Legendary

I was just a small town kid. I was born and raised in Queens by my mother, Sabrina Jones. We lived in a small apartment next to Judge Moses Park. My mother was a teacher at the high school nearby. It was a good job, but my mother always did say that real estate was to New York as a single steak was to a hungry pack of lions. Our house wasn’t cheap, and we didn’t have much money to put anywhere else since Dad passed away. I actually never met my father since he died in a car accident while my mother was still pregnant with me. My mother wasn’t doing too well either. About a year ago she was diagnosed with stage two melanoma. The doctor said she only had nineteen months to live then. Now she only has seven months left.

My name is Charity Jones. I was born in May 2010 and I am eight years old. My only family is my mother, or so they say. I visited my grandparents only once before and they haven’t talked to me or my mother since my dad passed away. It was September in 2018 when my story truly began. It was when my whole world turned itself around until I couldn’t even tell where I was anymore. Nothing would be the same after today. I haven’t done anything but sit in my bedroom every September 28th since then. That was the day my mother passed away to melanoma.

She had refused treatment from doctors ever since they couldn’t save Dad. She said that I shouldn’t trust them either. I just looked about the dark hospital room and occasionally looked at my mother, who I couldn’t bare looking at in her current state. Her skin was deathly pale and her brilliant blue eyes began to lose their vibrancy. The hospital room around her just felt cold and dismal. Everything was one of two colors, creamy white and stale blue. Mother always called it stale blue because the mood surrounding it was stale and just like in her eyes, it had lost all sense of vibrancy and life. The curtains, the flooring, even the bed were these two dreary colors. When the doctors finally came in and said that her condition was critical and she needed treatment, she shooed them away and told them that she needed to give me her five lessons before she left. The doctors retreated to their offices and various other patients, and my mother just looked me in the eye. I might have been afraid and the doctors may have been afraid, but she wasn’t. My mother was fearless. Just as she had promised, she gave me five lessons.

“Charity, I need to tell you something. I know that I am leaving, but I want you to know that I love you. Never let anyone deprive you of love. If there is a time when you need compassion and no one gives it to you, just find the person who will. There will always be someone to love you. I will always be in your heart and so will Daddy. That is my first lesson. Now when I’m gone, I want you to be brave. Fear is just the conformities of life showing themselves through you. I want you to know that you don’t have to fit in. The world may turn its back on you but know that I will always be there, every step of the way. My third lesson is for you to be kind. The world will always be filled with hate, but you have to be the change-”

“You want to see in the world. You told me that before, Mom. I promise that I will never forget you.”

“My darling, I know that you will never forget me which is why I know that I will never forget you. Every night when you look up and see the stars, know that I am up there somewhere with Daddy in heaven. My fourth lesson is about faith. Trust in God and that His will has good intentions. And always remember that one day you will meet Daddy and that you will see me again. My fifth and final lesson is about strength. After today, it will seem as if nothing is as it used to be. You will think that the world has turned against you and that it took me away from you, but always know that you are strong. You will make it through these tough times and you will live your own life. Don’t be stuck in the past and don’t be fixated on the future. Just know that life is unpredictable. You don’t know how much of that life you have left.”

Those were Sabrina’s final words. You don’t know how much of that life you have left. Charity cried for days over these simple words, but they were the untainted truth. You don’t know how much of that life you have left. For Sabrina, she didn’t have much. After she said this to her sweet daughter, she just smiled and closed her eyes as if going into a sweet dream. It was true that Charity’s mother was fearless and she smiled upon death because she knew where she was going next. Charity had only hoped to inherit half of such bravery one day.

The day was bittersweet, some would say. It was true, Charity was now an orphan without a mother or father, but she was left with all of their love and wisdom still inside of her heart. Charity imagined herself sitting at the bedside of her mother for days hoping that she would just flutter her eyes open, healed as if she was reborn like the princesses in the fairytales she had grown up reading, but it was not to be. Not too long later, someone from Child Protection Services came and took her to her new “forever home”, as he had called it.

“Miss. Jones, I would like to introduce you to your foster parents and the other children they are hosting right now.”

There were seven people standing in front of her. The first was a man who was abnormally tall. He wore a simple red plaid shirt and jeans that Charity couldn’t believe someone made because they were so long. He looked tired and like he really didn’t want to be there. Every time one of the children made a noise he raised his eyebrows a little bit higher. As soon as the CPS worker leaves, he was bound to yell and send them all to their rooms, if they had rooms. Charity wouldn’t be surprised if all five children, and she soon slept in a single bedroom.

