There are quite a few different kinds of stories, from the tales of a farm boy touched by fate to the tragic fall of an era. More often than not, they begin with the phrase "once upon a time" or end with "and they lived happily ever after."
This story will neither begin with "once upon a time" nor end with a "happily ever after". Nor is it a normal tale, with a hero destined for greatness; on the contrary two of our main characters shall be touched by fate twice and another has so many brushes already, they are impossible to count here. Instead, the time is three o'clock on a balmy Saturday afternoon in June, and the place is a small town in New England.
So now, we shall begin our story, knowing where and when this tale takes place. And it shall begin with a cramped white minivan making its way through a nearly empty main street…
- -Chapter One- -
"Liz? Do you want to stop for something to eat first or-?" Sarah asked, looking up at a restaurant sign.
"I just want to go home," came the bitter reply from the backseat, about as harsh as you can get from a seven year old.
Up in the front seat, Sarah sighed and pushed the fast forward button on the cassette player. Looks likes she's in one of her moods again, she thought. After being in the minivan all day, Elizabeth was, once again, miserable and if this was like any of the previous moods she'd gotten herself into, she would be in a foul mood all day. Girding herself for a long day, Sarah glanced at her directions on the notebook scrap and then up at the street signs. She couldn't help but smile; finally, almost there.
"We're getting close now," she called back to her daughter and only received a huff in reply. She frowned but decided not to comment. No good would come from her trying to get her daughter to actually talk. In fact, it was more likely she would try to pitch a fit and Sarah couldn't take that at the moment.
She tried another approach. "Your uncle said he would meet us there, you know."
Finally, her daughter perked up. "Really?"
Sarah nodded, smiling; at least that had dragged her daughter out of her funk for a moment. "He's going to help us unpack for the next couple days."
"…fine," Elizabeth huffed, turning back to her window for a moment before turning back. "…how much longer 'til we get there?"
"Just a bit," Sarah answered, putting the paper away. She knew the rest of the way—she should, she had run down these back streets many times when she ran late from her practices in the park when she was thinking of perusing theater. Now she had returned to her hometown once more, taking up a job at the local community college.
"…okay," Elizabeth huffed, peering out the window. Sarah glanced back and smiled when she saw her daughter's face light up. "Uncle Toby!"
Apparently her daughter hadn't believed her when she said how close they were. Sarah smiled and pulled into the driveway to her new house where her younger brother Toby sat on the front steps, waiting to greet them.
"Uncle Toby," Elizabeth cried again, struggling to escape her seatbelt before bolting out the door the moment the minivan stopped.
Toby grinned as he got up and waved to his niece and sister, leaving his guitar case next to the door. At seventeen, Toby was a tall, lanky boy with blond hair looking like it came out of a bottle and a five o'clock shadow. Pausing half way to the minivan, he reached down and swung his niece up into his arms. "There's my girl," he laughed, giving her a bear hug. "How was the drive?"
"Awful," Elizabeth whined before grinning up at him. "I missed you."
"Aww, shucks," he replied, pretending to be bashful as he set her down, "thanks, little lady."
"Toby," Sarah called, getting out and walking over to him. He waved and stood up, tossing his arms around her as she reached for him. "Haven't seen you since the funeral, you know."
"I know," he answered, clutching at her. "Good to see you, sis."
"Good to see you too," she answered, pulling back to look at his face. "You look good. What's with the stubble?"
He grinned. "S'matter, sis? Afraid your little brother finally grew up on you?"
"A bit," she replied. "So, did the movers come by already?" she asked, glancing over to look at the vague shapes in the windows of her new house.
"Yep," he answered, taking her hand and Elizabeth's and leading them over to the door. "Came by yesterday, and me and dad let them in and helped shove stuff in."
"Thanks, Toby Jingles," she laughed at his affronted face and let go of his hand to fish around in her purse for the key to the door. Finding it, she stuck it in the keyhole and unlocked the door. "Welcome to our new home, Bethie."
Elizabeth warily walked in, glancing about. "…bigger than the apartment," she admitted finally. Sarah took that as a good sign.
"Wait 'til you see the garden out back," Toby said, squeezing her hand. "You'll love it."
"Really?" she asked, already starting to warm up to the idea of a house with a garden.
"Yeah. C'mon, I'll show you," he told her, leading her out back. As they walked, Elizabeth took stock of her new home; it was much bigger than the old apartment where her and her mother had lived while her mother had taught at the last college. There were hard wood floors, niches, tall banisters, and marble counters. Elizabeth couldn't help but feel her excitement bubbling up.
