One & Half Mother - chapter 5

Chapter 5

The sounds of birds woke up Ellen from her sound sleep. She saw the beautiful sky after the overwhelming rain through her window. She prepared for the walk and came out of her room. Sister Sophie was waiting in the corridor with a cup of black coffee. She saw the light in Ellen’s room and made coffee for her. They both sipped the hot coffee in the cold morning and walked outside Moses.

Maple leaves that fell last night covered the garden bench entirely. It looked like an orange mattress now. They walked downhill. After the church entrance, Ellen saw the entry of the villa, which had the pool in her memories. They reached the beginning of the street. Years ago, the city was far away from the hills, but now, the city covered the distance in the valley toward the chapel. Sister Sophie had a fixed path. She didn’t walk back in the same way; she walked in a circle around the valley and came back. Ellen enjoyed the fast walk with Sister Sophie.

“I gave you the name Elisha,” Sister Sophie grinned and told her.

“Oh, really, that was nice, but now I am Ellen,” she giggled.

Ellen saw all the buildings thoroughly all the way. Everything looked fresh after the substantial rain in the night. All over the road and the streets, she found maple leaves, but she didn’t find any trees with leaves on them, Ellen saw a “wanted” workers board in front of the cherry chocolate company on their way. And she noticed several trees without a single leaf on them on her right after the turn from the main road.

“Why is this estate like a jungle in the middle of the city?”

“Maybe government property.”

Sister Sophie was eager to know why Ellen didn’t go with her parents. When she asked her that during their walk, Ellen told her sometimes it was better to live as an orphan than in the family. She contrasted her life and a pullet’s.

“After hatching the eggs, they would come out and get secured under the mother hen. She would shield them from all predators and nourish them until they grew up to find sustenance of their own. Once the pullet becomes strong enough to run and to find its food, it will break the bond with the mother hen and begin living alone. If any fowl strolls behind the mother hen even after getting enough strength, the mother would fight with its child to break their relationship. I would prefer not to be tossed out of the family. So I chose to move out.”

The story did not convince Sister Sophie. She stayed silent.

They walked through the narrow road to a school ground, and from there, Sister came uphill. Through a derelict walkway to church, they finished their walk and reached Moses.

“This is the fascinating mystery of this record-breaking youthful age,” Ellen chuckled and told Sister. They both laughed together and went to their rooms to freshen up.

Ellen was pondering about the estate she saw. She wished to stay there in a small hut alone. She pushed the thought away. She had her hot breakfast hungrily and was delighted with each bite of it. For the first time in her life, she loved the warm bread with a few veggies.

Ellen strolled into the visitor room, opened her dark-colored pack and hauled out a couple of photos from it. She searched it for quite a while. She smiled—my family. She put it back. She went and met Father Gabriel in his office; Father advised her to apply for the grants supported by the congregation administration and government for her higher examinations. She was not at all interested to study; she expressed her enthusiasm to work somewhere in Maple Valley. Father Gabriel tried a lot to explain to her the importance of education, but he failed.

Father walked inside, took the property document from his drawer and gave it to her. It was a surpassing surprise for Ellen. She didn’t know about a plot in her name. Father Gabriel’s perception of the world had been accurate. It had been his own decision to ask Antony to buy the property for the child; it may have been against the laws, but Father Gabriel had wanted to secure the kid’s future secured, so he had done it.

“Don’t sell it at any point in your life. It is a gift from your parents, you have only the right to take care of it,” Father said while giving the document to Ellen.

The next day, Ellen seemed more energetic after breakfast. She met the Father and told him her plan to go for a job and earn for herself. Father asked Adam to help Ellen clear the legal liabilities of the property; she gave the document to Adam. Adam went to enquire the details from the respective offices.

She strolled toward the chocolate factory. This was the only place she had seen a poster that workers were required, during their morning walk. The proprietor of the chocolate organization was quite curious to know why Ellen wanted to work for a chocolate making company. He told Ellen she would get better jobs than this, but she insisted. She asked him to give a job. Ellen persuaded him that she wanted to cook something new always. Ellen’s innocence and manner of conduct pulled in the moderately old proprietor, and he offered her a job with a little pay every month. He asked her to join the very next day if she liked. Ellen was happy to hear that, even though the salary was below the compensation norms. To her, it meant she would gain something of her own.

Ellen returned to church, met the Father and told him about her new job. Father advised her to continue her studies again, but he saw some hard decision in her eyes. Her name got a place in the register as a salaried inmate of Moses.