The second was a woman who was short, elegant, and proud. She had a refined taste and wore high heels that must have been made by the same brand as whoever made his pants because they were incredibly tall. She stood probably a foot above Charity with the heels, but probably half that without them. Charity also appeared to be the youngest among the children. Out of the five children, the oldest was a girl who had headphones on and wasn’t paying much attention to Charity. They said her name was Jenna. The second oldest was a boy who was obsessed with whichever video game happened to be on the screen. She thought she heard them call him Kevin.

The last three were George, Lily, and Beverley. George was tall as the man and wore large glasses. He was smiling at Charity. He seemed like a friendly kid. He was probably in fifth grade. Lily was short like the woman. She also had a striking resemblance to the man. She had heels and sunglasses like the woman did. Charity suspected that this may be the couple’s birth daughter. The youngest was a small girl named Beverley. She looked rather shy and tried to hide her face as much as possible. She seemed sweet, though. She was only about a year older than Charity. Just from this first impression, Charity believed she had gotten to know them all better than she could have if she had spent the entire day with them.

The CPS worker was having a discussion with the couple, but Charity didn’t pay much attention. He handed them an envelope and then continued to talk with the couple. As soon as the envelope was handed over, the woman couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She was paying just as much attention to the conversation as Charity. There must have been money in the envelope. Charity had heard rumors that money was the big seller for foster homes. Charity began to study the envelope seeing if there was anything peculiar about it, but when the woman looked up she just smiled at Charity. Maybe there was a diamond necklace in for her. Or a new pair of high heels with an added inch.

Charity decided that it would be best if she looked around the house a bit before the man left. The house was spotless, which her mother had said was the signs of a unified household. It didn’t seem as terrible as she imagined. All of the children looked like they were enjoying themselves in each their own way. The man and woman must be very understanding people, she observed. The room smelled like strawberry waffles and bacon and sausage. The woman must be a very good chef because the smell nearly made Charity drool. The home-cooked meal felt like exactly what she needed to cheer herself up. Charity decided that she was going to like it here.

When the CPS worker turned his attention to Charity, she assumed that he asked her a question and Charity just didn’t hear him. She was about to ask him what he asked, but luckily he turned back to the man and woman and shook each of their hands. He headed back to his car and Charity suddenly felt as if she had been dropped down a ten story building. When she was with the CPS worker, Charity felt like she was talking to her grandparents. He had kind of reminded her of them. He was skinny and had strawberry-blonde hair like her grandmother. He also was very proper like her. He also had the stature of Charity’s grandfather. He was a very sophisticated man with business as his main priority. He also was quite the speaker like her grandfather. Charity can’t pay attention when either of them speaks because they talk like it is a formal speech in front of the president. She may not have known her grandparents very well, but they were still family. Charity began to wonder why she was sent to a foster home instead of with her grandparents. Nonetheless, this was her new life.

Just as expected, the first thing the man did was yell at the kids as soon as the CPS worker was gone. The woman seemed kind as she stepped up to me and took off her heels, putting her head close to my height. She looked at me and smiled.

“My name is Mrs. Morrow, but you shall address me as ma’am. This is my husband, Mr. Morrow, who you will address as sir. My daughter over there, Lilibeth, the other kids call Lily. I want you to address her as ma’am as well. What I tell you, you do. What Mr. Morrow tells you, you do. What my darling Lilibeth tells you, you do. We also have a chore calendar. Since you have come, you will be taking one job from each of the other kids. Every day you will be doing the dishes, vacuuming, baseboards, leaves, and bed making. That is on top of any orders you receive from me and my family. Your room is room 3. You will be sharing with Jenna and Beverley. You will also serve Lilibeth breakfast every morning at 7 am exactly. Her room is labeled as the princess suite. Please be advised, if you come a minute early or late, then you will also be responsible for all of the other children’s chores. Have I made myself clear, Charity?”

“Yes, Mrs. Morrow.” Charity said. She said it, but then immediately realized that she had made a grave mistake.

