She whimpered as he forced himself deeper inside of her.
"You like that eh?" he sneered, showing blackened teeth as he bit on her nipple.
She struggled, tried to free her hands from where he held them, pinned, either side of her head.
She could not speak and she would not cry. Meggy smelt the stench of his breath, heard the groan of his pleasure and knew he'd filled her with his spunk. When he released her, rolled from atop her, she felt the heat of his seed run down her thighs.
Meggy turned away, cradled herself and stared at the wall. She sensed him get up from the bed, knew he was dressing and heard the coins as they spun to a stop on the dirty floorboards.
"You ain't worth much more 'an that." He drew back saliva and spat on the floor.
Meggy heard the door slam, but she did not move. Instead, she closed her eyes, took herself to another place, by a stream where clean water flowed and flowers grew in abundance.
*****
"Honour thy father and thy mother. Forsake your sins and come into the house of the lord! You shall be redeemed!"
Meggy walked the cobbled streets. Father O'Donnell's words spun around in her mind. She stopped, stood still for a moment, held her head in her hands and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Meggy focused on the ground, the wet puddle where she stood; saw her tattered shoes and her desperation as if for the very first time. Her life, her misery, was falling, shrouding her in its blackness. Meggy had never before seen how dark it really was.
Not before.
His words still rang in her head.
"Ya too good for a life such as this."
A stranger's words, spoken in a time of need. Meggy remembered his name, remembered his face, but could not remember his touch. There had been too many in between. Rough hands, sour breaths, unshaven faces and filthy bodies.
Meg-Anne Dunn had only two choices. To live or to die, and she knew, yes, she knew, to live as she did was to die in the slowest way possible.
She walked on, held her hands behind her back, lifted her head to the sky and smiled.
Meg-Anne Dunn would not die today.
Poor Meggy, what a wretched life she has. Isn't she beautiful ♥
Photo copyright - emile-vernon-la-printemps-HKF4N6 alamy stock photo
YOU ARE READING
Children of Toil ✔
Historical FictionDuring the Scottish autumn of 1891, Irishman, Lucan Hayes, a coal miner, loses his wife to childbirth. In his darkest hour, he meets prostitute Meg-Anne Dunn. This brief encounter would alter their lives forevermore. Lucan must find a way to rais...
