The Servant Girl (#myhandmaidstale)

The Servant Girl

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sara awoke abruptly to the sound of a loud bang on her door (If the thin, rotting piece of wood could be referred to as such), and quickly began preparing to get up- even though her body begged for more rest.

"Sarafina!! I need you out 'ere this instant. Mr. Laudbury wants to see you up in 'is room right 'way, child," A loud, booming (barely) feminine voice shouted.

The door flung open, revealing a stout, pudgy woman, a look of permanent disgust cemented on her face.

The woman, Ms. cox, was one of many employees at Laudbury Manor, none of whom were happy, but all of whom would tell you that Ms. Cox was the sourest, most bitter and cranky of the entire bunch.

"Up with ya now, child. Best not be keepin' Mr. Laudbury waitin like ya always do, ya lil' wretch." Ms. cox's disgust seemed to intensify ten-fold whenever she was around Sara- in fact, most every woman on the estate hated & envied her. Sara didn't understand why; She would have gladly switched places with any one of them to be out of her current lot in life.

Sara quickly started across the lawn that separated the main house from the workers' barracks. She entered through the rear service entrance, where the workers brought in things like coal for the ovens. As she walked down the dingy hall, she heard a familiar whistling that instantly brought a smile to her face.

Rounding the corner, she could see him heading her way. His dark brown skin was smudged with even darker coal dust, as was everything else he was wearing or holding. But despite his disheveled appearance, her heart still skipped a beat when she saw him. Just as she was treated poorly due to her, (to put it delicately) unique, employment status, he was treated poorly for no other reason than that his skin was a shade of brown.

His eyes lit up when he saw her as well. "Sara! What are you doing here so early?"

She stopped briefly to give him a hug. "I can't talk now Marcos, Mr. Laudbury wants me.. Maybe we can catch up later today?"

His face clouded when she mentioned Laudbury. "Hopefully so.. Oh! I got you something earlier," he said, pulling a small, crumpled violet out of his pocket. It only had 3 broken petals, but in her eyes, it was gold. She clutched it tightly as they parted ways in the hall.

She reached Laudbury's room, and slowly entered. She saw the 40 year old man laying on the bed, his hairy potbelly obscuring his face.

"C'mon sarafina," he drawled. "I been waitn' all mornin' for this.." he grunted.

She grimaced, and said nothing as she slowly slipped her dress over her head, preparing herself for the vile wretch lying on the bed in front of her, clutching tightly on both the violet and and the hope that one day, things would be different...