Today 7 years later I still remember how the disaster after my mom dad begun.

On a sunny day. So unexpected from a warm and joyful day. So let’s look back at my past 7 years.

-------------------10 years ago---------------------------Elisha Radrik, 12 years old--------------

"Look, I have a flower for you! It’s just as beautiful as you."

"Oh, my dear Elisha. Thank you so much!”

Cough! Cough!

"Mom, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, no. Don’t worry, it’s probably just a cold!"

"Ok!”

"And here she is, already off to play in the garden again," said the Baroness’s maid, Alis.

Cough! Cough!

"Madam, should I go fetch the physician?"

"No, Alis. I’m so tired of it. So tired of that look on his face because he knows he can’t do anything. Just let me enjoy this."

"Madam, don’t say such things."

"Alis, it’s just the truth. Can you promise me one thing, as my personal maid?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Please try to keep Elisha safe when I am gone. I know it won’t be easy, but please just try.”

"Madam, don’t…”

"No, Alis," the Baroness Eliana Radrik said with a voice that didn’t accept no for an answer.

"As you wish, madam."

*At that time, I could never know that my whole life was just one big lie. For me, my family looked very happy. And I was happy. I had a mother, a father (Baron Kris Radrik), who ruled over the small but beautiful village in the north, and I had everything a 12-year-old girl could wish for (or so I thought).

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Someone please call the physician. Save my mom. Please," Elisha cried.

"It’s no use. You have to accept it, Elisha," her dad said with a look she had never seen before.

*At that moment, I was a foolish 12-year-old and just thought this look in his eyes meant grief and sadness. But how dumb I was. The look was only filled of hate (as I know now).

"Father, please. Father. Save mom. You love her too, don’t you?"

"Elisha, love isn’t a fairy tale .”

"Someone bring her out and lock her in her room. Don’t let her out.”

"No, no, father… Father!!!" she shouted and cried and kicked. How could she not ? It was, after all, the first time her father said such things. Though her mother always told her he was away and that that was the reason they barely saw each other, she thought that he loved her.

"Moooom!" she shouted. Her mother closed her eyes. She couldn’t tell if her mother was dead or unconscious. That was what made her shout even louder.

……Meanwhile, her father just stood there and looked at her mother, and Elisha was sitting in her room,

crying her soul out .……

"Elisha…", Eliana whispered.

"Cut the crap, witch. Don’t you know why I even married you? A lowly maid. If it hadn’t been for that girl and the emperor, you wouldn’t be alive now… But you know what… It’s actually good. She will marry and help me gain power."

Ha ha hahaaaaaaaaaaaa!

“Kris…", Eliana said in a very quiet voice, as if she would die any moment. (But that wasn’t actually a lie because she suffered from cancer for a long time. And now it seems like her time was over.)

"Don’t bother me."

"Every just make sure to keep it a secret or… you know I know about your children and family all tooo well … And Alis, clean this mess up. Everybody else, get back to work.”

Step! Step! Step!

Click!

"Madam!!!"

"Alis…."

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

"Alis…..please give this letter to my daughter …..", she said very quiet because her strength left her slowly.

"Madam…..", Alis cried.

Eliana slowly closed her eyes and said:"Thank…y…….you…..!"

And then she……………walked into a new world ✝️

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: one hour later ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Elisha I am so…..s… so sorry….your mo…. mother died",Alis cried.

"W…..w……whaaaat!!!!!"

"I am so sorry"😢

Step step step

"Elisha I need to inform you about a few things. It’s an order from baron Kris Radrik. First of all: from now on you only have the status of a mere maid in this house. And second: Alis is fired and not your or anybody else’s maid anymore", the butler said as he came in.

Step step

Click🚪

"Elisha this is what your mother had given me before she died. Though I don’t know what’s inside, please open it when you are alone. And…don’t be afraid that I am fired. I know you are a smart girl you will be fine. Or at least, please be fine”, Alis whispered.

Cries cries

Sniff sniff

"Come on", Alis said and hugged her.

