Daughters of Men

Chapter Three

The water burned Isak's eyes. He splashed again and blinked rapidly, the drops clinging to his eyelashes until he wiped them away with the back of his hand. He stared at the soap on the rim of the basin, the gritty sliver set out for him and his sister. He hadn't touched it yet, but he would have to, or have his mother grab the washcloth and scrub away the filth from behind his ears herself.

The cloth was rough, so he dipped it in the water before he touched it to the soap. Another dip in the water and he caught the scent of chemicals, with just a hint of something foul underneath. He tried not to breathe as he scrubbed his face, behind his neck, his ears, and finally under each arm. He rinsed and dried off quickly, before tugging on a clean shirt that immediately adhered to the drops of moisture on his upper back.

"Your turn." He poked Kai's shoulder as he passed her leaning against the stove. She ignored him at first, then stirred to life, eyes blinking as if she had just woken from a dream. He thought she must be tired. She had already been awake when he'd rolled off the side of his bed and knuckled the sleep from his eyes. He didn't bother to ask what she was doing beside the door, or whether or not she had been there all night. He hadn't said anything at all, and she seemed to be thankful for that.

Her breakfast still sat in front of her, a thin sort of mush that clung to the sides of the bowl as she dragged her spoon through its lumpy depths. Isak took his own empty bowl, using his finger to scrape up anything he had missed. He looked up as their mother came in from their bedroom, her arms full of clothes that had been drying on twine that criss-crossed beneath the ceiling.

"This is as dry as they'll ever be, I'm afraid." She dumped the entire armful on the only piece of furniture that had yet to be sacrificed for firewood, a spindly chair with a cracked leg. She went through the clothes, piece by piece, checking for holes and snags that would need mending before they could be worn again. "Here," she pushed a small stack toward Kai. "The trousers will need a patch, and the socks... Well, they should probably be tossed into the fire, but see if you can get another week or two out of them."

Kai kept her gaze fixed on the bowl in her hands. Isak glanced at his mother, who leaned over and tapped the outside of the bowl with her knuckles. "Are you going to eat this?"

The girl hesitated, then shook her dark head.

"Isak." His mother turned her blue eyes towards him. "Either you finish it up, or it goes in the privvy."

He grabbed the bowl before his sister had a chance to protest. The food was cold and almost gelatinous, but his stomach growled as he pushed the first bite past his lips.

"I'll be back tonight, after my shift." His mother's hands were at the back of her head, working with a pin that had slid out of her hair. "I want you two to stay out of mischief. Do what you're told, avoid any unnecessary attention." She bit her lip. "Just be careful. I thought I heard something last night, but...Hmph." Her fingers went to the buttons at the front of her blouse, checking that they were all fastened properly before she reached for her shawl by the door. "Isak?"

He raised his chin, his tongue slipping out to pick up a morsel of food that stuck to his bottom lip.

"Cut her hair, will you? I don't expect you to make a neat job of it, simply trim it back, make sure no one has reason to look at her twice if she's going to insist on cavorting around like a boy for a few extra coins. The last thing we need is someone discovering she's not and deciding to make a production out of it."

He nodded as he swallowed.

"If all goes well today, I should be getting paid. It won't be much. They've been cutting salaries again, complaining that there's too much competition from foreign importers, sending in their silk for cheaper than we can produce it, but..." His mother sighed at the look on his face. "Just stay out of trouble. Get her to the docks, and try to arrive without allowing her to do anything she shouldn't."