The maid was left alone (2)
Then for the first time in my life I thought about how they live. I thought that I would always not care about them, but, apparently, family is family. Perhaps hunger and fatigue softened my heart.
Eventually I returned to Filton. Looking back, it was a stupid move. But at that time it seemed to me that this was my only hope.
I assumed that things were going well for my father and sister, given the amount of gold received from my sale. I thought that they quickly forgot about the existence of their first daughter and older sister, who was useful to them for the first time to live in luxury. They may even have left Filton.
In fact, when I returned, I saw a house on the verge of destruction, with no one in sight. I would have made false conclusions, thinking that they really left, if at the right moment I had not met a person who approached the house.
I was stunned to see a dirty, tear-stained face: it was Alicia, my stunningly beautiful sister.
- Alicia?
- Who?.. Sister?
Alicia noticed me and froze. But only for a moment, because then she let go of the basket she was carrying and rushed at me, grabbing me by both shoulders and shaking me violently.
- It's because of you! All because of you!
- Wait, what? Let me go! Let go!
My head was bobbing up and down. I was so weak, and Alicia continued to torture me. Finally, I pushed her away and she fell back all too easily. Landing on her butt, she suddenly burst into tears. I was stunned: my sister, so domineering and arrogant, was crying bitterly. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
After calming her down, I entered the house and asked what happened.
-Who did all this?
- I don't know. Some strange men were looking for you, and although your father said that he knew nothing and that he had not heard from you for a long time, they continued to return and argue with him.
I felt like I was suffocating. Maybe it's the butler? He picked me up straight from Filton, so he already knew my house. Or was Vincent looking for me? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was someone else. I only have assumptions. Either way, it was not a good sign.
“Didn’t those people say why they were looking for me?”
- No. They just kept asking where you were and said that I would receive a reward when I told everything. But how could I know where you are?
- That's how it is... What about father?
I look around in search of the devil's spawn, which should have returned home at this time, but there is no trace of him.
- He's dead.
- What?..
I looked at Alicia in surprise.
- And for quite a long time.
Alicia's face was so calm that for a moment I thought my sister was joking. The news was just as incredible.
- When? Did those men kill him?
- No. Probably fell asleep drunk on the street after a night of gambling. He probably spent all the gold coins he got for you. My father has always been like this.
-...
There is no point in saying anything about such a death.
Alicia said she left his body on the street. When I asked her why, she replied that she had nowhere to put it. Birds pecked at him during the night; they must have been very hungry. It was a fitting end for a father who lived by killing his children.
“Are you saying he spent all the coins?”
- Yes. More likely.
- How is your life?
- How do I live? My father died and you left, so what could I do? I had to earn my own living, but finding a job was not easy. In the end, I got a job helping Aunt Benny, who lives across the street, with housework, but they fired me after a day, saying that I was no good.
Alicia snorted and winced. She told me about everything she had to go through after her father left. It was difficult to listen to this story without crying. Alicia couldn't do anything because all she had was her pretty face and slender body. I don't think she could bow down to anyone because of her pride.
The sister, of course, was no longer in the same condition as before: her clothes were worn out, her once shiny hair was tangled, and her skin, which was white as snow, looked rough. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches.
- Sister, what should we do now? How can we continue to live?
Alicia looked so exhausted as she sobbed. I couldn’t leave my sister, who seemed so weak that she was ready to fall to pieces at any moment. In my weakened state, I suddenly felt pity for her. It's probably partly my fault that she grew up this way.
- How should we live? Let's just go back to our old life.
- How?
- I'll try to find a job.
We didn't need to stay here anymore. I took Alicia and left Filton as soon as I could. The house was no longer suitable for living anyway, and I needed to get away from those who might be looking for me. We headed to Nowell, the largest city in the country.
I thought there would be a lot of work there, but there was nothing right away. There was nowhere to live. I took Alicia to a random shop and asked for a job, but no one wanted to hire women of unknown status. The only place where we would be easily accepted was a brothel.
- Not you, only that girl.
– I won’t go!
