Refrain

Prologue

The sun was shining through the dusty windows of the hospital ward, its bright yellow rays creating a curious pattern on the dirty brown floor boards and bed sheets, which were gray and rough from the many times they had been washed. The glass full of murky water on the bedside cabinet caught one of the stray sun rays and split it in several blinking daggers of light, flying in all directions, merrily glistening on metal frames of the bed. The mirror in the far corner of the room shared this false happiness, reflecting the same sparkles of light.

One of the fiercely bright rays reached Tom, who was lying on one of the beds, the light unceremoniously piercing his watery eyes, making him see stars and increasing the headache he had been unsuccessfully fighting since the previous night. Squinting and squirming on the bed, trying to slither further under the thin wool blanket and hide his face with it, Tom cursed his luck for the umpteenth time this morning.

If not for this stupid sickness, he would be outside with the rest of the orphanage kids, catching the last warm weather before the beginning of autumn with its mists, rain and cold winds.

Not that Tom was very fond of playing in mud, which covered their yard during any season. He preferred to sit in the secluded corner under the half-dead tree supporting the roof of the orphanage by one of its corners with one of the few books they were allowed to take from the small library outside the school year. He still liked the warmness of summer sun and coolness of the light breeze from the port, bringing smells of salt, fish and wet nets, making him think of sea and freedom.

Unfortunately, now he had to stay in the gloomy hospital room stinking of medicine and herbs under the stinging old blanket, shivering from slight fever and coughing his lungs out every other minute, because the day before yesterday the other orphan boys managed to lock him in the cold basement filled with water after the recent shower-rain. The caretakers made them all go down there to help remove the flood, but in the end nasty Jimmy Chew and his gang jokingly locked the door with Tom inside and conveniently lost the key somewhere in the muddy yard. Tom spent several hours in the basement filled with water up to his knees, while everyone was searching for the keys. If it was not Tom, but some other kid, the caretakers would break the door to free the child, but unfortunately Tom was not among their favorites. When he was sitting in the locked basement he remembered that one time he was allowed to accompany Mrs. Cole to the port. Honestly speaking, she took him in hopes that the boy would be lost among the sailors, soldiers and merchants crowding the place. Tom knew that, but still went with her and even agreed to help her carry huge heavy sacks with fish flour, which she purchased at the lowered price. So he was not surprised that the adults decided to look for the key instead of breaking in: he was not worth the price they would pay for the repairs of the basement door.

When they finally opened the door after finding the spare key in the place of the one lost in the yard, Tom was already running a fever. They put him in the small hospital ward of the orphanage and seemed to forget about the incident – and of Tom – completely.

When he finally realized that today no one would come to bring him any food or medicine, Tom slowly stood up and began to dress. It was time for lunch and he was feeling a little hungry, and would gladly kill for something to ease his headache.

Tom managed to put on only his trousers, when he heard some strange noise outside the door to the ward. A man's voice was coming through the creaks in the walls: someone argued loudly with Mrs. Cole, insisting that he needs to see 'the boy' immediately and doesn't care about a fever and possible infection.

Shrugging, Tom took his shirt from the chair, which stood near the bed, but never managed to put it on before the door opened behind him.

Someone gasped loudly. Tom turned on his heels quickly, trying to see what had happened, but the rash motion made his head spin and he swayed on his feet.