When you meet someone, you get a first impression. You notice things, like how they're dressed, or how they speak. It's these first impressions that stay with you. This is how you think of this person, until you get to know them better. Your first impression of them normally clouds your judgment. If you had a bad first impression, you would probably be less likely to trust this person with your life. And if you had a good one, well, then you might trust them with something important. And when you are in a situation, where you need to trust someone you barely know with your life, first impressions really do matter. This is the story of the first time I met Sherlock Holmes, and how I had to trust him with my life.
You see, it was just a quiet February day, and I had just gone down to the bakery for some bread. Living in London was always an adventure. Something exciting was happening every single day. Just walking down the street in the morning, you could see so many different things. It wasn't often that I was allowed to go out on my own. Because, for the reason I loved it, my mother hated London. She always thought that I was going to die just walking out to the bakery. I don't know why she chose to live in the city if she hated it. My father bought the house, when they first got married. And when he died, my mother decided to stay there. I always thought that she would move out to the country. But no, she decided to stay in the city she despised, because I loved it here.
My mother almost never let me go out alone; she made me take Maddie, our maid, with me. She was always my chaperone. She was a 60 year old, crotchety woman, who hated everything. She hated anything bright, or noisy, or happy, or live. She hated everything, especially going out and chaperoning me. She went to parties with me, and out on the town, and walks through the park with me. She really didn't enjoy it. We could never do anything fun, which was why my mother loved it when she went out with me. She knew that I would always be doing something boring when I was with Maddie.
This was why I was so excited to go out alone. Maddie had caught the flu, and I was to go pick up some French bread. I normally didn't get to do anything like this. I jumped at the opportunity. I had to leave early in the morning, around seven, because the bread was for our breakfast. I left our modest house around seven fifteen. I was wearing a cornflower blue dress that bunched up under my white lace corset. It fell down to my ankles, and covered my dirty black boots. I had a white hat that tied in a bow under my chin. I could tell by the way my mother looked at me that she thought I was overdressed to go to the bakery, but I was taking advantage of the situation. We both knew that I would take as long as I could, and soak in the essence of the city. I wasn't planning on being back anytime soon.
"Please be careful, don't talk to strangers, don't pay more than you should, and be back soon" my mother pleaded to me.
"Mom, I will be careful. I will be back for breakfast. See you." I kissed her on the cheek, and walked out of the door. I soaked in the London air, and then started on my way.