“Charity. I am adding onto your chore calendar the laundry, sweeping, mopping, car washing, and pillow fluffing. You call me Mrs. Morrow again, and we will add on another five daily chores. Now I want you to know one last thing. You are not a part of this household. You are not a guest. You are simply a supply of income. Do you understand your place in this house?”

“Yes, ma’am. Of course, ma’am.” Charity turned and headed to her room with her small suitcase.

The room was rather small for three children to be living in. Charity imagined the size of her old room in the apartment. It had enough room to fit a full-size bed, a dresser, and her books in the corner. Then she opened her eyes and saw that this room was half that size. There were two bunk beds on either side of the room. On the top of the first one sat Jenna and the bunk below her had two suitcases on it along with some headphones, an MP3 player, a pair of sneakers, and a small poster rolled up. The place was so small that if Charity’s suitcase was twice as big, it wouldn’t have been able to fit inside of the room. When she set her suitcase on the floor, she was met by an unsettling response. Jenna awaited with questions.

“So, you’re the newbie who makes us have fewer chores? How many do you get? I had fourteen when I first got here, and I had five before you got here. So, spill it.”

“I have...um...ten...ten chores.” Charity gulped.

“Ha! I’ve got three now! Well, thanks, newbie! I’ve got a concert I can sneak into tomorrow now that I don’t have so many chores to do. Yes! Heartbreak Hounds here I come!”

As Jenna started to dance around the room enjoying her time off from now on, Charity decided to choose a bed. As far as Charity could see, there were two bunk beds but only one of the beds was vacated, Jenna’s bed. She had heard that Beverley also lived here, but she didn’t see her. Jenna was in the top bunk of the left bed, and Charity decided that she wanted the top as well. She hopped up on the other top bunk and was startled to see Beverley crouched in the very corner of the bed. She was so surprised that she fell off the bunk. Charity hit the floor with a loud thump. She groaned in pain and just wished her mother ran through the door with her father to ask her if she was alright, but all she saw was Mrs. Morrow.

“Did you break anything, Charity? If you did, then add window washing to your chore calendar. Well, window washing for a week just because you gave me the hassle of coming in here! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Charity groaned. This was the worst place she had ever lived in.

Charity felt like a slave in this place. She had to address the Morrows as either ma’am or sir and had to do all of their chores and household duties. She had to serve them and clean after them and she wasn’t even a member of the family. She was all alone here. She was never going to be loved here. Charity was afraid to do it, but she had to obey what her mother had told her. There would always be somewhere out there who will love her, and she has to find them, whoever they may be. Charity had to run away from the foster home.

The task may not be easy. She also couldn’t trust anyone else there. Charity knew that if she told Jenna what she planned, she would just turn her in so that Charity would get more chores and Jenna would get less. She couldn’t trust anyone right now, and so she had to do it all alone and take the necessary precautions. She couldn’t exactly just walk out the front door. However, she may be able to take advantage of her week’s worth of window washing. Escaping on her first night would be suspicious, but her third maybe not so much.

Her first night was utterly miserable. Jenna snored super loud and Beverley whimpered in her sleep. There was also a leak in the roof next to Charity’s bed. Her suitcase probably had a worse night than Charity. It was absolutely soaked by the time seven o’clock came and passed. Seven thirty neared and Charity was awoken by a scream. She looked around in desperation, to find some clarity from the other girls. What she saw were three other empty beds. She had to think of a reasonable explanation of their sudden disappearance, and then she realized that she made yet another grave mistake. She had forgotten to bring Lily her breakfast.

It seemed like the worst reason imaginable to wake the entire household, but it was Charity’s fault. At first, she was going to escape right then and there, but it was too obvious. If she got caught right now, she would be thoroughly punished as well as heavily monitored. She had to take the punishment for two days. Charity caught her breath just before Mrs. Morrow came in with her eyes aglow and her wrinkles forming a perfect triangle. If she had not known that she was leaving soon, Charity would have probably cried. Instead, she listened to her mother and stayed strong.

“Charity Viola Jones! I warned you what would happen if you disobeyed me again! I told you to bring my darling Lilibeth breakfast promptly at seven o’clock! Do you know what time it is, Charity?”

“Seven thirty ma’am.”

“Oh, so you were aware of what time it was, Charity, and you purposefully abandoned your duties in this household?”

