Dark Ages.
The so-called Elliam sat in silence in the make shift room assigned to her by the officer.
Sure, some of her memories were missing but there was no doubt that she'd held back some facts from the officer.
She wasn't worried about the police catching her attacker, because she knew what or whomever attacked her that night could not be found the way it was being searched.
As she sat in silence in the semi dark room, her mind wandered down the dusty, cold, dark memory lane as she relived her dark memories.
•
•
A girl of five skipped down the dusty road merrily, her full black hair and school bag bouncing in the hot, orange sun. The girl had a big smile on her face obviously excited to get home and tell her parents about her day.
She took a bend and a few blocks ahead was her house.
She stopped as she looked at her house from afar in confusion, there were some people wearing a type of uniform gathered in front of her house.
She tried remembering if her momma and dad had mentioned hosting any neighbourhood party but couldn't recall any.
She shrugged and continued skipping merrily towards her house.
But she got to a closer distance she saw closely the red trucks and blue and red flashing lights. Then she saw the serious look on the people's faces and knew immediately that there was no party.
She hastened her footsteps and when she was right infront of her house saw a person zipping up someone in a big bag.
"Mom!!"
She screamed in horror as she ran towards the person as other persons held her down and tried to solace her.
"What's he doing to my mom!? Let me go!" She shouted as she pushed and pulled away from the workers' hands in an attempt get her mother away from the 'vandal'.
Time seemed to slow down as the now purple-orange sun sparkled on the tears which blurred her eyes as she watched two workers carry the bag which contained her mother in weak helplessness.
•••••••
Two months later.
Elliam sat in the too bright room, her aura very different from her once quietly exciting and sparkling one.
Her once twinkling eyes now dulled and and ringed by dark shadowy circles looked at the smiling young man siting across the table.
"Good morning, Elliam,"
"Morning." She croaked back.
"How are you doing today?"
Elliam looked past him through the window at the green garden.
"What did you have for breakfast this morning? Hope you had something healthy, yes?"
Elliam continued at the garden with no answer to his questions.
Nomen sighed and moped at the awkward silence, talking with a child was a hundred times harder than the director made it out to be and this was his first day, but this was how he'd made his bed so he'd have to lay on it.
He took a deep breath and started.
"Would you like to.."
"Stop..." Elliam started weakly.
"Yes? Yes, Elliam?"
"Asking me those questions,"
The man let out a sympathetic sigh, stood up and walked to Elliam's side and squatted near her.
"Elliam, I completely understand your predicament, losing your parents at such a young age, but you know death isn't always the end,"
Although the last thing Elliam wanted to do was talk to this man whom looked like there was a hanger in his mouth, but she knew the more she talked the faster this would end.
"It isn't?"
"Yeah, it isn't. Look, you love your parents very much, right?"
She nodded slowly.
"So that means they went to heaven to stay with God, you know who God is, right?"
She nodded again.
"That's very good, Elliam,"
"So where's heaven?"
"Well, it's said to be up," he said pointed out, towards the sky.
Elliam looked outwards, towards the bright blue sky, she came down from the chair and walked towards the glass wall, pressing her face on it as she stared with desolate wonder at the sky.
The man smiled and walked back to his seat.
"And some day Elliam you'll be there with them too." Said he as he dealt with some papers.
"When?"
"I don't know when that will be, but someday soon you will,"
"Will it be a long time from now?"
"Well, we can only hope, now I've got a surprise for you, come and look at this,"
Elliam slow pulled herself away from the window and walked to the man, tiptoeing to get a clearer view of what he was showing her.
It was a picture of a large castle-looking building which the sign Mother Goose's Orphanage Home for the Parentless.
"I know, right? This will be your new home,"
Elliam stared at the extremely large building which had a large group of children of varying ages standing infront of it with face cracking smiles. Old nun-like women and monk-like men with beady greedy eyes stood behind them with even wider grins on their faces.
As Elliam envisioned most of her future there, she had the sensation of a dark looming hell.
•••••
An expensive-looking Massaratti pulled to stop infront of the huge Orphanage Home.
Nomen stepped out of it in a cool black suit as Elliam stepped out through the other door simultaneously.
