Unexpected Journey

Chapter 1

Emma was born in 1812, the fifth child of a prosperous wool trader in Greenland; her four siblings were boys. She grew up playing with her brothers. Her father lifted her up to reach the fruit on the trees, took her with his boys to the river to fish, helped her to catch a frog, put a little fish in her hand, and got her a colorful bird in a cage. She would run out to watch and touch the sheep when the shepherd took them out of the barn to the field. Emma enjoyed all the attention and liked all the experiences she was exposed to. Only the bird in the cage didn’t amaze her; she cried and opened the door to let it go.
The most shocking reality to that little child happened at six years of age when her fresh mind faced inexplicable rules based on gender. Up until that moment, it hadn’t meant much to her.
“Emma, where are you?” called her mother.
“I am going to play with my brothers, Mother.”
“No, you should stay here with me.”
“But they are all out. Why I can’t go?”
Her father’s harsh voice came from behind her. “Listen to your mother, Emma. Don’t argue.”
She turned her head to where the voice came from, her mouth about to pronounce the word “But—”
Emma didn’t know where to hide, as her father’s face turned red, its muscles contracted around fiery eyes. His scary mouth was opened wide as he shouted, “You are a girl; you can’t play with boys anymore. Be careful. If I know about any misbehavior, you will be punished and won’t go to school.”
That statement was a turning point in Emma’s short life. She didn’t understand the word punishment, but it seemed scary. School, she knew was that small room close to the church filled with children like her, and a big woman with a wooden stick in her hand.
Emma cried a lot that day. Her brothers’ voices coming from the yard squeezed her heart painfully. After that, she avoided looking directly in her father’s eyes; a big barrier was forming with him and even with her brothers.
The father was her idol, but he became both an idol and an enemy. She hated him for what he said and the way he said it. She hated herself and her mother for being girls, limited to staying home and doing all the cleaning, cooking, and weaving of cloth.
*****
At eight years old, by a total coincidence, Emma heard her mother, from behind their bedroom door crying. She stood there listening.
“I would like to go with my parents to visit my sister.”
“Which sister?”
“My sister Mercy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I won’t be absent for long—only two days.”
“You want to visit that disfigured human?”
“But she is a human like anyone.”
“No she isn’t. It was my mistake to marry you; you have such a witchy sister. Don’t mention her name before me or anyone else. Do you understand?” Then her father left home with her siblings. Emma saw her mother in the kitchen crying.
“Mother, who is Mercy?”
Her mother’s eyes opened wide. “Who told you about her?”
“No one. I heard you talking to my father.”
“Are you sneaking around our room?”
“No, Mother. I heard my father raising his voice; I stopped by your door.”
“You shouldn’t know about her. Don’t mention it to your brothers.”
“But why? Does my father know?”
“Yes, but this a forgotten story; no one dares to mention her name.”
“Where is she?”
“In a convent with religious women.”
“Why?”
“She was born with an abnormal body—one side is bigger than the other.”
“Everything?”
“Yes—eye, ear, arm, and leg. When she started walking, naturally she was limping. My mother kept my sister at home till she was five years old—I was eight years old then. Then my father came one day with women who were strangers in his carriage. They stayed at our home three days, and during their visit, my mother didn’t stop crying. No one told me what was going on.
“The third day, the women with long, dark dresses mounted the carriage holding Mercy’s hand, and they took her with them. My mother fell on her knees, kissing my father’s shoes to keep Mercy. Mercy was crying, shouting, and kicking the women. It was the last time I saw her. My father used to take my mother to visit her once a year.”
“So, you never saw her again?”
“Never—they asked me to forget about her completely.”
“But why did they send her there?”
“People believe that any physical distortion means a bad spirit is living in the body, and the person is a witch.”
“What about Mercy? What did she say to her mother?”
“The first few years, she kept crying. She wanted to come back home, but then she understood why she couldn’t.”
“Do people still believe the same thing?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“And you, Mother, do you think the same?”
“I don’t know. A disfigured person scares me. I don’t want to be close to them.”
“What about Father?”
“He believes that a bad soul resides in a strange body.”
“If I were born with a deformity, what would you do?”
“Why are you asking such questions?”
“Only to know.”
“I am not sure what I would do myself, but as for your father, he would send the child to such a place.”
*****
At ten, Emma felt a strong desire to prove to her father that she was not any less than her brothers were. She wanted him to know how wrong he was and that he had underestimated her strength and will. When her father and brothers were absent, she turned all her attention to her mother so that she could ask questions of her. Emma inquired as to the justification for the rules she had to accept from her father. She wanted to find a way to be equal to her brothers.
When her father and brothers were present, Emma watched and listened attentively to hear what boys did or said differently. She volunteered to help even if no one asked or thanked her. She didn’t expect praise or acknowledgment; this was only for her book of life.
*****
As usual, while the men were out and Emma and her mother were alone in the kitchen, Emma took advantage of being with her mother to get the answers to her inquiries.
“Mother?”
“Yes!”
“Did you go to school?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“In my youth, we didn’t have school in Greenland.”
“So, you don’t read or write?”
“No.”
“How come my father can read and write?”
“At that time, it was a must for men to read the Bible.”
“But, he does more than that. He writes and calculates!”
“Yes, some families promised the teacher food, wood, and cloth, and in return he gave their sons extra lessons.”
“Mother—”
“Emma, stop asking; finish your job.”
“I did all that you asked me to do. I am here to help you prepare supper.”
“I have to admit you are a great help, Emma. Sometimes, I feel sorry that you don’t have sisters or cousins your age—not even neighbors with daughters to be your friends.”
“Mother, do you want me to set the table?”
“Hurry up. The sun is setting; soon your father and brothers will be here.”