Short Stories

Fallen From Grace

The outside taunted her. Fresh grass wet from the rain, the chatter of passersby, and the clomping of the horses on the brick sidewalk. It made her want to escape.

"Evelyn?"

Evelyn turned around and saw one of the nurses standing in the open doorway. "It's time for lessons."

Evelyn nodded her head and followed the nurse out of her room. She always hated lessons. Lessons were boring and repeated the same values over and over again such as modesty, a woman's place in society, and respect.

The nurses directed Evelyn into the lessons room. A circle of girls gossiped about rumors they heard from other girls or nurses. A circle of chairs were laid out in the middle of the room. Evelyn spotted an empty chair and sat down, moving her gaze to the window.

A tall, grubby woman walked into the room. The chatter died down and the group of standing girls rushed to find a seat. Everyone curtseyed.

"You may be seated."

The head nurse stood in the middle of the circle. "Ladies, it is courting season. That means that many of you will leave our halls and become a new woman. You will have the chance to redeem yourself and your reputations."

Everyone clapped except for Evelyn. While everyone else was excited to leave, she was hesitant. She knew her family wouldn't accept her once she got out of the program. She was considered a fallen women in society after she fell in love with a man and participated in sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Her family never contacted her so she never contacted them back.

"We received letters from each of your families detailing the end of your treatment and when you will be reunited. We will pass out the letters at the end of the lesson," the head nurse said. "Now, let's finish the lesson."

Evelyn zoned out during most of the lesson. Once she arrived home, her mother and sister would reteach her everything and compare Evelyn to her sister. While Evelyn was busy relearning not to throw her legs open, her sister was deep in high-end society. But things may change and her family may be happy that she's coming home.

And ready to be shown in court.

The head nurse finished the lesson. Assistant nurses passed out the letters and Evelyn was surprised when she was handed a letter. Evelyn sighed as she opened the letter and began to read it. Her family was going to pick her up at ten-thirty and of course, her mother had to spread the news about her sister. Evelyn's sister, Alexandra, was engaged to a man named Nicholas. Nicholas was from a wealthy, influential family, which excited her parents.

Of course it did.

Evelyn crumbled up the letter and walked back to her room. Her parents never gave her any affection but since she was away for six months, they could have been excited. Maybe they are excited to see her and just wanted to update Evelyn on gossip before she arrived home.

Of course, anything can happen.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

At ten-thirty, the carriage pulled up to the hospital. With a nurse next to her, Evelyn got into the carriage and watched as the hospital shrunk away from view. Outside, the atmosphere changed. The dirty, mangy streets filled with shop stands, beggar children dressed in mud and soot rags, and urine-wafter air changed to posh shops, straight and green lawns, and mansions. Women in dresses of different colors pushed baby strollers or walked with a male on supervised dates.

The carriage pulled up to the front of the house where her mother and father waited. Evelyn breathed in and pulled the carriage door open. Her dress swayed in the wind as she got down from the carriage and walked towards her parents.