Circling Carousels by Ashlee North Page A

come to find her this time, Sienna and Crystal had been set up in a permanent bedroom in the opposite wing of the building to their mother, which had been vacated by Sharon, who had mysteriously left the week before. There had been a massive amount of talk about where Sharon had gone and why, but it was the general consensus that Sharon may have taken her own life. Bonnie was keeping this very quiet and close to her chest in order not to upset the other girls, but Jacinta had seen an ambulance late one night and Sharon had not returned.
    So in essence, Candice’s children had been put in quarantine away from their mother, who could no longer be trusted with them. From that time on, her visits with them would always be supervised, and after a very short period, she stopped bothering to see them at all. Their mealtimes did not match up, and Candice didn’t even worry about it. Their paths never crossed, and she barely saw a problem with it and sank deeper and deeper into her habits of alcohol and medication abuse.
    One early morning, about three o’clock, Cindy was woken up by the sound of sobbing coming from just outside her room, and she found Candice slumped on the floor outside her children’s room, unable to enter, as the door had been locked from the outside and could not be accessed without a key. Unbeknown to Candice, everyone had a key except for her and the girls were able to come and go as they pleased. She was the only one who was unable to enter. It was for everyone’s safety, and although it sounded cruel, it was best for now until Candice was able to get some help. That she was not allowed access to her beautiful girls just added to her misery.
    Only two weeks later, Candice was given an ultimatum by Bonnie: Either get a handle on her problem or leave. She offered her a number of options for treatment and help, but Candice was resolute she could do this herself. On the very same day, Candice confided in Marcus, her favourite client, and told him of the happenings with the children, leaving out the all-important information about the beating and the manic haircutting incident. Marcus believed her story and felt she was being treated dreadfully. He offered to take her away, give her love, and one day even marry her. He promised to take care of her and her children, and being a man of massive financial holdings, he hatched a plan to offer Bonnie a substantial amount of money to let Candice and her children go with him. Candice agreed to his idea, so Marcus made an appointment to do business with her employer.
    On that morning, having been privy to the rumours of Candice and Marcus’s plans, Bonnie was ready for Marcus’s arrival, armed with the truth of Candice’s condition. Marcus said he didn’t care and that he would handle it and that he alone could help her. Bonnie was opposed to the idea. She really didn’t trust Marcus and wondered at his motives. She wondered if he was simply trying to buy himself a full-time prostitute. She was worried, but after she had summoned Candice to her office, talked to her alone, and then talked to them together, she felt she had little choice. She couldn’t very well hold Candice prisoner, and although there was a contract, the amount of cash being offered by Marcus was certainly enough to cover her income and then more. Candice was beginning to be somewhat of a liability anyway with her erratic behaviour, and she was often unreliable and unavailable or in too much of a drunken state to be of any consistent use.
    So, having ascertained that this was truly what Candice wanted, Bonnie reservedly agreed to nullify the contract. There was one condition, though, and that was that she and the other girls be allowed to remain in contact with them, both to check on the safety and welfare of the girls and to make sure that Candice wasn’t resold to another buyer and sent to a worse fate. Bonnie would never have it said that she sold Candice, simply that she let her go and was