Hello! :) This is my first story, so I hope you enjoy it. I have always been a huge fan of The Labyrinth, and I hope I can do it justice. xD Please review if you have the time! This chapter is really just a prologue of sorts, so I'm afraid it won't be all that interesting or fast paced. D: But bear with meh, please! Thank you for taking the time to read. 3!
It was starting to sprinkle and the stadium lights were almost blinding in the failing light of the sun. Her high heels dug into the small rubber pebbles of the fake grass football field as she waited for her cue. She wasn't particularly nervous, not with her father and her stepmother's arms linked with her own, held tight to her sides to ward off the chill. If anything she was anxious to have this all be over with so she could tuck this experience away with all the other memories she wanted to forget. Unfortunately for her it would not be over for at least an hour or so. Impatiently, she rubbed the back of her calf with the top of her foot, balancing precariously on the point of one ridiculous shoe. Her father tightened his grip on her arm as her stepmother sent her a glare of warning. Even after all these years they still didn't get along. But she had finally gotten used to that.
Sarah was frowning when her name was finally called, and her parents all but dragged her forward through the misty field to the podium, past the platform where all her smiling classmates were standing in neat little rows in alphabetical order, past half of the audience where banners were being waved and families were clapping and whispering to each other excitedly. She groaned inwardly, but smiled for them; she smiled for her dad, who was doing his best to hide his tears by blinking too fast, she smiled for her stepmother who for once was returning hers without that reproachful look in her eyes as she kissed her cheek and wished her luck, she smiled for Toby who was standing on his chair a few rows from the front, waving frantically with a impish grin on his chubby face, and she smiled for the end of it all.
The smile she had been faking became genuine, and it reached her round brown eyes with a flickering warmth.
Sarah took her place beside a student whose name she could not remember, and watched as the others filed in to fill the remaining seats. It wasn't until the last student had been called up and situated that they could sit down in the identical plastic chairs which were so tastefully matched with the color of their caps and gowns. Sarah straightened her maroon cap on her head and flicked the dangling tassel out of her eyes.
She hadn't realized she was still smiling. It felt strange and yet it was a welcomed feeling; too often was she frowning or giving a half-hearted effort to appear happy or content. She found it was too difficult to pretend when on the inside you feel too numb and too empty.
The smile faltered for a moment, but she fought to regain it.
The students began cheering enthusiastically, and with a great swell of movement they were all on their feet. Sarah found she had moved with them, without knowing she had, and the realization of this was somewhat thrilling. The jolt that passed through the crowd as the audience began to clap was not lost on her, and she felt strangely guilty for enjoying it. She felt guilty for feeling guilty, as she had every right to enjoy her graduation, right?
It was still sprinkling when they tossed their caps into the air to signify their right of passage; Sarah threw hers late, and she watched it tumble through the air with a haunting sort of grace that she was surprised to see. It seemed to take forever to fall through the air, and before she could see it hit the ground it was lost in the crowd and she was being swept up in a riot of hugs and farewells, well wishes and squeezes of the hand, good lucks and goodbyes.
Not many people said goodbye to Sarah, but she smiled at everyone she passed. As she pushed her way through the crowd to find her family waiting for her underneath one of the stadium lights, she realized how grateful she was to have them, and even if her family wasn't ideal or perfect, she was glad that they were here to support her. Toby sprinted towards her, his hair wet and matted to his face, and his cheeks and nose rosy from the cold, ran to her and wrapped his small arms around her legs.
With Toby still hugging her tight, she began to laugh, and the light cradled them gently as her father kissed her forehead and wiped the tears that had mixed with the rain from her cheeks. Her stepmother touched her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.
It was her father who broke the silence between them even as the roar of the crowd almost overpowered his voice. "Happy graduation, sweetheart!" He paused to tousle her hair like he used to do when she was a child, "Who would have believed that my daughter would be graduating high school already?"
"She's growing quickly, isn't she? I told you not to blink. You blink and they go from a being a baby to a high school graduate just like that" her stepmother said with a snap of her fingers for emphasis. She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head in amusement.
"Didn't I tell you to knock off the growing up thing?" he said as he pulled Sarah into his arms for a hug, squishing Toby in-between them.
"I told you I couldn't help it, honest!" Sarah mumbled into the crook of his neck as she hugged him back. Toby began wiggling about as he tried to break free from being sandwiched by the two of them.
"Ahh, no you don't. I'm not gonna let you go so you can run off and grow up on me so easily. You won't catch me blinking from now on, that's for sure," her father grinned as he spoke, and a moment later he swept Toby into his arms and held him close.
