It was the middle of December, a mere week before Christmas. The days had grown short and the snow in the streets was mushy and dirty while new snow kept on falling slowly off the sky.
At least it isn't windy, Lucy thought. She wasn't the type to cry about the hand she had been dealt with. Optimism was the one thing she still had to hold on to. She had been orphaned at a young age. Her mother had died giving birth to Lucy's little bother who had followed their mother to the grave soon after. Lucy's father had taken care of her as best he could up until the age of five. That is when her father died due to an accident at the factory he was working in. Nobody ever gave her the details and she was left at an orphanage.
The nuns at the orphanage had been kind enough. They had allowed her to stay up until the age of 18, as she had proven herself useful in taking care of the kids. However, the funds were low, and the orphanage could neither afford to hire her or allow her to stay there as an orphan. For the lack of another alternative, she had been given the task of selling candles in the evenings to cover the costs for her staying at the orphanage.
Unfortunately, the business wasn't going well.
This evening, Lucy had only succeeded in selling two boxes. One of the gentlemen would've offered her more had she agreed to come with him to the back alley. In retrospect, she felt like it might've been wiser to take his offer. But the Church had no tolerance for prostitution and hence neither did the orphanage.
Despite being a pretty girl, Lucy still had managed to keep her virginity. It wasn't that she held her maidenhood in great regard: sex just wasn't something that she had been truly interested in. Sure, she had explored those parts of her body that men seemed to take most interest in, especially the one between her legs, but she didn't understand what was so special about it. Or why touching it was considered so immoral, or prostitution for that matter.
This had made Lucy sigh more than once. The offer she received today would've easily covered her bills and ensured that there'd be plenty of food for all of them, especially for the malnourished children for whom Lucy took much pity.
The slush splashed under her snow-drenched shoes. Lucy was determined that she wouldn't go home until she'd sold at least a few of more boxes, even if it meant skipping the dinner. Maybe the children might have a little more to eat this way.
As the hours went by, Lucy managed to sell one more box. The sun had set several hours ago as was normal for the season. Usually as it got darker, the demand for candles grew as well. Not so tonight.
Slowly the traffic on the streets got less. People escaped the chills of the oncoming night into the comfort of their homes. Lucy just kept walking to keep warm, her hands buried deep inside the pockets of the worn-out coat, her small button nose peaking from underneath the heavy scarf covering her face. The few passers-by that she came across had no interest in her candles.
"Hey girlie," a rough masculine voice greeted.
Lucy looked around her. In the snowfall she identified a thin man leaning against the closed door of a chemist's shop. His nose was crooked and there was a cunning smile on his lips. He had lost a tooth or two and by the yellowness of his teeth Lucy judged it was due to smoking and tooth decay.
"What ya doing here up late?" he grinned.
Lucy didn't like the look of the man. There was also an unpleasant smell about him. A quick glance down the street confirmed Lucy's fear that there was no one else around. Her distrust of the stranger thus made her only quicken her pace.
"Didnya hear what I said, girlie?" the stranger called behind her.
Lucy looked around her shoulder to realize that the man had begun to follow her. She sped up to a run without a moment's reflection.
"Fucking hell," he groaned and, to Lucy's dismay, begun to chase after her.
She ran as fast as she could. The man coughed as he attempted to keep up with her but the years of smoking held him back. Lucy didn't even glance back but kept running, her legs burning from the sprint. In her panic, she even forgot to pay attention to where she was heading. Something about that man had awoken an indescribable fear in her. The feeling had been so strong she didn't care to investigate whether the fear had been well-founded.
The skirts of her dress were heavy from slush when her legs finally gave in and she fell on her face on the street. She was sobbing, hot tears flowing down her face, afraid that now he'd catch her. However, when she climbed back on her tired legs, she was relieved to notice that no one was around.
She could, however, hear sound of people approaching. Not knowing what to do, she looked up and down the unknown street for a place to hide. The neat rows of buildings allowed no alleys to hide in.
It was then she spotted a window that was slightly ajar, just there at the ground level. A warm welcoming light was shining inside. Lucy didn't hesitate but ran for it, pushing the window open, sliding inside and falling hard on the cold concrete floor.
It had been a window to the basement. There was a fire burning in the furnace and sacks of coal were stored in one corner. The fire was the only source of light in the room.
As soon as Lucy had discovered her new environment empty of human life, she tried peek out of the window to see if anyone outside had seen her enter the building. Her attempts, however, were futile as she was too small to properly see out into the street. After a couple of jumps, Lucy gave up.
For the lack of a better alternative, she sat down to warm up by the furnace. The heat burned the cold off her fingers as they got accustomed to the warmth. All the time, she kept looking over her shoulder, listening if someone might be approaching.
She considered her options. She wasn't sure which part of town this was; even if it was daytime she would struggle to find her way home. If she wanted to take her chances, she would have to find another way out of the house.
Whoever had opened the window was sure to return and close it. Lucy briefly considered being upfront about her breaking-and-entering but knew that police might be called to pick her up. Certainly, the orphanage would be notified, and Lucy would end up on the street.
She looked around nervously. The basement offered no hiding place save for the shadowy corners, and even there she knew she'd be discovered.
The lone door to the basement was ajar, with a faint light shining somewhere beyond it. Silently, Lucy sneaked to the door and peeked through the gap. As she neither saw or heard anything moving behind it, Lucy opened the door.
Lucy found herself in a narrow hallway. To her left she saw a staircase that no doubt led to the ground floor. She could distinguish some muffled sounds of people conversing with one another. The upstairs was out of question.
However, there was another door right across the hall. After investigating for any signs of movement behind the mysterious door, she placed her hand on the door knob, turning it as quietly as possible. The door screeched open and Lucy entered the dimly lit room that was heavy with the scents of carved wood.
It looked like a carpenter's workshop. Lucy's attention was first caught by the large wooden desk that was still covered in sawdust. The table lamp on top of it was the only source of light in the room.
As Lucy stepped closer to the desk, she noticed small wooden figurines that were spread across the surface. She took one of them to inspect it a little closer. It was a figure of a girl in a dress. Her face was yet to be painted but Lucy already recognized the immaculate craftmanship that had gone into the details of her nose and the fingers of her hands. It brought a smile on her face.
As she turned around, her mouth almosts dropped open. On the opposite wall, there was an entire shelf full of toys, large and small. There were pretty dolls with yellow curls falling on their shoulders, toy trains and cars painted in the brightest of colours and all kinds of wooden animals. Different shapes and types of masterfully painted miniature furniture were placed inside a magnificent-looking doll's house.
But there was also one life-sized doll that outshone them all.
