The Girl Without a Name

by Rachel Burns

  “What is Daddy doing?” I asked her alarmed.

  “He is spanking Kyle, so he won’t ever embarrass himself again.” She walked me to the sofa and sat down with me.

  “What is a spanking?” I had never heard of that before and I watched a lot of TV.

  “A spanking is when he requires you to bare your backside so he can punish you. Right now he is spanking Kyle with his belt. He will continue until he believes that Kyle will never do it again. If your Daddy ever has to punish you, then do what he says. If Kyle would have, then he wouldn’t be getting the belt. That hurts a lot more than your Daddy’s hand.”

  I couldn’t believe that he was hurting Kyle like that. I thought that we were safe with him. I covered my eyes with my hands and cried. He was still going at Kyle who was screaming and begging him to stop in the meantime. I wanted to go help Kyle, but I was frozen with fright.

  Nanny wrapped her arms around me while I cried. I was blinking my eyes tighter shut each time he hit Kyle. Nanny was saying ‘hush.’ Finally, the noise of the hitting stopped, and I could only hear Kyle crying.

  Then I heard the door to Kyle’s room open. I still had my eyes covered, and Nanny was still holding me.

  “Kyle, apologize to your sister for upsetting her.” Daddy still sounded mad.

  “I’m sorry, Molly,” he said, sounding like he was choking.

  “You know I changed her name. Say it correctly,” Daddy barked at him.

  “I’m sorry, Sophia.”

  “Good, now go to bed, Kyle. Tomorrow morning, I want to go to the gym again. Get some rest.”

  I felt Nanny letting go of me. Then Mr. Reeves was hugging me. He kissed the top of my head and whispered ‘hush baby’ to me.

  I was scared of him.

  He patted my back and said good night to Nanny. I peeked and saw her go into Kyle’s room. Daddy took hold of my hand and brought me into my bedroom. “I see Nanny unpacked your things. I’ll look for your pajamas while you go into the bathroom and brush your teeth.”

  “Yes, Daddy.” I wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to backtalk him. When I came back out, he had my pajamas over his arm.

  “Turn around. Daddy will open your dress up for you.”

  I turned, and he opened my dress and removed it. He worked on removing everything else too, and then he slipped the pajamas over my head and went to the bed. He pulled back the covers and patted the bed. I jumped into the high, soft, double bed, and he covered me up and smiled at me. He sat down on the side of my bed.

  “You don’t have to worry about a spanking. I only have to spank when children don’t listen to me. If you listen, I will never have to do that. Okay?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  He picked up my elephant from the dresser where Nanny had put it and gave it to me. I cuddled in, and he smoothed the sheets down around me.

  Then he sat down and stared at me for a while. “You remind me of someone,” he stated.

  “Who, Daddy?” I asked him. It was amazing to have someone talking to me.

  “Someone I used to know.” He stood up, but his eyes were still locked on me. “Sleep tight, Sophia Stephanie Reeves. This is the last time you will have to change your name. This one is the keeper.” He switched off the light and left.

  It was so quiet in our suite that I could easily hear him going into Kyle’s room and talking to him. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it sounded as if they were friends again.

  I fell asleep in that strange soft bed.

  Chapter 4

  The next morning, Mr. Reeves woke me early and told me that I needed a bath. I could hear Kyle already in the tub too. He was splashing around and making a lot of noise.

  He went into my bathroom and let the water in. I padded in behind him, wiping the sleep out of my eyes.

  “Okay, sweetheart. In you go.” He instructed me.

  I took off my clothes and got into the water. He washed my hair for me and asked if I was old enough to wash myself already.

  I nodded, and he smiled at me and left. I could hear him over by Kyle. He was drying him off. Nanny came over to me. She was smiling too. She got me out of the water and dried me off and picked out what she wanted me to wear. Once I was dressed, she sat me down and worked on my hair.

  “She has very nice hair.” Daddy was back. He petted over my hair. I smiled really big for him. I had never been petted before.

