Night fell softly upon the city of London. All was silent and peaceful. The only sounds to be heard were the squeaking of mice and the barking of dogs. Most of the city’s inhabitant’s were asleep, save those who were mourning the passing of a relative. One such person was a girl named Angela. Her mother had always called her ‘angel’. Always, until now.
The girl was crying.
Her mother lay in a ditch, her face forever frozen in a hideous death-grin, her eyes staring into the starry sky, never to close in peaceful death. She had been touched by the Black Death. The girl cried, for now she had no one to whisper her secrets to, no one to call her ‘angel’. Barely ten years old, she was already alone in the world. Finally, exhausted by her grief, she fell asleep beside the cold, still body of her mother.
Morning came, and Angela packed the few belongings she had. She kissed her mother tenderly on the cheek and made a vow. She vowed never to cry again, to be strong and to make her mother proud of her. She dragged her mother’s body to a secluded spot and buried her, saying a prayer before she left.
She wandered the streets of London, searching for employment, a way to earn a living. She was young and strong, willing to accept any task, no matter how menial. However, no one wanted Angela, a mere uneducated street urchin. Very soon, what little money she had, had been spent. She was reduced to stealing to survive. She grew emaciated as the days passed.
One day, she got caught trying to steal from a rich merchant. The merchant had his bodyguards beat her up. They clapped her in iron and had her taken to the slave market. There he sold Angela to Count Allen of the city’s tribunal. The count took her to his mansion, a large, sprawling structure. He had his servants chain Angela to a wall in the kitchen. From then on, Angela was treated as a lowly housemaid. She had to clean Count Allen’s mansion every day. It was grueling work, having to clean such a large structure day after day, but the count fed her well and never mistreated her.
In time, Angela blossomed into a beautiful young lady. She decided that she could be happy working for the count. One day, as she was scrubbing the floor of the kitchen, she was called to Count Allen’s study. When she went up to his study and greeted him, Count Allen did not answer. Instead, he went to the study door and locked it. When he turned around, Angela saw the other side of him which she had never seen before – a monster possessed by greed, hatred and lust. She tried to fight him off but to no avail. Though brutally abused, not once did she shed a tear. Later, she was locked up in the cellar. In the black of night, while the household slept, Angela picked the lock of the cellar door. She took as much money as she could find and fled the mansion, never to return.
She walked the streets of the dark, unsure of her destination, knowing only that she must go on. As a pale light tinted the horizon, Angela walked into an alley. All of a sudden, five robbers attacked her. She screamed for help, but nobody heard her pleas. Then, she saw her mother smiling at her, beckoning her.
“Mother! Take me with you. Don’t leave me again. Not again!â€
“Then come, my daughter, come to me.â€
Angel reached for her mother and, suddenly, she was right beside her. The tears she had been holding back for so long finally came in a torrent. She wept, but these were tears of happiness. She was finally reunited with her mother.
She looked down and saw her body being frisked by the robbers, but she didn’t care. She looked up into her mother’s face and smiled. Together, they walked away on a path of light, in the direction of dawn.