Our Benefactor

“Mister Helkins will be here today so please be on your best behavior everyone,” Lady Monica told us what we all had already anticipated. 

“Of course!”

“Let’s clean up the place well,”

“If we’re good girls, this place will get more money for food, right?”

“That’s right, my dear…” Monica said in her gentle voice. 

“I’ll help out too,” I quickly volunteered. 

“Don’t over work yourself. You almost fainted last time,” Monica said before she turned to smile caringly my way. 

“I won’t…” I muttered. 

Soon after, Mister Helkins arrived, and we were all lined up in front of the orphanage to greet him just like we always did whenever he came to pay us a visit. Our benefactor got out of his shiny black car that looked expensive. As always, he was dressed up well in a suit that also looked very fancy. 

 

“Welcome! We’re so happy that you’re here. Hopefully the ride wasn’t too long…” Monica greeted him with a smile.

The other girls and I plastered a smile onto our faces to greet him. Mister Helkins nodded in greeting to Monica before he turned to smile at all of us girls. His eyes scanned each girl as he smiled warmly. I felt his eyes on me and I nodded a little in greeting. From what I heard about him from Monica, Mister Helkins was an extremely kind man who was keen to work for the sake of the betterment of society. Our orphanage is one of the many other that he funds in order to help unfortunate girls without parents or girls that are going through tough periods in their lives. 

“It’s always good to be here. You can all relax, there’s nothing to be so tense about. I’m just here to make sure that everyone is doing well,” Mister Helkins said warmly. 

By that time, he had reached the end of the line where the youngest girl was standing. He placed a hand adoringly on the top of her head and she giggled as she smiled brightly up at him. Since I was the eldest now, I was standing at the beginning of the line that progressed down to the youngest of us here as we stood side-by-side. 

“Mister Helkins will take a small tour around the place and then he’ll have a discussion with me. As he said, there’s no need to be so tense about this. Please proceed with your day as per normal,” Monica instructed with a firm nod of her head. 

After smiling politely at Mister Helkins and saying our thanks for his visit, we all headed off to attend to our daily tasks. With Mister Helkins’ support, the orphanage managed to hire quite a handful of teachers, and thanks to that, we were getting some basic education. Unlike the other girls, there weren’t many teachers working here while I was growing up, so I studied mostly with Monica. 

One day it would be my turn to leave this place too. If I can get a job that pays well, I’ll be sure to send back as much money as I can. Little Sally and the other girls can get more food and perhaps they can even enjoy some snacks. 

That evening, we had dinner normally together with the exception that Mister Helkins joined us. He chatted casually to Monica and the other smaller girls while they laughed at his jokes. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen to prepare our dinner to make sure that it was palatable for our guest. Everything seemed to be going well and I prayed that Mister Helkins would continue to support our orphanage. 

…

Later that night, I was busy reading for the sake of my studies. I had no idea what kind of job I wanted, and I wasn’t picky at that point. For someone my age, my education was basic at best if not slightly behind the other girls of my age group. Working at the orphanage meant that I didn’t get to study fulltime like regular girls that went to school. Not to mention that there weren’t exactly enough teachers to teach all the subjects. Regardless, I wanted to study as much as I could in my spare time just in case that it would help me land a better paying job. 

I’ve been staring at this question for a while now and I still couldn’t figure out the answer. If I remembered correctly, Monica taught me something similar, but it didn’t quite seem to apply perfectly to this question. After a short while of thinking, a sigh escaped my lips. I got up from my seat after deciding that I should just head over to see Monica in her office before it got too late into the night. It was already evening, and all the young girls have gone to bed. Hopefully I am not too late, and Monica is still in her office. 

The hallway was very dimly lit because we had a policy to save up on electricity whenever we could to save costs and also be environmentally friendly. I made my way down the familiar hallway towards Monica’s office. I’ve walked this hallway countless times before, so the lack of lighting didn’t bother me. If need be, I could possibly navigate this hallway confidently with my eyes closed. 

When I turned a corner, I spotted some light at the end of the hallway where Monica’ office was. Relief rushed into me when I realized that I made it in time. She was still in her office. As I got closer to the door to Monica’s office, I started hearing some noises. I quickly walked along the hallway towards the light that seemed to have leaked into the hallway from her ajar door. 

The closer I got to the door, the noises that I was hearing started to get louder. At first, it sounded like Monica was muttering to herself but then it sounded like she was in slight pain. My brows furrowed as worry started to enter my mind. Did something happen and is she hurt? 

My pace quickened as I took faster steps towards the light at the end of the hallway. The closer I got, the louder were her broken cries. 

--To be continued…