  “It sort of has my color.” He smiled back at me. “Have the children ready for breakfast in twenty minutes.” He went out then.

  Nanny hurried with my hair, and we went out. She helped Kyle with his last touches, like his buttons. He was dressed up in especially nice clothes too. We looked liked show children. Some parents dressed their children up and taught them to walk really pretty in front of judges who then gave them points, and the child with the most points won. They brought that show on TV sometimes. We loved to watch it at the orphanage. We would pretend to walk like the show children did. The people at the orphanage gave us points. I had never won, but it was fun anyway. That was where I got my idea with a mother brushing my hair. The mothers on TV looked so happy when they groomed their daughters.

  Daddy came out of his room and fastened his personal computer to his wrist. He reached out his hand in my direction, and I went right to his hand. He laid his hand on Kyle’s shoulder again as we went out.

  Daddy brought us to the breakfast room. He told us that we could have what we wanted. I gave him an enormous smile. He was good to me and hadn’t hit me yet. I would be good so he didn’t have to.

  “After breakfast, we’re going to visit the captain. I expect you both to be on your best behavior. Have I made myself clear, Kyle?”

  Kyle blushed red. “Yes, Dad.” He put too much emphasis on the word Dad. Daddy raised his eye and stared him down until Kyle had to turn away. I stayed quiet.

  We ate our fill at a normal table. The captain wasn’t around at the moment. Nanny sat with us. She told us to sit up straight a lot. She told us to eat with our elbows close to our bodies and not on the table. Nanny Pearson also wanted us to close our mouths when we ate.

  The people on TV ate like that so I had been practicing at the orphanage already. I had always hoped that I could grow up to be somebody important. I had given up hope of that, but now it could happen.

  After we ate, Daddy took hold of my hand again, and we went off to see the bridge of the airship. The captain started his speech by asking us not to touch anything. Then he explained how things worked. While the captain explained how the airship worked, Daddy let go of my hand, so he was controlling the airship. Daddy looked happy as he did that.

  “I want to see if you two were paying attention. It was nice of him to take the time to show you everything,” Daddy said when the captain was finished showing us around. “Why is the ship called an airship?” he asked us.

  “I know, Daddy,” I chirped. “It’s not because it flies through air to get to space, but because it gets lighter than air when it’s in space.”

  “Very good, Sophia.” Daddy continued to ask us questions and quiz us. I had been better at paying attention than Kyle had. I wasn’t making any points with Kyle. I would sneak him a piece of my candy so he would like me.

  After we were finished on the bridge, Daddy went on to explain how the airship worked with the other rooms. He brought us to look at them too. He asked dozens of questions after he explained everything.

  “This evening, I want to give you both a test about what we learned today. I expect good grades.” Daddy told us.

  I felt the blood drain away from my face. Most of the kids in the orphanage could read and write at least a little, but no one had ever taught me.

  Kyle looked mad but not scared. He only wanted to play. That was why he was so popular.

  “Do you think that being a captain might be something for you, Kyle?” Daddy asked him.

  Kyle shrugged his shoulders. I got the feeling that Kyle was completely uninterested
in being an airship captain. But Daddy was one. At least, he had been. That was why he was famous. Daddy had been good at war.

  We went to lunch, and Daddy told us that he wanted us to go to the exercise room with him this afternoon. He explained that he wanted smart and strong children. He went on about that for a while. I left my eyes on him and wondered if I would be up to snuff there too. Probably not.

  Nanny helped me changed into what she called gym clothing. They were comfortable. She did my hair in a boring long ponytail. I had brown hair. There was nothing remotely special about that color. Girls with blond hair and blue eyes were considered ideal. I had brown eyes with brown specks in them. The specks were a darker brown than the rest. I was boring-looking.

  Daddy took hold of my hand the second I walked out of my bedroom door. He was dressed like yesterday too. All ready to go and show us how strong he was.

  He walked down the halls with us, and everyone stared at him, but he left his eyes on Kyle. Me, he had tightly on his hand. I had a feeling that he was worried about us.

