Fool's Paradise

Chapter 5: Paradise Lost

Rose's delivery had been difficult but Allison stayed by her side the entire time. The baby was placed in the nursery. She lay in her bed feeling weak still. She had lost a fair amount of blood during the birth of her daughter. The sisters of the convent watched over the baby. They told Rose she had to make a decision on whether the baby would be placed for adoption. The thought was looming in her mind. She reached out for Allison's hand only to touch air. She propped herself up and looked around the dark room. Allison was not there. Rose slowly swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She slipped her feet into the warm house shoes at the side of her bed. She heard whispered voices in the hallway. "Sister what will happen to her? Will she make it?" "It is hard to tell at this point my dear. The doctor will be by in the morning. She may have to be taken to the hospital. Sister Mary Alice will watch her through the night. Why don't you go and check on your friend, Rose." Rose felt fear creep into her chest as Allison opened the bedroom door. Allison took one look at Rose's face and knew she had heard everything. Allison shut the door and rushed forward wrapping rose tightly in her arms. Rose let out a stream of tears. It was as if everything she had felt over the last several months came crashing down upon her. She had originally meant to put the baby up for adoption. Now that she was born and facing possible death, she was starting to think of the prospect of keeping the baby. She could live together with Allison and raise her, just the two of them. Two people who just wanted to be free from the bonds of a world that couldn't hold them. "Back to bed with you. You need to rest love." Allison placed her hand on the right side of Rose's face. Rose climbed back into her bed.  A knock on the door had Allison jumping out of her own skin. She stepped over opening the door to the room. "Yes ma'am?" Allison stood questioning the nun on the other side of the threshold. "Your mother has sent your belongings and has stated that she will be overseas for some time. You will be here for a while longer." Mary Elizabeth had Allison help her bring in a large steamer trunk and three boxes. Allison scooted the trunk to the end of her bed. She stacked the boxes in the corner. Allison flopped back onto her own bed and began crying. Rose rushed over and wrapped her arms around the poor girl. They were both here because things had happened that were out of their control. The two of them lay their crying in each others arms, each for different reasons. Life had a way of making a cruel joke at every turn for the both of them. The only solace they seemed to find was in the comfort of their forbidden feelings for one another. Rose cried for the undecided fate of her newborn daughter. Fear loomed on a horizon that she wasn't even sure she herself was going to reach. So many terrible thoughts were in Rose's mind. Did she deserve this life that had been so easily given to her? Who was she to raise a child? The tears flowed between the two women like a never ending waterfall. After sobbing together the two fell asleep wrapped in one another's arms. 

