Scratches

It was unexplainable how I imagined that girl’s face for it to pop out in my dream like that. I really thought it was real. The orphan keeper held me for an hour before I managed to stop crying. I fell asleep in her arms as I felt comfortable in that position because I longed for warm hugs and comfort for a long time and it felt like I was waiting for an eternity for it to happen again.

When I woke up, my body felt heavy and it was hard to move. Could it be that I went into hysterics and they drugged me? But I couldn’t remember that something like that happened. I tried my best to get out of bed and I managed to stand up but it felt as if I was carrying a heavy sack of rice on my back. There was a sharp pain in my chest and on my neck. It was seven o’clock in the morning and it’s an hour earlier than the scheduled time for us to wake up and have breakfast. I grabbed my towel and went straight to the bathroom to take a bath before the others woke up so that I could avoid the commotion here every morning as children can’t wait to take turns inside the shower. When I got inside the shower room, I noticed in the mirror that I have red marks on my neck. I looked closely and saw that they were scratches. I panicked and checked my chest as well. As I pulled my shirt up, I saw more scratches on my chest that were deeper and some were still bleeding. Wasn’t it a dream after all? Was the girl real? But what could she be?

I had to take a bath to clean my wounds. The warm water gave comfort but it sure did sting. I lathered the soap gently on my body because the scratches were painful. When I was done, I tended the wounds with an antibacterial ointment that I saw inside the medicine cabinet. It was undeniably strange how I got those wounds when I was the only one in my room. I didn’t play with the other children and most of the time, I spent my free hours alone.

The bell rang and we were called to the dining area for breakfast. The orphan keeper that stayed with me last night as I slept asked me to pray and so I did. For the first time, the children and the other orphan keepers heard my voice. They were surprised that I could even talk. When we were done praying, we started eating our food quietly. The staff prepared a heavy meal for us that day. It was a plate of chicken and waffles. I breathed heavily as I took a bite on that chicken. It was the most delicious meal I had in three years. The gravy was flavorful as well. I poured it all over my chicken and waffles and I enjoyed my meal in peace.

Everyday, we take turns in doing the chores here in the orphanage. I was scheduled to water the plants on Mondays, wash the dishes on Tuesdays, sweep the floors during Wednesdays, clean the windows during Thursdays, wash bedsheets and blankets on Fridays, and help in the kitchen during Saturdays. We rest during Sundays. When we were done with our food, the orphans scheduled to wash the dishes took over and cleaned the table. They gathered the plates and carried it to the kitchen. Others wiped the table and the chairs that we used in the dining room. I, on the other hand, went straight to my room to get my basket and gather bedsheets and blankets from every room.

As I was filling the basket with my blanket, I noticed that it had a rust stain on the wrinkled part of it near the border. It was quite noticeable because my blanket was plain white. Then I noticed the broken metal bar of my window next to my feet. I had goosebumps the moment I saw it. It wasn’t a dream. I really tried to escape last night. But the girl… does it mean that she was real too?

I was shaking like a leaf. The look on that girl’s face flashed in my memory again and it made me instantly close my eyes and shake my head just so I could erase that image in my mind. It was a horrible image of something that wasn’t human. I was nine. Of course I would be terrified. I prayed to God for protection before going back to my household chores.

“Chari,” Paul asked. He was a seven year old boy who was sent here two years ago. He was pale and thin, and his eyes were deeply surrounded with dark circles. “I didn’t know you could talk. Can we play?”

That was the first time someone asked me that here. So I gladly accepted the offer.

“Yes, sure!” I said. “But let me finish first with my tasks, okay?” I explained, smiling. That was also the first time I smiled again in three years. “Are you done with yours?”

“Yes,” he said, wiping the mucus falling from his nose with his bare hands. The sight of it made me cringe but I just thought that he was just a kid, two years younger than me. “I already wiped the table and washed the forks. Mrs. Mayers said that I’m not allowed anymore to wash the plates after I dropped some last week.” Mrs. Mayers was our headmaster.

“That’s alright Paul,” I said as I went inside other rooms to gather up bed sheets and blankets. Paul followed me.

“How come I wasn’t tasked to do the blankets?” he asked.

“Because,” I said, slowly. “You are still a kid. Blankets are too big for you to wash.”

“Can I try?” he said, pertaining to the putting of bed sheets and blankets inside the basket.

It was an easy task so I let him do it.

I saw Paul enjoying what he was doing as we walked in and out of the rooms. I helped him carry the basket along the way as he dunked blankets in. It was fun to finally have someone to play with and to talk to. I didn’t know that I missed this.

Paul accompanied me up to the wash area. He watched as I placed the sheets inside a washing machine. He was amazed when I poured the detergent and the fabric softener in it. I let Paul press the start button and he laughed when the washing machine came to life.