Julia was a beautiful young woman with long black hair and emerald-like green eyes. She also had three younger siblings—two boys and a girl—all between the ages of five and ten. Except for the eldest, who could help a little, the others seemed to rely entirely on her to raise them.
The hardships of life made her look worn-out, with faint wrinkles gathering at the corners of her eyes. Many rumors circulated, claiming those three children weren't her siblings but her own: whispers, mockery, idle talk.
Truly, even when life was this cruel, the people hiding away here still managed to find ways to sneer at and trouble one another. Or perhaps life had ground them down so much that cruelty had become second nature. If their lives were happier, who knew if their characters might have been kinder? But clearly, they too always dreamed of such a day. Unfortunately, it was nothing more than empty wishful thinking.
