The Sparrow

“Evelyn!” The loud, high pitched scream from the Matron pushed its way easily through the thin walls, making its way up to the top room where Evelyn was busy tying a ribbon into a small girl’s ratty hair. It seemed out of place on the girl, this piece of fabric tied into an adorable bow. Its purpose was more than that of decoration however. It was used to remove the pieces of hair that dangled in the face of the girl’s round face. She went by the name Rosy. The name her parents had given her, if they had given her a name, was lost for an eternity. Evelyn named her instead because of the adorable pink cheeks she possessed. They reminded Evelyn of small, blossoming roses.

“EVELYN!” The scream came again, this time sounding much closer.

“Just a moment madam. I will be down in a second.” Even when Evelyn yelled it had a crisp ring to it that was melodic. She had a beautiful voice. Yet one of the reasons why the children loved, and the Matron loathed, the girl.

Evelyn worked her fingers quickly and skillfully, attempting to brush out what she could of the ratty hair. She wanted the young child to look presentable and adoptable if a patron had decided to walk in through the daunting wooden doors of the orphanage to which she and the other children belonged.
Finished in only a few moments she stood up and looked down on the girl, a soft smile presenting itself. “Don’t forget to wash your face in the bowl over there before coming down. We know how the Matron hates a dirty face.” The girl gave a quick nod in response, satisfying Evelyn and allowing her to go to the Matron’s side.

She traveled quickly and soundlessly through the long narrow hallways and down the slim, shaky staircase, avoiding the weaker planks of wood skillfully. When approaching the ground level she slowed her pace to that of one that the Matron could not pick apart. The Matron hated it when any of the children ran through the house. She felt it was improper and rude.

When she stepped down softly from the stair case to the base level, she felt uneasy. This feeling was a common occurrence to Evelyn. Perhaps it was because it was the ground floor that the children were punished and treated overall the worst on.

The Matron was a bitter woman. She was large in every aspect; her belly, her height, her nose, her teeth. The list went on and on. She was a round woman with skin so light it was almost transparent. Her hair was a dirty version of her skin, as if tainted by her evil thoughts. It was always pulled back into a harsh, tight bun. The skin on her face was stretched tighter as her hair was pulled back so violently, the way the Matron liked it. She was older but had a face clean of blemish and wrinkles, no doubt due to her obsession of cleanliness. She was always dressed in a starched white shirt, dark jacket and even darker skirt which her large legs looked even larger in. Below her ankles, or should we say where her ankles were supposed to be, she would wear small heels. Her legs would always be covered in nylon of varying styles and colors. Her vulgar appearance was no match however to the cruelty of her personality.

“What in God’s name took you so long? Huh!” The Matron spat as Evelyn approached. There was a small boy being held there next to the beast of a woman, tears streaming down his face, terrified of what the consequence was to be and confused as to what he had happened to do wrong. His arm was gripped tightly by the Matron who managed to wind her fat fingers around the slender boys arm.

“I am terribly sorry Madam.” Evelyn bowed slightly, lowering her head not in cowardice but as a sign of respect and apology.

“Well, let’s not let your slow response happen again hmm?” The Matron wagged the free hand’s fat finger back and forth. “Now, onto business. This monster here,” she hissed as she threw the poor boy forward. He stumbled in response to the violence of the vile woman’s actions and fell to the floor, his nose but inches from Evelyn’s feet. She bent down to help him but the Matron would not allow it.

“Leave him!” She screamed at Evelyn. “This boy is nothing but a thief. Thieves shall not be assisted in this house.”

Evelyn stood up slowly, glancing down once more at the boy in pity before raising her head proudly. “A thief? And what exactly has Charlie here stolen?”

“Do not utter this creatures name before me. It is not human enough to have a name and I have no idea why you insist on naming them. You, like all the others here, were unwanted. You were abandoned here. You were defective. You were rejects. Not one of you is worthy of a name. You should be happy that you receive any sort of care at all and yet this… this thing!” She pointed at the boy, face red with anger. “Is nothing but a common, disrespectful thief. How dare he try and obtain more than what was allotted to him.”

Calmly, Evelyn asked, “And just what did Cha- I mean this boy steal?”

