The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 51: Circle of life

When Joanna stepped inside the hallway of the building, she looked around, finding there was nothing that looked unfamiliar, as there was no change in the layout or the displayed interiors inside the hall. Everything was the same as since the last time she saw it.

Joanna then asked Sir Sylvester, the knights, and the General’s men to head towards their assigned rooms in the quarter, which was specially prepared for the Barasca knights, to rest after they placed all the luggage that they brought on the wooden floor. It was also habitual that the lunch would be prepared and sent to them in the quarter by Mrs. Powel.

As the warriors left the hallway, Joanna looked at the backs of the General’s men, who soon disappeared from her sight. She had raked her head to find other activities that would make them busy but she had not found even one. No. Actually, she had some in her head, but she refrained from doing any sort of evil things that would disturb peacefulness in a peaceful place like Powel Orphanage.

Joanna actually did not care anymore about what the General’s men would do to inform the General of her location, as when she arrived at and saw the orphanage building, her heart and mind had turned calm as if any turmoil had been pulled out and removed from inside her.

For Joanna, Powel Orphanage was a place that was like a sanctuary that she did not want to stain with any negativity. Therefore, Joanna chose to be peaceful at the moment, pushing aside any discomfort in her heart and mind.

Mrs. Powel came into the hall with a tray of a jar of cookies and two cups of warm tea for the young lady and her maid. A smile bloomed on her face when her gaze fell on the pile of stuff that was laid on the floor.

"The kids will shout cheerfully when they receive all those things, my lady," Mrs. Powel commented while placing the tray on the table where the guests sat. freēwēbnovel.com

"Please wait a little bit for lunch. Mrs. Valore is preparing the meals in the kitchen," informed Mrs. Powel. "While waiting for lunch to be ready, you can have a taste of these freshly baked peanut cookies. I hope it tastes better than usual as I just made them and put them in the oven right before I saw you through the kitchen’s window, my lady," Mrs. Powel presented proudly, feeling glad to serve the guests the still warm cookies.

"Thank you, Mrs. Powel. You really know what we need after passing along the torturing road," stated Joanna, rolling her eyes before forming a broad smile on her lips, causing the old lady to let out a chuckle.

She knew that the lady always complained after passing along the maddening road, yet she had not quit passing along the same road so many times just to come to the same place.

Mrs. Powel then looked inside the pile of stuff that was laid on the ground. There were clothes, medicine, books, stationery, shoes, coats, socks, meals, and some other stuff inside the boxes that were brought by the young lady.

All the clothing that she brought was for kids and teenagers, around the age of five to fifteen, as that was the range of age of the orphans that were sheltered in the Powel Orphanage, while the number of each item was based on the list of orphans that were recorded by de Lara’s staff.

"I brought more for the kids than usual as it has been quite some time since I last came here, Mrs. Powel," said Joanna while taking a cup of tea and offering a cup to Lucy, who stood beside her, before asking Lucy to take a seat on another chair across the table.

"Where are the other kids, Mrs. Powel? It is weird to find this building this quiet," asked Joanna when she realized that the orphanage was quieter than usual.

"The older kids have left for the cities to find some jobs and there are some kids that have been adopted by some middle-class families. While the others are in the forest right now, playing and searching for logs of wood as autumn is coming," Mrs. Powel gave an answer in detail while sorting the items based on the size of age as she sat on a short wooden chair. She added,

"As you know, my lady, autumn in the mountains can be twice as cold as in the plains. That’s why it is time to collect more logs of wood to warm each room and the kids are more than enthusiastic about that kind of chore." She smiled at the end of her words.

Upon hearing the explanation uttered by Mrs. Powel, her curiosity was now answered. She also understood why there was a reduction in the number of orphans in Powel Orphanage compared to her last visit when she checked the list that was shown by de Lara’s staff.

Separation surely could not be avoided in life. It was like a circle of life. People came and left. It was what also happened with the orphanage kids.

The children would leave to be adopted, while the teenagers who passed fifteen years old would leave the orphanage to work or continue their lives outside the orphanage, mostly in the cities. But the Powel Orphanage would forever be their home and it would open for them anytime they wanted to return.

After sorting the stuff, Mrs. Powel asked a servant to help her move them to the store room. When Mrs. Powel lifted a box of stuff and was about to walk through the corridor to the store room, she was jolted when she heard a loud voice calling her name from upstairs.

Standing in bewilderment in her tracks while holding the box in her hands, Mrs. Powel looked up at the ceiling, which was also the wooden floor of the upper storey of the building.

She heard frantic footsteps echoing on the floorboards above her, along with a creaking sound of the stepped wood, as the one who called her name seemed to rush madly toward her.