Her uncle led her through the kitchen, out to the back where there was a small foyer with red tiles and a coat rack before a sliding glass door. Looking out the door, Elizabeth gasped and took off, pulling the door open and rushing out.
It was what she and her mother would call a fairy garden. There was baby's breath everywhere, roses flourishing in the humid summer sun, violets, lily of the valley, carnations, tiger lilies, and more flowers than Elizabeth could name. She made a note to herself to ask her mother what flowers there were here, (her mother knew more about flowers than her).
"Do you like it?" her uncle asked quietly, bending down so they were face to face. She grinned and nodded enthusiastically.
"Toby! Elizabeth!" From inside the house, Sarah called out. Elizabeth and Toby turned and watched as Sarah poked her head out the door. "C'mon, guys," she said, "we got unpacking to do."
Elizabeth huffed, not yet ready to leave this beautiful place to go back in to work. Toby patted her shoulder sympathetically. "C'mon, Lizzie, we got work."
With a sigh, she let her uncle lead her in.
"Sarah," Toby called, walking into the new living room carrying a box. "Where's this going?" he asked, putting it on the coffee table.
Sarah paused as she placed a tiny statuette of a ballerina on a built-in bookshelf and walked over to see what her brother brought her. Reading her messy scrawl on the box, she cut the box open and glanced in. "They go here. Help me with them, will you? And be careful, there's fragile stuff in there."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered with a mock salute, reaching in and pulling out a few worn books. "Hey, I recognize some of these."
"I got them for Elizabeth when she was little," Sarah admitted as she glanced over the titles of the fairytale books in his hands. She smiled as he put them on the bookshelf and she reached into the box. However, she paused when she glanced at the picture frame she pulled out, staring into the photo.
Toby noticed the silence, turned, and saw his sister admiring a picture containing her, Elizabeth, and a man. Biting his lip, he came closer and saw who it was. The picture look fairly recent and all of them were laughing up at the camera.
"…Jacob looks good in there," he commented, trying to be tactful. Sarah sighed, moving to put it up as well.
"It was about a month before the crash," she told him, placing it delicately next to the statuette of the ballerina. She paused, staring up into the happy faces that were completely unaware that they'd be torn from each other so soon.
"I'm sorry, Sarah," he murmured. She sighed and thought Everybody is.
"It wasn't his fault," she muttered. "It wasn't anybody's fault." She turned and smiled brightly at him. "C'mon, we shouldn't cloud up this new house with a gloomy atmosphere. I'm going to help Elizabeth in the kitchen."
Toby nodded as she left and glanced up at the picture again, looking up at the face of his dead brother-in-law. He sighed and busied himself with trying to get Sarah's aged radio to work.
In the kitchen, Sarah found Elizabeth grumbling at the kitchen's tiny island as she pulled out bowls from a box. "Let me help you, sweetie," she spoke, grabbing the bowls and putting them in a cupboard.
"I don't see why we had to move," Elizabeth complained, helping her mother by pulling a stack of plates out of a packing box.
Sarah sighed and grabbed the plates, shoving them into a cabinet above the counter. "Not this again, Bethie."
"But momma," she started before Sarah turned and braced her hands against the counter, bearing down on her daughter.
"I mean it," she told her seriously. "I need this job, and Mythology is something I've been dying to teach since I was twenty." Elizabeth huffed and looked away. Sarah sucked in a weary breath and tried reasoning again. "It won't be bad, I promise. If I do well, I could get tenure and then we won't have to move again."
Her daughter glanced up warily. "Promise?"
"Promise," she repeated and stuck out her pinky. "Pinky promise even."
Turning back, she slowly reached out and hooked her mother's finger with her own. Her mother smiled and she couldn't help but smile back.
"It'll be good here. Trust me."
Elizabeth sighed and glanced up at her. "…okay."
Suddenly from around the kitchen's peninsula music began to play. "Hey, Sarah, I got your radio working," Toby called coming into view. Sarah shook her head amused and Elizabeth giggled at her uncle. "C'm'ere, Lizzie, let's dance."
Grinning, she hopped down and ran over to her uncle. He caught her hands and they began whirling about to the music. Sarah laughed at the two of them and tried to go back to unpacking when Toby grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
"C'mon, Sarah, dance with me," he laughed, tugging her into a fast butchered version of a waltz.
