Age 7
Some lessons are learned the hard way. Melodia hadn't known that the chambers were off limits at that time. The rules aboard the ship always seemed to change on the Captain's whim. She'd been cleaning as she always did and when she'd entered the room and caught the Captain and one of the men...wrestling (she couldn't be sure), the Captain had grown furious with her.
The Captain...she had yelled...and more.
She stood in front of a makeshift mirror she'd fashioned from a piece of steel, the dank, wet are under the decks where she slept already wet with a pool of water. She could hear the men and women above laughing and having fun and she silently cried, looking at the cuts and bruises those Roe hands had inflicted. As her finger touched the cut under her eye she winced and laid the mirror down. Looking up at the wooden ceiling, she knelt and then finally slumped against the wall, crying quietly.
The sound of the plate sliding across the dry portion of the floor caught her attention and she paused her quiet sobs to look into the dimly lit area before her. She heard no footsteps, but saw the plate loaded with food, smelled it, and whined, fearful it was a trick. The voice came from the darkness, close to the stairs she knew were there, a soft but older one.
"Eat quickly...before she decides to come check on you. You have time, but not much." She waited and wasn't sure who was even speaking. The next words were stern.
"Eat, girl. Every moment you dwell in misery is a wasted chance....do not let this ship nor that Captain ruin what you could be." She thought she heard footsteps but couldn't be sure.
And then she was in silence. Waiting for what felt like an eternity, she leaned forward and took the plate, eating the food with her hands, hurrying to finish it. When she was done, she slid the empty plate under her worn and ragged pillow and she laid under the wet blanket, a soft smile on her lips as she faded to sleep.
Even in the most miserable moments, there were smiles to be had.
Some lessons are learned the hard way. Melodia hadn't known that the chambers were off limits at that time. The rules aboard the ship always seemed to change on the Captain's whim. She'd been cleaning as she always did and when she'd entered the room and caught the Captain and one of the men...wrestling (she couldn't be sure), the Captain had grown furious with her.
The Captain...she had yelled...and more.
She stood in front of a makeshift mirror she'd fashioned from a piece of steel, the dank, wet are under the decks where she slept already wet with a pool of water. She could hear the men and women above laughing and having fun and she silently cried, looking at the cuts and bruises those Roe hands had inflicted. As her finger touched the cut under her eye she winced and laid the mirror down. Looking up at the wooden ceiling, she knelt and then finally slumped against the wall, crying quietly.
The sound of the plate sliding across the dry portion of the floor caught her attention and she paused her quiet sobs to look into the dimly lit area before her. She heard no footsteps, but saw the plate loaded with food, smelled it, and whined, fearful it was a trick. The voice came from the darkness, close to the stairs she knew were there, a soft but older one.
"Eat quickly...before she decides to come check on you. You have time, but not much." She waited and wasn't sure who was even speaking. The next words were stern.
"Eat, girl. Every moment you dwell in misery is a wasted chance....do not let this ship nor that Captain ruin what you could be." She thought she heard footsteps but couldn't be sure.
And then she was in silence. Waiting for what felt like an eternity, she leaned forward and took the plate, eating the food with her hands, hurrying to finish it. When she was done, she slid the empty plate under her worn and ragged pillow and she laid under the wet blanket, a soft smile on her lips as she faded to sleep.
Even in the most miserable moments, there were smiles to be had.
