-=₪ September 1904 ₪=-
St John's Orphanage / Saint John's Wood / 5.56am
The horses halted outside an imposing wrought-iron gate, its black, spear-like bars guarding the magnificent mansion beyond. Grand windows adorned the entrance, while colossal chimney stacks reached for the sky. Numerous buildings flanked the mansion, all constructed from light stone bricks with dark stone accents on the corners. The flickering light in most of the windows signalled the day had already begun at the institution.
Malka's gaze was fixed on the grand oak doors as she stared from the carriage window. Suddenly, the carriage door swung open, startling her while the carriage driver glared at her as if she were an annoyance.
"You two, out!" barked the woman who had ridden with them, pointing at Malka and Rachel. "Come on, come on," she urged impatiently, prodding the girls with a sleek, shiny black cane.
Rachel reached for Malka, who embraced her sister, but when Malka tried to take Ishmael's hand, the woman intervened with her cane.
"Not him. He stays here with me," she declared, using the cane as a barrier to keep the siblings apart.
"Why!?" demanded Malka, her heart pounding. The woman banged at Malka and Ishmael's hands with the cane's metal handle, forcing them apart.
"I suppose you can't read." she scoffed. "It says there 'Home for Female Orphans.' That's you, not him."
"No, no, they both need me, and I need them. Please, can't we stay together?" Malka pleaded, reaching once more for Ishmael. The austere woman reinforced the barrier with her cane and gestured to the irritable carriage driver. He swiftly grabbed Rachel, tearing her from Malka's arms, and yanked the infant from the carriage.
Both Rachel and Ishmael erupted into screams and tears. Panicked, Malka was torn between her siblings. As the man overpowered the girls and ripped Rachel from her grip, she lunged towards Ishmael, wrapping her arms around him.
"Ishmael, I won't leave you. I'll find you. I'll come for you. I promise," she choked out.
As Ishmael sobbed into her embrace, the driver's hands clamped around Malka's ankles and dragged her from the carriage. She landed on the gravel beside Rachel and their small brown leather suitcase.
"You will not, young lady. Escaping results in an entry in the punishment book of the most severe nature," the woman warned, grabbing the distraught six-year-old boy who cried out for his sister.
"They won't stop me, Ish. I promise. Don't be afraid. I will find you. I LOVE YOU!" Malka yelled just before losing sight of him. The carriage door slammed shut, muffling Ishmael's cries for his sisters.
Clutching a wailing Rachel, Malka held her close as she watched the carriage driver climb back on board, crack the whip, and disappear into the distance.
"He'll be all right, Rachel," Malka whispered, attempting to reassure both her sister and herself as she choked back her own tears.
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The Meet / St Pancras / 6.07am
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The Camden Tales
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