"No, Toby." She tried to sound firm but gave up and started laughing. "I have to finish unpacking," she reminded him sternly as he led her out the back foyer, taking her out into the garden. Giving in, she tossed her head back and laughed, dancing enthusiastically with her brother.
"I wanna dance too," Elizabeth cried and they both let go of a hand to grasp one of hers, forming a merry circle before Sarah tripped and brought them all crashing down.
"Sarah," Toby roared jokingly, "look what you did."
"What I did?" she retorted. "I'll show you," she declared and tackled him, tickling him mercilessly while Elizabeth squealed and joined in. He screamed and laughed, trying to wriggle away but before she knew it the tables turned on Sarah and it was Toby and her daughter pinning her to the ground as they tickled her. "No fair! You're cheating," she accused them.
"Am not," Elizabeth shot back.
"Are too," Sarah laughed and began tickling her daughter, her brother joining in; Elizabeth shrieked in laughter. Before long her mother and uncle took pity and stopped. All three laughed, leaning against each other, giggling, and trying to catch their breaths.
After they had finally picked themselves up of the ground and made it back inside, Toby led Elizabeth into the living room while Sarah remained in the kitchen promising to make hot chocolate for them. Elizabeth watched from her spot on the loveseat, looking over to her uncle as he strummed his guitar. He was playing any song he could think of and then the ones that she requested.
Finally, Sarah walked in clutching steaming mugs before handing one to her brother and one to her daughter after sitting next to her. Elizabeth grinned and snuggled up to her mother, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup before taking a careful sip.
"Thanks, sis," Toby grinned, raising the cup in salute before taking a gulp and putting it on the coffee table, which was still crooked since it missed straightening from earlier. "Mmm," he hummed, savoring the taste, "You make one mean hot chocolate, Sar."
"Well, thank you," she answered, delighted in a smug way that earned a playful eye roll from her daughter. "Got something to add to the conversation, squirt?"
Elizabeth hid a grin behind her cup, "no."
"Oh really?" Sarah shot back, raising a brow and trying hard not to smile. "Well then you wouldn't mind me doing this won't you?" The moment she said the word "this" a hand snatched the cup a way and the other began to mercilessly tickle her daughter's side.
"Momma," Elizabeth squealed, trying to wriggle away from her mother's fingers. "Uncle Toby, help!"
Toby glanced up once and sipped his hot chocolate. "Sorry, kid, you're on your own." His tone was so matter-a-fact that both mother and child burst into laughter, giving up the tickling to toss back their heads and laugh at him. "You two are a pair of knuckleheads, you are," he chuckled, seating aside his cup.
By the time they finished laughing, Elizabeth had thrown her arms around her mother's waist and Sarah had drawn her close to her side. Both sat, sipping their cooling hot chocolate and listened to Toby absently singing and strumming at his guitar.
"So darling, darling, stand by me," he sang, tapping his sock covered foot against the coffee table to keep time. "Oh, stand by me-"
The grandfather clock interrupted him, clanging eleven times before finishing. Toby looked at its face and groaned. "Mom's gonna shoot me," he moaned, sinking into the cushions.
"I'll call her," Sarah offered, patting his knee in sympathy. How many times did I say that Irene was going to shoot me when I was his age? she wondered, before answering herself with Far too many. She got up and swiped her hand playfully at her brother. "Come on," she commanded, already reaching for her cell phone.
"Eh, I'm up, I'm up," he yelped, jumping to his feet.
"Uncle Toby," Elizabeth began, her voice whining. "Do you have to go?"
"Sorry, Lizzie," Toby answered, soothing her hair down. "But I should have been home an hour ago."
"And you should have in bed around then too," Sarah reminded her, dialling her parents' number. Elizabeth groaned, pouting and sulking.
"C'mon," Toby said, swinging her up into his arms, "I'll tuck you into bed." She paused and nodded, resting her heavy head against his shoulder as he carried her up the stairs. Sarah waved and mouthed "Gimme a minute" to her before beginning to talk to her stepmother.
Elizabeth sighed as her uncle carried her into her room and essentially dropped her onto the mattress making her giggle. "Goodnight kiss?" she asked as he pulled the covers up.
"Of course. You can't sleep properly without a goodnight kiss," he chided her playfully, kissing her cheek. "Sweet dreams, Lizzie."
