The Ember In The Storm

Part III

    Just like most Thursday mornings, Elizabeth wore her most casual dress and made her way down to the field. Her old boots worked as good as before and were as warm as she could remember them.

Senior Anderson and Luke were in their offices discussing on 'matters of great consequences,' and Vaughn had left the town for a week to visit her mother in the South.

Master Luke and her had finally wed two weeks ago, which was the talk of the town. Everyone was sending their best wishes and congratulations to the newly wed— except for Jackson, who had still not returned for a month. No one knew where he was, except former General Faustino who kept it all to himself with nothing but drunken cheekiness.

Elizabeth would be lying if she said the situation never bothered her.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he had said, except they did not. Jackson ran over that bridge before she could reach it and left her alone wondering how to cope with everything.

"I never thought coition would be this complicated," she murmured to herself, tightening the basket of cupcakes over her chest.

A smile spread across Elizabeth's face once she spotted her brother standing under a tree, picking out the seeds from a guava like he always liked to do. He found it fun.

His gaze met hers and he let out a shout of joy, grabbing the attention of everyone else.

"Elizabeth! Mother, look! It is Elizabeth!" Michael exclaimed from across the field, he pointed her direction ere running towards her. She bent to his height and stretched her arms out, placing the basket next to her on the ground.

Michael jumped into her with force enough to nearly knock her over.

"I brought you all some food," Elizabeth stood, lifting the basket. "Come over and have some, you will continue once you eat."

Everyone murmured to themselves and threw their tools away, walking to her and each receiving a cupcake.

Thandiwe came last, hugging her daughter before taking the last piece.

"You had not stolen these again, had you?" She inquired.

"Your daughter brought you something to eat, eat up!" A familiar laugh came from behind Elizabeth, she turned and came face to face with Matilda, Thandiwe's old friend and Elizabeth's godmother.

"Matilda!" Elizabeth jumped into her arms. The middle aged woman gently wrapped her arms around her. "I missed you dearly. When did you return?"

Matilda had gone to work in Downtown Richmond six months ago at the other Anderson farm with a few other workers, they were not scheduled to return until after twelve months, yet somehow, Matilda only made it halfway.

Telling from the dark circles around her eyes and frail body, Elizabeth deduced why she had returned sooner.

Matilda's nut brown eyes were halfway shut by her dropping eyelids, wrinkled from old age that had been approaching too fast.

Still, she was able to smile up at Elizabeth as bright as before. Maybe that was why she wrinkled so quickly, she was always the happy one, no matter what.

"I do not trust these people. They could poison us all if they wished and we would have nothing to do about it," Thandiwe grumbled.

"Mother, do not speak of such ill things," Elizabeth frowned.

"She is looking for an excuse to not eat it," Matilda spoke, watching her friend split the cupcake before handing one side to her. She gladly took it. "Our water is getting worse, Eliza. Find a way to encourage the masters on improving it. We are dying."