Chapter 1: Effort

Memo: Finally! It feels like it's been forever and a day planning this story! I'm really excited to finally get to this point, and I also hope that you all come to fall in love with this tale I'm about to tell you. Enough talk-have at you! ;)

At five years old, Lillian was barely big enough for her own airplane seat. Her feet didn't reach the floor yet, and her mother, Fanny, had to hold onto the girl's seatbelt on takeoff. And of course, her father, Jack, just smiled down at his baby girl, telling her everything would be all right.

"I'm hungry," Lillian complained after an hour or so. Fanny sighed through her nose.

"We'll have dinner soon," she reassured her impatient daughter. "Just wait."

The little blonde made a face up at her mother, near scowling. It's not that she was angry; there were just a lot of things she still did not quite understand.

"Look, little lady, you can see the clouds from here," Jack said, opening the curtain on the tiny window. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Lillian crawled onto her father's lap, nearly pressing her face against the glass. "Are you scared?"

"Only babies are scared of clouds," she replied, plopping back down in her seat. Jack chuckled to himself as Lillian settled back into her seat.

Jackson Breech was a successful man, and one with incurable wanderlust, at that. He was usually quite carefree, but he was willing to do whatever it took to improve the quality of his life and his career. Being born and bred in England his entire life, upon being asked to transfer to Calcutta, India, for an extended period, Jack could not refuse. And so the trio uprooted.

Upon landing, Fanny once again held onto Lillian's oversized seatbelt, and the five year old awoke from her deep sleep, disoriented and without understanding.

"Get up, sleepy girl," Jack told his daughter, who rubbed her eyes furiously, as if in denial she had ever been asleep. "We're here-India."

"Will this take a long time?" Lillian asked. Fanny sighed, shaking her head.

"Lillian, we've moved," she told the child, unbuckling her seatbelt. "This is your new home now."

"Why? Can't we go back to England?"

"Maybe someday."

Lillian said nothing, still plagued with inexplicable sleepiness. Led by her parents, she walked off of the plane, the dense humidity of India greeting her. There were many people in the airport, and not that many of them looked like the people in England. Some of them were wearing rather strange clothing, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"Jack! Over here!"

A tall, dark-skinned man in a suit was approaching them with large strides. He was smiling brightly and waving to Jack, who immediately returned the greeting.

"It's been a while," the man said, shaking Jack's hand enthusiastically.

"That it has, Amrik," Jack replied, taking the man's hands in his own. "This is my wife, Fanny. And this is Lillian."

"What a charming girl," Amrik said, crouching down to Lillian's level. "My name is Amrik. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Lillian echoed, still drowsy. It all felt as though she were in a dream.

"Well, Amrik, if you would be so kind-"

"Right, it's just this way…"

The four of them pushed their way through the crowds, and soon they were outside in the warm sunlight. There seemed to be just as many people outside walking around as there had been in the airport. It was just as loud, for certain.

"Come along, Lillian, hurry," Fanny urged the girl, who was unintentionally dragging her feet. There was just so much to see…it was overwhelming, but not in a bad way. In fact, it seemed so dream-like that Lillian felt as though she could do anything.

Along with Amrik and her parents, Lillian sat squished in a compact car, holding her backpack on her lap. Her bright brown eyes wandered to the window, gazing at the blurred scenery. She was amazed, even though she still didn't understand what was going on. Perhaps it was in that moment that her wanderlust was born.

For also in that moment, Lillian felt a strange sense of familiarity. She was too young to understand it; after all, there are even some people who go their whole lives without realizing this feeling fully. But she would become one of the few to understand the connections that we make are bonds that have no limit. This sense of familiarity would come to be a well-recognized one.

That same feeling did not return until a week later.

"I don't want to go to school," Lillian whined, scrunching up her face. "I want to go back home soon."

"Stop that, Lillian," Fanny sighed, straightening Lillian's uniform. "You would have had to go to school this year in England, too."

"But they look like me. And they sound like me."

"Lillian, listen to me very carefully." Crouched down, Fanny made Lillian look her in the eyes. "Just because you aren't in England doesn't mean you aren't home. You have to make a place your home. Do you understand me?" Lillian didn't respond. "The people here can be your friends, too. But you have to let them."

"…I understand," Lillian finally mumbled, looking a little disgruntled still.

"Right, well…" Fanny stood upright as Jack entered the room. "…Oh. You're about to leave?"

"I am," Jack replied, nodding. "Shall I take her?"

"If you don't mind."

"Sure, why not?" Jack winked at Lillian, who brightened a bit in response. "Are you up for it, little lady?"

Lillian nodded enthusiastically, practically skipping to her father's side.

"Please don't forget your things," Fanny called after her daughter, holding her backpack and lunch. "Goodness, this is a bit overwhelming, isn't it? I haven't the foggiest what to expect. I just hope it's a good school…"

"Amrik recommended it; I trust his opinion more than my own," Jack assured his wife, smiling. "And I'm sure we'll know if something bad happens."

Fanny chuckled, nodding.

"Right, let's go, Papa!" Lillian shouted, snatching her father's hand and dragging him along.

Lillian's school was very close to the Breech's new house, only a couple of blocks away. From the house, Jack could easily take a bus or cab to his workplace. But today, he didn't mind walking with his daughter, who seemed to have cheered up since her lecture.

"So where shall we go today, Daddy?" Lillian asked, swinging her father's arm. Jack's face fell a bit.

"Lillian, you have to go to school today," he told her kindly.

"But it's going to be so boring!"

Jack chuckled quietly. "I highly doubt that." Shaking his head, he looked down at his daughter's bright eyes. "Now you listen to your papa! School is a fantastic place, and you can make it fun! Just like snapping your fingers!" He snapped with his free hand.

Pouting a bit, Lillian tried to imitate him, but she produced no sound.

"I can't do it," she said quietly, her frown deepening.

"All things take time and effort, my little one. And things that need effort are always worth the time!"

Within another minute, the two reached the front gates of Lillian's elementary school.

"Now, be a good girl today," Jack said, smiling at Lillian, who pursed her lips. The gesture made her look older than she really was. "And most of all, have fun. You're going to make lots of friends here, and even more smiles."

"But I have to use effort," she responded.

"That's right."

Beaming up at her father, Lillian nodded.

"Right! I'll try!"

"That's my girl!"

Before she left her father's side, Lillian gave him one last hug and kiss, and then turned on her heels toward the old building. Again, a sense of strange familiarity filled her from head to toe.

"You're new here, aren't you?"

Lillian looked up to see a young woman approaching her. The woman's eyes were kind, and her skin was the same color as caramel. She had spoken English as smoothly as any Englishwoman.

"Is your name Miss Breech?" the woman asked. When Lillian nodded, the woman smiled, revealing two rows of glistening white teeth. "Good, I'm glad you've arrived safely! Welcome to your new school, Miss Breech!"

The woman beckoned Lillian to follow her, and as they walked into the main building of Julien Day School, Lillian could not shake the feeling that she had been here before.