Hug

"Go go. Your father is awaiting you"

"Ok. I will go now"

"Don’t be afraid. Elisha. Don’t be afraid"

*So that’s how I ended up all alone.

Step step

Knock knock ✊

"Yes come in”, Kris said.

"Father you called for me"

"Yes I have things to discuss with you"

"I listen"

"From now on you will live a different life. As you probably already know: you are the illegitimate child of this family, a maid’s child.

So from now on you are a Radrik in name only. Here in the mansion you are a maid without rights."

"Yes father" Elisha said. But it’s not like she liked it. No. She just sat didn’t have a choice.

"So of course", her fatherer said,"There will be new rules"

*Thats how my life changed forever. From this moment on my life was even worserser than that of a servant.

And my father had his rule:

-dont call him father

- do all tasks a servant has to do

-never mention my mom

-never complain

- live in the servants-wing

- any punishment is okay as long as the head servant considers it necessary

- every mistake needs to be punished

- never speak with others about the Radrik’s family affairs

-…

And those alon where only the ones I remember. There were also plenty other rules.

*But unfortunately I was just young and dumb at that time. So I thought that if I do what he says I will be loved and cherished again. But what I don’t knew was thatt I actually was never er cherished by him or his family. The only two person who truly loved end me were now gone. Neither her mom or Alis where there to tell me that all at that time. So my naive self tought: If I do what father says, I will be loved. So maybe it’s just for a short while.

"Elisha this is the room Baron Radrik prepared for you to live in", the headmaid said and looked with pitiful eyes at me.

She opened the door and I understood immediately why she looked at me with that pitiful expression.

The room was dirty, small and not even fit for a mere maid to live in.

The head maid obviously understood my thoughts and decided to leave me alone to give me some space to realise my “new” life.

After some time I decided too go in. The first thing I noticed was the strong smell (like that in a basement). Still shocked I sat down on the chair and just sat and stared at the wall.

"Elisha", the headmaid said. Apparently she came in just a few minutes ago. But I was so confused that I didn’t even notice.

"Oh, yes", I said.

"Do you need help?", she said and looked at me like at a small kid who got lost.

"Yes, it would be really a huge help!", I said and almost cried.

*I don’t know why I actually held all my tears back all the time. Maybe I was just to surprised or something like that.

"Ok, so at first we need to get a rag and clean your bed, then we clean the desk the shelf and the chair. And at least the floor. The floor is the dirtiest place so we should then clean it at the end", she explained.

"Oh, I see", I said stil not fully aybel to form a longer sentence.

So we went to the lumber room to get the things we needed to clean my room.

"Um,… what’s your name?", I asked because I realised I hadn’t asked for her name yet.

"I am Martha", she said and smiled.

"Can I…ask you something", I asked a bit uncertainly.

"Of course!", she answered.

"Why.. why.. do you help me this much?", I asked.

"Because you are not responsible for the situation you are in. It was your parent’s decision not yours. So I am trying to give you a hand and make the start a bit easier. You know….. when I was your age I worked in another mansion and there wasn’t a single person who would help me. So the time there was quite hard. So I am trying to help those who we’d help", she answered.

I looked up and looked her in the eyes. I could tell that she was thinking about her past and the looked kind of sad. That was the moment I realised that every person has a past were the life was hard. Most people me just don’t want to speak about it and keep it buried in their heart.

"Thank you!", I just said and was happy that Martha helped me.

………

"Martha is this the rag we need?"

"Yes, please take 2 of them."

"Ok"

……..

"Elisha you need to hold the rag like this and wipe like this. Do you understand?"

"Yes”

"Now you clean the chair with this rag and then……"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: one hour later ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Wow, that wa exhausting!"

"Be prepared Elisha sometimes you work will get even more exhausting that this!"

"Oh, then I think I should be prepared"

laughing laughing

"Thank you sooo much Martha. Really I mean it. If you ever need my help I would be glad to help"

"Elisha, kid don’t take on so much. Don’t worry I was glad to help you"

Knock Knock !