Laddie is the name I’ve been given, but never was a last name given to me. I’m not sure who I really am, or where it is that I’m from. I can only vaguely remember my mother, and I have no recollection of my father. What I’m certain of is that my mother died when I was only a child, leaving me in the hands of a man who owned my mother. She had been poor, so I’m told, and was working to pay a debt to this man when she died. What happened to my father, I am uncertain. Some say he was a traveller and lost his way. Some say he was a coward and left his pregnant wife to raise their daughter and pay his debts. Others say he was taken prisoner by pirates. I chose to ignore the town gossip. It didn’t matter to me where he was or what happened to him. All that mattered to me was that he wasn’t here now. He wasn’t here to take me away from this wretched lifestyle I’m forced to live.
I lived on the coast of England in a city called Brighton. It’s a rather peaceful city. The people of Brighton are always smiling and welcoming. Children always fill the streets with their laughter and play. The city is always beautiful, which is the only thing keeping me here. I couldn’t stand to part with my home, but I have always dreamt of running somewhere far. I longed to be free from the endless labouring for the Keeper.
The Keeper is the man who my mother, and now I, worked for. He is nothing but a cruel old man! He’s the only dull thing in Brighton. I’m the poor, unlucky soul forced to live with his grotesque personality. He controlled every aspect of my life, at that time. He had a way of making what should’ve been an easy, happy life into one of hardships and anger.
I’ve come to find all things are not what they seem, and all have secrets, even the Keeper. My long adventure of heartache, blood, and tears brought me to find this. And to think it all started with a beautiful day.
The day was nice. The sun shined its glory over the city, clouds blotched the sky. It seemed as though the clouds were blocking out some of the sun’s radiating heat. A gentle breeze twisted about the city on this lovely day. I, on the other hand, was sweeping out horse stalls.
I could feel sweat roll down from my brow and into my eyes. I pulled my handkerchief from the back pocket of my ragged trousers and wiped my face. I continued to sweep the dirt out of the dingy stall. I despised cleaning out the stalls because of the overwhelming stench of manure.
After an hour of cleaning stalls, I finally finished. I was left to tend to the shop. The Keeper was out today, and I had to take care of everything related to the shop in addition to my daily chores. Whenever the Keeper is out, it is my job to tend to his shop. The Keeper is a smithy.
Here was I, tending to the shop, and unexpectedly, a customer arrived. There normally wasn’t customers while the Keeper was out.
“G’morning, Laddie,” one of the regular customers greeted me.
“‘Mornin’, Sir. What can I do ye for?”
“Jus’ stoppin’ by to see if me order’s ready yet.”
“Sorry, I haven’t a clue; and the Keeper’s out,” I apologized.
