2

                                        

                                              
Afternoons slowed to a crawl during late siestas when the convent went to sleep. The perched birds returned to their nests, and Racheal joined them. I waited, my back pressed against the bed, the metal rods digging into my skin. I waited for the bell to shake the convent awake.
The heavy silence that followed the bell was always deafening, as if the world itself paused, holding its breath before the girls' frantic movements. 
When it did, the hostel came to life. The girls rose and hurried to the bathhouse with their buckets. All but Stephanie. She'd wake by dinner time and would stroll through the garden until devotion began.
Chills engulfed my skin as a pale hand clasped Stephanie's face, and then Racheal appeared. She let her hand rest there for a moment before sitting on the low stool next to my bed.
I turned my back on her.
"She felt you. You can't be that careless, ever." My voice came out sharper than I had intended, but the frustration gnawed at my insides. 
Silence.
I could feel her presence beside me, still as a shadow. I jolted up and turned to Racheal, searching her eyes. No, this can't be the mute Racheal. I've always told them apart.
"Racheal?" 
Racheal looked away, her gaze catching the flower beside Stephanie's bed. Once she touched it, the petals shriveled and fell, turning to dust within its pot.
"You were hurt by her and I had to feed," Racheal croaked.
"Did you take her?" I asked, my voice tight.
Racheal shook her head, resting her hands on her legs.
"Take her. She'll be replaced in a day."
The weight of my words lingered in the air like smoke—thick, suffocating. 
The longest it would take to notice is a day after which a new sister would replace sister Gift. Rachael had to feed to survive but I had to be careful, or she'd be taken, and a part of myself would be lost.
Rachael dragged the sheets off my body and helped me sit up. I shrugged her off, planting my feet on the cold floor, the chill sharpening my senses.
"Mum sent a letter," My hand dug under my pillow, lingering on the letter. "Maybe the last."
Now, Racheal would tell me what was in the letter, why Mum hadn't visited in weeks, and I'd decide if she had to be taken.
"She has become two," Racheal said softly. "She smiles with Williams and speaks of an uncertain future. Now, she carries his child."
Mum's pregnant. Again. 
Mum's image appeared before me, so vivid I could almost reach out and become one with her again. With Dad, Naya, Helen. I was cradled between Mum and Dad, and even then, I knew this day would come, though I couldn't prepare.
I knew of Naya and Helen. That was when I asked Racheal to take them. Now, I had to do the same to this nameless child.
A new scene began. I was locked in a box, with Mum and Dad chanting in Latin with a priest. I remained still and asked Racheal to take him. Then Mum brought me here.
The letter crunched in my hand, I rose and wrapped my towel around my waist. "Take the child and let Mum remember."
Mum still hasn't learned to love me, to accept just myself for her but she will. Soon enough. Sooner after she loses another.
Suddenly, a bird slammed against the net outside the window, feathers scattering across the sill. Then more came, shrieking, their cries like a baby's wail.