Ellen shifted from the guest room to Sister Sophie’s room. The room was on the first floor with a big window on it; they could see the church and valley very clearly from there. The window almost covered the full wall on the side with thick white curtains on it. The room was kept very neat, and the wooden floor made a loud noise when she walked in the room. Altogether, she liked the place at first sight.

Sister Sophie recalled her memory and told her that she and Sister Mary had stayed in this room earlier with Little Elisha for three years. After Sister Mary was promoted as Mother Superior, Mary was shifted to the ground floor, and Sister Sophie was left alone. It might be against religious community laws to remain with an inmate in the room, but to Sophie, it was her child, and she knew Mother Superior Mary and Father Gabriel would not oppose any kind decision regarding Ellen. Ellen sat near the window, and she looked outside. She saw the maple tree in front of the church without any leaves in it.

Ellen began to overlook the glorious and awful days of her existence in New York. With her very first month’s compensation, she purchased a watch and made over 100 dollars for Ababa. She couriered it to Ababa with a delightful card conveying her gratitude and left her a short note about her life in Maple Valley. Ellen gave half of her savings to the orphanage as her contribution. Father Gabriel was happy to see Ellen active and enthusiastic day after day.

Ellen tried out new formulas of chocolates in the plant, and the proprietor felt she was the right decision he had made for the factory. The cherry chocolates with Ellen’s cinnamon blended new tastes reached many individuals. She became the focal point of fascination among the women of the cherry chocolate factory. Everyone valued her abilities to make astounding flavors and reproduce them.

The middle-aged factory owner felt the change in the business after Ellen joined the company. He decided to do new chocolate experiments with Ellen, and he offered her a raise in the pay as well. Ellen was joyful at getting the reward and the recognition of the company. It wasn’t the first occasion when she got a compliment for her cooking abilities, yet it was the first time when she got a reward for it. It was the first occasion when she got a reward in her life.

The salary offered was beyond her imagination. Ellen had thought she would get that salary after a few years. She did many experiments and created new flavors and unique formulas of the chocolate. The cherry brand of chocolate turned into another name for Maple Valley, and travelers visiting the place began carrying different types of cherry-branded chocolates with Ellen’s formula as a fantastic memento from Maple Valley.

With her first increased salary, Ellen bought an oven, and she saved the rest with her first-month saving in her brown bag. She began making varieties of cakes in Moses and discovered happiness in serving it to all. Gradually, it became a routine in the weekends for everyone to get a piece of the delicious cake made by Ellen. Father Gabriel was also amazed by Ellen’s cooking skills.

***

In a monthly meeting, Father Gabriel suggested an idea to build a cake plant inside the church compound and sell cakes. Sister Sophie and Mother Mary were the initial supporters of the concept, and the church management didn’t have any opposition to starting a new business. They knew Father Gabriel would make things a reality once he decided on something. Regardless of anyone’s hostility toward a good project, they drafted the business plan, and Father Gabriel approached the Catholic bank in the town for assistance.

Father Gabriel was famous in Maple Valley; his priceless efforts had contributed greatly to get the city in this shape. Gabriel was a civil engineering graduate in the early 40s before he went toward spirituality. Town planning officers always visited Father Gabriel to discuss upcoming constructions. With his recommendations, they did everything splendidly.

The bank couldn’t resist any project from Father Gabriel. The young manager in the branch had also heard the legendary story of Father Gabriel, and he knew about Father Gabriel’s great prospects for the future. Without asking for approval from any higher authority, the bank manager was ready to give the loan to the new startup attempt of Moses. It was another intelligent move of Father to take Moses Orphanage to a new system where they stood on their own feet with the efforts of the inmates of Moses. He wanted them to sustain themselves, earn their bread and be a model to the whole world.

It was excellent news for Ellen to set up a new business. She was flying like a butterfly all over there during her weekends. She was so happy to tell her colleagues about the new project of Moses. Her colleagues and company owner organized a remarkable tea party and a few gifts on her last working day in the cherry chocolate company. The middle-aged owner was sad to send her away because Ellen was a life changer for his company and he also feared the rise of another chocolate company from the church under Ellen’s skills. He gave her a set of beautiful glass pots and a check of 2500 dollars as a profit share of his firm.

Ellen opened her bank account in Maple Valley Catholic bank and deposited her first savings along with a 2500-dollar check. Ellen started dreaming about the future.

