The Silent Servant
The Silent Servant
Once upon a time, a baby was born. And with the child’s coming, a powerful witch also came. But the witch was not the child, nor the child the witch, no; the witch came that night to cast a spell on the child. Nobody knows exactly why this is, and nobody ever thought about trying to figure it out either.
The witch came upon them very quickly and unexpectedly. Then, with a quick cast of her wand, and a few words, it was done, and the witch disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Nobody exactly knew what the witch had done until about a year and a half later, when most of the children began to talk. The child was still able to cry and laugh, but talking did not come, she was also not able to scream. Whenever she tried to speak, the words would not come out, not even a mumble, it was as if she had a mute button and it had been turned on.
She was heavily made fun of because of this, and she wasn’t able to pass most of her classes. The only one she did pass was reading. She was doomed to a life of silence.
One day, the week after her 14th birthday, her mom came into her room. “Penny, we don’t have any money left.” Penny looked back at her mother, saw what she was going to say and nodded. “We need the money Penny, ever since your father left us when you were four we’ve been in need of money. I don’t want you to have to become a servant either…but it must be done.” With that, the mother hugged her daughter tightly. As they unlatched their arms, they both had tears running down their faces.
The next day, Penny left with the few belongings she had to go to a lord’s house to work. She wrote that she couldn’t speak on a piece of paper in advanced so she wouldn’t seem rude as the lord introduced himself and she said nothing back. In a way, her forced silence would make her a better candidate for the job, for silence, in a way, means obedience and subordination.
As she approached the lord’s house, she began to feel nervous, but then she remembered the words her mother had said right before she had left that morning. “Always remember I will be right here for you. You’ll only have to work for a little while. You’re going to save us Penny. We’ll be together soon…I love you.” Those words were her most important possession now, and she would hang onto them as long as she could, forever if possible.
The witch came upon them very quickly and unexpectedly. Then, with a quick cast of her wand, and a few words, it was done, and the witch disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Nobody exactly knew what the witch had done until about a year and a half later, when most of the children began to talk. The child was still able to cry and laugh, but talking did not come, she was also not able to scream. Whenever she tried to speak, the words would not come out, not even a mumble, it was as if she had a mute button and it had been turned on.
She was heavily made fun of because of this, and she wasn’t able to pass most of her classes. The only one she did pass was reading. She was doomed to a life of silence.
One day, the week after her 14th birthday, her mom came into her room. “Penny, we don’t have any money left.” Penny looked back at her mother, saw what she was going to say and nodded. “We need the money Penny, ever since your father left us when you were four we’ve been in need of money. I don’t want you to have to become a servant either…but it must be done.” With that, the mother hugged her daughter tightly. As they unlatched their arms, they both had tears running down their faces.
The next day, Penny left with the few belongings she had to go to a lord’s house to work. She wrote that she couldn’t speak on a piece of paper in advanced so she wouldn’t seem rude as the lord introduced himself and she said nothing back. In a way, her forced silence would make her a better candidate for the job, for silence, in a way, means obedience and subordination.
As she approached the lord’s house, she began to feel nervous, but then she remembered the words her mother had said right before she had left that morning. “Always remember I will be right here for you. You’ll only have to work for a little while. You’re going to save us Penny. We’ll be together soon…I love you.” Those words were her most important possession now, and she would hang onto them as long as she could, forever if possible.