Silence in the 1800s

Chapter 1

[trigger warning- familiar abuse]

          The raven headed, fair skinned boy stood silently as his father walked past each of his siblings, administering a "punishment" due to the fact that his young siblings making a mess of their dwelling. He and his eldest sisters had been the ones to receive the hits and yellings since they were about the age of nine, always the ones who were in trouble for the youngest of the family. There were seven of them at first. Five girls and two boys. The eldest however, Sebastian, had passed, taken by the common influenza. All of the family grieved differently. His sisters pretended as if he never existed, his parents took their grievances out on the oldest, whereas William went mute. Not completely, but it was rare he actually upheld a conversation.

          The salt and peppered bearded man stood in front of him now. The dark eyed boy flinched to the wall, his eyes squinting shut as he was hit across the face. He swallowed before he was dragged back to his station where he wiped his nose and breathed out shakily. He winced towards the sound of his younger sister's cry. Then it was over.

          "Jonah?" Spoke the youngest. A frail, skin and boned blond named Vanessa. She's slowly moved into her brother's arms while he laid awake, and silent. "I'm sorry, Jonah." She whispered. She was about four. The last born, and the last to hear her brother speak a last word. His lips parted as if he were to speak before closing them and gritting his teeth with a nod. "Goodnight, Jonah." She whispered in her frail voice of hers before falling into the depths of sleep in her brother's arms. He laid, his breathing becoming shaky before he blinked his eyes closed.

          The next day was work. Jonah would work at farms and ranches to earn wages to contribute to his family. He'd help bale hay and feed cattle, and just about anything they'd need done with second tellings or without a word back, which his short-term bosses would like.

          He combed through his hair before helping his sisters begin their day, Vanessa latching to his leg. By the time was was ready to set off for work, he'd have to pry her away or risk getting in trouble with his father for letting his younger sister grow clingy to him. He closed the front door of the townhouse quickly as the crying girl sat on the other side, sighing deeply before setting off to the Murphy Farmhouse, a place of which he worked often. He'd tripped over his shoes a few times, looking round to make sure no one had seen it. Clumsy was not the best sight to see if someone in those times. Especially not for someone of his standards, which was of the working class. No one wants a clumsy seventeen year old boy working their farm.

          "Mr. Martin, my favorite helping hand. Here to work again I see. Crop is in the farm, so hop to it. I know you will." Spoke Mr. Murphy as his 7 daughter's stood behind him to look over the working boy.

          Jonah nodded before setting foot to the barn. He hoped the girls would not stand over his shoulder and pressure him to speak like last time. He hated to appear rude, but speaking never was his strong suit. French was his first language, and he'd hate to confuse the English with his wording. He of course knew almost perfect English, but he'd hardly used his tongue. He gritted his teeth as the eldest girl skipped behind him. He was used to her. The disgraceful one, her father had called her in front of him. "She would never make a faithful wife", he'd said. That hadn't stopped her from from sleeping round with every boy her age, including Jonah. But she continued to try, again.

          Jonah's eyes basically rolled to the back of his head as her lips moved about a hundred miles an hour. If it were any other girl, he'd cup his hand over their lips and hush them, but this was the offspring of his boss.

          The thin, fair skinned boy's muscles were aching by the end of the day, yet the restless girl followed, offering as many as ten ways to 'help'. He shook his head to all as he moved after the gate. She of course blocked his exit. That Murphy girl. She claimed to only want to help, but she had always been this way towards him. One may say they were close before his brother's passing. If you call meaningless sex close.

          Since then there had always been a brewing tension through every part of the two, but Will was too busy trying to be numb to notice. Gale Murphy would not let him forget however, of how much they'd use to enjoy each other's company.