To See the Stars
Chapter 1: Once upon a Time
"Once upon a time…" all good stories begin in such a way, don't they? I wouldn't have said that mind began in such a way, but perhaps that part came in the middle. Like all good stories, it began.
It was the summer before seventh grade that I found out. Starting school was much harder. The first trip up there was the worst. I don't really know how to explain it other than my eyes were freaking out. I had just turned 12 and my eyes just said, "Adios, Amigo! See you never!" When August 25th rolled around I was in the midst of learning Braille in preparation for the 6 months ahead. Was I mad? Yeah! I mean, I was going blind, fast.
One thing happened before that, though. : Something that changed the entire outcome of this story. It was like something out of a fairytale.
I was at Nana's. She said that she needed some help cleaning out her attic. Not thinking, I went upstairs with her. I couldn't really see up there, so I just took whatever was handed to me downstairs. Lamps, chairs, old prom dresses, and LOTS of boxes passed through my hands. Finally the attic was clean, except for one box in the corner. A coat of arms marked it as something my "Russian" ancestors had brought to America.
I'd heard about a million times how our family used to rule a part of what is now Russia. Lieyvvia was overtaken by the Soviets in 1897, and the royal family was smuggled to America. In 1940, during World War II, the American Government recognized the hidden royalty and asked Mr. William Von Lieyvvia for education on the Russian language and culture. Having helped them, my great-grandfather was allowed to live in America in peace. We were given the same rights as Native Americans and could now claim a piece of land as our own, kind of like a reservation, but more like our own town. After seeing all the restrictions something like this required, my great-grandfather William chose not to go that route. He instead asked to be exempt from taxes. Every person of direct decent of him is treated the same way. So my great-grandfather; my three great-aunts; my five great uncles; my grandfather; my five uncles; my aunt; my mother; my sister; my two brothers; all my first or second cousins; and I were are tax exempt. Those who were married to them were not quite as lucky. The law was not expanded to include in-laws yet. All 48 of us had special notices attached to our social security numbers.
Anyway, I was named "royally" for all of it. "Starlyn Cadence Elizabeth Jane Anadella Von Lieyvvia" is quite a mouthful. There's a little bit of family history for you!
Back at the attic, the trunk had captured me. After much deliberation, we decided to open it. It took forever, but we finally found the key in one of the jewelry boxes around the Victorian house. Nana was shaking when we opened it. When the dust settled, I found a lifetime of memories staring at me in the face. Tem portraits of a girl with bright red hair and piercing green eyes were wedged in there. Old as they were, they weren't the thing that interested me the most. Journals, at least 15 of them, were buried underneath a tiara and a very fine dress.
My mom raised an eyebrow when I said I wanted to take the trunk home, but I was persistent. I knew I must uncover the fate of this girl, whoever she may be. I knew I must do it before my sight left me forever in the dark.
Chapter 2: A tragedy
May 19th: A Birthday
I'm going to tell you a story: a tragedy, really. You see, dear reader, it is my story. At first, I didn't think that my story was worth writing and I'm still not sure that it is. You be the judge.
Once upon a time a queen gave birth to a pair of twins. Elated to have such beautiful daughters, the queen trumpeted her joy from one end of the earth to the other. But at the age of three, a terrible thing happened: one of the daughters died. She pulled a pot of boiling water down on her. Doctor was fetched a quickly as possin
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