Father Gabriel found a good place for the baking house, opposite to Moses. Father created a magnificent design after discussing with Ellen. The plan of the building was incredible with three medium-sized chimneys facing the hillside. Anyone in the city would be able to see the smokestacks once it was constructed. It was Ellen’s unimaginable dream to have a cake house. With Father Gabriel’s support, she started working hard to get the necessary approval to build as they had planned. She was a little sad for a few days. After earning for six whole months, she had not saved anything for her dream. She felt nervous at nights, thinking about her lack of savings.

It was not as smooth as Ellen anticipated, constructing the cake manufacturing plant. She was confused about the space she envisioned after looking at the foundation they built for the facility. However, Father Gabriel persuaded her about the zone she would get after development according to her arrangement. They limited the cost of construction with efficient, dependable, easy to source building materials.

Ellen was in a rush to develop it quickly, yet it took them over three months to shape the plant according to their arrangement. Father Gabriel utilized the funds purely for the construction, and after that, he purchased the propelled sorts of apparatus available in the market for mixing and heating the cake. During the time of the formation of the plant, Ellen began conducting classes for the specialists chosen for the cake plant. Most of them were from Moses, and a few women from needy families around were also considered for the job.

The day was memorable for Moses, especially Ellen. They all sat tight for the first light of that day. At Father Gabriel’s invitation, the Bank Manager and Town Councilor were present at the initiation of cake house. Father Gabriel thought of having the counselor inaugurate the cake house. However, the counselor insisted on him doing it, saying Father Gabriel was the perfect person to bless an upcoming dream.

At everyone’s wishes, Father Gabriel cut the red strip tied between the doors of cake house and switched on the power supply to the cake house. Ellen felt she was wandering in fantasyland when she saw the lights on the cake production line inside. Ellen was assigned a post as the leader of the workforce under the administration of Father Gabriel.

Adam’s inquiries regarding Ellen’s property went to court. Ellen exhibited herself in the court, and the court considered the vulnerable state of the convict and considered her situation that made her unable to pay the taxes for quite a long time. The court accepted Ellen’s offer to pay the punishments in parts to the administration to free her property from legal obligation. The court’s last sentence left her discharged from any penalty, in this case, considering her circumstance, age, and Ellen’s law preservationist nature. She seemed amazingly cheerful while exiting from the court.

Ellen went with Adam to see her own plot in Maple Valley and was astounded to see the timberland that attracted her initially during her morning stroll with Sister Sophie.

Ellen executed the initial days of production and supply from the cake house with her perfect business plan. She limited their production and concentrated on a direct marketing methodology. It was not possible for the ladies who came to work in the cake house to go to the neighboring ranges in the valley and sell cakes in houses.

Ellen engaged herself in covering several regions by herself. During one of her visits to sell cakes at homes, she walked into a timber home with the last cake in her bag. Ellen was certain nobody would purchase a cake from her from the awful look of the house. Yet, she strolled in there to take a chance.

Two little girls came out seeing a guest in front of their home, and a youthful, fat woman followed them. Ellen gazed at those children; they appeared worn out by the looks on their faces. Ellen took the cake out of her sack. Ellen saw the yearning in those eyes. Before Ellen said anything, the woman in the home disclosed to Ellen they didn’t have the cash to purchase anything. The little girls looked at their mom’s face. Ellen felt the vulnerability in her heart. She imagined the little girls and herself in the same boat. She paused for a moment.

“Please take it, Ma’am. Please don’t stress over the cash. We started a cake house in the congregation. As a part of our introduction, we are giving it in homes, if you like the taste, you can purchase next time,” Ellen just said what she felt in her mind to prevent taking away the cake from those children.

The woman endeavored to persuade Ellen to take it back. However, the cake was already in the hands of those little angels.

The lady requested Ellen to pull up a chair inside their little space. Ellen tried to refuse and walk back, but the lady pleaded with her at least to have a cup of coffee.

Ellen felt the hand of a decent cook in the dark espresso she got. She asked for more details about them. Isabella was the name of the mother of those twin angels. In a short while, Ellen got the nitty gritty picture of the family. Isabella was a Maple Valley woman, those twin angels and with her parents and husband Abraham were her family. Blustery days affected Abraham’s timber work, and he was down with a fever the last couple of days.

Ellen felt like helping the family, yet she was hesitant to offer anything before they asked her. She figured they might feel bad if she offered anything after hearing their story. Ellen concealed her offer differently; she welcomed Isabella to join the cake house if she was looking for a job. Isabella thanked God in her mind. She didn’t think an occupation would come and thump their door that evening.

