Chapter-1

The hustle and bustle of the city was at its peak as the day approached noon. The streets were packed with people going on their own businesses. Along the busy streets of Plymouth city, there was a popular quaint corner pub. There were few people scattered in the pub having lunch and talking in hushed voice. The bartender/barkeep was wiping down the counter, while the casier was close to dozing off. There were two barman and barmaid serving the customers. There was a door beside the bar that led to the kitchen section of the pub. The kitchen was empty save for one person absentmindedly looking out of the only window in the small room. Eloisa was one of the two cooks of the Axe Star pub. The other cook was the owner's daughter, Lena. Eloisa and Lena were childhood friends. Eloisa was alone today as Lena had exams.

Eloisa did not go to school anymore. She was supposed to a high-schoolar like Lena too. But life played a cruel prank with her and now she stood fighting for her own and family's survival. She felt like she can never be happy again even if she was determined to do just that. But she had been happy once. When she was young and her family was whole. When she did not have to worry about how much money she could save at the end of the day. When she did not have to listen to her mother's cry every night when she thought her children were asleep. When she could not answer the questions that swam in her little brother's eyes which he never asked. When she did not have to look at other children her age going to school and leading a simple and kind life, unlike her. When she did not have to come home late at night to see a home so lifeless and cold that it looked abandoned. Only God knows what she did to deserve a life like that. But she was not the one at fault. Her beloved dead father was. His sins had brought their family down with him.

They had been a happy family once; without any problems and troubles. Her father, Eden Mullins, had a small shipping business. The earning was not much but it was enough for the family of four. They were not rich but neither were they poor. They were a happy middle class family in a small village of Plymouth near the port. Her mother, Yonnah Mullins, had always been a very good housewife, looking after the children, taking care of their health, keeping their home in good condition. She was a quite and aloof woman, never one to go gossiping with the women in their neighbourhood. Sometimes Eloisa thought that her mother was a recluse. Her brother, Ethan Mullins, was six years younger than her. Ethan used to follow her around like a lost puppy. He was a very mischievous boy and would always go around getting into troubles. They had so much fun together. Those were their golden days.

But now Ethan had stopped frolicking around and stayed home studying or going to school. He would now have a somber look on his face always. It hurt her to see him like this. As if the life had been sucked out of him. Gone was cheerful mischievous boy from before. A more matured and confused boy replaced him now. The problems had started way before the actual tragedy happened. She was ten then and her brother was just a four. She had always noticed. She had noticed how her father started looking very tired and sad after coming home from working. She knew his business was not going well. She would try to cheer him up but he would just give her a small smile and say everything would be ok.

But Eloisa could see in his eyes that he was troubled. Then one day, she heard her parents fighting. Her mom never liked her father's shipping business even though she never said anything. Eloisa had a wonderful day at the school that day. It was the annual sports day at school and she had won the first prize in long run. She had always been athletic. She had run all the way to home to show the prize to her parents. But now she stood in front of the door of the room inside which her parents were yelling at each other. She had never heard her mother yell. Her mother was usually a very calm person and rarely got angry. From all the yelling inside, she presumed that something bad had happened. Suddenly, the door slammed open and her father came out. Her mother came out running behind him and stopped short noticing Eloisa. Both of them looked shocked.

"What happened, Dad?"

Her parents looked at each other and her father answered.

"Nothing, sweetie. Everything's fine. Now show me what's behind your back."

Eloisa had totally forgotten about the surprise for her parents that she was hiding behind her back. Her expression immediately turned to one of pure happiness. She showed the prize while animatedly talking about the racing competition forgetting all about her parents fighting. Eloisa did not know then that it was just the beginning of their family crisis. The fighting between her parents increased as her father business continued to see the face of loss. The situation became so bad that their parents decided to move house. To a smaller house. The very next day her father did not come home and her mother got very worried. But she told Eloisa and Ethan that their father went to visit Uncle Alexander, who was her father's best friend and lived near the city. Uncle Alexander used to live here in Stoke Village once. In fact, he lived beside them with his wife and daughter, Lena. He had a pub here in the village which was running very well then. By the time, Lena was seven her father saved enough money to open a pub in the city and they moved near the city. From then on, they lived there. Eloisa's father also wanted to go but did not have enough money to buy a place there. But Eloisa's father and Alexander never lost contact and would often visit each other.

Her father did not return the next day either. Three days went by before her father came late at night. Only her mother was awake or so she thought. Eloisa woke up in the middle of the night and  got up from the bed to go to bathroom. She came out of her room and turned to go to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. She was returning to her room when she heard the sound of creaking and then voices. There was light coming from the living room downstairs. She crept along the wall and went to the staircase to look down squatting. She could only look at the back of the man from the little fire burning in the fireplace. She knew it was her father but she did not understand why he came so late. Her parents were talking in hushed voice. She couldn't hear anything properly. She could just make out two words. "Business" and "Beast". But she was not sure what she heard. She squatted a bit forward to hear clearly and the floorboard creaked. Her parents stopped talking. Eloisa put a hand over her mouth to stifle any sound coming from her mouth and slowly backed away. When she was a few feet away from the staircase and no sound came from downstairs, she ran to her room as silently as possible. She jumped on the bed and closed her eyes pretending to sleep in case her parents came to check. While waiting, she fell asleep.

In the morning, she forgot everything that happened the previous night thinking it was just a dream. Things started looking up for them after her father's unannounced return. Her parents mood got better and they stopped fighting. Her father's business also started doing well. Eloisa thought that they would again become the happy family they were before. But the silver lining that came to their home with her father did not make everything right. Her mother started having an unexpected fear when sometimes her father would return home late. Eloisa did not noticed it at first but after a few months, her mother's apparent fear started to affect the family. She would not let Eloisa stay out late. If she did sometimes come home late, she would get fret and check her bodies for imaginary injuries. She wouldn't even let little Ethan play in their front yard after sun went down. Days went by like this. Then days turned to months and to years. And slowly her mother's fear receded and vanished completely. Years went by like this and they were as happy as they could be.

But the real tragedy happened after five years. It was....

"Lois?"

Eloisa broke out of the reverie to see her uncle Alexander calling her.

"I called you several times but you didn't answer. Something on your mind, dear?"

"Sorry, Uncle Alex. I spaced out for a bit."

Eloisa gave him a sheepish smile.

"It's ok, dear. I have got the next orders."

"I'll get to it now."

Alexander put a hand on her shoulder when she went to stand from the seat. She looked up at him.

"Don't push yourself too hard. You can take a break if you don't feel well."

"No no. I'm fine. I enjoy cooking, Uncle. It always helps me get into a better mood. I don't need a break."

"If you say so, dear. But don't hesitate to tell me if something is wrong."

Eloisa nodded her head. She was always grateful for having such a great uncle even if they were not blood related. With wistful smile on her lips, she started working on the dishes.