Chapter 1

Chapter I

The Hendersons were broke. There was no doubt about it. The three children, Patrick, Beatrice and Samuel, were on the verge of starvation, and their parents, or more properly caregivers, were not to blame. Not more than 15 years ere the Second World War had the Hendersons’ parents, Henrietta and Bartholomew, having fallen victim to the raging epidemic of smallpox, passed away. "They were gone sudden as a lightning bolt," their governess Bessie would recount, tears apparent in her eyes. "They were clutching each other’s hands the whole time, passionate lovers they were." Only Beatrice, the eldest, remembered their parents, a little tot of six she was at the time.

Hitherto stood the three Hendersons at the Churchfield soup kitchen, grim-faced yet full of cleansing hope. Bessie, the governess hired by their late parents, and Anne, their caregiver, stood under the shade of a nearby willow, dutifully watching the children receiving their lunch of hot bread and cottage cheese. “Don’t you all just love Sundays? It’s so peaceful!” exclaimed Samuel, bright eyed. “Yes, and we don’t have to be constantly berated by that foul Anne!” murmured Patrick to Beatrice, giggling at the cheeriness of the thought. Beatrice, now a self-confident young woman of thirteen, simply grimaced and told her brother to cut the absurdity. However, she knew exactly what he was talking about. He was breaching the surface of reality, the coarse reality which neither wanted to admit. Patrick, at a hearty age of eleven, was quickly becoming aware of the situation, familial, and political, which dominated the small corner of Sherberry, Czech Republic. The moors and paddies of the village no longer obscured the clenching truth, like it did for Samuel, still a youngster at age eight.

Slowly, they traversed the grassy patch of flora separating them from their caregivers. A storm was ensuing rapidly, and ominous clouds now covered the previously well dressed procession of clouds in a once azure sky. As tiny goblets of rain fell from the teary clouds of August, the children rushed to consume their portions of food and make the five minute walk home before a full-fledged storm arose. The dusky clouds of a summer evening transformed into colossal cumulonimbuses, towering over the apprehensive children like a bear over an ant.

Just as gale winds started to blow over the dreary village had the party of five arrived to their dilapidated two room cottage. Safe in their ramshackle house, the group split and went to attend to their affairs; Bessie, kindhearted as she was, dared the fierce winds once more to see to their sole pig; Samuel set to the task of helping Patrick waterproof the rickety windows; and Beatrice went about fetching buckets to stop the constant leak of water from the roof. Anne, on the other hand, did nothing but huddle next to the small fire and complain about the storm. “How horrible this storm is! Nothing but the like for three whole months, and our turnips are on the verge of being washed away from the very soil which they grow in!” complained Anne, her tone as irritating as ever. The three kids, now huddled next to each other in the far side of the room, sat whispering to one another. “Oh how I hate her unfair ways! All she does is rant on and on and accuse us for being too ‘unproductive’! When in the world will this end?” rasped Patrick to his siblings angrily. “Don’t worry, my dear, about her ranting, for it is en pure perte. The winds of change are blowing, and it won’t be long till the current descends on us. Trust me, Patrick,” reassured Beatrice to her younger brothers. Her face, lit with sympathy, sent a spark of hope to the hearts of the two brothers.

Reviews

[Miss. McPherson]

Wow. I really only had to read the first paragraph to know that you Sir, are an excellent writer! I am very impressed by the details and the correctness from the time period [and that's a lot coming from me, a history nerd]
Keep up the excellent work my dear!
I look forward to reading more of your writing!

Best Wishes,
Ms. McPherson

[The Creative Disaster]

Wow, that really made my day! Thanks for devoting the time to read my story; I hope you won't be disappointed. The fourth and fifth chapters only need a quick proofread and will be put up shortly, in case you're interested.

[Sandr]

I enjoyed reading this. I think you did a really good job at developing the characters in the beginning. I already feel like I know the three Hendersons. Please put up the next chapter!

[The Creative Disaster]

Thanks! I tried to make the characters as developed as possible so that people would kind of get a gist for why they acted (and will act) as they did, and Beatrice and Patrick's characters especially. I've got some chapters written already, and all I need to do is proofread. In fact, I just finished chapters 2 and 3 with more to come soon!

[Sandr]

Yay, I can't wait to read them!