Felicity: The Sixteenth Life

CHAPTER TWO: Birthday Girl

APPROXIMATELY THREE YEARS AFTER DALIA'S DEATH

Waking up at five in the morning was as routine as clockwork to Felicity. Her mother always emphasized rising early to have a good start on a productive day but even without Dalia raising Felicity with that kind of perspective, she would've done the same. Life had not been lax on her past lives; all the previous fifteen children were lowborn and thus were educated that he who would not work would not get to eat. It was common for them to work from the early morning until dusk.

The past years had been tough but it wasn't the first time that Felicity had to survive without an adult's help. Actually, the situation was by far the best out of all the circumstances she had previously faced. She had a roof over her head, a lot of clothes, resources for food and even money. There was no one bossing her around, no one treating her like a slave nor taking advantage of her. She had the liberty to treat herself to three mneals a day and a full night's rest and sleep.

She had all the freedom in the world thus it was quite a luxurious life compared to anything she had experienced before. Felicity knew that everything that she had been enjoying would not be possible if not for her mother's efforts. Dalia really laid out the foundation for her daughter's livelihood considerably well.

When she was still healthy, Dalia did not rely alone on what amount of money she had received from the Count. She did all sorts of odd jobs in town, mostly sewing and selling food she made herself. Felicity thought that her mother spent all the Count's money on the renovation of the caretaker's cabin and the foundation for the impressive vegetable and herb garden out front but apparently, she had enough to stash away and give to her daughter as a future secret fund.

After memorizing the contents of the pages on the back of the red notebook that her mother left, Felicity had torn away and burned the pages. As long as she knew the details, it would not be necessary to keep records regarding money and assets on a piece of paper. It wouldn't be funny at all if someone learns of the money through the notes and take it for themselves. It was better for Felicity to be at least that cautious with such vital information.

Through the years, the town nearby had been a great help for Felicity to survive. However, she did not tell anyone about her mother's death. She just told Dalia's acquaintances that her mother had to be confined to their home because of health issues and thus, Felicity would be running all the errands so that Dalia would not need to go to town herself.

Exposing herself as an orphan at such a young age would not lead to favorable circumstances and would just complicate her simple way of life. She might even face the danger of getting taken in by an orphanage or something similar to that. Her mother's death must remain secret until she reaches an age where she didn't have to rely on a guardian. Fortunately, no one was nosy enough to pry and ask questions to learn more about Dalia and Felicity. To the townspeople, the mother and daughter duo were not more than just good neighbors. They had enough on their plates working for their own livelihood thus it was common courtesy for the townspeople to give each other their own privacy.

For her everyday routine, Felicity used the money that Dalia saved from her odd jobs, the ones stashed under the bed cushion in a tin container. Feeding one little girl and one dog certainly did not amount to much since they already had help on food stock with the plants in the garden. Felicity took care of the cottage well so that it would not require major fix-ups that would require the help of adults. It was certainly a good thing that the cottage was small. She could reach the ceiling just by attaching a stick to a small broom. Because cleaning was the majority of what she could do in the house, the place was in tip-top shape even if its caretaker was merely five-years-old.

After clearing the first obstacle of living past age six, Felicity started going to town and accepting odd jobs for her 'mother', which of course she completed herself. They were simple tasks like sewing rags and oven mitts from old, leftover fabrics, putting eye buttons on toys and crocheting small clothing articles like gloves and kid scarves.