Tonda Island

The best time of day is when the sky is tinged orange from the sun coming up. When the birds are flitting around to find food. Where the entire house is still quiet. That’s the only time I feel any sense of peace. Well sort of. The second time I feel a sense of peace is when the children are at school. It’s the only time the orphanage is truly quiet. Although, having grown up here I shouldn’t be all that surprised about the noise level. Then again not everyone who grew to be adults here stays. I’m the weird exception. Namely, because I decided when I was 18 that I would stay to help Mother Sepryna.

That aside I shuffle to the bedroom bay window, blanket in hand, to watch the sunrise. To watch the homes further down the hill side be awash in its light. Along with the way the waves crash against the shore of the island. It’s a beautiful sight. Ocean turning to sand and then to forest. When I was little I’d thought it odd, but after being here for twenty years it’s a welcome sight.

A smile crosses my lips as I watch the sea. I’m about to close my eyes when something rather odd occurs. A fog starts to settle over the water, covering it entirely. That’s not the strangest part though. It’s the massive shapes I see in the fog. At first I think it to be a ship, but I know of no boat shaped like a swan. Behind it a massive beast-like creature following it. Surely I’m imagining things. The more I stare the more perturbed I am. The maw of the beast opens and I swear I can hear a pained howling fill the sky. My blood runs cold as my heart tries to sink somewhere into the depths of my body. Not without leaving an imprint on my rib cage. Every part of me feels like I just ran a marathon in the middle of winter. Or as though I’m waking from a nightmare in which I died.

Breathe, you’re okay. It’s not real. It can’t be. In the moment it takes me to calm my nerves the visage is gone. However, I can still hear the howl. Feel it clinking along my bones in the same manner a child plays with a xylophone. This isn’t how I planned to start my morning, but it’s not something I can control either.

“Did you see it?”

“Make some noise!”

Wynscēre chuckles from the doorway of my room. The lanky nineteen-year-old is disheveled. Brown hair sticking up in places. Not to mention one leg of his sweatpants is above his knee and there’s a single black sock on his left foot. He’s all limbs really. Especially for someone who’s on the cusp of being six-feet tall. Brown eyes crinkle at the sides. The canines that once embedded in my arm are on full display.

“I wasn’t trying to scare you, ya know.”

“You should still make some noise when you move. Yeesh.”

He leans on the door frame, still waiting for me to answer his question.

“Well?”

“Well, what? What do you think I saw?”

“The legendary Swan Ship. Oh, and I need not mention the beast that chases it.”

“You know I don’t believe in that story. It’s just to scare kids.”

“It’s true though.”

“Sure it is.”

We have this argument often. Doesn’t matter who brings it up or why. Just that I always seem to be the one who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It’s a story we’ve all been told. About a ship that takes the form of a swan and is chased by a ravenous beast. The details are muddy as everyone has their own version of the story. A result of the story not being written down but passed down by word of mouth.

“Forget I brought it up.”

“I will. Now shoo, I’m sure you’ve something better to do than bother me.”

“I do, but saw you were up.”

I nod and he leaves the room. My morning routine has been ruined, but I’m not about to let that stand in my way of enjoying the rest of my day. I climb from the window and go to the closet. The wood flooring is slightly cold on my feet and the closet door makes a sound like that of someone scraping their nails on glass or a similar substance. If I hadn’t placed my luggage in here the night before I would have no need to be in here. Hauling out the suitcases is fairly easy except for the part where the largest one pulls a set of my shoes out with it. It’s just a pair of shoes Pri, you’re fine. Once they’re out I lug them down the steps and to the front door. Doing my best to avoid some of the kids who have slowly been getting out of bed to eat before they prepare for school.

“Priya, are you leaving?”

“Oh, not forever, I’m just going down to the beach to camp for a few weeks.”

Reiysa frowns her tiny brows knitting together. The tears have yet to well in her brown eyes. I scoop the four year old into my arms before she can think to cry. Pressing kisses into the top of her head and on her face. She wriggles and giggles as I do so. However, tiny hands are unable to compete with me. Plus the last thing I want is for any of the kids here to think I’d just up and leave them. It’s not something I’d ever think to do. Not when someone else has left them here by choice or force. Reiysa was one of choice. A choice between keeping their kid or the man who had stepped into their life. I can’t recall the details of why, just that I’d held an almost two-year-old Reiysa as she screamed, cried, pleaded, and begged her mother not to leave her. As such the child is attached to me and I wouldn’t change it.

