Saule de Lila: Chapter 1 (1900, Aboard the RMS Paris)
The rough waves rocked the boat softly, making her roll over restlessly in her small cot, and giving her nausea as she
fought to stay conscious. "Stay awake, stay awake," the girl murmured fearfully, cradling a tiny ragdoll to her chest with wide, scared eyes.
"Lila. Lila."
The voice rang in her ears, behind the wooden door set in the corner of the drafty, damp room. Lila rolled over angrily and stifled her hearing with her torn and ragged pillowcase. A few hard items crashed on her ears, buried deep in the white sack.
"Lila, wake up. Are you awake, child?" A thin, pale woman pushed open the door and shook Lila roughly. "Come up on the deck, dear, there is something you have to see."
Lila groaned with regret, flipped her blondish-white curls off her shoulders, and hastily stood up. Glancing around quickly at the cold, ancient, stained room with a pair of downcast grey eyes, she tailed her mother out of the third class bedroom. Up three staircases of scraped wood, and two golden, grand one, they emerged onto the ship's large deck. Lila was staring absentmindedly at the four, silver funnels puffing out thick, grey steam when her mother tapped her shoulder.
"Lila, look."
She spun around just as a glisten of dark green, orange, light red, and a rose pink danced like ripples across the almost white sea. The sunrise was truley beautiful.
"Would Father like to see this?"
"Yes, dear one," her mother murmured, just as a grubby office strolled heavily over to them.
"Hey, you two!" he barked angrily, "Evelyn and Lila Tourner! Get back down to third class!" He grabbed their shoulders and shoved them down the many flights of stairs into their room. "Get down there, and stay there!" He growled, and swung the door close, plunging the moist room into darkness.
(To be continued...)