Allison was the first to wake. She opened her eyes startled at the darkness of the room. The only light came from the distant streetlamps. She stared at the ceiling for a moment. She was left here and she knew that her mother going overseas meant that she wasn't coming back. Everything Allison owned was in the trunk and three boxes. Her mother was washing her hands of her. She was saying good riddance. Allison's mother hated being tied down with a child. She loved a good party and the company of a wealthy well dressed gentleman. She din't want to marry. She just wanted to play. She had money aplenty on her own. She was a wealthy English born heiress. Allison knew that her mother would eventually return to England one day to claim her family's estate. It must mean her grandfather had passed away. She had never met her grandfather. She wanted to though. She had lived in a small cottage as a very young girl when they had been in England. It was a small town South of London. She loved the farmland near the town. She would go to one of the farms after school and watch the sheep in the field grazing. Life was slow and peaceful there. For a little while life was mostly good. Her mother was always busy with entertaining friends and men so she had time to visit the nearby orchards and farms. Lazy afternoons were spent on green hillsides gazing at fluffy cotton ball clouds. Maybe she could take Rose there and escape the close minded people that surrounded them here. Allison rolled to her side and stared out the window. Lightning flashed in the distance. The sky lit up and thunder quickly followed like a great beast were ripping it asunder. The rain poured so hard that it was ripping the delicate petals of the roses from their branches. Hail pounded the pavement outside. Allison felt like the ground outside. The world was beating her down and she wasn't sure she would recover. Rose's gasp startled her from the dark thoughts roaming in her mind. "How long were we asleep? It's dark and stormy." Rose sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Allison sat up and flung her legs over the side of the bed. They both stared out the window at the raging storm. The rain came in sheets, pounding the street and grounds of the convent. The trees whipped back and forth bending at impossible angles. The wind was violently tossing trash cans from curbs and uprooting small flowers from the ground. A knock sounded on the door. Allison leapt from the bed and answered on the second knock. The nun on the other side told the girls to come to dinner and stay away from the windows. The two headed to the large dining room to eat. The electricity went out half way to the dining table. Everyone lit candles and dinner was eaten by candlelight. Allison and Rose stared at one another like they were the only two in the room. They ate in silence and returned to the room and fell fast asleep cuddled together.  Somewhere around midnight the door to the room was thrown open and the two were roughly shaken awake. "Get up! Get up at once! What fresh sin is this! Hell awaits those who wallow in the flesh! Take your hands off one another! How dare you take advantage of her vulnerabilities! Sinner! Sinner!" Sister Mary Esther was hitting Allison with a switch and chastising her all the while. She spouted scripture faster than the two girls could blink the sleep from their eyes. "Mary Esther, please! I was scared from the storm. Allison  only meant to comfort me. There was nothing bad going on we fell asleep." The nun grabbed at Allison beating her over and over. Rose tried to step in between them and stop the nun from hurting the one person she cared about. She pushed Rose easily aside. More nuns came to see what the commotion was about as did the other girls in the convent. "Sinners all of you! The Lord will punish the lot of you! Get up! How dare you blaspheme under the roof of the home where you were given the chance to redeem your evil sins! What do you understand about purity! Filthy little whore! Preying upon others because you want to give in to the desires of the flesh!" A girl fell to the floor in the hallway covering her ears and sobbing for the nun to stop her tyranny. "Don't think I didn't see the way you were looking at one another at dinner! In this room touching and writhing against each other like worms in the muck! The work of the devil is in this room! You filthy demon ridden girl!" None of the other nuns intervened seeming confused by what was happening. Allison crawled to the floor to escape the beating. She covered her face with her hands begging for Mary Esther to stop. The nun threw her switch to the floor. Whelps and bruises were already forming on Allison's skin. She grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her toward the hallway. Allison let out a gut wrenching scream that silenced the world around them. The nun turned enraged and punched Allison so hard she went unconscious. Mary Katherine stopped her mid swing after the third punch. Mary Esther kicked Allison twice before the other nuns finally joined in and drug her away from the room. The other girls ran and scattered to their own rooms like roaches when a light is flipped on in a dark room. Mary Elizabeth slammed the door to the room shut, leaving a broken and beaten Allison lying in a heap on the floor by the bedroom door. Rose fell at her side bawling. She clung to Allison's still body. She smoothed the hair from Allison's face. She placed her head in her lap. Blood trickled from Allison's ear. A dark nasty bruise was swelling on her left temple. How could someone be this cruel? Rose sat bewildered rocking gently with Allison in her arms. Tears streamed down her face and falling gently on Allison's cheeks. She reached up over her head and locked the door to the room. She wouldn't let that woman back in here ever. Rose was the most frightened she had ever been. She had not seen much violence in her life. Rose leaned back against the cool wood of the bedroom door and let out a shaky breath. She felt like she had been in a car crash. She heard screaming down the hall and running footsteps. There was shouting and something slammed into the door. She hugged Allison to her chest as if to protect her from any further pain. "Go Away! Please leave us alone!" Rose cried out terrified that the nun was going to make it through the door. She heard Mary Esther beginning a second tirade. Lights were flashing outside. There were shouts and sirens. Rose held on to Allison as the window was pried open and the officers pulled Allison from her arms. She screamed and fought until they gave her a shot and laid her on the bed. The light slipped away and everything grew dark. 

Rose smelled the salty air of the ocean and felt the warmth of the sun on her face. The creaking of wood could be heard beneath her as she rocked back and forth on the waves. Her eyes flew open. The room was dark. The faint scent of seawater filled the room. There were silky gray feathers simply everywhere. They covered the floor, the dresser, the beds, the nightstands, and the steamer trunk. The trunk was slightly opened. A single silver ladies glove was dangling over the edge of the opening of the trunk. A sharp pain shot through Rose's head. She felt strange and woozy from the medication that she had been inoculated with. The pain forming in her head was nearly unbearable. The bedroom door was partially open. Her mother stood just outside of it talking to Mary Katherine in the hallway. Rose felt so confused. How could her mother be here? Home was too far away. "Oh she is awake. Rose darling how do you feel? You have been asleep for almost two days." Her mother came and sat down on the edge of her bed. We were going to take you home but we decided against it in the end. Your father and I are staying at a hotel for a couple more days. I am so sorry that you have had to go through all of this. "Where is Allison? How is she? Can I see her?" Her mother looked to Mary Katherine. They shared a look that Rose couldn't understand. Her mother placed a hand gently on her arm. "Get some more rest and we will see you in the morning." Her mother stood and walked toward the door. "Why aren't you answering me? Where is she? Answer me, please." Rose begged and started crying loudly and uncontrollably. "Mother, please answer me. Where is Allison?" Her mother walked away unable to speak. Mary Katherine handed her something to drink. Rose took it feeling thirsty. The liquid was bitter as she took a long deep drink. She looked at the nun and once again her eyes grew too heavy to keep open. The world around her became foggy and darkness closed in dragging her to its depths.