"We were so far apart, yet so near and we didn't even know it..."
"And look how far we've come..."
And at that moment, as he slipped the ring onto my finger, I knew, it was him from the beginning. Just him and me.
"Forever?"
...
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And here we are now. 1887. My life as a foundling.
It's not all that bad though. I have friends here. Hetty, Harriet, Polly and Mary and they are the best I could ask for.
"Is this all we ever have to look forward to Ivory?" Hetty asked as she put her number back around her kneck, "Growing up to be a servant."
"The dullest career choice if you ask me. Imagine actually wanting to slave away, scrubbing, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry. I mean it hardly sounds pleasant," I scoffed, folding my arms.
"Isn't that what we do anyway?" Polly joked making me chuckle. Something that was hard to do for me nowadays. All Harriet did was roll her eyes.
"We are foundlings Ivory, it's just how it is," she said to us making me slump back down on my bed letting out a groan as Hetty laughed at me.
"It's not like we can do anything about it," Polly said almost in a whisper as we knew Shelia and her gang would be close nearby.
"Of course we can't Polly," Mary said timidly, "We'll get put in the tench."
I shivered at the word. I didn't like to recall what happened last time. Hetty could visibly see me tense up so she put one comforting hand on my back. I smiled and mouthed a quick "Thanks" to she replied "Anytime".
Mary stood up and walked away, back to her bed as we all sighed. We had all had some tench experience and it wasn't pretty especially mine. The only people who knew about it were Hetty, Harriet, and Polly. I didn't want to scare Mary any more than she was already.
I sat down next to Harriet as she started to brush my hair that went down to my waist. My hair was a sort of muddy blonde that lay in nice ringlets at the end. Other than that, I was the same as when I had got here five years ago.
I knew one thing for certain. Matron was right. I did forget about my past. I forgot everything. My past had faded into a distant foggy memory and I hated myself for it but it was the only way to survive.
Every day it was head down and get on with it.
We all walked down the corridor, our boots scraping along the wood where the girls had just scrubbed. We were on laundry duty. Fortunately, it was pretty much the easiest job, unfortunately, Sheila and her shemob were with us. Sheila hated me and Hetty for no other reason that we challenged her authority. She thinks she runs this place and it is pathetic.
The staw basket flung open as Hetty pulled out some bedsheets and chucked them to me. I dropped them into the bucket of soapy water and started to clean. When I looked back at Hetty she looked really pale. It seems Harriet noticed it too.
"Hetty, are you alright?" She questioned as Hetty let out a little cough.
I leaned over the basket and put one hand on her forehead.
