The House on The Hill

Prologue

One year before…

“This dump looks the same as when I left it.”
Prim complained as she threw her backpack down on the bed.
The 5 other girls hugged their old friend who had rejoined them in the girls home. Though she had only been gone a month or two, Prim's presence was missed dearly.
Prim was just one of many of the orphaned girls in “Stillwater's Girls Home.”
“What's it like out there?”
August asked as she swung her feet from off the top of a bunk bed.
“Gotta be better than this wreck.”
Blaire put out as she laid on the bottom bunk of where August was.
Prim opened her mouth to speak as she was cut off
“Did you see any todos?”
Dorothy asked her.
“Let her speak, would ya?”
Jo said standing up to help Prim put her few things back into the shared dresser.
Prim shrugged her shoulders
“It feels so nice to be free. There never seems to be any escape from this hole though. Where's Ellie?”
Jo motioned over to the bed where the youngest was sleeping.
Elodie was only 3 years old when she was shipped over to the orphanage.
The girls treated Elodie like she was their daughter since she was much younger than everyone else.
They were always looking out for her and making sure that she was ok. If they didn't have each other then they had no one. Jo swept her bronze hair out of her face as she walked over to the window that brought in the dim light of the late afternoon.
Rain poured outside the window.
This summer had no lack of thunderstorms which gave the girls ample time stuck inside. Blaire sat up and joined Jo at the window. “Man, just look at it.”
Blaire said as the two looked over at the big house that sat on the hill.
“I wonder what type of person lives there.”
Jo asked.
The girls had talked about this house a multitude of times before but it never got old.
“Someone with money.”
Blaire crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
“And Todos!”
Dorothy raised her hand into the air as she waved it.
The girls at “Stillwater Girls Home” had only ever seen a handful of movies in their entire lives.
One of those happened to be the Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy quickly fell in love with that movie and watched it over and over again. She thought it was fun that her name was the main character as well. Dorothy also loved dogs with every part of her heart.
So now anytime she would talk about dogs she would refer to them as “Todos.”
“I bet they have big trees! Ones that you can climb to the tippy top.”
Auggie said as she played with her small doll.  A loud banging came from the girl's door seconds later indicating that it was time for dinner.
“I missed that old snaggletooth.”
Prim joked as she helped August get off the top bunk. Jo put her finger up to her mouth and curled it to make it look like the headmaster.
“If you girls aren't sleeping by the time I count to three I’ll hang ya by your toes."
Jo said doing an impression of Ms. Gamble as she tickled Dorothy.

That evening all of the girls at “Stillwaters Girls Home” did something they didn't often do.
They watched TV.
Not only TV but the junior Goodwill games that were happening that year.
“Do you know what that is?”
Jo asked Elodie who sat in her lap. Ellie shook her head.
“That's called hockey. The team from America is winning.”
Jo smiled at the little girl as she intently watched the screen.
“Don't you think some of them are cute?”
Blaire whispered to Jo.
“How can you tell? They have helmets on.”
Blaire smiled lightly.
“They’re hockey players”
Jo shook her head and smiled at the older girl. This is the first time Jo had seen Blaire happy in a long time.
Blaire had been at the girl's home for nearly a decade and had everyone she’d ever loved leave her.
She gave up on the chance of ever getting out of the “death trap”.
She accepted her fate and gave up. There's only so long someone can fight.
All the girls that night felt a sense of comfort. Being surrounded by people around a TV seemed like it was the perfect image of home.
Most of these girls didn't know. Maybe some of these girls would never know.
Only time would be able to tell.

🕰️

“Guys, come pray with us!”
Auggie and Ellie extended their smaller hands for the three older girls to come and pray a goodnight prayer with them.
Prim and Jo gladly walked over to the three younger girls and took their hands.
“Blaire?”
Ellie asked in her cute little kid voice.
“Go on without me. I'm too tired to get up.”
Blaire said, rolling over in her bed. Dorothy would always start the night time prayers. “Go ahead Dorothy.”
Jo said
“dear Jesus, I pray that we can sleep good and that we can get mommies and daddies.”
August went next
“I pray that it won't rain tomorrow and that we can go outside.”
And then Elodie
“I pray that we sleep good and have good dreams.”
Prim continued next.
“God, please keep us safe and thank you that I got to see all my friends again.”
Then lastly Jo.
“Lord, thank you for all the girls here. I pray that we can find strength and faith to know you are always with us.”
Jo finished and then started to tuck the girls in.
“Jo, are the monsters gonna get me?”
Elodie asked her.
Jo brushed some of her mousy brown hair out of her face.
“No. The monsters will not get you.”
She kissed the little girl on the head and laid down on her own bed.
Jo was not able to sleep that night for some odd reason.
She just felt her mind drift back to the same thought over and over again.
Is this all there is?

It's a new book!!
1035words