All for you

Our lives

In a small dark room under thin covers, a picture was playing in the head of a young woman. Green grass and blue skies, no pain in her hands, from carrying heavy buckets with chipping handles. Her hair down in the wind and sun. Something was growing. Was it, a smile?

Then the sun shone through the window at the crack of dawn, right into her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. Her throat was parched, so she slipped out of the covers and fixed them behind her. She put her dress and tied the back, and put on and tied her boots. She of course tied her hair into a bun, as she had to. Woman were required to wear their hair up in some way. If they didn't have it up outside of their own privacy, they would be scolded, beaten, or even arrested for "rebelling. She went out of her room and closed the door behind her. She went past her Fathers room and down the wooden stairs wrapping around the whole main room. In the kitchen she came in and Amelia, the maid girl was already up and at it, as always.

"Good morning Eliza." She said. They both smiled warmly.

"Good morning." Eliza smiled mischievously. Amelia was always the only reason she had any light in her small, restrictive life.

They weren't just best friends. They were sisters to each other. Amelia had a sister by blood, but she hadn't seen her in almost ten years, when she was sold to Eliza's family when she was six years old. And Eliza never had a sister, just two older brothers. The two of them were connected by the heart. A part of each other. Eliza's father know that they were close, but he allowed it because it kept Eliza from getting into trouble. The first and last time they got into trouble together, Amelia got beaten in front of her as a punishment. Eliza would do anything to protect Amelia, like the older sister she was to her.

"Here" Amelia handed Eliza a glass of water, knowing she wakes up thirsty.

"Thank you" she replied cutely, "How did you sleep?"

"Good! Slept all through the night, how about you?"

"Me too, I dreamed last night"

"Oh yeah? About what Ma'am?" she suddenly sounded more formal, signaling Eliza's Father was there.

The atmosphere became down and serious. "Nothing too special" she replied.

"I'll get back to work then Ma'am."

Eliza nodded, and Amelia went on her way. Eliza turned around to face her father. "Good morning Father." she did a slight bow as a respect.

"When did you get up Elizabeth?" he asked her with his deep gurgled morning voice. Eliza wasn't technically her name, it was Elizabeth. Her hated when she went by Eliza, so Amelia didn't call her that in front of him.

"Just now Father."

"Ah, good. Go fetch some firewood for the fireplace. The morning is cold today.

She nodded, and went away. At the back door she put her hood around her shoulders and she walked out into the morning cold, warming her hands with her breath on her way to the wood pile near the woods. The ground was frozen and there was frost covering everything. Though the skies were blue, and the clouds were crisp. Her face was pale and pink, flushed in the cold. She breathed in the chilly air and held it, warming it in her lungs, and let it out in a foggy exhale.

She began loading the wood into the wheel barrow full of wood, stacking it up for the large fire her Father liked to have going throughout the day. She picked up the rusty handles and started to wheel it across the frozen grass towards the house. She came in the back door with an armful of logs, brushing her boots off on the gruff mat on the ground. She went inside to the fireplace, and started placing the wood. Her fingers were frozen just from those few minutes outside. Once placed, she lit a piece of kindling on fire and put it under the teepee of wood. She fanned the flames and nursed the fire, as it crackled the wet wood. She warmed her frozen fingers and swept the debris into the fire with a dust brush, and brushing the dirt off of herself. She scrunched her nose, getting the blood flowing in her face. She got up and went to the kitchen to get some warm milk, and see what Amelia was up to at the time. Amelia was washing dishes, and Eliza came up but before she said anything, she saw tears in Amelia's eyes.