  He brought us into a room with lots of metal machines. “Okay kids, I want to see how strong my Sofia is. Kyle you already know your way around here. You can do what you want to. However, if you misbehave, then we will have another talk in my room exactly like last night.”

  “I’ll be good,” Kyle promised right away.

  Daddy spent the morning with me, teaching me how to use the machines. He praised me often, making me want to please him.

  When I grew tired and complained that I wanted to quit, he gave me a sharp swat to my hind end that brought tears to my eyes. “You have to push yourself to the edge. That’s the only way you’ll get stronger,” he scolded me.

  I wanted him to like me so much that I pushed myself as hard as I could. Daddy was pleased with me. I had passed that test. The written test I wouldn’t be able to pass with sheer determination.

  Chapter 5

  After dinner, Daddy brought us to our suite and had us sit down at the table. He gave both Kyle and me a stack of papers and a pencil. Kyle went right to work. He was whipping through the pages. I glanced through the papers and saw that there were also pictures.

  I peeked over at Daddy and Nanny. They were talking together in whispers so they wouldn’t disturb us.

  I laid my papers down and stared at them.

  “Done,” Kyle announced. “Can I go play with the computer in your room, Dad?”

  “One moment, please.” Daddy came over and looked through Kyle’s test. “Kyle,” he sighed. “This is sloppy.”

  “That’s how I always write.” Kyle protested. I could see from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t used to anyone questioning his schoolroom abilities.

  “I expect better. Let’s compare it to what your sister wrote.” Daddy lifted up my paper and looked at it. He paged through it until the end. “Why haven’t you started yet?” Daddy demanded to know. I was scared speechless.

  Nanny stepped closer to Daddy and took the paper and looked at everything too.

  “I asked you a question.” Daddy’s forehead was wrinkled up in anger.

  “Sir, I fear that she can’t read.” Nanny gave him a grave look.

  “At her age?” Sheer disbelief was written on Daddy’s face.

  “What kind of schooling have you received at the orphanage?” Nanny smiled at me.

  I shook my head. “It didn’t pay to teach me. Everyone thought that I would get adopted by a farmer’s wife or that I wouldn’t get adopted at all.” I glanced at Kyle. He looked relieved that Daddy was mad at me now. Tears were collecting in my eyes.

  “You have never had any schooling?” Daddy couldn’t believe what he heard.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy.” Was he going to spank me? All day, I worried that he would. I blinked, and a tear ran down my cheek.

  “Don’t cry, Sophia. We’ll teach you. I assumed that the children learned at the orphanage.” Daddy gave Kyle my test. “You can start over. I want you to do your best. Sophia, come with me.” Daddy walked into his bedroom. That had been where he had punished Kyle.

  I slowly followed him into his room. Daddy held the door open for me. I had to walk past him to get in. I was shaking with fear.

  Daddy closed the door. “I’ll give you your test in here. I want you to answer me as quietly as you can. Kyle should do his own work.” He sat down on the bed and fired questions at me.

  I answered him softly almost in a whisper. There were two things I hadn’t known right off the bat, but Daddy gave me a hint, and then I was able to answer him. He was proud of me and gave me a hug at the end.

  We went back out to Nanny and Kyle. Kyle was still taking his test. Nanny brought me to bed. I was so glad that no one was mad at me.

  ~

  Later in the night, I heard someone crying. Quietly, I got out of bed and searched for who it was. I listened outside of Kyle’s room. It was Kyle who was crying. I didn’t hear anyone else in the room with him, so I tiptoed in and got into bed beside him. That was something that we girls did at the orphanage. If another girl cried, we comforted her.

  “What’s wrong? Did Daddy spank you again?” I asked him in a whisper.

  “No, but he made me take the test five times. I hate writing.”

  “Really? I wish that I could read and write. I would like to read a book. If I could read one, then I would die happy.”

  “I’d rather play outside. I thought that was what he liked about me,” Kyle complained.