The Matron took a deep breath in, pulling down on her jacket to fix the messy appearance that she felt she was displaying. “This thing stole an apple.”

“What is to be his punishment?” Evelyn questioned, already suspecting that what he had stolen had been a piece of food.

“Punishment?” The boy in the ground managed to speak out between his slowly subsiding sobs. He knew full well that he was to be punished but he did not feel that it was fair or just. “I am starving Matron ma’am. I was just grabbing a piece of food to hold me over for some time. I had not eaten in a day.”

“You dare argue now? After you have already disrespected me and my authority so?” The Matron screeched, anger and rage clear in her eyes. Her lips had receded even more into her face, in almost a snarl. She raised her arm high up in the air and brought it down swiftly, making contact with the boy face. A strong and solid smack rang through the hall and all that was left of the contact was the imprint of a hand, red against the boy’s fair skin. A stark and obvious contrast. That hit was sure to leave the child’s face bruised.

Evelyn flinched at the intensity of the contact. She did not like seeing her children being injured but there was not much that she could do against the Matron. She could only find ways to assist when the Matron was not around. A new round of sobs began in the boy and his chest began to heave in sorrow.

“The punishment?” Evelyn questioned again, quieter this time but her eyes unblinking. This was the reality of her life.

A cruel, toothy grin spread its way across the Matron’s face, reaching her eyes and her ears. “The box.”

The boy’s sobs fell silent in fear. The tears continued to stream down his face and his eyes grew wide. He did not blink. The box was the highest form of punishment that the Matron could bestow upon a tenant in the orphanage. It was a small hole that she had created that allowed no light to enter its depths. It was cramped and dark. Time would be lost in that small space and a child’s mind was bound to wander and create stories in their heads that would lead them to madness. Evelyn knew the box much too well.

“And you, my dear Evelyn, shall be the one to place him there,” The Matron wickedly said through tightly stretched lips.

Evelyn’s expression did not change. Her tone was even. She did not show any response to the Matron’s request. “As you wish Madam.”

She then picked the boy up off the ground and, gently, led him to the box. The boy did not fight her as he might have fought the Matron. He knew that Evelyn did not like this anymore than he did. He knew that Evelyn could not take any action against the Matron without risk of a punishment herself. He knew that if he struggled, Evelyn would be at a higher risk of a punishment. So he was complacent and solemn, water still flowing endlessly from his eyes.

They entered the Matron’s office and then the backroom to which the box belonged. “I’m so sorry,” Evelyn said as she turned to look at the boy, kneeling down to his level.

“Don’t worry. You’ve little control of the situation. It’s that Matron. She’s the devil!” Charlie spat.

Evelyn stroked his hair and then his face, saying soothingly, “Hey now. She is doing her best. She is just trying to figure out how to care for so many children. It is not an easy task.”

“Still,” he looked down as he muttered the quiet word.

“I promise that it will not be too bad,” Evelyn tried to convince the boy before fumbling around in the tattered apron she wore. Looking around to make sure that no one but herself and Charlie in the room, she pulled out a small piece of bread and cheese. “Perhaps this will help to make the time pass a little quicker.”

A small smile broke through the boys sorrow filled face and he wiped away the tears that were still managing to find their way out. “Thank you Evelyn. I love you.” He kissed her on the cheek as he took the food from her outstretched hand. He attempted to enter the box but was instead swooped up in a tight, warm hug from Evelyn.

“I love you too silly boy.” She kissed him on his head through his hair and watched with a sad expression as he climbed into the small, pitch-black hole.

Slowly, Evelyn stood up and her face returned to her normal, stone expression. She was not to show any form of emotion in front of the Matron. That would give the monster too much pleasure. She had yet to crack Evelyn and would most likely never be able to, no matter how much she tried.

The Matron did try indeed. She had given up on punishing Evelyn herself when she realized that that only made the girl stronger and turned to punishing the children instead and having Evelyn “punish” them in her stead. She hoped this would loosen the bonds between the children so that they would be easier to control but she had no luck yet. Their bond was stronger now than ever. The only way that the Matron was to have a chance at destroying the strength of their relationship was to remove Evelyn altogether. She planned to do just that on Evelyn’s 18th birthday.