Sarah suddenly felt emotionally drained, but content. She reached up to tug on Toby's hand and smiled when he held on tight. "Let's go home, huh? I want to celebrate my leaving this place with a good book and some hot chocolate. It's freezing…!" Her gown fluttered in the wind that had picked up, and little droplets of water were clinging to her dark lashes. She rubbed her eyes to be rid of them.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," her stepmother said as she began herding them towards the parking lot. Her high spirits were being dampened by the light sprinkling of rain they were currently eduring, and the warmth in her voice seemed to be sapped as well. "Hurry to the car Toby, and we'll turn the heater on. Come on, now." She rushed after him as he hopped his way through the puddles in the field that led to the car. Sarah's father stayed behind, his hands shoved into his pockets.
The pair began walking to the car in comfortable silence until Sarah's father rumbled softly besider her, "I'm really proud of you, you know. You're a good kid, Sarah, and I love ya…even if you're getting too old for my liking," he said with a sad smile. She quickly grabbed his hand and kissed him on the cheek to reassure him.
"You know I'll always be your little girl, dad." At her tender words he couldn't manage a response; instead he just squeezed her hand as his way of saying thank you.
It had started to rain in earnest by the time they had pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. The heater was on full blast, and Toby was dozing when Sarah jumped in her seat, "Oh, wait!"
Her dad peered at her through the rearview mirror, "What is it, Sarah?" he said, concern lacing his voice.
Sarah groaned, "I've forgotten my cap…" She couldn't believe she had forgotten it, but then again, she hadn't been paying too much attention in the first place. As she turned in her seat to look out the back window, she half expected to see her hat flying behind the car like some sort of bird. That thought made her giggle out loud with just the absurdity of it. "Never mind. I don't really need it anymore, do I?" she said with the trace of a laugh still evident in her voice. Her parents glanced at each other with a confused look; her father just shrugged and smiled, "Alright then. I'm sure someone will pick it up anyway. You did leave your name in it, didn't you?"
Sarah didn't answer, but she vaguely remembered that she had written her name on the little tag inside her cap. She didn't care for that now though, as the warmth from the heater was lulling her into a doze. Her forehead was pressed against the window, and her eyes had fallen shut of their own accord. She was barely aware when her dad turned on some soft jazz, or when they pulled into the garage, or when her father carried her to her room and tucked her into bed as if she were still a child, not a high school graduate only a summer away from starting college.
Her father placed a hand on her cheek, and his heart swelled with pride and sorrow; she had grown up so fast... She was a beautiful girl who looked so very like her mother now and that fact made his heart clench painfully when he gazed at her as she slept. But she was not her mother, and luckily he still had her, and Toby, and a wife who was loving in her own way, even if she did not show it openly. With a smile, he bent down to kiss her forehead. He turned off the light and shut the door as a rumble of thunder shook the world outside.
Sarah was asleep long before her father had tucked her in, and she rolled over in her bed as she dreamed. She dreamed that the field she had graduated in was empty, and the lights were dimmed as the rain continued to soak the fake grass. Her little maroon hat with its golden tassel was drenched, and she could see that the ink of her name was smearing. There was a break in the clouds, and the moon shone bright between them. As she watched, the moon seemed to transform before her eyes, the image swirling and morphing until it was the shape of a bird. Sarah knew it was an owl even before it had swooped down to the field, even before it had alighted on the edge of a chair next to her hat and cocked its head to one side as if extremely curious. A whisper of a name ghosted its way through her dream, tangled its way about her thoughts that she had no control over. It was soft and familiar, and a strong desire to whisper the name herself seemed to overtake her, but she knew that she musn't. Not now, not after all this time.
In a sudden flash, the colors surged and ran together as if they were being washed away by the rain. They swept together until it was too muddy to see anything, and finally all went black and Sarah dreamed no more that night.
The chairs had not been put away that evening, seeing as it was pouring rain and those who were in charge mercifully let everyone go home instead. Cleaning could wait until the sun decided to dry things up a bit, they had decided.
Sarah's cap had not been picked up, and it sat drenched on the ground beside a few chairs. Sarah's name was indeed smearing and bleeding into the fabric. It would be washed away completely soon.
That night there was a break in the clouds, and the moon shone bright and eager between them as the rain continued to pour relentlessly.
When the clouds had rolled together once more, the moon's light was abruptly snuffed out like a candle in the dark. The gap of light had closed, and the hat was gone.