Chapter 1
Alfred Jones, was Alice Kirkland's best friend, that was a fact and shall remain so. The wheat blonde haired boy with stunning sky blue eyes and the golden blonde girl with vivid emerald eyes who were almost never seen apart. They had lived down the street from each other in London since they were just four years old, when Alice moved to Long Lane from her home in Yorkshire. The Kirkland girl had moved to London when her family decided it was time to settle somewhere, again, though this would be the last time the family did so. It was a plain house, but to the family of six it was home, with it's white siding and navy door, matching shutters. The house's small overgrown garden in the back, had enchanted Alice from first sight as it would for years afterward. The inside was slightly dated, but Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland had agreed to fix that when they were starting to move in.
When, Mrs. Elizabeth Jones had seen the Kirklands moving in, she sent young Alfred with his twin, Matthew, to give them a batch of cookies she had just made. When the young pair knocked on the door, they did not expect to meet Alice Kirkland, a girl much smaller than either of the boys though they were the same age, but it seemed the three hit it off right from the start. At that point on, they were inseparable; the trio did everything together. This was to be the beginning of many years of happiness, friendship, and stability that would grow from this first meeting of the Jones Twins and the odd Kirkland girl.
When Al, Mattie, and Alice were fourteen, Mr. Jones obtained a job in America, more specifically, New York City, for a huge corporation. The trio of friends did not know how to handle this bittersweet news. Al and Mattie became silent as a stone. This was highly unusual for Alfred, because he never shut up, but Matt became absent minded, something he had never been. Alice, well Alice Kirkland, became distant, but in a different way than the boys, she was more moody and seemed to not want to be around them, almost to protect herself from the pain of losing her best friends. In a way, she was using the expulsion of her own happiness and joy to protect herself from any further heartbreak. These awful swings of personality continued and soon it was the eve before the Joneses were leaving for the United States.
Her emerald eyes were filled with tears of pain, it was the day before the twins and their parents were leaving. Alice went to say her goodbyes to her best friends of a decade, though it felt like the friendship had been eternity to all. The goodbyes lasted much longer than it seemed to Alfred, Mattie, and Alice, as they reminisced over their shared memories together for the last time in a while. Alfred's sky blue and Matthew's violet eyes brimmed with tears, Alice's tears freely flowing down her face, matting her short golden blonde hair. Their tears from sadness and laughter an ironic, yet beautiful combination, although as they left, Alice had never been more heartbroken in her life. The trio knew that it would be a long time before they saw each other once more, even if they ever did.
"Goodbye, Al!" Alfred cried using his nickname that the two of them shared.
"Goodbye Alfred! Goodbye Matthew!" Alice's voice cracking slightly as sobs began to rise in her throat.
"Goodbye, Alice," the shy Matthew said to her tersely, swallowing back his tears.
The next day when the ship was leaving, Alice Kirkland waved goodbye to the boat holding her best friends wearing black for her mourning of happy times. Though she would never know it, Mattie and Al saw her out of the crowd miraculously and treasure that moment in their hearts, as they waved back to the girl in all black. Alice stayed on that dock until one of her family members came to bring her back home. The ship had been gone for hours at that point and she stared into the distance to a land she might never see.