The Story of Matthew Moore
By Angela St. Mathew
(The lost tale that leads to the happenings in Manhattan when a strange new newsie named Gabriel joins the gang a.k.a. The story he told to Spot and Jack)


Chapter One: Any Normal Day

He was making his runs like always, delivering packages to various people for Mr. MacNamara. Nearing the end of February the nights were terribly cold, but there were a few hours during mid afternoon where the sun warmed the air slightly. It was during these hours that he slowed his pace slightly, enjoying what little warmth he could get.
He had a fairly decent coat, so he was not freezing the rest of the time, but warm weather was something one would be crazy not to enjoy in this part of the country. His shoes made a rhythmic padding against the soft dirt road as he whistled merrily to himself, a small brown package tucked under his right arm.
A short distance ahead of him was a large, towering, brick building, looking to be at least a couple generations old. He'd stop here before to deliver packages, and occasionally wondered what was in the packages he delivered to this place. He knew very little about it only that it was a convent, and he rarely saw anybody who boarded there. They usually didn't come out from behind the walls.
Today though, he was surprised to see a few of the young girls outside, which was something odd. There were about seven of them and one of the elders overseeing. The girls were tending to a garden, carefully riding the soil and brick walkway of sticks and piles of leaves.
He found this odd, because normally a hired gardener would do that. He watched them carefully, as if waiting for the secret of their actions to be revealed. But none came, and so he just kept walking.
When he grew closer, one of the girls looked up at him, and her eyebrows rose slightly. She was somewhat tall, her age unable to be guessed by him, with light brown eyes. Like the other girls, she whore what appeared to be a white robe and cap, which covered the most part of her hair. But when she turned to nudge the girl next to her, he could see a light brown braid trailing down her back almost to her waist.
He kept walking casually toward the convent, trying not to notice the girl who had been staring at him, who was now being instructed by her fellow peer to keep working and ignore him.
The elder who stood with the group was busy instructing one of the other girls, so the delivery boy didn't hesitate to veer toward the two girls who had caught sight of him first. It was much easier to deliver the package this way than to walk clear around the building to the front gate as he had been forced to do before.
Unfortunately, there was a picket fence surrounding the garden, so he only went as far as the fence.
"Excuse me". He said almost shyly, shifting the package from one arm to the other. The young brunette who had noticed him before looked over at him, as did her companion, but neither said a word.
Realizing they were not going to willingly come to him, he spoke again.
"Um, I have a package meant to be delivered here". He indicated the brown package, and the girls looked at each other uncertainly.
Finally the brunette straightened, walking cautiously over to the fence. She stopped about two feet from him and looked back at her companion, who stood right behind her, having followed her.
The brunette turned back and looked at the delivery boy.
Both girls seemed like small children, completely unacquainted with the world or anything in it, familiar only of what stood within the walls of the convent.
The boy hesitated. There was a curiosity about this brunette that stood before him that he couldn't simply pass away with the package in his arms. He had to know something, anything, about her. Why only her, he wasn't sure, but he couldn't let the moment pass.
"Please, may I know the name of the young lady receiving the package, so that I can tell my employer?"
There, that sounded good, he thought. He had to get something out of her, anything!
The girl looked at her companion, who paused before nodding slightly.
"Sarah Elizabeth".
He thought he felt his heart stop for a moment. That voice, he'd never heard such a voice! He couldn't even describe it, what an amazing feeling he had at that moment, what was it? And that name...
Sarah Elizabeth. It rang so many bells in his head, why?
She reached to receive that package, and he handed it to her carefully, then turned to go, almost quickly.
"Sir?"
He stopped immediately and looked back, had she spoken to him voluntarily? "Yes"? He asked.
"May I know your name in return?"
He could barely believe what he was hearing, since he had expected them to both run as soon as they'd accomplished their mission, but no. She wanted his name, and he didn't hesitate to give it to her.
"Matthew Moore".
The slightest of smiles appeared on her face, and she thanked him quietly before both girls turned carefully and walked back toward the garden.
Matthew watched them for a moment, then turned quickly and walked away, almost fast, down the road back toward the town.