Hello all, this is a new story I hope you enjoy.
The song is an older selection that was playing on my IPOD when the story came to me, therefore I am using it as the opening song.
I do like reviews, please
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Opening song: One Tin Soldier
Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after...
One tin soldier rides away.
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after...
One tin soldier rides away.
Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after...
One tin soldier rides away.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after...
One tin soldier rides away.
Kathy sat on the burgundy couch in her living room. Her attention was on her 4-year-old daughter. The little girl was practicing her ballet movements, working on balancing and proper positions. Her rhythm kept with the song that was playing.
At the end of the song the little girl did a proper bow. Kathy clapped her applause. "That was wonderful, Diana."
"You are going to do so well on Saturday." Kathy's mother, Lois said from the kitchen. She had just finished doing the dishes and was wiping her hands with the dish towel.
Diana blushed from the praise.
"It is almost nine." Kathy said turning off the CD player. "Little girls need to get ready for bed."
Diana looked whimsically at her Grandmother. Lois shook her head no. She knew very good and well what her Granddaughter was trying and it wasn't going to work. Diana possessed an intelligence greater than most children her age. But Lois had raised two daughters, Diana wasn't showing her anything she hadn't already seen before.
Accepting defeat Diana went with her mother to her room for the nightly routine.
Diana's room was decorated in pink and light pastels. The walls were lined with stripped pink wallpaper. One wall was covered with framed pictures. Her dresser was white with heart shaped knobs on the drawers. The bed was the center of the room it was white and had a Disney Princesses comforter on top. There were two nightstands on either side of the bed. One held a lamp the other a ballerina doll that had been placed on a stand.
"Pick out your nightgown." Kathy said gently watching from the doorway.
Diana opened her dresser and found her blue pajama set. She changed out of her little tu-tu and into the pajamas. She then grabbed the brush from the dresser and brushed her light brown locks. Once that was done she watched Diana go into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
Kathy continued to observe Diana. She was starting to become independent in her own right, but she was still a little girl, her little girl. Nothing was going to change that.
When she was finished Diana crawled into bed. Kathy took her seat on the end. "Do you want Mommy's story or Daddy's story?" Kathy asked.
Diana pursed her lips together as she mused. "I listened to Daddy's story with Grandma today so I want Mommy's story."
Kathy picked up the copy of Little Women and opened it to the page where she had left off.
After a moment of reading Diana started to stare at her ballerina doll. "Do you think Daddy's going to be at my recital on Saturday?"
"He said he would." Kathy answered. "He gets very busy sometimes, but he told me he requested the day off."
"Will he be there for a while or go?" Diana asked.
"I don't know." Kathy answered. "What happened at school today?"
"Maggie Winters." Diana answered. "She was telling some of the other girls that I don't have a Daddy. Some of the kids said I was there because someone felt sorry for me."
Kathy took a breath. "Diana your father loves you very much. He's just a busy person, his job is very important."
"I know. I just don't like being teased." Diana answered.
"No one does, darling." Kathy said. "I think that is enough for tonight. Good night." She kissed Diana on the head and then turned on the nightlight before hitting the switch for the overhead light. She closed the door all but an inch and watched as her daughter went to sleep.
Kathy then pulled out her cell phone and hit one of the numbers. It rang a few times before there was an answer.
"It's Kathy," she said quietly. "No, no, I just put her down. I wanted to know if you were still planning on being here on Saturday."
Kathy walked back to the living room and took a seat on the couch with her mother. "Diana is just being teased again at school." There was a pause. "I've already talked to the school and the other girl's mother. I think maybe if they saw the two of you together it might help."
She then got up and got herself a glass of water from the dispenser on the fridge. "I was hoping you might stay here for a little while, there's something that I wanted to talk with you about. Something strange has been going on and then with Goldie dying last week."
Diana went back to the couch. "No, Diana is moving on. I'm looking into getting her another dog next week. She wants a puppy, I would rather get one that's already trained. We can discuss it on Saturday. See you then." Kathy hung up the phone and joined her mother watching the TV for a little bit before going to bed herself.
The next morning Kathy woke up and knocked on Diana's door. "Time to get up," she said. Kathy then went into the kitchen and started working on Diana's breakfast.
Lois came into the kitchen a moment later and started working on the coffee. "Where's Diana?"
"She hasn't woken up yet. I'll get her." Kathy said heading to the bedrooms.
Kathy knocked on the door before entering. "Diana you're running late." She said as she opened the door.
Kathy stared at the bed. Diana was not in it and the comforter was gone.
Trying not to panic Kathy looked in her mother's bedroom and her own, no Diana. She then went outside to the backyard. "Don't scare Mommy." Kathy said looking around for Diana.
"Mom," Kathy called to Lois. "I can't find her. The comforter is not on her bed."
"I'll check the basement." Lois said. It was the only logical place left.
Lois opened the door by the garage and walked down the steps turning on the light. The area was really only used as storage. Diana never really came down here.
Kathy in the meantime had gone outside to look down the street.
Lois opened one of the closed off rooms and saw a broken window. Trying not to jump to conclusions she moved quickly back upstairs.
"Did you find her?" Kathy asked.
"No there's a broken window downstairs. I'm calling the police." She said grabbing the phone.
"Oh God, not my daughter." Kathy cried.