Chapter 6
Tom was the first to wake up when the morning sky started to fade. He looked at the boy who was still in a deep slumber, his arms were still encircled around Tom’s neck. Tom winced as his left arm ached under the weight of the child’s head. Tom carefully released his stiffened arm and placed the boy’s head on pillow, but the child’s arms had a surprisingly tight grip over his neck that he had difficulty to remove. For a moment it seemed to him that he never would get rid of it as if the boy knew who he was and was dragging him with himself, from where he will not come back ever. A panic ran through Tom’s spine and he applied a little more force to free himself.
“uhuu” a disapproving and disturbed grunt came from the boy and Tom froze. He didn’t want to face him, didn’t know how to either. But to his much relief the child only changed side turning his back to him, and Tom realized he was free now. He looked through the window. It was hardly the dawn. He looked at his sleeping son again. Now was his chance to escape and not to look back ever. Nobody would suspect anything, that drunkard lady didn’t anyway make a connection. With the news of Merope’s death he now can start his life or whatever left of it in a new way. Why should he bother about the Merope’s freak child whom he was forced to father? Tom quickly collected his coat and hat, tied his shoes and left the room before the child as well as his conscience wakes up.
Stepping downstairs now Tom observed the building thoroughly that he couldn’t last night, the structure was hundreds of years old, and though clean but it looked gloomy and unpleasant. There was something about the building that seemed was capable of sucking all happiness and hope from life and was last place to be on the first day of year.
“Good Morning Mr. Thomas, hope you slept well.” A shaken voice interrupted Tom’s thought, startled he found an elderly lady with specs standing behind him.
“Myself Martha, I work here, Madam Cole was not up yet so the duty is upon me to attend our guest.” The lady informed.
“Oh then please convey my heartiest gratitude to her for letting me in, I would have frozen to death otherwise, also please do apologies behalf of me for not to wait longer to meet her, I must take my leave now.” Tom said in a hurry, he couldn’t wait more to step outside.
“But why this hurry sir, it’s barely 6 in the morning, Madam would not be happy to know you left before breakfast” Martha wondered? “Or is it because of Tom?” her voice turned serious and Tom shifted uncomfortably recalling his son got his name.
“Why? Why are you asking that?” Tom tried hard to hide the tremor in his voice, thankfully Martha appears to have a poor eyesight and hence incapable to get the similarity of the looks of him and his son (why was he referring the boy as son? He was supposed to forget the fact)
“It’s that Tom doesn’t let anyone in his room, not that any child wants that, who would want to share room with a freak anyway.” Martha stated. ‘Freak’ the word pinched Tom hard. He knew it’s the truth, but how does a random commoner says this about a Riddle Heir? Does she have any idea that many of the Riddle nobility had once served in Royal court and even in British Parliament?
“She was talking about an orphan, not your son” Tom reminded himself.
“No he didn’t do anything, I am in a hurry to reach home actually, “Tom was in hurry to end the conversation too
“Good for him, after all which child does want to get punished on the first day of year? Not even a strange one as Tom.” Martha muttered
“Getting punished?” Tom turned to Martha frowning.
“Madam had warned Tom if he causes any trouble he would have to do sweeping and cleansing the house all alone that too with an empty stomach.
Tom clenched his hands at the description of the punishment but Martha didn’t seem to notice.
“You see sir we never beat our children, Madam is very careful about avoiding harsh punishments, that’s why Wool’s is different than any other Orphanage” She continued,
Tom took a deep breathe to comprehend the information about much ‘Lenient’ punishment of Wool’s orphanage. He even can’t remember if he had ever skipped a meal any day, but from this woman’s tone it appeared that starving was not a new experience for his son.
“I keep listening about the kid being a freak from everyone but as far my experience goes he appeared to be a very well-mannered boy “ Tom had to say that and it was not a lie, his boy indeed had an aristocratic aura in him that shows without trying hard.
“Tom and well mannered? Huh? Probably the children often having strange accidents and whose things had been stolen by the so called well-mannered boy have a different thing to say.” As he and Martha were walking down towards the hall, Tom found a young boy around 15-16 standing on the entrance of the hallway, with a sarcastic smile on his lips.
“Jack, what are you doing here? You were supposed to wake the children up, breakfast will not wait” Martha sounded annoyed
“I was going to do that Martha but found this gentleman praising the resident freak of Wool’s so thought to interject.” Jack smirked at Tom “by the way this gentleman is the strange guest of last night madam talked about, Mr. Thomas, right? But have I met him before? He looks a little familiar” the boy’s eyes narrowed
Before Tom could have responded a bell rang all over the building
“Enough Jack, Mrs. Cole won’t be happy if she hears you are bothering our guest, now go and get the children for breakfast” Martha waved her hand, and the boy left shrugging.
“Sorry about him, sir, he is one of the most senior member of orphanage and hence had been given the job of monitoring other children, but he had taken his role quite seriously.” Martha said apologetically.
