Message in a Bottle [LGBTQ+] [ONC 2024]

Chapter Seven

Eli sat on the bottom step of the schoolhouse, looking across the village to his father who stood in deep conversation with Mr Temple. He watched him with a small furrow in his brow and his hands resting on his knees.

Since leaving his last letter resting against the pebbles of the stream several days before, Eli wondered just how similar he was to his father. They were similar in looks; the same dark hair, green eyes, and thin noses. Eli was shorter than his father and didn't expect himself to grow much more in height, but that was where the similarities ended once and for all.

His father was stronger, broad shouldered, and resembled everything a farmer should look like. The sun had changed the colour of his skin, he was more muscular and lean, and walked with a straighter back. Eli on the other hand walked with his head bent to avoid unwanted eye contact with Peter Upton, his arms were thin and lacking in any real muscle, and despite all his time spent outside his skin remained pale and freckled.

Whilst his father appeared to enjoy confrontation, Eli did his best to avoid it. His father had no issues with slaughtering the animals on the farm, but Eli would shield away and refuse to watch. Eli enjoyed school, thrived on his own, rarely enjoyed the company of other people.

If they didn't look so similar in the face, Eli might have thought they weren't related at all.

Eli sighed, taking his hands off his thighs and wrapping them around his legs. He tore his eyes away from his father and looked around the village. Everything moved at the slow, snail-like pace it always did. The men drove wagons full of wood over the dirt track, the women dragged small children behind them as they shopped for things they couldn't grow themselves.

Nothing ever changed.

"Eli! Can you come and help me, please?" his mother called.

"Coming."

Eli scrambled to his feet, dusting the back of his trousers off and crossing the village to join his mother. She stood with several bolts of fabric tucked under her arm and a woven wicker basket hanging from her arm. Eli took the bolts of cloth from her, adjusting his grip on them until he could hold them without almost dropping them onto the dry mud.

"I was going to make Constance a new Sunday dress. She's almost owngrown her current one, but I thought everyone could do with new clothing. Your Sunday shirt has completely changed colour, and don't even get me started on your fathers." She shook her head, but couldn't fight the small smile. "What were you doing just now?"

"Just watching."

"Maybe you should start doing one better and talking to people. It wouldn't hurt, Eli." His mother gave him a pointed look, but Eli looked away after meeting her eyes and seeing the familiar look of disappointment in them.

"Can we go home now? I've got schoolwork."

"We need to wait for your father to finish up his deal with Mr Temple and then we can go. Do you know where your sister went?"

Eli shrugged. "She saw Mary and disappeared. They can't have gone far."

"Eli. You were supposed to be watching her."

"I was and then she went off with Mary."

His mother sighed and shook her head. Eli tucked his hands into his pockets and followed her across the village in search of his younger sister. Eli tugged his cap over his eyes to obscure the burning sun that beat down on him. Small beads of sweat trickled down his face and back. He wished to be at the pond rather than traipsing through the village holding bolts of cloth, but if he wanted to get his school certificate, fishing would have to wait.

They found Constance with her friend Mary, the two of them running around the dry mud neighing like horses. Eli couldn't stop the smile forming on his lips. Despite how annoying and frustrating she could be, he was grateful she still behaved like a child and yet to fall victim to their father. Oftentimes Eli thought she was treated better than he was, at least she had less expectations against her, but he was glad she could avoid their father's wrath.

Eli stood with Constance and their mother, watching his father who was still in deep conversation with Mr Temple. He wondered just what they could have to discuss at length and itched to return to the farmhouse to make a start on his mathematics work. Even if he couldn't sit the exam or go to university, he could still do everything to pass his school certificate.

He kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot, watching the dust swirl around before settling back down. Eli looked away from his father and glanced around the village, his eyes drawn to a familiar figure walking through the village with a woven basket hanging from her arm. Victoria's red hair was pinned up in a twisted knot on the back of her head and she walked alongside a slightly taller, blonde woman. Eli opened his mouth to call to her, but he didn't get the chance.

"Mabel?" his mother said, her eyes focused on the woman standing with Victoria. "Mabel Owens?"

The woman glanced over her shoulder, and Eli was shocked at the similarities between her and Victoria. "Good morning, Agnes."

"I didn't know you were back."

"We moved recently." The woman refused to stand still, her hands gesturing as she spoke in a similar way Eli's did when he was nervous.

"You must come for supper sometime so we can catch up, it's been far too long."

"Yes, maybe." She looked at Victoria. "Come, Victoria, we have to go. Your father will be expecting us."

Eli looked at Victoria, noticing the way she refused to meet his eyes and kept her gaze focused on the mud track. She looked up for only a moment. Their eyes met, a small furrow in the middle of her eyebrows. Victoria opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp tug on her arm by her mother forced her to close it again like a fish stranded on the bank of the pond.

She turned away, following in her mothers wake at a pace that showed Eli just how desperate they were to get away. Eli watched them until they disappeared from the village, leaving nothing but footprints in the mud and dust as a sign they were there.

His heart thumped against his ribcage.

He'd been right about Victoria and Samuel.

~~~

First Published - April 14th, 2024