They both walked towards the building where standing and awaiting them were two women in nuns' habit.
Both were old but each mystique were as different as light and day.
The shorter one's body was very wrinkled and her arms thin as broomsticks, her leg region being covered with her long habit, she stood in a hunched stoop.
Her face was so wrinkled that her eyes seemed to be sunken in. Her eyes which looked like two orbs of black seemed to lick up the luxury car behind them and then Elliam herself as she shot her a wide smile.
The taller one was evidently old but in an aged-fine-wine manner.
She had a thick mist of mysteriousness about her, her face protrayed a quiet, stringent and majestic visage.
Formidable and nonchalant as she stood with a straight, petite gait in her dark cassock and white wimple.
It was she who caught Elliam's attention, other than the fact that her cold, aloof eyes were following her every step.
"Good morning, Mr Erringmore, we've been expecting you," The shorter one's smile cracked opened more as she extended a hand.
"Good morning, Mother Essyher," he took the handshake and bowed his head as she laid her thin crooked palm on his his head saying "Bless you child,"
"Mother Moth, good morning," he greeted in a reverent manner.
The taller one nodded her head in acknowledgement of his greetings, without sparing him a glance.
"And who's this we got here?"
She turned her gleaming eyes to young Elliam.
"Oh, this is little Elliam, Elliam say hello,"
Elliam only stood still, her eyes steadily on the woman.
Nomen chuckled in embarrassment and said almost apologetically, "I'm sorry, she just lost her parents, so she's all out of sorts,"
The woman's expression morphed into that of pity.
"Oh, you poor dear," expressed the old woman as she held Elliam's cheek.
"Don't worry, love, now that you're here, you can feel at home because we all are going to take good care of you," said she while gently tapping Elliam's head as Elliam stared at her with wide eyes, her heart beating rhythmically.
•••••••••
In an office inside the building, Nomen sat facing the old woman and two more administrators of the orphanage home.
"Her name is Elliam, we haven't found out her last name but we're still working on that, her parents died just 2 months ago,"
They admins of the Orphanage all let out exclamations of sorry and pity.
"..So you can imagine what predicament she's in,"
"Allow me, Mr Erringmore, but I understand why you would tell us all this, it's because you want us to treat and heal her, but really all these do not have to be said,"
"Exactly,"
"Because we treat and teach each and every angel God blesses us with, with the care, aid and attention innocent children like they deserve,"
"I realize that, but I want to see proof of this, I want you to understand that I really care about this child's well-being and will not spare a dime in her well-being,"
Sister Essyher licked her lips, "We understand well enough, and will escort you through our classes and rooms so you can judge yourself,"
Nomen accepted that.
Before they began the tour, he went outside, where he noticed there were a few children playing around, Elliam was sitting on the porch next to a boy around her age.
"Elliam?"
She turned to look at him.
"I'll be gone for a short while, will you be okay by yourself?"
She nodded slowly, he then walked towards her and gave her a candy bar, he ruffled her hair and said, "I'll be back soon okay?"
She nodded again.
He then walked inside with the admins of the building as Elliam settled in back again.
Elliam stayed still for a moment then turned her head to look at the boy whom had joined her.
He was thin, with a greyish lush curly scattered hair, his face was facing the ground so she could see neither it nor his eyes.
But then he lifted his face to look at her and she saw his eyes under his droopy eyelids, his were a tired, grey blue that seemed like it was once a bright deep blue.
They stared at each other in that manner, until the boy opened his lips, "Will you be coming here soon?"
Surprisingly, his voice wasn't raspy as would have fitted his physique.
She turned to look at a plant of grass on the black soil.
"Yeah,"
The boy shook his head.
"Don't..... come back,"
Elliam's visage morphed into that of confusion but before she could make anything of it, the boy stood up and left.
Just then the administrator and Nomen came out while laughing.
Elliam stared and noticed they were shaking hands.
"Elliam! It's a deal, you're gonna love the school and the orphanage,"
Nomen's voice seemed a distant and echoing call because Elliam was suddenly aroused with a feeling of foreboding as goosebumps filled her body.