The Girl Lost in Time

1

It is another chilly December day for Astra, who happens to travel to River Thames by foot just to entertain herself watching the preparation of the townspeople for the upcoming Frost Fair next week, Wednesday. She plans to stay for at least an hour with her friend, Ginny, who is going to participate at the fair by doing sword tricks. She wore another coat to withstand the unusual cold weather they are having today.

She stepped outside of her modest home in the middle of the bustling streets of London. Some people gossip on how a young girl her age acquired such neat house in London without a husband with her, no one knows how and no one dared to ask. It still remains a mystery. Even with her house better than the people living around her neighborhood, she belongs to the working class. And somehow, she has the ability to pay her taxes whenever a tax collector showed up at her doorstep.

Looking around, Astra took a deep breath and exhaled greatly making a small amount of mist around her face. She stretched her arms and feet making her feel much more relaxed than she was inside her house.

Ah, fresh air.

She strode around the market first in hopes of discovering good deals of perishable goods this week, yet she haven't found any. Much to her dismay, it was either out of stock or none at all. Above that, whilst finding something to buy she was shoved back and forth by people who are greedily finding fresh vegetables, meat or fruits that they can purchase and cook savory dishes for their family or masters.

For some reason, there are too many people outdoors today despite the cold weather, she thought.

Leaving the busy marketplace disappointed, frowning to those people who are fighting over food, leaving the goods in disarray, she finally head towards her original destination, River Thames. It is been a while since she has yet to meet Ginny again. He only visits London whenever his group has a scheduled show. They have at least talked personally two or three times ever since Astra's first frost fair.

I've been from Devonshire and moved to London in hopes of getting a better job, she lied to Ginny, which bought her seemingly convincing lie as she described further a fictional rich young man to help her start her life anew in London alone. But in reality, she pulled this out all by herself. It is uncommon and peculiar for a girl to own an estate especially a young missus.

She slowly absorbed her surroundings, gazing at the brick houses she passes by. It's been a year since she first moved here and she still can't help but to be amazed by the architecture of various buildings. Brick red, white, or beige, the colors of the establishments are aesthetically pleasing to her eye. The bluish hue and dull contrast of her surroundings made her relaxed amidst the horde of people and load of carriages she come by to face in the busy and noisy streets of London. She gripped her coats tighter, closer around her as she felt the cold slowly creeping in her clothing and clutching to her skin, replacing her body heat.

Even though she was warmly welcomed by the community, not shying her away because she has no patriarchal figure with her- some are still suspicious of her just popping up out of nowhere- she still does not feel in place, like something is missing, a part of her is missing. Adjusting to this kind of life was not easy for her after all and until now, she is still adapting. Sometimes, she gets insomnia and most times she wakes up at an unusual time like 3 in the morning. Such a harsh environment despite the welcoming crowd, youngsters are forced to hard physical labor, girls and young women depend on men by marriage. Redcoats constantly patrolling the streets, cautiously marching around waiting for trouble to come. They normally stop a riot forming and rarely chasing a robber or worse, a killer. This is not the type of environment Astra wanted at all.