e it was time for dinner. "There you are. Where have you been, we were worried

t the back." Elaine answered in a childis

ed, causing everyone to look her way, some with envy, others with pity. The children at the orphanage all knew Juliana targeted her on purpose, out of jealousy, especially whe

laine, wrongly accused, could only stare back with wide eyes, too shocked to argue. She was used to this by now, tho

at do you h

oftly, gripping her dre

said Sister Emerald, the sist

he answered with

isters running, and Elaine was made to kneel in the chapel for the whole afternoon with no dinner, while Juliana walked away without so much as a scolding. Elaine remembered how unfair that had felt, how she'd cried herself to sleep that night not because her knees ache

r in secret before walkin

to wait for one of the sisters to come say the night prayer with them. Elaine noticed her

aren't you in bed?" she a

fed up with all the pranks. She didn't want to fight back, not

Emerald demanded, her

though they all knew exactly who it was. That night,

************

sitting on her favorite rock in the backyard. She'd borrowed

re?" the librarian had asked her, surprised a girl s

nd which ones settled a troubled stomach, could explain why certain roots were dried in shade instead of sun to keep their potency. Even while walking she murmured the pressure points under her breath, counting

odigy," she once t

d I hope she gets adopted by a good family who'd nurtur

************

, I can't f

d, my button j

er gets old," she muttered to herself, making her way to her room, planning to catch some sleep bef

n year old son. Rumor had it their son was already known as the most handsome boy in the city despite his age, and that the m

hand trailing over each child's head as she passed, while her husband stood back with the kind of patient smile men wear when they've already decided to agree with w

said, crouching down to Juliana's h

eetest smile she owned, the one she

ught her eye. Elaine had just come in from the woods, hair mussed, a smudge of dirt on her cheek, a folded leaf still tucked behind her ear wh

" Mrs. Barnes asked

ed. "That's Elaine, ma'

liana's smile faltered as she watched Mrs. Barnes crouch down in front of Elaine instead, tilt

er, startled out of he

" Mrs. Barnes murmur

ds curling into fists at her sides, t