“No, ma’am. I was awoken by-”

“I do not care what woke you up or why you did not serve my daughter breakfast. I just want you to know the consequences of your poor choices. I know that this is your first full day at this home, so I want you to learn your lesson now. I treated Jenna, Kevin, George, and Beverley like this and they have learned. They all call me ma’am and my husband sir. They call Lilibeth ma’am too. Jenna serves my breakfast at seven o’clock sharp. Beverley serves my husband’s breakfast just the same. George and Kevin make breakfast every morning and have it prepared by six fifty in the morning. Do you see where I am going with this?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Charity had the urge to say something to her that showed Mrs. Morrow just how cruel she was being to these children, but she figured that she had better not put a larger target on her head.

“Charity, you shall complete all of the other children’s chores including making breakfast before six fifty and serving all three breakfasts at seven o’clock exactly. I remember one time when Kevin had the breakfast ready at seven, making Jenna, Beverley, and George at the time late to serve the food. He had to serve all three meals within one minute and was late to serve both me and Mr. Morrow. He was doing all of the children’s chores for an entire month. I want you to realize this because I do not tolerate mistakes no matter what causes it. You may ask the other children what their chores are during breakfast. Do not be shy around them because they have all had to do the same thing sometime before. Be diligent. I homeschool all of the children under this roof and class always starts at nine. It ends at one. The rest of the day is for chores. When you are done with your chores, you are not to come into the house. Lilibeth has Girl Scouts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She has a cooking class here every Tuesday and pitching class on Thursday. Lilibeth has a poetry slam every Saturday and a college preparatory meeting with an advisor every Sunday. She is busy and you will not disturb her activities. So long as you live in my house, you will put my daughter’s needs above your own. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am. I just had one question, ma’am. Where is the nearest church, ma’am?”

“I don’t know, Charity. That is not a question I will tolerate in this household either. There is too much debate about which religion to follow, that anyone under this roof will follow none of them. Understood?”

Everything Mrs. Morrow had asked of Charity required just time and a simple “yes, ma’am”, but this was something Charity could not just lie and please Mrs. Morrow with. Charity had promised her mother that she would remain loyal in her faith. She could not just deny her faith to God. Mrs. Morrow was anything but an understanding woman, but this time she would just have to live with the fact that Charity was a Christian. It would take bravery to stand up to her and perseverance to live through whatever punishment she would have to endure, but Charity was strong in heart and in mind. Like her mother, she kept repeating to herself.

“No, ma’am.”

“What isn’t to understand, girl? No religion, no argument. It is quite simple.”

“Unfortunately, ma’am, your choice to not have a religion in the household is a commitment just the same as if it were to be a Christian home. So, choosing for any of us not to believe in a religion isn’t exactly your choice to make. It is about the individual commitment inside of each of our hearts.”

“How...quaint? An eight-year-old girl such as yourself ought to be speaking to their elders with respect. I have graciously allowed you to enter my home, eat my food, gain my mental supremacy, but what do I get in return? I get ignorance. The other children I have desperately been advertising, trying to get some lucky family to adopt them, but for you, I will do differently. I have housed fourteen children in my time. Fourteen foster children! I have had Mckayla, Jackson, Kennady, James, Amy, Harley, Bailey, Liam, Serenity, Jenna, Kevin, George, Beverley, and now you. I have successfully been able to get nine children adopted. Jenna is just waiting for the papers to come through and she will be out of here in a week on a plane to California. For Kevin, I have just recently secured an agreement to get him adopted to a nice family in Kentucky. I have fourteen candidates willing to take George into their homes as a genius child, and all I have to do is choose. Beverley has been arranged to go to the home of a certain psychologist who will help with her insecurities and also nurture her all the way in Wyoming. I have found the perfect home for each and every one of them, but for you, I will do nothing. You always will be with me, and I have recently decided that I will no longer be an open foster home, leaving you with all of the household chores. Now, I will never adopt you and as you grow older, your chances of being adopted will slowly fade away. Since you have gotten here, you have given me nothing but trouble. First, you call me Mrs. Morrow. Next, you deprive my daughter of her breakfast. Then you make me think that you broke something. And your final act was to not only disobey me but to verbalize your disrespectful perspective towards me. I will not tolerate this under my roof under any circumstances. I hope that I have made myself clear because I want to advertise for you and find the perfect home for you, but only if you redeem yourself by having perfect behavior for the remainder of the year. If you cannot prove to me that you are worth my time in these next three months, then consider yourself here for good!”

