The lies that bind

The matron at the new centre who happened to be Mrs Van Zyl's ally had all the documents that contained Rowena's background and family line. She kept them under the mattress in her room that was in the small cottage at the back of the centre. She was very careful not to let anyone in her room except her daughter who was helping her to run the centre. Her daughter, Nancy was not a full time worker in the centre though as she had her own fashion design business that she was running with one of her friends. Even though Nancy was her daughter, she did not know much about the information she was keeping. She only knew that they were important documents. She did not even gave much attention to those documents since they belong to the running of the centre according to her mother. Unlike her mother Nancy was an easy going person and was totally different from her. She had a bubbly personality and loved people. She had a soft spot for Rowena too. She saw the way her mother treated her and was sympathetic towards her. Sometimes she would steal some leftover food from her mother's kitchen to give Rowena extra portion for she knew that the little girl was not getting enough nourishment from the smallest portions she was getting. She had to take her aside after meals in pretence of helping her with her homework. That time she would give her a lunch box containing all the delicacies that the staff would eat during their lunch break. Rowena would eat hastily to avoid being seen by the cruel monster who was Nancy's mother. "Nancy is a sweet woman", Rowena though to herself. She knew exactly what would happen if the matron found out what her daughter was doing behind her back. Rowena did not wish to jinx things between her and Nancy. She had seen bad things happen to people who cared for her. People died on her and left her all alone. Nancy was the only best thing that ever happened to her after the past few months. She reminded her of Clara. Deep down inside her heart, she wished Nancy not to include herself in her messed up life. The generosity Nancy showed her made her anxious all the time. She kept asking herself what could happen if the matron found out about it. She wished she could tell Nancy to stop what she was doing. At the same she was enjoying the attention she was getting since there was no one who cared about her. Nancy was genuine and kind just like Clara.

When Clara left she thought she would never find someone who would be closer to her. And she had given up in relying on people's love. Everyone who loved her ended up dead and that was the reason she became more withdrawn than before. The only thing that kept her going was her school work and the fact that she had a roof over her way better than the hellhole she lived in before when she was in the villages. Atleast she was getting food to eat rather that she used to go to bed on an empty stomach. Some days were better than others thanks to the likes of Nancy and other teachers in her school. She was a brilliant child and some teachers adored her for that. The fact that she was a loner made her to be friends with her books and with the help of the teachers, she was getting better by the day as far as her school work was concerned. And then she only got the chance to mingle with other children when it was time for sports, especially the gymnastics. That was the only time she got to play with others like any other changes child. She found herself able to laugh during the training sessions when someone cracked a joke. Sometimes it felt odd to laugh with other children but she could not help laughing when there was something amusing. And Nancy on the other hand was trying by all means to make her smile. She would plait her her and fastened it with colourful hair accessories and then gave her a mirror to look at herself. She would tell her how beautiful she looked and she would smile. That reminded her of her grandmother. When those memories came she would be silent for a moment and then smile at the thought that atleast there were people who once loved her although they were taken too soon.

Nancy tried to fill that gap although she was also a young woman who had no experience in raising kids. She only made sure Rowena was well looked after. Nancy's mother noticed the friendship that was developing between them and was made monitoring it at a distance. She did not want to make Nancy aware of the fact that she was up to something. Nancy was a brilliant girl and she would be curious if she noticed that her mother had something against Rowena. That made the matron to be careful in whatever she was doing. Sometimes she would send Nancy away by giving her other errands to run. She did that to keep the distance between so that they could not become too close. She knew that their bond was harmless but she did not want to take any chances. She made sure Nancy did not get access to the information she kept about Rowena s background. Only God knew why they were busy hiding the information of a simple young village girl who lost her parents and had no one to look after her and for that reason she ended up in an orphanage. How people's minds can be twisted sometimes. How could an adult person do such thing to an orphan for heaven's sake. That had an explanation but unfortunately, it was only known to them. This proved the truth behind the idiom that goes," matters within the house are only known to mice. And this time around the mice could tell s juicy story if they had to talk. It was only the time that could reveal the reason behind all that setup. It was clear that there was really something cooking in the pot but no one knew except the parties involved.