The morning bell pealed loudly for the call to breakfast.
They walked, some whispering, some crying, some yelling out.
Sixty – five children in all, dressed in blackened muslin nighties and bed bonnets, found their place along the wooden benches that provided them little comfort.
The surroundings, too ornate for them to merely single file into, three times every day, to eat their meals.
Tarnished spoons, steel cups and bowls filled with porridge were set in front of them, as they were every morning.
When they had eaten, they stood, silently, facing the front of the hall.
In unison, as they had done for the past seven-nine years, they thanked the cooks and mistress of the orphanage for preparing their food. The great hall echoed with their frightened and feeble voices.
One by one, they walked bare footed, through the walls, waiting for the bell to peal again.
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For the amazing photo challenge given by Angela Goff at VisDare.
VisDare 23: Ornate Challenge – 150 words or less – My contribution 148 words.
Ooh .. ghosts?
🙂 Hmmm yes
😀
Great story to go with the photo. It kind of looks like the dining hall from The Harry Potter films…cold and massive.
Thank you my sweet, thank you for reading. Yes, it is a dark and overwhelming place.
hauntingly sad
xx thank you for reading Beth
Yes. Very sad.
Thank you hun for reading xx
Oh brilliant….. We are both coming from a dark place this week… That actually reminds me of a film I saw a while ago where the children haunted the modern day home… xx
almost …”have you watched the children”- thank you for reading honey xxx
This was a very evocative piece, I really found the associated image appropriate.
I thank you for reading and taking the time to comment EH … thank you.
That wasvery well written. Kudos.>KB
I thank you KB – truly
Reminds me a little of Oliver Twist!
Well-crafted story.. 🙂
HA thank you for reading & commenting 🙂 xx
I’M SCARED!
😦 I’m sorry 🙂 xx
it’s ok I brought the dog through 🙂
xx
Hope one is well..
I am …but my next post may explain a little of what I am feeling right now xx
Aww, hope you are ok…. x
I’m ok lovely – just a little overwhelmed. xx
Refreshing your page.. x
I’m writing a post… nearly done x
ok…x
x
Oh NO!! I want to go and adopt one of them. Lol I felt I was right there with them watching them eat.
I loved this, Mumsy! Hugs Paula xxxxx
Oh sweet face – I am glad you had that reaction – thank you xxx
Cool story! The picture reminded me of Harry Potter…
Thank you Kitt – yes the Hall reminded me of HP but my muse took a slight diversion.. xx
Lovely work. It also put me in mind of Oliver Twist, or perhaps the early chapters of Jane Eyre. The bed-bonnets and bare feet were a nice touch. Another heart-tugging gem!
Thank you Ang – thank you – I appreciate your comments – always 🙂 x
Neat ghost story! You added great details to paint a picture of this scene… I could see the tarnished silverware and hear the echoes of their voices.
Thanks Zooky for popping over to read- appreciate your commenting also 🙂
Such a haunting piece 😉 . . . Well done!
Hello Dayle – thank you so much for reading and I appreciate you kind comment 🙂
A great take on the prompt. A sad tale. I could almost hear the voices as “The great hall echoed with their frightened and feeble voices.”
Thank you so very much Mike – I have to get around and read others (I am so far behind) Appreciate you reading and your kind comment.