The Eternal Flame

Chapter 2 - Ingrid Delphs

     Sixteen years later Ingrid Delphs woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Her immediate reaction to the person that had awoken her, the floor’s supervisor Natalia, wasn’t very pretty. Natalia was a reckless, fairly operated and the most encouraging and enthusiastic person to have around, and floor 4 of the orphanage was definitely the luckiest of all seven stories to have her.

     She propped herself up on one elbow, gazing around at her dorm mates’ mumbling mouths. All it took was tiny glance at all the irritated faces around the barren room and Ingrid knew today was going to be a rough day. She plopped back down onto the bed, grazing her skin against the wrinkled canvas that had been cleaned only yesterday. This should not have been a day where she had to arouse herself from the soft and springy mattress; after all, it was a rainy Saturday. Then she started circling the marble bed frame with her skinny finger, something that she had done to relieve her frustration since she was five years of age.

     A soothing whisper entered her earshot. A whisper from Natalia, but it wasn’t directed at her. A tightly knitted crowd gathered around the bed next to Ingrid. She was slightly curious at what this time’s incident would be, but really didn’t truly care, as this happened almost every week. Karla was a drama queen, and also the source of this ruckus, who would steal the spotlight from anybody, whether or not having the spotlight at that moment was good. No-one could blame Ingrid to roll her forest green eyes at a typical blonde’s cliché actions.

     The sixteen year old idly walked past the now dispersing crowd, which apparently also got tired of Karla’s actions. Not surprising, really.

     With a large amount of physical strength, the girl slid open the window. The smell of morning dew on the freshly mowed grass flowing in through the transparent window made Ingrid relax her tensed up muscles. A sudden gush of cold wind blew Ingrid’s waist-length jet black hair, making her look like she was posing for a hair advertisement, which she would definitely qualify for, with her amount of beauty. In fact, at Yarondale Orphanage for Girls, Ingrid’s nickname was BB, short for ‘beauty and brains’, which really was the most suitable name for her. But it wasn’t her hair or eyes that made her gorgeous, it was the fact that she was so petite, so delicate. Almost every teacher and peer adored her.

     Ingrid walked away from the slight moment of bliss, and headed down where she would go most Saturday mornings, down at floor 1 for weekly assemblies. Almost all seats were empty, so the teenager ambled over to one of the front rows. Not long after, most of the students of the orphanage had left their dorms and made their way down to the hall.

    Ms. Baibini, the orphanage’s crazy owner, walked up onto the stage that needed a good layer of lacquer on it. She was one of those ‘skin and bone’ ladies, aged about 50. Her hair was an obvious salt and pepper colour, not a strand left out of place. Her skin looked like she had been in the shower for about thirty minutes. People said that she was once a very stunning young woman, but Ingrid found that truly hard to believe. Small on the outside, giant on the inside. These words were probably made for Ms. Baibini. She was a fierce lady, and her supple frame didn’t show it. Oh, and she also screamed a lot.

     A banal speech was to come. Every single week it would be, “Good morning children of Yarondale Orphanage for Girls,” and then the usual messages, like always wear sunscreen in summer, or don’t forget the lavartory on floor 3 was still unrepaired.

     Ingrid had fallen asleep when she heard her name, spoken by a vaguely familiar voice, but only by so much, as in a cousin’s friend that you may have chatted to once. But unlike so many other countless voices, this one stuck like glue. There are times when you try and learn a new language, and there are some words that stand out more than others, and like when you get sorted with a new class, and some faces stick to your mind more. This was no different; Ingrid knew this was a voice she had heard from somewhere, but it was what the devilish voice had said that haunted Ingrid. It was a simple sentence, but one that she knew she would never forget. Ingrid knew it couldn’t possibly be true, but it disturbed her.

     The voice had said, “I killed your mother.”

(A/N): Well, that was a boring chapter but you really can't blame me for having writer's block! I know the chapter was short, and I wanted to explain the names.

Ingrid is inspired by it's meaning, as in beautiful Ing. Her last name (Delphs), is based on the word dolphin, and dolphins are classified as a smart animal. This gives her the nickname 'BB'.

Ms. Baibini is based on the last name 'Baibina', which means strong. It says in this chapter that Ms. Baibini was 'small on the outside, [and] giant on the inside'.

Natalia is just a name that I really like, and it doesn't have anything to do with her personality.

I thought I'd just clarify that with you, because I'm bored mainly. Ah well, see you next time!

xoxo Gleek_For_Life