The gate closed behind them. That was the last time they would see the outside world for a long time. They had to make a new life for themselves. It would be limited, of course, but you can get used to anything if you have to. Well, it's either that or give up. Josie asked her mother, 'Why are they doing this?' Her mother didn't know the answer. It was just as well. That knowledge would have been enough to turn her very soul black. It would never be suitable for an 8 year old child to hear. They went in and joined the others. Some of these were very helpful and showed them where to find what was available that they needed. Others had given up and walked around with a glassy stare. Josie and her mother both noted this and it was the determination not to let that happen to them that enabled them to fight against the rot of the soul, and to keep them going until such time as they were again free.They were happy in as far as they could be till then.
Sorry. How could I have forgetten the other period in time when this might have occured. It is still within living memory for a few. I refer, of course, to the Holocast where millions of innocent men, women and children had thier lives ripped from them in the most monsterous way of all, dispassionately.
Intriguing. The name Josie implies she is of western origin but I know of no current Western state that would lock up an 8 year old. The use of language suggests modern times 1980 - 2020 but this may well be set in an English workhouse (1720s to 1830s) but the mother does know why they have been incarcerated, which she would have done.
As I said intriguing.
Edit: but the mother does NOT know why