This is my new story. It's going to be about Alice's hidden past. How Alice became the Alice we all know. I have taken some liberties with the dates of certain events. I must warn the reader, I know nothing of Biloxi, personally. I've never been to Mississippi. But as we talk about the asylum, I have been there. (No jokes about that.) I have changed the dates when things happened in the asylum, to better fit the story. Just a little artistic liberty.

THE CRESCENT

CHAPTER 1: Premonitions

The wind blew the leaves across the old gravel driveway. It's fall in Missouri. The night comes early as Mr. Brandon made his way to the old building in town. The apartment building was old, but well kept. His mother had resided there for a year now. She had money, but preferred to live quietly. She was prepared to move at a moments notice. He walked up to the old door, preparing to knock, when his mother opened the door.

"Come in, I've been waiting." She said darkly. The man smiled and walked in.

"Mother, must you always be so foreboding?" The lady ushered him in.

"Old habit," she replied. "So what is the big news?"

"You know all ready, don't you mother?" The man replied, trying to hide his frustration. "For once, I'd like to have a secret from you."

"I'd like to hear it from you." She smiled warmly. Her features were small. She was under five foot tall and her long salt and pepper hair was almost as long as she was, when she left it down.

"Very well" The man grinned. "Mother, Clara and I are going to have a baby." The woman clapped her hands and then hugged her son.

"Oh, I can't wait to meet baby Alice. I'll have to start sewing her outfits." The man put his hand up to pause her.

"So sure we're going to name her after you?" He asked with a smirk. The woman shook her head.

"I can hear it. Her name will be Alice, but Clara will try to have it changed, or hidden. She'll have the gift too." The woman looked around her, as if suspicious that someone would be listening in. "Do NOT tell Clara this. She doesn't like the gifts. She will only harm Alice." The man nodded, in awe.

"So you've seen the baby's future?" He asked. The lady looked grave.

"She will be beautiful, with black hair and the bluest eyes ever seen. But I do not see her eyes staying blue forever. They will change." His mother grew silent. She looked confused. " I see her living forever."

"You mean you see her creating some masterpiece that will last and her name will live forever?" The man prodded, hopeful. Alice shook her head.

"No, it is the most curious vision I've ever received. I see her, not in a time like we're in now, almost like she's in the far future. We are nowhere near, she is in attire that I do not recognize and she has her hair cut short. She looks young, but her beautiful blue eyes are golden. Then I see a vision of her grow black, as if the world is blacked out." She looks puzzled. "I have never had a vision so clear and so puzzling at the same time." The man stared at his mother, confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Usually, I get visions of a single person. They are quick and blurry, but usually true. I can see my family the clearest, but with baby Alice, I can see her future crystal clear. I can see her having visions, and then I can see with crystal clarity that she is in the future with a family. The family is not related, but they all have the same eye color. She is young and happy. I then see the family a few years later, and they all look the same. I then see Alice as a little girl, she is scared and then the world goes black. Why would her world go black?" His mother looked concerned. The man sighed.

"Mother, I also came to tell you that Clara and I are leaving Missouri. Clara wants to be closer to her family, in Biloxi Mississippi." The man was eager to get the conversation away from his future daughter.

"Biloxi? Nothing happens there." She retorted. The man smiled.

"Not much happens in Joplin, Missouri, either mother." She pointed to the apartment.

"In less than thirty years, this apartment will house the Barrow gang, one of the most notorious gangs in history."

"You won't be here in thirty years, mother. Our family doesn't stay in a home longer than two years. That's not the life we want for our child. Clara's pastor wrote to her; he wants her to come home, turn her vagabond husband into a house worthy man." The woman was tired of these arguments. Her and her son had them ritualistically.

"We did travel; son, but we weren't gypsies. We made an honest living."

"Mother, you were a fortune teller." He replied. The mother shrugged.

"I was an honest fortune teller. My fortunes came true. Our traveling helped you develop your gift. I've never seen anyone that has the ability to convince people, like you do. You're a natural salesman."

"I understand mother, and I thank you, but Clara and I need to move." The lady's eyes glistened with tears.

"I understand too, son. I will visit when baby Alice is born." The man smiled.

"You promise?" She laughed, wiping at her eyes.

"Don't question a psychic, dear. You better get used to just accepting what we say."

The man made his way back to his house. He lived in a small two bedroom house, just outside of town. The lights were off, signaling that Clara was asleep. He wearily made his way into the house, prepared for bed, and joined Clara in the bedroom. He slid under the covers, ready to get his mother's predictions out of his mind.

"Did your mother see us having a boy? Will he be a businessman, like you?" Clara was lying down, wide awake. The man remembered his mother's warning about Clara.

"My mother isn't a real psychic. She has no idea about the baby." He yawned, signaling that he was done with the conversation. Clara was not ready to let her excitement go.

"I was thinking of naming the baby John Brandon Junior, if it's a boy." She hedged, trying to get her husband back into the conversation of the baby. He sighed.

"That sounds wonderful, dear." He rolled over and smiled at her.

"I haven't really thought of a girl's name yet." She replied. "I'm just so sure it's going to be a boy." John smiled. Clara was usually wrong about her gut feelings.

"How about Alice?" He suggested.

~*~
So, how does the first chapter sound so far? I hope it turns out well. Thanks for reading and leaving feedback.