Queen of Hearts

The other kids were being snapped up in buckets taken to new homes. The last one in the orphanage after a while, LeeAnn renamed herself. I am queen of hearts, she said since her heart was red with grief. She hid her sadness and her loneliness with acts of sheer meanness. Nuns who ran the place began hiding when it was their turn to feed her. She was unruly, nasty, hateful, and diabolically angry. They did not understand that disappointment was the reason. They did not recognize the easy signs of abject sadness. She yelled “off with her head!” when one of them double crossed her. If her food was late, her bedding was dirty, if her toenails were too long. She saw the fear in their eyes, and she began to smile. Being happy for the first time ever, now. Confident in her status as Queen of Hearts.