Dreamless Night

I was woken by the bells at six o’clock. By the gridded window, I could see the morning’s first light. And that’s the first chapter of that really long play I mentioned before. Theo told me that rich company owners come here sometimes to buy children to work for them. They make the demand and the priests select the orphans. It’s barbarian! And if you reach sixteen without being sold, which is very unlikely, they dump you off in the street. No food, no money… you’ll be lucky if you survive more than a week, especially in the winter.
- And what about being adopted? – I asked. He laughed.
- Sure, if you behave nicely, Santa Claus will give you a family for Christmas!
- I’m serious, Theo!
- Me too! Quit it, Gwen. If it really was to happen, why would they choose us? They want cute little babies! And one more thing; don’t EVER walk alone in the hallways here, especially at night, do you understand?
- Yes, but…
- Gwen, this is important. You have to promise me that even if I’m sold or dumped off you’ll never be alone with those priests. – his eyes had a truly concerned look and an ounce of pain as he spoke those words.
-I promise.
After that, the doors of the North Ale were opened and I saw the old grey eyed priest that received me when I arrived.
- Line up! Step foreword when I call your name. – He said.
-What’s happening? – I asked Theo.
-Relax – He said – He’s just appointing the day’s chores for each of us. He wants to find out what we’re good at so we can be sold. Whatever you do, do not question your chore, just do it. The secret here is to be invisible; any attention that you draw to your self can be a potential problem.
From that moment on, I decided to follow Theo’s recommendations under any circumstances. He probably knows how things work here better than anybody.
-Gwenore Kent!
I stepped foreword, facing down. Eye contact could draw attention.
-Clothe making! South Ale, second door on the left side of the hallway.
I headed out the room without saying a word. Making clothes wasn’t that bad after all, back in the farm my mother taught me how to sew and knit. I never wanted to practice, tough. I used to say it was old lady’s stuff.
Before I realized it I was in the South Ale, facing the second door on the left side of the hallway. I gently knocked and entered the room. It was much bigger than our dorms, and there were many other children from different ages there too. I soon realized that I’d be making the orphan’s clothes and, therefore, my own. I searched for an empty seat, as further as possible from our supervisor. There were pieces of cheap fabric in front of me, all I had to do were to measure, cut, and sew. The first thing I tried out was a T-Shirt, and I made it my own size. At the end, it was no professional work, but it was enough. I started trying out different sizes, watching the shapes of the children in the room. Our supervisor was an old nun. She frequently wondered around the room, taking notes from each of us. I could see her note’s book when she turned arpund. In the last hour we’ve been working, those who had made less than three shirts were marked as “not suitable for the chore” and those like me, who had made five or more shirts, were marked as “suitable for the chore”.
The first step of my survival plan was done, which was to be good enough not to be punished. The second step was to slow down so I didn’t draw too much attention. I was really glad when the bells rang 12 o’clock. That’s because I hadn’t tasted the food yet.
- Lunch break! 20 minutes! – Our supervisor shouted.
When I arrived at the Great Hall, I saw Theo. I smiled at him and I went to join him after I got my bowl of soup.
- So, how’s your first day going? – He asked me.
- Pretty normal, I guess. I was making clothes. What about you?
- Laundry.
Although all I wanted to do with that soup was to spit it, I ate it all. I was starving.
- So this is how they do it here; – I started – They let us starve so we have no choice but to eat any shit they give us?
- Exactly! You’re learning fast… - he remarked, faking amazement.
After that lousy lunch, I couldn’t be less ready for what was coming: another six hours of clothes making. All I knew was I had to get out of that place, and fast. So in that night, I went to Theo.
- Theo – I started – Can I ask you a question?
- Sure, Gwen.
- If you have been here since you were very young, how come you haven’t escaped yet?
His face was taken by darkness, his eyes appearing sightless. Then he finally said:
- That’s because I figured that if you try and it goes wrong, they send you to a place much worst than here. You think that this is the worst place you could be, but you’re wrong. You haven’t seen enough, Gwen. The last child I that tried it was an eleven year old girl, she came in with me. She was… - his voice failed for a second, followed by a deep sigh – …she was sexually abused by one of the priests on her first week. One day, we were both in the roof swiping the chimneys and she tried going down by the outside, using our tools to hold on to the walls. When she reached the floor and we thought she had maid it, there were some guards that had seen the scene waiting in the corner. She ran, but they pursued. When they caught her, they brought her back and she was punished.
- What kind of punishment? – I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.
- She was whipped with a nine-tail whip. That’s the same kind used by pirates to punish the mutineers on their ships, for what I heard. It’s a very common and efficient torture and they use it all the time here at St. Rufus.
- That’s barbarian! – I exclaimed, chocked.
- I know…- he said with a sad look – And after that she was taken to a reformatory – he proffered the last word with certain difficulty - It’s pretty similar to an orphanage, except they don’t need a reason to beat the kids. If she ain’t there anymore, she’s certainly dead. Or in some workhouse… She was my best friend. You remind me of her, in a certain way…
- I’m sorry about her.
- She’s gone now. But you aren’t! You’re alive, and that means possibilities. As far as we know, death is nothing but a dreamless night. So get your head down from the clouds, otherwise you’re going to fail, and that means a fate much worse than death.
- But we don’t have to fail, Theo! We don’t have to stay here! We could run away…
- I already thought of everything, the only way out of here’s is being expelled or sold! But if you’re expelled, St. Rufus guards kill you before you reach the corner of the street. They can’t take chances that some orphan could tell anyone about what happens here. I’ve seen it a million times through the windows.
- I propose a deal. – I said, way more confidently than I actually felt – If I come up with a good plan, we’ll give it a try regardless of what can happen if we fail.
He stared at me like if I were a lunatic, which could very well be true. He surprisingly ended up agreeing.
- It’s a deal. – He said – But you have to come up with a good plan until two weeks from now, because then I’ll turn fifteen and they’ll move me to another Ale, and we won’t be able to plan anything.
-Ok. In two weeks we’ll have a plan.
The problem is I have no idea how to come up with a good plan in two weeks.