THE RED TICKET PUNISHMENT

Lost in thought, she stared at her hands, which were brimming over with water.

As she heard a high-pitched voice yelling at her, she was suddenly jolted back to the present but was stunned when she felt a sharp pain on her shoulder blade.

The hit was so hard that she let out a cry of pain.

Regret washed over her immediately as she realized her mistake. She had broken rule number three, which clearly stated "serenity - no noise!"

And just like that, shehad broken it. She frantically used her hands to clamp her mouth shut, but it was already too late.

Despite not being her biological mother or their mother, she had been taught to address her as "Mother" since she arrived here as a young child.

The woman who runs the house, who makes the rules, who penalizes the offenders, and who you should try as much as possible not to offend.

Her luck had run out because Mother was staring down at her. It was unusual to see her standing as she always had trouble moving around.

Ulanni felt small and vulnerable in her presence, intimidated by her size and power.

Her eyes bore down on Ulanni, scrutinizing every inch of her body as if she were assessing her for some unknown purpose.

Ulanni couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as Mother loomed over her, Mother's breath hot and heavy on my face.

Mother was a very fat woman who had a double chin, her face which was always layered with white powder always made her white skin due to not seeing sunlight frequently even whiter.

She had big black eyes which seemed like they would fall out anytime, and dirty blond hair that was always in a sleek ponytail.

The jingling of the jewelry was a familiar sound to those who knew her, as she was never seen without her signature necklaces, bracelets, and ring.

If you saw her coming, you knew to either stay out of her way or step up your game.

Her approach was a signal that you needed to be doing something worthwhile - or risk being scolded for wasting time.

Ulanni's heart was pounding in her chest as she realized she had not noticed Mother's approach.

She had been lost in her own thoughts, and now she was caught off guard. She looked up to see Mother standing in front of her, as her jewelry clinking together as she moved.

"You! What do you think you are doing?!" echoed Mother's voice which had never creased to instill fear in the children.

Ulanni gritted my teeth as the sharp sting of the cane hit her back, but she resolutely refused to let any sound escape her lips.

She knew that if she cried out, it would only make things worse for her, so she focused on clenching her fists and enduring the pain.

As the canning continued, she focused on my breathing, trying to calm myself down.

Ulanni closed her eyes and imagined myself somewhere far away, away from the pain and the fear.

Finally, the canning came to an end, and she was left standing there, trembling and in excruciating pain.

The silence was deafening as she struggled to keep her balance, her hands shaking, and tears streaming down her face.

It felt like an eternity before she could slowly open her eyes and take in her surroundings.

The room seemed to spin, and she felt like she might collapse at any moment.

But she took a deep breath and steadied myself, determined not to let the pain and humiliation defeat her.

After huffing and puffing out air Mother pointed at Ulanni with the cane and said,

"When you are done with washing the clothes go to Nana and collect a red ticket, that should teach you not to idle and space out when working, you dog!"

Ulanni felt self-conscious as the other children looked at her with pity. She knew that they had all experienced Mother's wrath in some way or another, but it still hurt to be the center of attention.

A purple ticket was a standard ticket that offered a meal and a bed to sleep in, but with the red ticket, most of them had not experienced how bad it could be.

The red ticket meant that you were assigned to the worst possible accommodations, with no guarantee of food or comfort.

It was a punishment for breaking the rules, and everyone knew that if you got a red ticket, you were in for a miserable time.

By the time Mother was done talking, she had to puff out some more air.

"Yes, Mother." Ulanni replied to her with her head bent, despite the stinging pain across her entire back and shoulder blade.

Mother had huffed and started moving slowly back to her chair with great difficulty.

The black skirt she wore seemed to stretch on forever sideways, and her yellow shirt, despite how large it was, didn't reach down to her waist; none of her shirts ever did.

She had always been a larger woman, and her clothing never quite fit her properly.

'Oh no! I was drifting off again. I don't want to get another red ticket one was already bad enough.' Ulanni thought.

Ulanni looked around to find every other kid of different ages, but all above the age of seven doing the laundry tasked to them diligently.

She sighed. She was slightly behind and that was not good, but she was so exhausted.. her arms were killing her as she hadn't had much to eat yesterday.

Because she had gotten a purple ticket for breakfast, which only consisted of a slice of stale bread and sugary water.

She could not complain as they were always assigned work to do either inside the compound or outside, but only the seniors were allowed to go outside the high gates.

Ulanni had always fantasized about what was behind the high gate.

She had always wished to work outside the high gate because those who worked outside the high gate were treated slightly better than those who stayed behind in the compound.

So, she worked hard every day, hoping to be noticed by the people in charge and given a chance to work outside the high gate. She studied hard, and tried to stay positive even when things seemed hopeless.

She snapped out of her thoughts, and with the little strength left in her bony body, she forced her hands to comply with washing.

It had to be sparkling clean or else, not only would she receive beatings, but she would also be asked to wash it again, and at the end of the day she would not get a purple ticket.

Ulanni smiled when she was done. She stood up only to fall back down as her legs couldn't hold her weight and that of the basket of clothes she carried.

It hurt. But she still tried again but this time slowly and she made my way slowly on shaky legs towards Nana's office.

Some kids were also moving along with her. There was a kid with a large injury on the side of his face that looked agonizing.

Ulanni felt a pang of sympathy for the kid with the injury on his face. She couldn't imagine how much pain he must be in, and it broke hee heart to see him suffering like that.

But she knew that if she said anything, she could get punished too, and she didn't want to risk making things worse for both of them.

Rules were rules: no talking, laughing, or making friends. When one was caught one would be taken to Mother's office.

Ulanni didn't know what went on in there only the loud wails and cries of the individual would be heard and they were never seen on the compound grounds again.

Looking away from the boy, she keep walking toward Nana's office.

On reaching Nana's office there was a queue as straight as a ruler with nobody stepping out of place.

Ulanni stood in line with the others, waiting patiently as the queue slowly inched forward.

She watched as people shifted their weight from one foot to the other.