“Or it might have gone into his head, he sounded like a bully rather than a monitor.” Tom remarked, irritation was quite clear in his tone
“Well you can say that, but he was not wrong about Tom, he had been responsible for a series of strange incidents that happened with children that had a brawl with him, although we are not sure how he did what he did but all the happenings lead to him.”
Tom sighed as Martha filled him in about his son. There was no denial the boy was true heir of those psycho gaunt family, but it didn’t make calling the child freak justified to him. What if his son were not doing things intentionally? What if he was as clueless and confused as any other children? If he recalled correctly the boy was pledging innocence in his dream, what if people here are failing to understand him and are pushing him to do things what he shouldn’t?
Tom didn’t notice when he had entered the dining hall as he was engrossed in his thought. He now noticed children of different ages had gathered there, and were standing in a queue with small plates in hand. Some of them were looking at him and talking among themselves in a low voice, but junior Tom was nowhere to be seen. Of course he was denied his meal until Mrs. Cole was to get assurance from Tom himself.
One by one the children takes their meal. Tom looked at their food, two toasts spread with marmalade, a hardboiled egg and a glass of milk, was that all for breakfast? That too on the day of New Year? And his son had to put extra effort to get this pitiful meal?
“That’s what they get for breakfast?” Tom tried his best to hide a sneer.
“No, sir egg or marmalade are for special days like this, usually they get porridge for everyday breakfast.” Tom was thankful that Martha’s concentration was on the children and didn’t notice the disgusted expression on his face.
“Porridge? That had been the food Tom hated the most, He used to throw up every time he was made to eat that disgusting thing, and his son was compelled to eat that every morning? If he was anything like his father the breakfast was nothing but a torture for him.
“Good Morning Mr. Thomas, sorry I woke up late.” Mrs. Cole appeared in the dining at last, looking a little bit tired, perhaps she had difficulties in sleep.
“I hope everything was alright last night, otherwise…”
“I want to take him for breakfast.” Tom said in a haste without letting her complete,
“What?” Mrs. Cole seemed flabbergasted, probably it was unthinkable to her that someone wants to offed the so called freak of orphanage a breakfast?
“I meant the child was descent enough to let a stranger stay in his room for a night, also it was his birthday yesterday, and so I want to thank him this way” Tom tried to reason. Mrs. Cole observed him calculatedly which she didn’t do last night and then finally nodded.
“All right you can take him, but try to return before day fall, else we would have to report, and as you know we got a responsibility over him” Tom was not sure but Mrs. Cole didn’t sound as polite as she was till now.
“I promise I will return him before afternoon, take my word.” Tom drew cross on his chest.
“We will see gentleman” She smirked and called out “Jack ask Tom to come down, and ask him to wear the new set of dress he got this Christmas.”
Little Tom didn’t understand what happened last night. He remembered of having a bad dream. That was not a new thing though, he often had dreams. The strange figures, lights of different color, unnatural creatures or a strange building calling out for him were common in his dream. He knew the dreams want to tell him something, what he couldn’t figure out yet. But the dream he was having last night was like those childhood ones when he was thrown into room no. 27 at the age of three. The memory of times when he wanted to make people believe he didn’t hurt anyone intentionally were coming back to him, He doesn’t care to proof himself anymore rather he had come to enjoy seeing people getting scared of him, but the trauma of no one being there when he needed them, seeing the attendants taking care of other children and even of those who used to torment him, but not once paying attention to him, the times when he spent nights crying, shivering alone and waiting for father to arrive to take him out from this hell, all the memory came back last night. And then something happened, someone had touched him, and the touch was unusual. Like he had never felt before. He felt calm, he felt safe, a feeling that was unknown to him. For the first time in his eight years old life he actually had slept without dream. But who had touched him like that? Was it that stranger? Who was the man? Where did he go when he woke up this morning? What was his connection to him?
“Hey Freak! Madam is waiting for you in the dining, come down in your Christmas dress.” Jack peeked through the door bring little Tom out of his thoughts
He grimaced at the sight of the self-proclaimed monitor of Wools’, he had not seen another jerk like him. He is the biggest bully in this orphanage and was the one to torment Tom the most, but always used to get away as apparently a freak is entitled to be bullied. It continued until one day he fell into the hot water tub and for some reason was unable to come out until Mrs. Cole herself had to bring him out, exactly as little Tom wished though still wonder how it exactly happened. Since then Jack stopped being aggressive to him but he still continued with his verbal mockery. But his command wondered him this time
“Why does madam want me to wear new dress?” he was confused it was so not like Mrs. Cole.
“Who cares?” Zack shrugged, “maybe she finally got a good customer to sell you in a good price.”
Yeah what else response can be expected from this Zackass? But Little Tom didn’t answer back. He had a gut feeling starting of this New Year was going to be different.
When Mrs. Cole informed him that the stranger who was still there was going to take him out and buy breakfast little Tom had no doubt about his gut feeling.