SoSt Creative Writing

I sigh, staring at the bills in front of me. Even sharing a house with three other families doesn’t cut down the money that I spend each week.  Myself and my three year old daughter, that’s who I have to provide for. By myself. Clementine stares at me, sorrow in her eyes. While I think that I have hard, she has it worse. Seven kids and a recently dead husband. Killed in a fishing accident down at the wharf. Can’t say that I miss him though. Neither do the others who live here. We all know that he hit all of the family, yet acted like an angel in front of the rest of us. Clementine says she misses him, but every time we bring it up, she brushes it off. Giving her a smile back, I look over at Elizabeth. Sitting at the table drawing with Clem’s kids, she looks so happy and peaceful, like nothing in the world could hurt her. Why couldn’t my life be like that?

“Clem. I have to take a few extra shifts down at the Reed’s. Can you please look after Eliza for a few hours?”  My eyes dart towards the petite lady that sits in front of me, on the rundown trundler bed. Her eyes shine a pale green, a stark contrast to her dark, ebony hair. She gives a curt nod before going back to what she was doing; mending one of Nora’s dresses, which knowing the way that Clem sows, will take all night. Pulling my jacket over my worn, dress and apron, I give Eliza a kiss on the forehead before turning and dashing out the door, handbag in tow. Men stare at me as I pass them, faces black with soot. Women stand with children clutching their legs, hiding their small faces in the folds of the skirt. Soon, the lines and lines of brick stop, making way for the nicer part of town. Actual houses with gaps for privacy, and the people that live in not covered in soot and grime. The Upper Class.

The merchants call out, the market in full swing by the time I make it to the town centre. The smell of fresh bread hits my nose, making me smile.