“You promise?”

“I promise. I can’t just leave you guys here, that would be cruel and unusual punishment. Besides, you all would drive Mother Sepryna insane. And she’s just one woman.”

Reiysa lets me place her in a chair in the kitchen to grab her some breakfast. Mother Sepryna’s hard at work stirring a pot of what I presume to be hot oats. She barely glances over at me as I grab a stack of bowls from the cupboard and one at a time hold them out to be filled. Jet black hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, one hand holding the handle of the pot as she stirs. Stuck to the front of her is a different kid. Jolen, a little boy left here about a week or two ago. Like Reiysa he’s attached himself to the one person he finds will provide him the affection he needs. His little eyes glance over at me. I smile, but it seems to cause him to look away.5

“I need you to run by the market. Valdine forgot to get some things for her trip and she needs them.”

Mother Sepryna doesn’t look over as she speaks. The words sound thick and drained of energy. It’s not uncommon for Valdine to “forget” things until last minute. It would occur less if the head of the orphanage wasn’t spoiling her. Yet, we all know that will never happen. The moment Valdine entered the orphanage is the moment the rest of us became mere nuisances to a woman we thought would give us a bit of love until we all got adopted. It’s been hell, but there’s nothing we can do as she won’t listen to us. It’s why I stay. So the kids here are shown the love they need. The love they deserve.

“That’s out of the way for me. I’d have to drive back up the hillside.”

“So?”

“I’m on a schedule. Ask Wyn if he can take her.”

“No, I asked you. You’re going that way, it would make more sense.”

“Yes, but I’m not coming back up. She knew she needed those things and should have made sure she had them before hand.”

“She’s young–”

“Not so young that she can’t ask for things in advance. She knows to ask you for her allowance before it’s time. She could’ve asked me yesterday and I would have taken her.”

I place another bowl down on the counter. Careful that its contents don’t leak out as a twelve-year-old scuttles by me. It takes all of two seconds for said twelve-year-old to realize it’s breakfast and they double back. This time slower and with more caution. A swift thank you tumbling from the lips of a boy with pink dyed ends on his hair and in the nightgown his twin sister had on a few days ago. At least they care about each other.

I’m hoping Mother Sepryna has dropped the matter, but when i look up gray eyes are giving me a cold glare. A hand is rested on her hip. Great, a lecture about how I was once Valdine’s age.

“It won’t kill you to make the stop on your way.”

“It’s a waste of gas. I’m heading straight down to the beach.”

“Aren’t you picking people up along the way?”

“People who live in the direction I’m going and are going to the same place.”

“Then you can get the things Valdine needs.”

I want to throw my hands in the air and scream. It’ll do me no good. She’s adamant on my going. It’s not the first time she’s done this to me. It used to result in me cancelling plans because whatever Valdine was doing was much more important than what I had going on.

“That’s a little unfair to Napridya. She always helps out. I can take Val to get it, if it’s that important to her.”

Wynscēre has finally changed into something more than just a pair of sweats and a single sock. He’s opted for a pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt that looks a size or two too big for him. The look on his face speaks volumes of what’s actually on his mind. I’m sure if there weren’t so many little ears he’d speak on it.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“I’m offering.”

“And I’m not accepting that when she is already on her way towards the market.”

Wyn grows more and more frustrated as she continues to insist. Not to mention the girl in question steps into the kitchen and looks between us in faux bewilderment. Mother Sepryna lights up at the sight of her. Even stopping the stove to go and hug the teenager. I finish with the bowls that were being filled, placing any excess ones on the kitchen island. The air in the room thickens. A clear sign that at least two sets of eyes are boring a hole into my back. You can do this, stay steady in your resolve.

“I’m not doing this. Not this time.”

“That’s selfish!”

Valdine’s accusation sounds wobbly. A toddler screaming about a toy that doesn’t belong. Behaviour that always gets her what she wants, not this time.

“What’ selfish is me having to give up all my free time because anytime you do something it’s considered more important. You’re literally going to the Eeastern side of the island for a party that isn’t even really a party. It’s alcoholics and drug users.”

The house falls silent. Not just those of us in the kitchen. The whole orphanage. Several of the kids stop eating or doing whatever it is they’re doing. I normally don’t stick up for myself. However, Valdine never shows her true colors to Mother Sepryna, who’s about to find out in the worst way possible just what her favorite orphan is capable of.