  “He wants perfect children. We are lucky that he chose us. In four more years, I’ll be sixteen. You know what that means, don’t you?” I asked him.

  “Not really.”

  “All children disappear on their sixteenth birthday. If you aren’t picked by that time, then something bad happens to you. Some say that the children are sent to the military to fight the war and others say–” I couldn’t say it. I felt that I had come to close to not being chosen to say it.

  “What happens? Tell me, Molly.”

  “My name is Sophia now.” I reminded him.

  He rolled his eyes. “Fine, tell me, Sophia.”

  I dropped my voice to the point that it was barely audible. “They’re killed.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No, but I heard the rumor so often. I have to wonder if they both aren’t true.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked me.

  “Girls aren’t very useful in a war, but boys are. I think they kill the girls and the weak boys. The strong boys go to the military.”

  Kyle didn’t reply. He quietly thought about what I had said.

  “If Daddy wants me to be perfect, then I will be,” I told him.

  Chapter 6

  The airship landed, and several servants raced forward to take our luggage. They greeted Daddy respectfully and brought our luggage to a smaller airship.

  We followed them on foot. Everyone else was going through the security check. I tugged on Daddy’s sleeve to get his attention. “Why don’t we have to go through security like the others?”

  My question made him smile. “Your daddy is well-known here. I may be retired, but I used to be the boss here. They still remember me.”

  We boarded a very elegant small airship. It had a bridge, a large kitchen and entertainment area and twenty bedrooms. It was bigger than the orphanage, but tiny compared to the last airship we were on.

  Daddy told Kyle that he was going to be his co-pilot. Kyle didn’t look thrilled about that. His parents had died in an airship. Aliens had attacked them. We weren’t at war at the moment, but it was believed that we could be again at any moment. Incidences, like with Kyle’s parents, happened all the time.

  Peace was about as old as I was. It was a new idea, and one that people hadn’t trusted in the beginning. Still, the Aliens hated us and wished that humans had stayed on Earth. But that hadn’t been an option. Humans had outgrown their planet. They fought wars and killed themselves over the silliest things. People had left Earth in vas
t groups. In the beginning, certain religions inhabited a planet for themselves and people of a certain color lived together. I always thought that was sad. We were all humans.

  It took a war to get people to unite. The Aliens would attack planets and wipe out all life on the planets. They called it taking their planets back, which was nonsense because humans only went to certain planets where the Aliens couldn’t breathe. Thus, the wars had been fought in space. Airship captains were the gladiators who fought for our right to survive. And my daddy was the best of all of them. I was proud that someone so important had chosen me. Being an airship captain meant that you were strong and smart. Every little boy wanted to grow up to become a captain. That is, every boy but Kyle. He wanted to play sports on TV and have people cheer for him.

  Daddy gave Kyle instructions. Kyle did as he was told, but he frowned the whole time. If I were a boy, I think I would have liked to give flying a try.

  “Switch places. It’s Sophia’s turn,” Daddy announced an hour later.

  “Really, but I’m a girl.” Girl children were considered to be much lower than boy children. I was grinning from ear to ear, as I stood ready to trade spots with Kyle.

  “Being able to steer an airship is a skill that everyone should have. It might save your life one day.” Daddy gave me a playful swat on my behind. He wasn’t mad.

  Kyle sat down beside Nanny as I wiggled into my seat and did what Daddy had told Kyle to do before Daddy told me to do it.

  “I think you’re a natural.” Daddy peeked back at Nanny and nodded at her, showing her that he was impressed.

  I smiled at Kyle. He didn’t smile back. I would have to give him more of my candy so he wouldn’t hate me.

  Daddy and I drove the rest of the way home. He promised me that he would take me out again and allow me to take over completely, but only when it was only the two of us.

  It was important to Daddy that we excel at everything. I would be on my best behavior for the rest of my life. I felt thankful that he hadn’t spanked me for not being able to read. He had been nice about it, and he still gave me the feeling that I was smart.