moosemymoose

Chapter 4 As the days passed, Gretchen began to remember less and less of her old life. Eventually, she forgot her parents and her brother completely, her memories replaced with those of Mother. Mother was what they called the woman. Gretchen met more children living in the house, but she only knew them to refer to them by "brother" and "sister". Once, Gretchen wandered out to the yard, finding a strange sight. Its webbed foot to a stake driven deep into the ground, its wings clipped so it could not fly away, a beautiful swan. Mother saw her feeding the poor bird and shouted at her. "Daughter, come away from there!" she demanded. "Why