The Orphan in the Belfry
Georgia woke up to another stiflingly boring day at the church in the centre of town. She wondered that if she pretended to still be asleep they would leave her alone. Every day she had to sweep the stairs from the Great Hall to the dormitory. Every. Single. Day. She often wondered how people generated that much dust. It was different when she lived with her – wait. She wasn’t supposed to think about them anymore. A tear trickled down her cheek. They were gone. She had to put them behind and start her new life now. But… there were no Mother figures here she could look up to… and talk to. None she could talk to about those things, anyway. Most of the nuns swore vows of silence. She swore it was just for something to do.
She opened one eyelid. Just a tad. No one there. She sat up in relief, her thought’s running wild in the pre-dawn light coming in through the windows. Sister Emily had whispered something to her last night – something about the outside world and television. If Georgia had known how her eyes twinkled at the mention of the outside world, she would have been sure that her destiny didn’t involve being a nun. She was a great believer in destiny. Her hair was dull brown though. Not the right colour for adventures, she thought. The best colour was blond. But her eyes were a different story. Bright, not quite neon, but not quite normal green, and her mind matched them. Always racing ahead of things. One moment, she might be thinking of cookies, then her mind would connect that to flour, then to the cook, then the Abbess. She desperately needed to get away from the stuffy old time capsule from the Middle Ages.
Georgia sighed, and muttered to herself, 'Better get up.' She rolled lazily out of bed, got dressed, and walked silently down the stairs, hoping breakfast was still being served.
