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Corbin stayed at the Yibson home for the next three days. He explored every room of the small house, all except the one where the woman lay. He wasn’t allowed in there. Mr. Yibson told him that his wife was sick but never said anything more than that. Corbin would watch as Yibson takes the food into the room and closes the door. A while later he would emerge with the food only half eaten. Corbin tried to catch a glimpse of the woman when he could but he couldn’t tell if she was getting better.
On the second day, Yibson’s neighbor came to check on him and his wife. Corbin overheard the neighbor saying there was word that a child had run away from the orphanage. The neighbor and all the residents on the street were struck with anger at the lack of control the orphanage had. Rumors had already been circling that they were abusing children who misbehaved under the name of “discipline”. There was an even stronger rumor that the orphanage was going to close soon and all the children there were going to be let loose, like birds flying out of their cages, with no one to ensure their safety. But those were rumors. How much of it could be true?
Mr. Yibson didn’t think any of it was true until he saw the marks on Corbin’s back when he got the bath ready for the child. When he asked Corbin why they did it to him, he said, “I took too long to scrub my bedroom floor in the morning. They wanted it done before nine every other morning. I woke up late and knew that they whipped us with thin sticks if we are late. So I quickly started but there was no way I could have finished it in 8 minutes. That is five lashes.” The other lashes told more severe punishments for crimes of similar stature that made Yibson’s eyes water.