"Night," she answered, kissing his cheek too. He handed her the teddy bear she gestured to. "Uncle Toby?" she began.
"Yeah, sweet pea?"
"Are you…" she paused, squeamish and nervous. "…coming over tomorrow too?"
He grinned down at her. "You betcha." He gained a wide smile as his reward. "Night, sweetie."
"Night," she whispered, clutching her teddy. He kissed her forehead and left, turning back to give her one last smile before flipping off the light switch. He watched as she snuggled deeper into her covers and sighed in contentment.
He walked away, whistling and taking the stairs two at a time. Who knew making his niece happy would put him into such a good mood? He heard his sister shut her phone as he walked back into the living room. "So, think she'll skin me alive or put me down mercifully beforehand?"
She smirked at him, gesturing to where he'd left his guitar. "She says you got fifteen minutes to get home before you're grounded off the computer for a week."
"Oo, she was merciful then," he hooted, grabbing his guitar and stuffing it into his case. "Whatever you said to her, I owe you."
"Come by tomorrow and help again with the unpacking and I'll call it even," she answered. "You better run, I have to go say good night to Elizabeth. Unless you need a ride…?"
"S'alright," he answered, snapping the case closed. "You know most seventeen year olds don't have a curfew of ten a' clock."
She snickered at him. "I remember those days." She gave him a hug when he reached out for her. "Night, Toby Jingles."
"Ah, I hate that name," he whined.
"But you loved that book when you were little," she giggled, ruffling his hair.
"Seventeen, Sarah, I'm seventeen years old," he pouted. He did his best to look pitiful, sticking out his bottom lip, ducking his chin, and glancing upward at her.
She laughed and swatted him. "Enough of that."
"Oww, oww," he whined theatrically, jumping away from her. "You're so mean to your little brother."
She laughed again and began to swat him again, shepherding him out. "Night, Toby," she chuckled, wrapping him in a hug before giving him a shove out the door.
"Night to you too, sis," he shot back, waving before he took off down the street to make it home before he was late. She waved back at him for a bit before going back inside her home. After she shut the door, she sighed, stretching her arms and legs as far as they would go before dropping her hands, clapping them once, before walking into her living room. As she walked in, she reached out to grab the cups they had left behind when a small voice called out to her.
"Mom?"
Sarah stopped and sighed as she straightened up; her back voiced its disgruntlement at all the lifting and bending she'd been doing all day. She stretched, placing her hands on her hips and bending back a bit to get it to pop. "Yes?" she called up to her daughter before starting for the stairs. "I'm coming."
She cleared the final stair and stuck her head into her daughter's room. "You called, princess?"
"Are you going to bed soon?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes blearily squinting at her mother.
"In a bit, I have to clear up the cups we used," she answered, walking over and sitting on the edge of her daughter's bed. "Night, honey," she told her, bending down and planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
"Night, momma," she whispered back, already giving into sleep. Sarah smiled at her daughter and began to get up before her daughter's soft voice stopped her. "Mom? Do you think I'll make any friends when I go to school in fall?"
Sarah smiled and bent to kiss her daughter again. "Yes. I'm sure."
Satisfied, Elizabeth smiled and hugged her teddy. "Night."
"Night, baby," she answered. Getting up and pausing to smile once more for her daughter before shutting the door behind her. Sighing, she rubbed her aching back and longed to sink into her bed as she went down the stairs to collect their cups from the coffee table.
As she entered the room and went to gather the cups, she glanced over at the couch to where Toby had sprawled. As she looked, however something caught her eye and she nearly dropped the cup Elizabeth had used.
Sitting innocently where Toby had earlier, rested a crystal sphere, perfect and catching the light serenely. Sarah nearly cursed.
She hesitated for a moment before snatching the crystal and stomping out to her backdoor, out into the garden where earlier they had all laughed, and marched to the end of the garden. Not bothering to unlatch the gate, she stopped at the fence and with all her might, hurled the crystal at the wood behind her house. She didn't bother to worry for anyone wandering around bare foot that might tread there and glared as she heard it shatter.
"Leave us alone," she hissed at the wind. "You leave us alone, Jareth."
There was no answer save for the call of a night bird. Her actions suddenly caught up with her mind and she felt foolish for running out of her house, tossing out some crystal, and accusing the forest of being a Goblin King's hideout. Bashfully, she turned and fled to her home and didn't dare glance back lest she find something out there she wished hadn't.