Stolen Sunset

Preface

August 5th 1920

"I want to remember everything, every second, as my life ticks away. I want to record my breaths, my heartbeat, I never want to forget. Let me see one last sunset shimmer over the horizon, before it is stolen, before I am no more. I am leaving my heart within these pages, written and stained for all to see. For within a few short hours I will give my final fight, draw the last bit of strength I have… until the last of my being has forsaken me. I hope that whoever finds this tells my story, so that the world can release it's noose on others of my kind. This is my story, my sanity, me… Mary Alice Brandon"

Chapter One

August 5th 1916

Dear… hhmm…. I'm not quite certain as to what I should call you, we'll return to that. Mother and father were so gracious to give you to me. As you may know, today is my birthday! You were a gift given to me to "express my angst and rebellious tensions" as mother puts it. I know that may give you the wrong impression of me, but I swear on my heart that I am not a bad person. Lately my life has been a tour of trials and mishaps, not to mention I have been getting these paralyzing, deafening migraines. They come on so suddenly, I could be doing anything. In that instance of pain though, my mind is forced to awaken, it's as if the pain is a shockwave to all my cells. In that brief moment life becomes so clear, it's as if anything is possible.

Well enough about my migraines, I'm sure they'll pass. Maybe it's just another part of becoming a woman… that was a joke, but honestly we women go through so much as we change throughout the years. I feel myself growing, yet I stand just under five feet tall. It is like I am a pixie (as Cynthia calls me) with torn wings and not a hint of magic within. Cynthia by the way is my lovely little sister, who just had a birthday herself as well. She turned 13 on the 4th of July. She is becoming such a stunning young woman, though she hates it when I fuss around with her hair and beg to pick out her attire for the day. I suppose she is just not as fashion minded as I am, but still the times we share together are some of the happiest! Every Friday night after mother and father have retired, we sneak out to the Olde Missi Diner to grab a milkshake and just talk about everything that we are forced to suppress at home. My parents are very strict Baptists, just like a lot of the families down here in Biloxi. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with religion or God, but I am strongly against the fact of a ritual where someone is telling you that you "shalt not speak of this nor should you do that or you will burn in the depths of Hell for eternity". Everyone has a right to be whoever they want, as long as it's not harming another individual. Everyone was placed here to help one another, not glue their mouths shut so they cannot speak. So due to this, Cynthia and I retreat every Friday and have our talks.

Mother had me fitted for my birthday dress a month ago, I always take so long when it comes to shopping or anything pertaining to fashion. There were so many dresses at "some French dress shop", but only one truly caught my eye. Hidden behind the rack of this summer's strappy lace evening gowns was the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. My eyes glowed at the sight of the lace bodice, the chiffon ruffled shoulders and the traces of satin stitched throughout. I darted across the distance between us, snatched it up and coveted every moment. I sprang into an empty dressing room, not even remembering where in the shop my mother was. I peeled off my pink cotton dress with the corset lining as quickly as possible, oh how I hate that revolting dress, but mother always makes me wear something "demure" if we are expecting guests that day. I delicately slipped the new dress on, took a breath and looked into the 3 way mirrors… I could have died right there, it was more breathtaking than I had envisioned. Suddenly a knock came to my door,

"Mary Alice! What kind of manners did I bring you up with? How dare you go and run off in public like that!"

"Sorry Mother, but you have to see this! I found the absolute perfect dress!"

I slowly opened the door and put one foot in front of the other and spun myself around… the moment felt utterly perfect, the dress fit me like it was my second skin. It even gave me more of a feminine body, hugging all the right angles! As I turned one last time I gazed to meet my mother's reaction and was greeted by an icy slap! Everything suddenly went black, then my body felt entirely numb. Merely 5 seconds passed and my vision was still a bit black but I could see a foggy blur that was indeed my mother's face. Suddenly my head pounded, my heart raced.

"How you could have the soul to walk in here and grab the dress that Satan himself would marry you in… well on that notion, you have no soul!"

Her last 4 words stung my mind violently, then I blinked for a mere second and… it turned out that I was still in the dressing room trying on the new dress. I was clueless as to what had just come over me, did I fall asleep? Did I faint? Did my mother really just slap me? I placed my hand to where I had pictured the slap was delivered. There was no mark, just a slight indescribable tingle. I grew frightened but when I looked up into the mirrors I was again overcome with joy by the vision that the dress portrayed on me. I spun myself out of the room… once again it seemed, and danced to see my mother's face. Somehow though, I was again greeted by an icy slap! This time harder than before… this time it was real.

"How you could have the soul to walk in here and grab the dress that Satan himself would marry you in… well on that notion, you have no soul!"

"Those words, she just spoke them 2 minutes ago…"

I forced open my tear filled eyes to see my mother shoving me back into the dressing room and demanding that I remove the "atrocity begging to possess my body". I stumbled up off the floor trying to piece together and make sense out of what I had just witnessed… or had not witnessed. What really happened out there? Was I insane? I removed my coveted dress and mourned at the fact that it would not be coming with me. The pain from my mother's strike lasted about an hour, I was more consumed with the fact that I had just experienced something that was beyond my control… or was it?

As I am relaying to you now, I sit here in my white long sleeve gauze and taffeta birthday gown… the dress mother finally picked out. It is certainly not my style but she could have done worse, I atleast got plenty of compliments from everyone who was at my party. Oh yes the party! It was nothing special, we had it here at the house. Mother hired a decorator to convert the drawing room into a party/refreshment room… which was completely decked out in white! I suppose my parents want to keep everyone around them in the know that I am still "pure". Yes I am "pure", I am a person who tries to make a difference in people's lives and helps them the best I can, and yes I am still a virgin… god what an odd term for something of that nature. Though I do think about sex quite often, especially at night when I am alone in my bed, I know I am merely 15 but I cannot help but imagine someone laying beside me at night who I can care for and watch over.

My migraines happen a lot when I am sleeping, and each time I have the same vision it seems. As soon as I start drifting into my dreams, my body goes numb, then the shockwave of pain awakens my mind like a burning blaze. Then the vision… I'm sitting somewhere at a counter, my eyes wandering, my hair is chopped quite short and is rather spiky. My skin, well… let's just say I look like I haven't seen the light of day in several centuries. And yet I look breath taking, like a porcelain doll that's just been finished and put on the market for all to see. The vision continues and my eyes are still wandering, it seems as though I am searching for something… or someone. I'm not sure because it always starts to get fuzzy and hazy at this point. I still cannot even place the emotion on my face, if there is any to be found. Just when the haze begins to feel as though it will lift and everything will make sense… the vision ends. I have experienced this same vision 10 times so far, I truly hope that soon it will continue to lead me further, for I suspect that somewhere in these visions lie something very significant… something that may be my destiny…