Elsa's Gift - Episode 8

Novella Thursdays

Chapter Seven

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Elsa looked as though she was comatose, staring off into nothing, lying alone in her bed with one hand clinched to her pajama top pressed against her breasts, the other fisting her bloody bottoms between her legs.

A knock came from her bedroom door, followed by Meg’s morning greeting as she opened the curtains, the bright light filling the room almost too much for Elsa to bear.

‘Good morning, Elsa, it’s time to get up. We have a lot of things to do today. I’ll be taking the girls out to run a few errands. While we’re gone, Rumiko, one of our senior associates here, will go over your new assignment with you.’

Meg turned around to find Elsa standing before her, disheveled.

‘Elsa, you look awful. Are you not feeling well?’

Elsa rushed into Meg’s arms and broke down.

‘He raped me,’ she said through her heavy sobs. Meg moved Elsa off her shoulder to look into her eyes.

‘What?!’

‘Last night. Mr. Fujimoto raped me.’

WHAM! All of a sudden Meg slapped her across the face.

‘Don’t you ever say that again. Look what you have here. Look what your family now has. This is your life now. Loyalty and dedication. This is your role in the Fujimoto family. Do what is expected of you, and do not ever question again.’

Meg then did the one-eighty in attitude she was so good at, boarding psychotic as she pleasantly stated, ‘Breakfast will be in five minutes,’ then turned to leave the room.

Elsa could do nothing but stand there, speechless.

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The estate was huge, like a small private town, Elsa seated in the back seat of a van beside Rumiko as she was given the grand tour.

She didn’t seem like the same confident young lady that up until last night she had been, Now nothing but silent and obedient. A lost soul.

‘You have never been beyond the mansion?’ Rumiko asked.

Elsa shook her head no.

‘Ah, there’s so much to see. A park. A school for the children. Even a theater. And many living quarters.’

The van pulled up to some kind of center.

Inside, the same half dozen pregnant women Elsa had encountered the previous day in the garden were all there, including Maria. All being instructed with life-like baby dolls.

Rumiko and Elsa watched from a distance as Rumiko continued the orientation.

‘This is where we instruct all our soon-to-be mothers on parenthood. When you come here, you will take part in all sorts of classes. From prenatal yoga to prenatal water aerobics. And learning everything from how to properly hold an infant to knowing when it’s feeding time.’

Elsa watched in sickened amazement as the pregnant women practiced burping techniques on their dolls.

‘Dr. Takamatsu oversees all prenatal care. You have seen him, correct?’

Elsa nodded. Her and Maria’s eyes made contact.

Rumiko now toured Elsa around the outskirts of a large school, the two coming upon a gated playground where young children were painting on easel-propped canvases, supervised by a few adults.

‘The school is divided into three sections. Pre-school, elementary and high school. Our philosophy is education starts in the womb. And this is why we hold a variety of classes in the maternity center. By the time the children reach this age they are accustomed to learning.’

Inside, Rumiko and Elsa watched from a window as a teacher instructed her small group of students.

‘The students are no more than nine to a class. This ensures individual attention by our highly accredited instructors.’

They continued on down the hall, passing a row of individual soundproof rooms where children practiced their music lessons in solitude.

‘By high school, the children are well-versed in at least one musical instrument, along with fluency in the languages of Japanese, English and the language of the country their mother originates from.’

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Rumiko and Elsa watched from the sidelines of an open field as both male and female teenagers participated in a variety of physical education.

Soccer. Archery. Baseball. Track and field.

A male teenager smiled as he jogged past the two.

‘What about interaction with other people? Do they ever leave the estate?’ Elsa asked.

‘Oh, yes. They have supervised outings once a week. And they visit a new country every summer. They’re all quite worldly.’

‘They’re all brothers and sisters…’ Elsa whispered to herself more than to Rumiko.

‘Of course,’ Rumiko replied.

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Elsa sat in her room trying to write a letter as she held back the tears.

I’m so lonely, Tatay. Your little girl needs you now more than ever.

She tore up the letter and started to cry.

A light knock came from the bedroom door. Vicki peered in and slowly entered, followed by Josephine and Rhani.

Elsa, are you ok?’ Vicki asked with a softness to her voice.

The three gathered around her, all placing a comforting hand atop her shoulder.

She looked up at Vicki.

‘You knew, didn’t you?!’

Then to the other two.

‘You all knew!’

Seeing the tears in Elsa’s eyes made Vicki’s well up too.

‘We were going to talk to you last night, but-’

Elsa pushed Vicki’s hand off her shoulder, Rhani and Josephine lifting theirs in shame.

‘Last night I was raped!’

They all started to cry.

‘How can you all be ok with what’s going on around here?’ Elsa said while once again finding it hard to breathe between sobs. ‘He finds young, educated women who come from poverty and turns them into child-bearing slaves. All so that he can train those children into becoming perfect employees for his corporation. Children that come from his victims of rape!’