Ellen explained her about the startup and difficulties they were going through, and Ellen told her about the direct marketing style for a few days. Everything went well for Isabella. She got permission from her husband after hearing their introduction. It was a great relief for Abraham in this delicate time. Soon, Isabella became a part of Ellen’s team, and within a month, they started getting enough orders from Maple Valley city. After ending the fieldwork, Ellen felt relaxed. She occupied herself with finding new tastes in the factory. Her dreams got wings now; the business was growing beyond their expectations.

It was Father Gabriel’s proposal again to manufacture a production line outlet close to the city. He settled on the choice to construct it in Ellen’s plot, and Abraham got the agreement to fabricate a little timber hovel to offer cakes in the timberland. He maintained his dedication to work while making that hut with his team, and soon, it became a beautiful shop to sell fresh cakes. Ellen felt Isabella would be the best to take care the outlet; it was close to her home, and Father consented to give the activity to Isabella. From the next morning, Isabella was relieved from kitchen to a new world. However, it was troublesome for the village lady to compute quickly and give change to the clients for a few days.

Father Gabriel was the sole administrator of Moses even in his old age. He cherished everything he commenced. Moses’ cakes became a favorite of Maple Valley. In three years, they had paid back the bank loan, Father Gabriel fixed the salary for everyone, and he deposited it every month to everyone’s account. A few village women who didn’t have bank accounts used to take the salary directly from the Father. Isabella was one among them. After Sunday prayers every week, Father Gabriel used to get plenty of marriage proposals for Ellen, but she disregarded them all, saying that she wanted to achieve something in life first. It was an act of revenge for her to build her dream.

Ellen was happy to see her reserve funds developing all through the years. She feared only for Father Gabriel’s health. Frequent sickness and old age made Father shrink to his office room all day. On a winter night, Father Gabriel began his trip toward paradise without disturbing anybody. Ellen was the most affected one after Father Gabriel’s separation. She cried for several days in her distress thinking about him. They had developed a significant bond in those six years.

Father Nicolas was designated as Head of Chapel and Moses after the loss of Father Gabriel. Father Nicolas was a different character, not at all like Father Gabriel. From the minute Father Gabriel’s responsibilities were taken over by Father Nicolas, Moses’ awful days began. He appointed his relative as the manager of the cake house and linked the cake house to the congregation administration. With that initial work, he got appreciated by the management. It was excellent news for the management to get additional income from Moses.

Ellen felt alone in Moses, and she was tossed out of Sister Sophie’s room. Father Nicolas acted strictly to comply with the convent rules; he aimed to remove Ellen from there. The new manager in the cake house treated everybody antagonistically. Ellen felt like going out of the cake house day after day. The new manager acted like a devil to those ladies and Ellen in the cake house.

One day, Ellen contended with him in regards to his state of mind toward her employees. Father Nicolas came to tackle the issue and asked Ellen to quit working if she didn’t like to work there. It came as a shock to Ellen, yet she chose to exit from her fantasy and Moses. She packed up her brown bag again and strolled into the valley.

Ellen had something in her mind that she wanted to do. She shared her intentions with Sister Sophie before leaving; Sister Sophie was the only one Ellen wanted to seek permission from to leave Moses. Father Nicolas even dreaded to converse with Ellen at the time. He knew a single word leaving Ellen’s mouth would be an affront to him in the group. Adam pleaded with her to stay back. However, the young woman set out to break free from passionate bonds now. She was stable enough to live alone. Also, she wanted to live freely and independently.

Isabella was sitting alone in the cake outlet when Ellen got there. After some casual talk, Ellen disclosed the situation she was going through. Ellen requested Isabella’s assistance to help her find a place to stay; Isabella invited Ellen to their home with all her heart. Ellen thought about the discomfort she would create for Isabella’s family, yet she remained silent and consented to go to Isabella’s house.

Ellen viewed the little house from afar. She saw the magnificence of the timber home at this point.

“How much do I need to spend to build a home like this?”

Isabella did not know the exact figure. Her husband had built the house. She told her that after asking her husband, she would tell her the estimate.

Abraham was practically jobless for quite a long time. Concrete homes and constructions made him jobless. The family relied on Isabella’s wage for a living.

When they reached home, those two little holy messengers headed to Isabella and embraced her. They searched for a cake in Isabella’s sack; unfortunately, they didn’t find any. There was a look of complete disappointment on their faces. Ellen likewise felt awful to see the heavenly attendants moody. Ellen thought it was only because of her the angels missed their sweets. She even thought of going back and bringing them a full cake.

