Tuesday, September 28th 1875
Cornwall, England
Dear diary,
You know those days when you want to punch someone in the face over and over again just because you want to? No, of course you don't, you're a book. Anyway, today was one of those days. the factory owner, Sam, past away. I know that a lot of my bosses died in the past few months, but Sam was the nicest we had and it's sad to know he is dead.
So, about that punching. We got a new factory owner, Isaac Smith. Yes, I know his last name because he had a need to give it away. Anyways, Isaac came in and made us work immediately, with some violence. Poor little Jimmy broke his arm, so he got beaten up by Isaac. Now he can't work anymore and no work means less money for his family. If you think that that is the only reason I want to punch someone, then you're wrong.
All the workers were kind of used to the way Sam treated us. Sam let us work on our own tempo, so if you had an injury, you were quite lucky. He let us have longer breaks than we are actually allowed to have. Old Sam sometimes gave a bit of extra food or water out for the ones who needed it. He even helped us, but only sometimes because he was being watched by his boss. He had a heart of gold, in my opinion. Some people used to say he was just pretending, even though I have no idea why he should.
He also taught us some riddles whilst we were working. One of them goes like this:
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt
It lies behind stars and under hills
And empty holes it fills
It comes first and follows after
End life, kills laughter
The answer to this riddle is dark. This was also the first ever riddle he taught us, and I immediately taught Thomas when he was sick at home. He loved it. But Isaac isn't a bit like Sam. He doesn't let us have breaks, he doesn't help us, he just behind stands behind you and laughs. He laughed when Daniel got trapped between one of the machines. I hate him. I know that you shouldn't hate someone when you don't even know them, but Isaac is an exception. He's a demon sent by the devil to torture people just because he likes it.
I would like to go further, but Mother told me and my siblings that we have to sleep. I'll write tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Demelza Watson
