Millie

2

There were no words for the way she felt as the water from the crystalized pond. It made her body tingle and goosebumps arise.

The smell of the forest drew her in as she lifted the bowl of water over head. She drew in a breath as she let cold water fall over her body. There was nobody else in the pond but herself.

Millie's red hair was sticking to her neck as she rose a leg from the knee-deep water, walking towards the soft grass. Grabbing the small white blanket she brought in tote, she wrapped it around her small frame.

It was closing up on her crowning for which she was terrified of. Nobody had told her anything, not so much as a hint, about what the crowning actually was. She didn't have a mother to confide in about it either.

The secrets that went around on what happened to her never circled around long enough for Millie to find out. Though she pleaded about it when she was younger, Father Romie would punish her just for bringing up her own mother.

She slowly began to keep to herself, no rules ever broken again. She ate when everyone else was almost done, never spoke up unless someone called to her, and would be the first out of bed to avoid the ruthless leathering Father Romie would give.

The memories of her childhood went through her mind, running through and not stopping. Her walk back up to the cabins was dreadful as the sticks of the forest drove into her bare feet.

Once there she made a way to her small cabin that she shared with 12 other women and girls. There in the closet, laid her normal outing clothes, a white dress, blue apron, and a bonnet, along with a pair of moccasins.

Placing the clothes on, she wandered outside were the rest of the people gathered. In the center, Father Romie held a girl by her hair while holding onto a book.

Moving towards the crowd, she caught a glimpse of the golden locks that she knew so familiarly, that of Lydia's. Letting out a small gasp, she could feel her eyes grow the size of saucers.

"-now we know where all the books were going." She could hear the anger dripping out of Father Romie's voice. "Who taught you child?" Tugging at her hair, Lydia let out a cry.

"I taught myself!" She said, her voice cracking. Next to them stood Carly, a girl known for tattling to Father Romie, smirking.

Lifting her body up by her hair, he proceeded, "You will be leathered, in front of everyone here so they can all get it through their heads that reading, and writing, is not allowed, and if they do so, they will know the consequences beforehand. Carly, fetch me the whip." Running off, Carla ran towards the whip which hung on the tree about forty feet away.

Coming back, she handed the whip to Father Romie. It was a leather rope that has small designs carved into the rope.

Drawing his arm back, he let a sickening slap hit Lydia's body. Her cries for help rang out throughout the forest. Millie couldn't do anything but look. Swallowing hard, she watched as he drew his back 5 more times as the whip let out a loud c***k against her skin.

When the torturing was done, he rose her once again by her hair, spat in her face and dropped her as she lay bleeding from the punishment. "Let this be a warning. Bring her to the pit." He spat the words out towards us.

The pit was a shed that sit isolated from everyone else and had no sense of humanity. There was nothing but tin walls and sticks to sleep on in there. People were only sent there for sinning and harsh punishments.

Millie watched as Lydia was dragged up to the pit by two women. Looking away, she let a single tear slip.