Mary's Path

He was impressed that she had been able to climb the wall and out onto the branch. He knew how high it had hung and how smooth the wall was. Mary felt pleased that he was impressed, in retrospect she thought it was very bravely thing to do.

When she started to tell him about the Lady, Kopa and the others, she didn’t really know how to explain what they had meant to her, instead she told him about the different people she had come to know.

Erik was even more impressed that she knew the Lady, it was like knowing the king or the archbishop according to him. He asked her if she knew any of the other two as well and was a little disappointed when she told her that she had only met them very briefly.

“When the Lady was going home, she arranged for me to get a job in the kitchen and that’s how I ended up there. I was very lucky because I might as well have ended up living on the street,” Mary concluded her story.

“Do you like working in the castle?” asked Erik.

“Yes, for the most part, it’s not an easy job,” Mary said, waving her hands so that he could see the cuts. “But it’s much more fun to learn to cook than to be a kitchen maid” she continued.

“I have those too,” Erik said, waving his own fingers, which were also full of small wounds. They laughed at their joint injuries and stayed for a while talking about all sorts of things.

When the sun began to sink lower in the sky, they climbed down from their lookout point and Erik followed her to the castle gate.

“I can’t come every Wednesday,” he said. “But don’t forget to look for me, because I’ll come as often as I can.” Mary promised and then saw him disappear down the street. It had been a fun day thought Zerden hadn’t be there, she thought as she walked towards the dining room to eat the evening meal.

The following Wednesday afternoons, Mary spent alone. Zerden always seemed to have a new task given to him by his father and she did not see Erik by the gate, so he must be busy as well.

She would go to the church as she would do on Sundays. There was rarely anyone but the priest around in the middle of the week. Therefor Mary could sit in a bench at the back of the church and pray.

Mary didn’t mind sitting in church. It was wonderfully decorated with images taken from the Holy Scriptures. She recognized almost all the stories that were played on the walls and in the ceiling.

She used to bring some of her salary and put in the alms chest. Mary knew that if it had not been for the Lady, she herself might have needed the donations that ended up there.

Therefore, she always prayed a prayer of gratitude for the Lady, Kopa, and all the other people in the Lady’s entourage. She also prayed for the king and for Mrs. Karrots, for Zerden and Erik and for their families. If she felt extra kind, she also prayed for Mrs. Meata.

The hours spent in church always seemed to disappear quickly and she didn’t know what else to do. Exploring the city by herself was not enticing, nor was exploring the castle. Sitting in the little room, on her bed felt far too depressing to even consider.

In other words, she continued to visit the church on days off when she had no one to hang out with. As time passed, she became a regular sight to the priests in the Church.

Autumn turned into winter and winter turned into spring and then in to summer and Mary accepted her loneliness as part of her new life.

---

As usual, the kitchen was in full swing. Mrs. Karrots shouted orders with a clear voice, the kitchen maids rushed around to perform their duties, and everyone else worked in strict concentration to please Mrs. Karrots.

None of the people in the kitchen knew it was Mary’s birthday. Mary herself had almost forgotten about it until Mrs. Karrots casually mentioned the date. Last year, she hadn’t even realized that she had turned eleven years old until the summer had passed in the autumn, so much had happened last summer.

Today Mary turned twelve years old and if she had stayed at home with her mother and father it would have been celebrated and her parents would have had a small gift prepared for her.

But now she lived in the castle and her parents was no longer alive. Instead, she spent the day pealing and cutting vegetables of various kinds. It was Wednesday and Mary was able to get of work a little earlier. She went to her room and washed off and changed before heading to church.

As she crossed the castle courtyard, she saw Zerden coming carrying what appeared to be a pile of spears. She waved a little towards him and he nodded in her direction as his hands were busy. Mary wished he didn’t have to work, she missed them being able to sit and talk.

But she continued towards the gate leading out to the city. She greeted the two soldiers who were standing guard. Mary had come to know many of the soldiers tasked with standing guard at the castle gate, largely because they knew she was friends with the castellan son. By routine she looked for Erik, but he was not there so she continued her way to church.

When she walked through the doors of the church, as usual, there were no people in there. She sat down in her usual place and thought about who kept all the candles burning.

Sometimes she had seen a couple of priests there and on Sundays it was full of people in the church. But now she sat there alone and was soon deeply immersed in the beautiful pictures that covered the ceiling above the altar.

---

Father Link walked calmly through the colonnade that ran along the side of the church. He loved the old church and it made him sad that it rarely got the recognition it deserved.

He looked out over the benches that were empty. Unfortunately, it was nothing unusual, he thought. But in the back was the beautiful girl who used to come every Wednesday and Sunday.

Father Link had often seen her sitting alone in the back bench, always immersed in her own thoughts. She kept to herself, separated from the rest of the congregation. He had asked a couple of the parishioners if they knew who she was.

But no one seemed to know her. He had often wondered if she was homeless, but her clothes were always clean, and she didn’t look like she was starving. He had a desire to talk to her but had abstained because he didn’t want to disturb her.

Today there was something so sad in her big emerald eyes that his steps changed direction and brought him towards the back row of the bench. He stopped a short distance away from her, but she didn’t seem to notice him.

“Can I help you with something my child?”