Winchester (4)

Year 1853

Xander immediately pushed her out of the kitchen. He grabbed Thea's small hand and ran as far as possible before returning everything to its original place.

They returned to the pond.

Thea regretted eating well. Now, all of her guts seemed to be coming out after being dragged away by Xander. Her expression was getting worse.

Xander, oblivious to that, picked up his fishing rod and turned around.

"You have to come back soon. Miss Yerez will inspect anyone who is not present at the dinner table." With that, Xander said goodbye.

After Xander was out of sight, Thea ran towards the bushes. Everything she had swallowed earlier came out, she couldn't endure it anymore.

'Puke...Puke...'

Her body trembled after vomiting all of her guts. She washed her mouth and hands with the water from the pond and fell down on her knees.

She stared at her reflection on the surface of the water. She had never felt this miserable. She sat there in silence for a very long time.

Thea returned to the room without having supper. Her stomach ached but she didn't care. Thea hid her body under the blanket when Jane went inside. Only the sound of Jane's movements could be heard. Thea dared to peek at her from the edge of the blanket.

Jane climbed onto the bed without saying hello and asked if she had eaten or not.

A little disappointed, Thea covered the blanket again when she saw Jane sleeping on her back. She struggled to endure the hunger until fast asleep.

The next morning she was awakened by shouts from the caretaker of the orphanage.

Thea was still trying to get used to it. Another child stumbled her body while she heading to the bathroom. They all hurried over to their morning routine. Thea observed them all running ahead of her.

The queue in front of the bathroom really took her aback. Thea never saw anyone have to queue just to pee and wash their face. Each of the children scrambled to try to enter the bathroom first.

Five toilets and showers fully stocked. The washbasin in front was jam-packed with older teens.

Thea stood in the bathroom line and joined the queue. Those who were both in line looked at Thea and her burn. Thea could only make a fist. It felt like she had been standing for a long time under their eyes, even though she had not been there for ten minutes. Finally, it was her turn to urinate and wash her face.

When she finished, Thea went to the kitchen and hauled the trash to the stove.

Miss Yerez assigned her that way every morning and evening. All the children here must have their respective duties.

Girls and boys who are still children were usually given the task of sweeping and mopping. The adolescents, usually asked to cut grass, clean windows, clean cutlery and burn trash. The older one were told to sew or patch children's clothes, patch the roof or repair the damaged. No one would be able to eat without completing their duties.

Thea dragged the garbage pile to the back. Her mind went back to yesterday's events and sure enough, that bunch of children was already there.

"Ben, Ben! See! Who is coming, " The fat boy tugged at the jeans knee-length arm boy.

The knee-length jeans boy called "Ben" turned his head. His grin was immediately visible.

"Burn girl! We meet again!" he walked over with the long iron in hand. His hands pushed Thea's body to the front of the furnace.

"You do our job, hold this!" He stuffed the long iron into Thea's hands and threw the trash under her feet.

Thea tried to back away, but her body was still being held from behind. Thea closed her eyes, panicked. She hated seeing fire.

"Let me go!" Thea turned around.

"You can talk too! I thought you were mute. "

Thea heard his chuckle instead. Ben kept her body facing the stove.

"Apparently, I do really need to report you to Miss Yerez."

Everyone turned their heads. Thea saw the boy who she met yesterday.

"Are we going to reunite here often?"

"Shut your mouth, Xander!" Ben released his grip on Thea's shoulder. "It's not fun at all. Let's go," he said. His friends followed. They sneered at him.

"You can scream when they…" Xander was stunned. His eyes caught the tiny bead sliding down Thea's cheeks. Thea throws the iron and leaves from there.

Xander looked at the girl running away. This was the second time Xander saw her crying. He picked up one by one the trash that was scattered near the furnace, and then threw them all into it. He watched as the garbage was being engulfed in flames.

After completing the runaway girl's task, Xander went back inside and saw Thea standing not far from the entrance.

"You're not coming in?" he asked as he approached.

Thea dried her face. She glanced at Xander who pointed at the kitchen door.

"I know it's beautiful out here, but it's getting cold. I don't think you want to get sick, do you?"

Thea thought about his words. Her face looked up to the sky. The white clouds lined up in the wind. The air around her was still cool, but if she stood outside for too long, her body, which was still injured, would not stand it. Xander smiled as he watched her move.

He pushed the door open and let Thea entered first.