Friday, 20/10/1994
The building Amelia was left gazing at with some awe after disembarking from the car that had brought her there had seen better days, but it still retained a certain sense of dignity. And at least to a child seemed to loom over her in the darkness like a vast mansion from a scary picture book – despite only having two stories.
“You’ll be staying here for now. Do you remember what we talked about?” asked the driver, a middle-aged man with a thick moustache. He looked stern, but his voice had warmth in it. She nodded and sniffled. She didn’t understand it all very well – after all, she was only seven years old, and these were very grown-up matters. But it seemed as though her home was no longer her home, as much as any place could even be ‘home’ after her parents were no longer with her. She was told that her home was actually the bank’s now, as was most everything in it. She didn’t quite grasp the explanation, but it was not like she could do anything but what the adults told her. Surely, they knew better.
So here she was, with a backpack in her hands and two suitcases the driver was just taking out of the car and waiting to enter this... children’s home, they’d called it. Wasn’t any home with children in it a children’s home, she idly wondered. She sniffled again at the thought. She’d liked her home. But not being able to go back there again was nothing compared to what she’d already been through. If anything, she mostly felt a kind of numbness right now.
“But how long?” she asked again – something she’d done a few times already. The man shook her head.
“Amelia, I already told you – I don’t know. No one does. You’ll go to them when they are ready and able to take you.” Indeed, she’d been told that she had a new home waiting somewhere, but she couldn’t go there just yet. She didn’t quite understand that either, but apparently, she had family there. What was this family she knew nothing about like, she had wondered. Apparently, her father had a brother. But if it was really her father’s brother and his family, why did she know nothing about them? That surely didn’t feel like family. And why did she have to wait to go to them?
All these questions were on her mind as the man led her to the front door of the building. Amelia noticed a plaque next to the door which read ‘Saint Cecilia Children’s Home.’ The man was just reaching for the doorbell when the door opened.
“Ah, good evening,” said a woman wearing a black and white uniform that reminded Amelia of the nuns and maids she’d seen in her picture books and on television. The woman was wearing her greying hair in a tight bun and her expression seemed kind, if a bit tired.
“Good evening, ma’am,” replied the driver. “Sorry to arrive so late.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that. The work is never quite done around here, so I will be up and about for a while yet.” Her eyes flicked to Amelia. “Well now, young miss. What might your name be?”
“Amelia,” she replied shyly. For the past three and half weeks, she’d met a whirlwind of new people in many new places, but she still felt it a bit difficult to talk to all these adults she wasn’t familiar with. She hadn’t talked to other kids for a while now, since he hadn’t even been to school yet since the accident. On the way here she had been told that that would change once she had settled in.
“Well, isn’t that a lovely name for such a lovely girl,” the woman exclaimed with a smile, making Amelia blush with the unexpected compliment. “I am Ursula, the head caretaker of this children’s home. I hear you will be staying with us for a while. I hope we will get along.” Not knowing what to say, Amelia simply nodded. Ursula’s glanced shifted back to the driver. “Thank you, Mr McDonnell. I shall take care of things from here.”
“Thank you kindly.” He set down the briefcases and fished out an envelope from his jacket pocket. “The final paperwork is here.” He handed it over, and Ursula accepted it with a nod. He turned to Amelia who was hugging her backpack and crouched down to meet her eyes on the level while placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Now then, Amelia. Be a good girl and don’t give Miss Ursula here too much trouble, you hear?” Amelia bobbed her head again in response and kept looking at the ground instead of in his eyes. “Good, good.” With that he stood back up and with a tip of his hat said his goodbyes, leaving the young girl and the old woman to look as he walked to the car, got in and drove off with one last wave. Amelia waved back mutedly.
As the car finally disappeared around the corner – another person gone that Amelia suspected she wouldn’t ever see again – Ursula picked up the suitcases and smiled again.
“Now, darling, let’s get you settled in, shall we?”
The inside of the house also looked quite old, but it was nonetheless clean and orderly. The lighting in the entrance hall wasn’t very bright, which gave it a bit of a mysterious feeling.
“The ground floor has the kitchen, dining room, day room, nurse’s station and some other things you’ll get familiar with in time. The bedrooms for the children as well as those of us caretakers that live here are upstairs.” Amelia squirmed for a while, still hugging her backpack. She wondered what a ‘day room’ even was.
“I’m hungry,” she finally said quietly and noticed that the wall clock was nearing nine o’clock. She’d been with Mr McDonnell for most of the afternoon, first to attend to some business with the papers that he had said needed to be done – she figured that was what he’d given to Miss Ursula – and then picking up the luggage from home – the bank’s home, Amelia thought to herself idly – and then finally here.
“It has been a long day for you, I’m sure,” Ursula said and lightly patted her on the head with her free hand. “The others have already had their supper, but I have a little something waiting for you. But let’s take these upstairs first.” She picked up the suitcases she’d set down during her little verbal tour and went up the stairs, with Amelia following wordlessly. “The children’s rooms are to the right.”
Comments (0)
See all