Joanna and her attendants stood in front of the locked railing gate of the orphanage building, waiting for it to be opened.
Before she shook the bell that was hung on one side of the gate fra to announce her arrival so that the gate would be unlocked and opened later, she was startled by the loud voice that reverberated through the peaceful afternoon air.
"Oh, my God. Is that really you, my lady?"
Joanna turned her head towards the source of the voice and saw an old woman, who was in her late sixties, with her grey hair set into a bun, approaching her direction in quick steps.
Noticing who she was, Joanna smiled, pulling her hand that was inserted through the rail of the gate to shake the bell back to her side.
Upon the voice of the old lady, not only was Joanna taken aback, but also the girls who were playing in the front yard. Moving their heads to follow where the old lady rushed to, they shrieked when they found whom my lady was referring to.
"Lady Joanna!" shouted the girls at the sa ti, and they ran towards the closed gate at a speed that beat the old lady who first walked toward the gate, causing the dust to fly up, dancing in the air, as the heavy steps impacted on the dry soil.
As the gate was still locked, the kids could only jump cheerfully before the gate, giggling rrily with their hands stretching out of the rail of the gate to touch the young lady. Joanna welcod them with the sa happy tone, grabbing their hands and giggling with them.
"Now, now, kids. Behave please!" remarked the old lady with a stern voice, as if to discipline the girls when she ca near the gate. Soon the girls pulled away and stepped aside as the old lady unlocked the gate with the key in her hands.
"Behave!" The old lady gave another remark when she saw the kids about to storm towards the young lady when the gate was pulled open.
Towards the stern remark, the kids forced her feet to be nailed on the ground and offered the young lady a polite bow. They then greeted her in harmony, "Welco to Powel Orphanage, Lady Joanna." Joanna let out a low chuckle at their conduct before responding to them with a nod and a thank you.
"Now, please get inside and tell Mrs. Valore to prepare lunch for the guests," demanded the old lady to the kids.
"But we are still missing Lady Joanna and want to play with her, Mrs. Powel," the youngest girl among the four whined with a sad look, looking up at the old lady called Mrs. Powel with her doe eyes while shaking the old lady’s hand.
Mrs. Powel let out a sigh, looking down at the little girl with a kind look. She said while brushing the little girl’s brown hair, "Later, Emma. Let Lady Joanna take a rest first. Don’t you see her look so exhausted?"
On the question of Mrs. Powel, Emma turned her head to look up at Lady Joanna, who was smiling at her despite her weary state.
The little girl, whose long brown hair was braided and rested on her left and right shoulders, then gave a nod of agreent. Looking back at Mrs. Powel, she said in a small voice, "Lady Joanna is tired right now."
Joanna then took a step forward and bent down to et Emma’s dim eyes. "I will play with you and your sisters later after I get enough rest. Are you okay with that, Emma?" said Joanna with a reassuring smile, poking the little girl’s nose.
Upon hearing the sweet, promising words, Emma nodded, showing a broad, delighted smile, with her eyes shining brightly.
With that, all the girls ran inside the building to pass the ssage given by Mrs. Powel to Mrs. Valore, the cook in the Powel Orphanage.
Standing in front of Joanna with a green apron, which was stained with flour, over her modest and plain beige dress, Mrs. Powel sized her up from top to bottom before landing her gaze on the young lady’s face at last.
With reddened, watery eyes and a soft smile on her lips, Mrs. Powel said, "I thought that I would never see you again, my lady." Her voice was low and quivering. Her wrinkled hands reached out to wrap Joanna’s hand, softly patting the back of her hand.
Joanna returned the smile, lifting her other hand to be placed on top of the warm hand of Mrs. Powel. "And I am happy to be able to see you again, Mrs. Powel," replied Joanna in a low and soft voice.
She was indeed grateful to have another chance to visit a place that she thought she would never be able to co to after she was married and moved to Archess. It was a place that she visited when de Lara sent logistics. She would then stay for at least three days to talk and indulge with Mr. and Mrs. Powel whom she had regarded as her grandparents.
Mrs. Powel nodded her head at the young lady’s words. No single words were uttered after that, only a few soft taps on the back of the young lady’s hand that the older lady used to convey her inner feelings.
After looking at each other for a while with each smile crossing sincerely on the two ladies’ faces, Mrs. Powel ca to a realization when she happened to avert her eyes, finding the other guests who stood quietly behind the young lady.
Bringing her gaze back to Joanna, she said, "I asked the kids to stay away from you so that you can rest but what I am doing right now." She took a sigh, moving her gaze towards Joanna’s attendants. "I am making the exhausted guests stand longer because of my uncontrollable emotion." She let out another sigh before saying,
"Please forgive this old lady, dear ladies and gentlen. The older you are, the more likely you beco llow over a small, simple thing."
Joanna smiled at the old lady’s words and shook her head when she t the old lady’s eyes, as if telling her that it was really fine and there was no need to worry about it.
Returning the smile, Mrs. Powel comnted, "It must be a very torturous journey as usual. Please have a rest inside, dear ladies and gentlen." Mrs. Powel then guided the young lady and her attendants to get inside the orphanage building, quitting the llow chattering under the llow atmosphere.
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