Chapter 1
Meri
"What have you got there?" I asked Sister Moon.
"A pot of gold," she cackled holding up a little purse and shaking it. It jingled with heavy coins.
"No," I said reaching for the baby in her arms. "Who is this?"
"A Karut." She easily relinquished him to me. I peeled back the blanket and looked at the little face.
"Aren't you pretty?" I stroked the soft cheek. "You're sure he's a Karut? He's so pale."
"Maybe he's a half-breed," she replied, already counting the coins. "So many good Mishnese girls giving themselves to Karut men after poor Lydia was forced to do it. I suspect we'll be getting a lot more just like him."
"Maybe," I agreed, stroking the baby's tuff of silky black hair. "He's sweet all the same. Does he have a name?"
"Senya."
"Senya," I repeated.
"Now don't you go taking special heart to this little rat," Sister Moon scolded me as she tossed the coins back in the purse. "The same will happen to him as the rest of them."
"Maybe he'll get adopted by a nice family," I said wistfully. "Look what long eyelashes he has."
"Nobody will want a Karut," she snorted. "He'll be here with the rest of the nasties until he runs off and gets himself killed on the street. Get yourself back to work now. Put the baby in the baby room and go check the one year olds' buckets."
"Yes Ma'am." The baby put his little fist in his mouth. "Can I give him a bottle first? He's hungry."
Sister Moon shrugged. "Be quick about it."
"Thank you, Ma'am." I curtseyed and hurried the baby to the baby room where I could get a bottle out of the warmer and sit for a moment before I had to dump all the potty buckets. Twice daily I had to circle through the one year olds' room here in the Old Mishnah Orphan Home where twenty babies sat naked in chairs, eating, sleeping and pooping at will. I spent about two minutes with each of them, wiping them hopefully before they broke out in rash, putting ointment on their rashes and hugging them all for just a moment before I must put them back down and move on to the next. By the time they graduated on to the two year old room, they were allowed to wear pants and shirts, sleep on cots and eat at small tables. If they messed their pants for whatever reason, they were sent back to the one year old room for a day which was such a punishment that rarely would they mess again.
The baby room was my favorite place though. It was quiet and warm in there, and I could sit in a rocker and cuddle as many little bundles as I had time for. The older ones stood in their cribs and waved to me as I came in. Some babbled out a few nonsense sounds and some smiled showing me two or four tiny teeth.
"Hello babies," I called to them.
"Hello Meri," Sister Lena called back. She was in a rocker with one of the few little girls we had. Most of our children were boys. I didn't know why they were abandoned more often than girls. Girls could be put to work, I supposed. Certainly our girls unless they were rescued before age seven or eight, would be put to work earning their keep.
"Who have you got there?" Lena asked.
"A new one," I replied grabbing a bottle and settling down next to her. "This is Senya."
"A Karut," she gasped with surprise. The baby she was holding stopped sucking and looked at her for a moment.
"Yes, but he's pretty isn't he," I said offering him the bottle. He sucked it greedily and patted it with his hand.
"I wonder why the Karuts didn’t take him." Lena peered at him through her bottle thick glasses.
"Sister Moon thinks his mum was Mishnese. Was your mum Mishnese, Senya?" I teased. The baby smiled with the nipple still in his mouth.
"He says yes." I laughed as he sucked fiercely once again.
"He is beautiful," Lena agreed. "What color are his eyes?"
"I don't know. Open your eyes, baby. Let me see your pretty eyes."
The baby opened his eyes as if he understood me, and Blessed Saint, I nearly dropped him. His eyes were silver, like swirly specks of silver light.
"Blessed Saint," Lena cried upsetting her baby who howled in protest.
Senya closed his eyes again as if he knew this is what caused us fright. He finished his bottle and sucked air until I wrestled the bottle from his mouth and held him against my shoulder.
"He is possessed." Lena calmed her baby and then quickly put her back in a crib. "Do you think this is why the Karuts didn’t want him?"
"He's not possessed," I insisted, burping my little friend. "He's sweet." He patted my face with his hand while looking out across my back.