He only wanted my sister, who was damn beautiful. Alicia was furious and flatly refused. She screamed that she would rather die, and I had to calm her down.
We went back to living on the streets and I started rummaging through trash cans to survive. Alicia whined at first, but fell silent as she realized the gravity of the situation.
The day was grueling and the next day was to be even worse as my sister developed a fever. I knocked on every door, screaming for help, afraid that my sister could die at any minute. But everyone turned away from us.
Nobody will help a beggar. It was natural to be rejected. This made me sad and nervous. I felt miserable, unable to do anything but watch my sister suffocate.
What if Alicia dies too?
How can I cope alone?
I was so scared after I left the mansion. I was afraid that if I died, no one would remember me. Who will even know about my death? It was so sad.
So I decided to go to my family, but my father was dead, and only my sister remained, whom I hated so much. But it doesn't matter. I didn't keep Alicia close to me because I was lonely. But because I was scared. If my last relative left me, I would be left completely alone. I don't think I could stand it. I was too weak.
I again knocked like crazy on every door on my way, and after my palms were already swollen from knocking, one door miraculously opened. An elderly couple noticed me and opened their eyes wide.
Thanks to their kindness, my sister was placed on the bed and began to be treated. They showed kindness to a dirty, smelly girl.
I thought that kindness would never come to me even if I asked for it, but still I survived thanks to it.
“It will be easier to find work in the neighboring village than here,” they said.
I followed the advice of an elderly couple and went to a nearby village, which was located in an unremarkable place, but was not as small as I thought. A little further into the forest we came across a couple of abandoned houses - slums where people like us lived, who had nowhere to go.
That's how I started living there. I found a job by following other beggars. Most of the villagers made their living by doing hard labor in Novella. The only part-time work available to people with an uncertain status was hard manual labor. And it was inexpensive.
At first it was difficult to get a job, but once I got the hang of it, there were more connections and everything got better.
The work was no different from the one at Filton, so it was easy to adapt to it. I'm used to working a lot. It wasn't hard to do this every day.
Alicia complained that she was poorer than before. But there was no use complaining. To live, you need to earn money, and to make money, you need to work. Alicia, who had never known hardship in her life, was often sick, and I had to work even harder to earn money for both of us.
One day, three years later, I was walking down the street and heard about “them.” During this time, the flowers sprouted, withered, and bloomed again, and now that life seemed so far away.
Sometimes I wondered. I wonder if they live well?
“How are you doing?”
If only I could ask Vincent this...
I wondered if I would ever be able to see them, even just by chance, as they walked down the street. Or accidentally meet them at work where they come in. But after leaving the Bellunita mansion, I never met them. Instead, I read about them in the newspapers.
That's it.
Five years have passed since I left the Bellunita mansion. I was busy with my survival. Memories of that place gradually blurred. They say that memories become more beautiful as they fade.
For five years already.
“I will bring you back. I promise."
No, five years have passed since then.
“Now you won’t even remember me.”
The words spoken were carried away by the wind. There was little time left for memories, and reality came to the fore.
I tried to survive day after day. There was nothing to eat today. I could skip one meal, but it was hard not to eat any more. As the hunger pangs became stronger, Alicia whined that she was hungry.
I hid the last of my money in my pocket and headed to the street baker. Street bread is stale and tasteless, but it's cheap, so I buy it often.
But with the amount of money I had, I couldn't afford anything from the counter.
– Do you have anything cheaper?
- This is the cheapest.
I sighed. I can't even afford this tasteless bread. I was saddened by poverty.
When I hesitated, thinking about buying bread, the owner of the shop looked me up and down. He then pointed to something on me.
“If you give me this, I’ll give you three of the best loaves.”
He pointed to the braid, which was braided with ribbon. Somehow he found the most valuable thing I owned in my clothes.
I hesitated. This tape held precious memories. It was already old and faded, but the emotions I felt when I received it were still stored in my heart, and I never took it off my mind.
But now my stomach growled.
After hesitating, I untied the ribbon and handed it to the owner of the shop.