Ellen was happy to stay with a family after a long time. She enjoyed the moments when she saw conversations of grandparents with their grandchildren. Ellen asked Abraham to give her an estimate and build a timber house in her plot. She explained her plan to make a cafeteria in place of a cake outlet and a small two-bedroom home behind it. Isabella was terrified about her job, yet Ellen made her quiet saying Isabella and Ellen would run the cafeteria.

The little girls enjoyed playing with Ellen. They listened to the stories Ellen told to them till they slept on her lap. At night, Ellen slept with Isabella and the kids in their small bedroom. Abraham slept in the corridor. The following day, he woke up ahead of schedule and left home to call his laborers.

Ellen woke up late after sleeping late the last night. She had been thinking of her life from Moses to New York and back to Moses—twenty-five years of life—that made her sleep late. She felt proud of her six years living in Moses. She felt the confidence to start a business and make it fruitful, but she was anxious about accepting the challenges in her life.

Isabella and Ellen walked with the baby girls toward the cake outlet. Somebody from the cake house was waiting outside to set the new cakes to sell them, but Ellen revealed to him from that day onwards they would not sell cakes here—sweet revenge. Ellen returned the cakes in the store to the man who came with new cakes. After the man left, Ellen gave a big cake to those naughty twins, which she covered up inside for them.

They strolled on the land alongside Abraham and the workers to find oak trees in the estate. Isabella told them about sugar maple trees which hadn’t been tapped by anyone in the plot. No one thought about the mysterious proprietor of this lot; everyone thought it was government property and hesitated to trespass on it. That’s why it remained a maple island in the city.

Ellen enjoyed the walk through the snow in the estate with the naughty angels; they were tossing snowballs at everybody and chuckling, Ellen went along with them. The workers and Abraham watched Ellen’s childlike games with curiosity.

Abraham identified the trees which were suitable for building the home and instructed his laborers to chop it down and begin preparing it according to their requirements.

Days passed by quickly. Ellen delighted in the stay with the family. She turned into a piece of the family, and the children began cherishing her more than their grandparents. Ellen took the family for an excursion to the city during weekends, and she savored those moments when she could bring happiness to a poor family. Abraham’s budget for building the timber home was much lower than Ellen’s expectations. That helped her spend a little of her savings and enjoy her first vacation after six consecutive working years.

Abraham completed his work with full commitment and gave the key to the cleaned timber house and cafeteria to Ellen in a month. It was the most significant minute for Ellen to watch her finished home from outside. Isabella and Ellen brought all the essential things including tables, seats and staple goods for the cafeteria and home with the assistance of Abraham during the day. By night, they set everything for opening the cafeteria the following day. They even decorated the entrance of the cafeteria with different shades of festoons to catch people’s eyes.

The last day in Isabella’s home was agonizing for Ellen. She comprehended why families become special for everybody in a short time span. She understood the meaning of family from Isabella’s home, and she realized she hadn’t lived with a family in New York. Especially to part with the little kids was painful for Ellen. She gifted them identical blue dresses with white blooms on them before they began to hurry to the cafeteria in the morning.

Sister Sophie and Adam were present at the inauguration at Ellen’s invitation. A few neighbors of Isabella and colleagues from cake factory also came to see Ellen’s new startup. Each one complimented Ellen for stepping forward to become autonomous. Sister Sophie inaugurated Ellen’s Cafeteria by cutting the ribbon across the door after Ellen’s insistence, and everyone gathered around.

After the inauguration, Ellen severed everyone a cup of hot espressos with a couple of treats. The first day’s business was low as Ellen expected, and by evening, they almost made the collection of that day’s expenses. It was not a profit, but Ellen knew it would happen, and she was mentally prepared for it. Isabella left the cafeteria after cleaning and arranging everything properly.

Ellen felt weird to go home and rest alone. She shut the cafeteria, went into her new house and shut the door fast. A dense smell of wood and polish was in the room. It was suffocating for Ellen, but she dreaded opening the window. She burned a few perfumed kinds of wood along with other wood blocks in her fireplace to get a rich scent.

Ellen lay on her bed pondering on her past and near future. She was thinking about the life she wanted to live. She was befuddled and couldn’t settle on a choice. Until this time, her fantasy was just to construct a home. Now, what was next? Her mind was blank. She lay restless on her bed. Dread and contemplations messed up her sleep.