Charity couldn’t take it much longer. She would have to just forget the plan and escape today in broad daylight. Since she had all of the chores, the rest of the children would be out of the house as to not bother Lily and her Girl Scouts tonight. The school was something Charity figured she must attend in order for them not to be suspicious, but at four o’clock tonight she would escape from the house of Morrow. At one she would wash the dishes, then thirty minutes later do the laundry. At two thirty she would wash the car and at three pick up the leaves. At three-thirty she would wash the windows, and at four she would run away. It was a simple plan indeed, but she figured that being too complicated would complicate things a bit, maybe even be suspicious. That was all she worried about for now. When the nine o’clock bell rang, Charity rushed off to school being but a minute late, yet it made all the difference to Mrs. Morrow.

Charity knew that she was a minute late and she knew that Mrs. Morrow would not take it well, especially after their conversation this morning. Instead of paying attention to Mrs. Morrow, Charity looked around the room and observed. The schoolroom was about as big as the bedroom was. In the front, there were two large desks. One was labeled as Mrs. Morrow and the other as Miss. Morrow. Mrs. Morrow's desk had a stack of papers on the left side, a computer on the right side, and a planner in the middle. In the far right corner of the desk was a partially eaten apple. There was a case to set her reading glasses next to the stack of papers, but it was empty right now because the glasses were on Mrs. Morrow's face. Charity thought about looking at Mrs. Morrow, but she was too afraid of what she might see.

On Lily's desk, there was sparkling pink tape along the edges. Lily was written on the tape several times in several different styles. In the corner, there was a pink cup with some liquid in it, probably water by the looks of it. There was also a pencil case that had pink feathers all over it. Inside there were pink pens, pencils, erasers, calculators, and more. These two desks were in the front of the room near the whiteboard behind them while the other desks, probably a third of the size, were lined up facing the Morrow's desks. Lily began to pass out papers to the other children when Mrs. Morrow walked up to Charity's small desk with a stack of papers.

"Charity. You are late. I do not tolerate late children in my classroom. I have the last fifty tests from the school year. Complete them all as homework and in your free time. They are due in two days and are worth half of your grade. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The school began and Charity didn't like a second of it. Mrs. Morrow began with Jenna and Kevin's class. She taught them a subject briefly, gave them ten practice questions, and then the test. Then George was given an essay prompt and some binder paper so that he could begin. Beverley and Lily watched a video on Mrs. Morrow's computer and then Beverley was given a test and Lily a worksheet game. Finally, it was time for Charity. She was given at five-page summative test on a concept she had never even heard of. It even stated in the corner that it was for fifth graders, something a mere second grader couldn't begin to comprehend. She was bound to fail. When the one o'clock bell chimed, Charity scurried out to begin her chores. Just as she had planned, she did the dishes in the beautiful kitchen. Then she did the laundry on the brand new couch. She picked up the leaves from their huge yard. Charity washed their latest-model cars. It was finally time for window washing, and she had to find someplace very private where she could escape.

Charity began with a little spy work while washing the windows. She drew a map of the house and yard in her mind. She located Mrs. Morrow with Lily on the right side of the yard while they were learning how to set up their table for when they sold their cookies for Girl Scouts with the rest of her troop. Charity's bedroom was on the right side of the yard and the window looked right out to see Mrs. Morrow and the girls. Mr. Morrow was watching football in the screening room which had no windows, so he was pretty much out of the picture. The right side of the yard was looking out towards the street in the front of the house and was separated from the backyard by the fence. There was one security camera in the backyard and that was facing the door and had no view of the surrounding yard. There were only four windows which lead to the backyard.

Charity could go into the boys' bedroom which had a single window facing the backyard. She could also go into Lily's bedroom where she had two windows facing the backyard. The fourth window was in the bathroom, but it couldn't be opened from the inside. She decided that her best choice was in Lily's bedroom since she was a bit preoccupied with her Girl Scouts meeting. This time, Charity didn't even bother with cleaning the window first. She just opened it, kicked out the screen of the window, and sent her and her suitcase flying out of the window. There was no time to lose now. She was on the run. The bright side was that even if she did get caught, she might be sent to a different foster home away from Mrs. Morrow and her intolerance against children. Now she was in the great unknown. That was as soon as she climbed the fence and figured out where in New York she was.