Paper Daisies - #wattys2017

Peggy

It was early on Monday morning when five-year-old Peggy was shaken away by her eldest sister, Eliza. The young girl sat up welcoming the hustle and bustle of her family starting the day in their small two-room flat.

Peggy pulled her patchwork, faded pink dress before she slipped her dirty blue-green apron, tying it behind her. While she did this, her father kissed her mother on the cheek before leaving to pound the streets for work. Peggy's eldest brother, Jonathon, donned his cap before he left for his own job as a street. He took with him seven-year-old Thomas, who worked as a chimney sweep. Thomas was always made to sleep on the floor, because otherwise he would make the bedding all black and sooty.

With all the boys gone the flat felt much quieter and Peggy took a moment to enjoy the stillness before the small family home became a production line.

"Peggy!" Her mother said, balancing baby Alice on her large pregnant stomach. "What're you doin' standin' around all in a daze, go and fetch the order!"

Peggy nodded and quickly did as she was told, only pausing to squeeze on her slightly too small boots before rushing out the door. She clomped her way down the stairs and out into the shared yard.

"Morning Peggy." Said Harriet Gilvrey, who lived next door and was out beating the dust out of an old carpet.

"Mornin' Harriet." Peggy replied as she dashed across the muddy yard. She stumbled, almost falling onto the mushy ground.

"Careful there, Pegs, you're mam won't be too pleased if you get mud on you're dress!" Harriet called to Peggy's retreating back as the child walked past the fence that ran around the common lodgings complex.

Peggy skipped along the pavement, her hands in her pockets as she hummed to herself.

The sky was steel grey that hinted rain. In the distance she could see the chimneys of large factories that spewed smoke could just be seen over the houses.

It took about thirty minutes for Peggy to walk/skip to the factory that would distribute orders for artificial flowers. To get to her destination she would have to cross several busy streets that were always heavy with traffic and smelt terrible. She ran across the last of the busy streets, being careful as to not slip on the horse excrement that was yet to be cleaned. Slipping and falling in such a place was almost a death sentence, as a horse would most likely trample one before they had the opportunity to get out of the way.

When she arrived, she stood in line along with other family representatives who were picking up their own orders.

After a half-hour wait, Peggy was handed a box, which weighed about the same as baby Alice. The box had been filled with small material petals; each type separated into paper packets, there was also three bunches of five hundred small wires that were to act as flower stems. On top of all of this was a small card that gave direction as to how much of each kind of flower was to be made and what colours and petals to use for each. Although to Peggy, these instructions looked like fancy swirls and scribbles to her un-educated eye.

She went back to the lodging house and walked through the gate that was set into the large wood fence just as a light mist of rain began to fall. Harriet was no longer in the yard, but another neighbour, Elsie Canard, was getting water from the common pump.

"Watcha got there, Pegs?" She asked wiping a small layer of sweat and grime from her forehead. She straightened and peered into the box.

"The flower order." Peggy answered, shifting the large box in her grip.

"Oh, better get a move on then, wouldn't want to get behind." She said before returning to the water pump.

Peggy nodded, her brown curls bouncing with the movement before she scampered off up the stairs to her family's flat. As soon as she opened the creaky door, nudging it with the box, she was assaulted by the disapproving words of her mother.