A Mother's Embrace

CHAPTER 2

On May 15 2021, I took a taxi to Worcester. The family who employed me had promised to take care of my travel expenses. The journey was long. After what felt like days, the car came to a stop in front of a huge iron gate. As the driver impatiently honked, a thin man with a limp in his right leg, slowly came forward and glared at the taxi. He was wearing a brown shirt with loose black pants and his eyes looked darker than the deepest shade of black.

The driver leaned outside the window and said, "Open the gates!"

"Who are you?", he asked in a coarse tone which sounded scary upto some extent.

I was the one who answered this question. I looked out of my window and replied, "I am the new teacher who came to teach the boy who lives here."

"Oh! You are the one.", he said with a sly smile and slowly limped to open the huge gates. As the car went past the gates, he stared at me without blinking until I was past him.

"What a weirdo!", I wondered as we rode down the path to the castle.

The path was decorated on either side with roses. I wondered how much effort was required to maintain something so beautiful. But then, if you are rich and live in a castle isolated from all human noises, you ought to have the mental stability to look after roses.

The path ended in front of a huge fountain. An angel with her head bowed stood on a raised platform. I wondered where the water came from. Even though I couldn't see where the water was from, the small depression surrounding the raised platform was filled with water. Near the almost sad looking angel, a thin woman dressed in a sky blue dress stood with hands clasped together. As soon as I got out of the car, she came towards me with a warm smile. There was something about her smile. Even though it looked bright, it couldn't hide the exhaustion inside her. Thin lines stretched across her forehead and she was standing with a slight stoop.

"I believe you are Mrs. William?", I said as soon as I saw her coming towards me.

"Yes! I am glad you recognized me. You must be Olivia. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

"David wanted to meet you first but he didn't come out to greet you because he gets tired easily in the sun. We didn't know when you were coming."

"That is okay! I am sorry if I made you wait long. London roads are always busy."

"Oh no! I understand. Let me get someone to take your bags. You can go inside, David must be waiting for you."

"Thank you", I said as I walked in.

As I walked in, I got a closer look at the bowing angel. From her eyes, thin streams of water dripped down and slowly filled the base of the fountain. I didn't know if it was meant to be this way or if it was a malfunction. I mean, who would carve a statue of a crying angel, and have it right in front of this beautiful house.

The castle ahead of me was magnificent. It looked grand and elegant. The whole castle carried a certain silence around it. It made me feel uneasy and at the same time calm. As I walked in, a stout woman in a maid's uniform walked past me towards the car. She neither smiled at me or acknowledged my presence there.

A huge oak door stood wide open as I reached the entrance of the castle. On the stone stairs that lead to the door, a boy around the age of twelve or thirteen stood in a crisp white shirt and black pants. A cute red bowtie was tied around his neck. As soon as he saw me, he climbed down the flight of stairs and came towards me.

"Hi! You must be my new teacher, Olivia!"

"Yes! Hi, I am Olivia Harigtay.", I said, bending down to his height.