Through the Darkness

Chapter 1

I have been in Miss Bakers home for girls for as long as I can remember. It wasn't bad once you got the hang of it. The girls had a sort of code, rules to live by. Rule number one was to give your bread to a younger girl. Rule number two only came into place when a girl was kicked out because of her age. It was to always help feed that girl until she finds a job. Rule number three was to never forget the other girls in the home. Miss Bakers' wasn't pleasant, but it was a home, and we were all grateful for it.

"Holland, Baker wants you." The oldest, and meanest girl Rowan, gruffly told me, interrupting the card game that I was playing with the other girls my age. I responded with an ok, and stood up from my kneeled position on the ground, groaning lightly from the lack of use. I made my way down the worn old steps that I had used many times over the years. No one knows who my parents are or were. I was found one day, barely older than a few days, on the steps of this orphanage. I had tried a few times when I was younger to find something about my parents, but no one with the surname of Holland ever had a baby girl in 1980.

I opened the dark, creaky door to Miss Bakers' office and stepped inside. The smell of expensive perfume hit me instantaneously. That was odd, no one rich ever came to this part of town. I looked into the room and saw a woman with graying brown hair, a tall man with long platinum blonde hair, and a handsome boy about my age. They were all dressed strangely like they were from the early 1900s. I walked past them to stand next to her desk as she always instructed us to. I shamelessly winked at the handsome boy and his cheeks reddened slightly making me grin.

"You called for me, Ma'am?" I asked politely to the old lady behind the desk. She looked kind, but don't let that fool you. She couldn't care less about us. Our rooms were only ever cleaned by us but were still infested with roaches and bed bugs.

"I did. Holland, these people wish to adopt you." I blinked my eyes once, then twice.

"Excuse me?" I asked, standing there dumbfounded. Only the young girls ever got adopted out of this place.

"You heard me Holland." She snapped at me. "They already signed the papers and paid, so now she's yours." She said, the last part directed at them. She started to usher us out of the home impatiently.

"Wait. Can I say goodbye?" I ask, coming out of my shock.

"Darling, we must go immediately." The woman said in a very posh English accent, that I never heard in this part of town.

"I'm sorry, but I must tell my sisters' goodbye!" I say defensively. Technically, they weren't really my sisters, but I have always been a firm believer in family not only being blood. I ran upstairs to the room that I shared with Tessie, Margot, and Anne. Not wanting to keep them waiting, I only wrapped all of them into a tight hug and ran back down the worn old stairs for the last time. I screeched to a halt before I could run into the lady adopting me.

"Sorry, Ma'am." I told her, apologizing.

"It is quite alright child." She told me kindly. Who did she think she was calling child? I am fourteen thank you very much. She must have seen my distaste, so she smiled apologetically.

"Are you ready now?" The tall man asked with a mixture of distaste, impatience, and class.

"Yes sir," I told him, working to keep my voice steady. I was feeling a mixture of sadness and excitement leaving this place. I would without a doubt miss my sisters, but I was looking forward to what might come. We walked outside of the home and got into a fancy limo. As we were driving away, I stared back at the building. The building that gave me so many memories, good and bad. I stared until my eyes started to water and the building was long gone.