If he was correct , it would ring soon enough .

The way to the hall was dreary , as was the whole orphanage . Wood painted a painful dull grey that made you feel like an old person. Paintings on the wall of dead men and women who had founded or been involved in the history of the orphanage since before they were born . There was a old carpet on every passage , but no dust , the sisters cleaned everyone of them , every week .

There was no windows open on the ground floors , the weather outside would never permit that . But there was a window open somewhere in the building or they would all have suffocated long ago . Curtains hung on each window , grey and old like the walls and like an old woman's hair . A smell lingered wherever you walked , it followed even into the bedroom . It was combination of detergent , old wood , incense and candle wax . Nobody liked it , atleast none of the children , but the sisters might as well have been breathing in perfume .

The man went down stairs that groaned like a bull pretending to give birth . The orphanage was old , if anyone had guessed . It has been around for nearly three hundred years , long pioneers came and established a civilisation . It was an ancient institution , built by the Church a long time ago by a man named Father Luis of France . He had been no saint , he'd died stabbed in the same building the young man and that too by his wife after his caught in adultery .

His children had taken over , grasping the orphanage and refusing to give it to anyone who came from the Church .They could do better than their father , they'd claimed , they could fix the disgrace on the family name. And that's what they did , it took fifty years but the children of Father Luis made the orphanage one to be behold. The Church had approved and left it in their care . It passed on in the family and the man now in charge was Father Agner .

The man turned a corner and as he saw the doors to the dining hall , the bell rang for breakfast . The doors opened then ( they were locked until the bell rang ) and a sister pushed them open . She was old woman , they all were , no young girls worked in their orphanage . It was one of the rules , to make sure no young boy did something that would lead to disgrace .

The young man walked up to her and as she saw him , she turned around slowly . Her face was cold , lined with age and a steel like fire burned in her eyes . He knew what that look was , it was look of self-righteousness and every sister had it . They knew their place and expected the young boys in the building to remember that . The boy approached meekly and stood by the open doors.

He didn't go in , she didn't tell him go in. She instead lifted her head and looked behind him . He knew what she was looking for ; the other orphans . Only when everyone was assembled could they go in and have breakfast . Well that was on days when they weren't all fasting .

" Where is Sister Cali ? " She asked him and the young man answered looking forward .

" I do not know Sister. I woke up alone and found her not in the corridors . Has she taken ill ? " he asked and she sighed with distaste .

" If she takes I'll again , Father Agner will remove her ." She said cooly , None the sisters were friends . They thought that beneath them . If one of them drop dead infront of them , they would give a pitying look but their would be numb .

Sister Cali was an old person , one of the oldest there . Her job was to escort all boys found in the corridors to the dining hall when it was time to eat . Unfortunately she had an affliction of the lungs and the cold area they lived in did nothing for her health.

" There they all are . " The old sister said but the young man didn't turn around . He would have been slapped if he had . But he knew what was behind him ; Sister Cali with atleast thirty five boys of various ages . He heard the footsteps and then breathing behind him .

Sister Cali arrived with the boys and waved them into forming two lines . They obeyed without a fuss , their faces impassive and subdued . She coughed slightly before walking towards the other Sister .

" Sister Cali , what took you so long ? The bell rang awhile ago . "

Sister Cali coughed once before answering the other old woman , " A bit of a bad morning it is today . My cough is coming back with a vengeance . I did manage to bring the children though Sister Becca , you need not be put out ."

" I am not but Father Agner expects better from all of us. Whether we are sick or not ." Sister Becca told the other woman with an air of superiority even though Sister Cali was older than her and has been at the orphanage since Father Agner took the position .

" Of course . But I see that young Henric arrived by himself . A truly good boy do you not agree , Sister Becca ? " Sister Cali said glancing at the young man , Henric for a moment .

" None are good but God , remember Sister Cali ? For all have sinned and only God is good . These children are as dirty as could be in their hearts and it is by grace that they can be cleaned . " Sister Becca said and Sister Cali coughed once again .

" Yes , yes . Very true Sister . Shall we they enter now ? " Sister Cali said in a voice that was laced with weariness . Sister Becca looked at the groups of boys and nodded her head . She turned around and with Sister Cali , they walked into the dining hall with the boys behind them .

The dining hall was large and more brighter than the corridors or rooms of the boys . There were big windows that were covered with thin grey curtains like spiderweb and six old tables of worn-out wood . The boys walked in file and took their seats , six at each table .

Sister Cali and Sister Becca stood infront of the tables , near the windows . The boys bowed their heads as Sister Becca said grace . Then they looked up at the food that had placed on their tables earlier that morning .

For breakfast that morning they were having a slice of wheatbread , cold coffee and pig gut soup . Some boys smiled with joy , this was more than they had on normal days . They usually only had the bread and coffee .

" You may now eat . " Sister Becca said and the boys ate . They didn't eat to fast , that would have been wrong and against decorum . They are slowly and sparingly , because whatever was left would be their lunch . Their leftovers would get them through the rest of the day until dinner .

Henric finished his pig gut soup and drank his cold coffee which tasted tough like cement but after nearly a decade of it , he couldn't taste it . He didn't eat the bread though , deciding that would be his lunch . He sat and folded his arms and soon enough , Sister Cali came and took the bread away .

She amongst the boys , taking away what they chose to leave behind for later . Some chose to drink coffee and take the bread but leave the soup . It was foolish , Henric knew , the soup would be clumpy and solid fat . They would have to eat it like butter and regret their choice with silent tears .

" You may now stop eating." Sister Becca said and everyone placed their hands on their laps . Even those who had been eating had to stop . They bowed their heads and Sister Becca said a word of thanks .

" You may now exit and go to bathe , afterwards the bell will ring to begin your education ." She said and the boys rose from their seats . They formed their two lines again and walked out of the dining hall with Sister Cali by their sides all the way to their rooms .

Each boy found a bowel and towel outside their room and when they reached arrived , they would take it and enter their rooms . Henric was last , having his room by the very edge of the building .

" Wash thoroughly . " Sister Cali said and he nodded his head . He took the bowel and towel and entered his room . He placed it on the night stand and removed his clothes . He slowly wiped his body with the cold water . ( The only hot water in the building was in the kitchen . )

Henric sighed softly as the water tinged his body with icy prickles and when he was done he folded his clothes and pulled another set from under the bed . These were a pair of black socks , brown shoes , white shirt , brown trousers and a black cap . It was the orphanage's school uniform , having little regard for the other schools outside its confines .

Henric put it on and brushed his hair with a steel comb in the draw under the one with the crucifix . He applied some lard on his skin and brushed his teeth . After he was done , he turned around and knocked on the door before opening it .

" Very good Henric . " Sister Cali said and he nodded his head , smiling inside at the praise .