The New Midwife

Chapter 5

I joined my fellow sisters and nurses at the table.
"So sister how was the last part of your first day in the East end?" sister Julienne asked me.
"Good thank you sister" I smiled at her.
"That's good, tomorrow you will be attending to the new mothers by yourself" sister Julienne said.
"Yes sister" I replied scooping up some casserole and placing it onto my plate.
"Now sister you must keep your strength up" sister Evangeline smiled at me placing as large spoon full onto my plate.
"Yes sister" I smiled at her eating the food now placed onto my plate.

A little while later
I stood next to sister Julienne, said my prays and sang the hymns during complin. I could feel her eyes on me every time I sang a line so I quitened my voice. Once we were finished I climbed the stairs to head to my bedroom. Once I arrived, I saw that Trixie wasn't there, meaning she was with Phyllis and the other girls probably chatting. I grabbed the book which read the revelations of divine love on the cover. I opened the book and saw the photo of the little girl, I placed a kiss to the picture and placed it back on the page when there suddenly was a knock at the door. I quickly closed the book and placed it back on the shelf by the time sister Julienne entered the room.
"Hello sister" sister Julienne smiled at me kindly.
"Hello sister, how may I help you?" I smiled at her in return. She sat on the bed next to me.
"I heard you singing in compline and I just wanted to say how wonderful your voice is but why on earth did you quiten your voice?" She smiled making me blush.
"I enjoy singing a lot sister and as a child I was taught not to draw attention to myself so I quitened my voice hoping not to draw attention to myself" I said looking at my hands in my lap fiddling with my fingers.
She placed her hand on top of mine seeing that I was focused on my hands and fingers.
"There is no need to hide sister you must sing as loud as you can whenever you can" she smiled at me our eyes meeting. I could see the sencerity in her eyes and voice. I smiled at her.
"Thank you sister" I smiled at her warmly.
"And with that, I say goodnight" she smiled at me squeezing my hand lightly.
"Goodnight sister" I smiled at her as she stood up and left the room closing the door behind her. She meant well but I am still changed by my experiences before I arrived here. I'm not ready to be noticed.