Chapter one

"Trish, Melvin, it's bedtime, come on let's put you two darlings to bed." Ressa smiled at her children as she picked them up in her arms and made her way upstairs.

They were only two years old and they'd already gotten so big and heavy, she grunted as she climbed up the stairs.

These were hard times, it was already past eight in the evening and her husband wasn't back from work, he worked as a clerk in the tax office at the village center.

The people were always reluctant to pay their taxes to the King as they didn't even have much to feed themselves but they were forced to do it by the tax enforcers, they couldn't do anything about it and so all they could do was grumble, complain and swear at her husband whenever they wanted to pay their taxes.

Some even went as far as spitting on him and threatening to hurt him and his family, her husband always came home tired and sad from work, it was not like he loved his job, he just had to do it for the sake of his wife and children.

He did not like how the King and his administration exploited the poor people but he could do nothing about it because he was poor just like all the people, he was paid a merger salary despite collection and counting all the fat coins to be sent to the palace.

He was a very honest man and so he had never even thought to take one extra gold coin for himself, it wasn't like the King would know about it or the enforcers, he was the only one allowed to count the coins and put them in bags, yet he never stole a day in his life.

Nessa was content with her life even though it was hard and they seldomly had enough to eat, she had grown up far worse and was considered lucky to have found such a husband to marry her.

Before he married her, she used to wear rags, now she wore a dress even though it was the only one she owned.

She placed her children in their twin cribs and then rocked them to sleep, swaying their cribs back and forth, she never learned to sing so she couldn't song them a lullaby but what she could do was read and so she usually read them bedtime stories.

She had been fortune to learn how to read and write as a child and that had been one of the reasons her husband had married her ,even though he had eventually learned to love her as she did him.

"Mama, story eee, mama please." The children pleaded with her to tell them a story and she chuckled as she took a seat beside their cribs.

"Long time ago." She started and watched as the children were already scratching their eyes, it wouldn't be long now before they fell asleep. "There was a beautiful fairy who usually visited a town with lots of gifts for everyone."

"And sweets too." The children looked up at her with gleaming eyes.

"Yes, my dear children, and sweets too, lots os sweets, cakes, candies and chocolate for all the children." She smiled as their eyes began to close and then she lowered her voice to a whisper and kept telling the story.

They're asleep." A voice whispered behind her and she turned around to see her tired looking husband in the doorway.

"Yes, they finally fell asleep." She whispered back and he walked quietly into the room, he pulled her into a hug and leaned down to peck the children on the head.

"I left you some bread and milk for supper,that's all the food that's left in the house." She told him as they walked downstairs." When are you going to get your wages?" She asked.

The council has pushed back our wages for two more weeks." He looked at her sadly

"No." She gasped, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "What are the children going to eat?"

"I'll think of something, in the morning we can borrow some money from Mr. Von." He told her.

"But darling we owe him too much already. I'm not sure he will borrow us again."she shook her head sadly.

"Don't worry, once I get paid, I will pay him immediately." He said and sat down on the wodden chair.

"Here's the bread and milk." She walked back with a glass of cold milk and some dried cornbread.

"Keep it for the twins." He said and got up from the chair. "I'm tired anyway, they can have that tomorrow before I go to Mr. Von. He said and she nodded.

She understood, it was not the first time they'd given up their meals for the children.

She blew out the candle and they walked upstairs together in the dark.

Sometime in the midnight, Nessa heard a knock on the door and she ran down to check who was there, when she opened the door, a gust of cold wind blew in and she saw nobody, she looked down at her feet and found a huge basket of groceries.

She looked around and hurriedly grabbed them then shut the door immediately, tears of joy ran down her face as she placed them in the kitchen to use later in the morning.

After the surprise visit from the unknown stranger Nessa is happy and glad that they do not have to go borrowing money from Mr. Von. The next morning Nessa prepares the meal for her household just after her husband was about to go to work at the tax office he remembers that they didn't have any food to eat just yesterday and they were about to borrow some money from Mr. Von, so he decides to ask his wife about it saying,

"Darling i remember just yesterday we were about to borrow money from Mr. Von so where did you get this food from"he said.

Nessa then tells her husband about the knock on their door the day before and the unknown stranger whom she didn't even have time to thank before going. After hearing this, her husband gets happpy and agrees that that should be a secret between them and he finally leaves for work. Nessa being a very curious woman she couldn't stop thinking about the strange visit and who it could possibly be. Nessa's thought is interrupted by the voice of her crying child. She goes, feeds the child and does all other neccessary thngs before putting the child back to bed.

Nessa hopes to forget everything that happened that day.

She goes for a walk with her twins and fiinally decides that it was just one of her neighbors who had actually come to her aid. With that explanation Nessa finally goes back home and able to get proper rest .

Nessa husband comes back from work that day very tired maybe he just over stressed himself and forgot about how important his health was. Nesa serves her husband his meal but he didn't say anything than thankyou which was usually the last word he says, but he is just a tax collector Nessa thought, with this on her mind she knew she would not be able to get a good night sleep so she decides to ask her husband the reason why he was so tired and unhappy at the same time

"darling , why are you looking like this"she asked?

Nessa's husband later tells his wife about the difficulties he faces everyday at work in the tax office and his salary that would have been useful at this time and if not for the stranger, how they would have needed to borrow some money again from Mr.Von and how they had to keep everything that happened a secret.

Nessa feeling the pain her husband was facing could only imagine a time where they would be comfortabble without having to worry about food or any other thing .She then tells her husband to be patient and that all their troubles would soon be gone and that it was only a matter of time for everything.

With Nessa knowing that none of her neighbors seemed well off enough to have dropped the basket at her door last night she still wondered who it could have been. After the long time of thought Nessa then decides to get a good night sleep although she knew she would not be able to sleep that well because she had already spent half of the night being bothered about what she should not.

The next morning Nessa woke up early so that she would be able to prepare break fast for her and her husband before attending to the twins because at that they were still asleep. Nessa greated her husband that morning and served breakfast for them both.After Nessa husband husband had finished his meal he stood up and bid his wife goodbye before leaving for work immediately Nessa's husbaand left she also stood up and went to lock their house door.

Nessa later went to check on the twins but at this time they had woken up she then took the twwns to their twin tub and had their bath after that she dressed them of course they were poor and barely had enough for food so she dressed them in their old fashioned clothes they had and kept the ones they took off for washing to avoid a situation where they would not have any to wear, after which she prepared food for the twins and fed them with some butter and cheese pasta which they ate and were given toys to play with from their mother.

Later that day after Nessa finished waashing and spreading the clothes out to dry her husband comes back from work tired and she gives him acup of water to quinch his thirst before peparing dinner which she and her family ate and enjoyed.She went and put the children to sleep before going to her room to rest.

She tells her husband good night before laying her head just as she was about to close her eyes she heard a knock on her door and opens it just like the last no one was there but a basket of groceries was at her feet. Nessa took in the groceries and called her husband to come down. When her husband came down he saw the basket of groceries and asked who brought it Nessa then replied saying,

"Look another basket of groceries again from the same person but just like the last time i did not see the person again for our neighbors do not seem well off enough to have brought it". She said.

After hearing what Nessa said, her and her husband then agreed to give some of it to her neighbors the next day because it was out of the goodness of the persons heart that they are receiving all these.

The next morning after breakfast and all she had to do, she went and gave the groceries to her neighbors who thanked her dearly for the groceries some even went as far as to going on their kneels but with their she wasn't sure of any who could be dropping the groceries she went home and was convinced that it was one of the people in the higher ranks that dropped the groceries every night for them but didn't have enough time to wait.