Drowning In the Air
Up On Melancholy Hill
AN: This fanfic will mostly involve Murdoc, but it's not an OCxMurdoc pairing (I also have no idea when he and the band will show up. Just be patient!). I might make a separate one, or bring one in later, but the heroine of the story DOESN'T date him. I won't give anything else away for now, hehe… I do not own Gorillaz, but the other characters are my OC's. Another thought: The British accents would probably take half the time for me to write the story, so I don't think I'll bother with the accents (Though I probably won't be able to stop an occasional "Bloody 'ell!" here and there XD) I also do not own any of the music, I just thought it'd be nifty it I named the chapter's after songs of theirs… Did I just say nifty? Jesus Christ. While I go hide in the Corner of Shame, you enjoy this… whatever you'd call it. Ciao!
Linda, the Matron of the local Orphanage, was waving goodbye to her absolute favorite child in the Orphanage for the last time. Well, she is 15, for God's sake. It was high time she got out of here anyway! Still, it tore a little hole in her heart thinking this was possibly the last she will see of the child- I mean woman… Yes, she is a young woman now. The girl waved goodbye to her and hopped into her friend's Winnebago. "Where to?" Linda asked, guessing she already knew the answer.
"No idea…" The girl said in wonder. "But I'll know when I get there, that I'm sure of." The woman merely gave an exasperated breath of laughter and shooed her away. How did I know? She thought with amusement. That girl… still as peculiar as she was when she first got here!
The girl arrived on the doorstep of the Orphanage in London, England. She was at the tender age of 6 when the Matron of the Orphanage came upon the little girl. The eerie silence of the child almost immediately aroused her curiosity. There were no tears or incoherent sobs coming from the child. Neither was there any identification, packed bags, or even a comfort item, such as a blanket or teddy bear. She was quite small; in both stature and width. The girl was thin as a board, and as small as a dormouse you might be inclined to say. Her hair was dark black and in a high ponytail with a possibility of blue in it. Her eyes look naturally wide with curiosity; You could tell she was a natural thinker and wonderer. To put it simply, a natural intellect. Even so, the most definite thing about her eyes were how the right one was almost ebony black, and the other a rusty brown that could possibly show as red in the right lighting. Her face was rather pointed; Her nose was petite and slightly crooked, as if someone had broken it. Her skin was as if you mixed a very light shade of brown and green together. (It may sound sickening, but it somehow worked for her). Though cute and most definitely pretty, this little girl was not gorgeous.
The child looked up at the woman and quite calmly asked, "Has my mom left me here?"
Sounds American to me. How'd a 6 year old American end up here…?
The Matron was prepared to give the usual speech that tells children to not give up hope; believe in their future, whether mommy is there or not. But as she began to start, her breath caught in her throat. The look on the child's face was almost too much for her to bear. Though nothing outwardly showed of the child's inner turmoil, her eyes showed an infinite sadness, along with reluctant acceptance… She also could have sworn her left eye glistened a dark red in response to lightning being struck at that moment, somewhere far into the distance. Once it disappeared though, the crimson had vanished.
"…Most likely," The Matron said. She was deeply surprised at this frank truth she had just told the poor little girl. "Come with me inside. It looks like it's going to storm soon. We… we can try to contact your mother once we're inside." She said hesitantly.
"No need," the girl sighed. "Mom didn't like me much. I could tell. When do we eat?" she asked in wonder. That was most likely due to catching the scent of tonight's dinner in the air as they walked by the Dining Hall.
"I was actually about to sit down for supper right before you knocked on the door!" the Matron said in a cheerful tone. She made sure to practice this voice as often as she could; not only to keep the kids believing everything will be all right, but to assure herself as well. The things she had seen and heard in her years at the orphanage would most likely drive another person to throw oneself off a bridge, and that's putting it mildly.
"That's nice! I haven't eaten in…" The girl stood there counting mentally, "In about a week. Yes… a week. Where is my room going to be, Ms…?"
The woman stared at the girl's ridiculously thin body and had no trouble at all believing she'd been starved.
"…What was that? Oh! My name? Most around here call me Miss Holland, but you may call me… Linda." She said with a bright smile. "And what's your name, Missy?"
The girl had no smile to return to this "Linda" woman. "I have no name, but Mom's boyfriend from about a year ago would always call me Baby Doll. Does that count?" She asked with eyes full of curiosity.
The woman faltered and stopped in the hallway. So neglected… So unloved. How is she so devoid of pain? Linda thought. It's just as sad- no, even sadder than when children are left hopeless and full of raw, hateful emotions…
"I… I'd have to say no. How about let's give you one right now!" Linda burst out cheerily. "What would you like your name to be?"
"…I really like Alice." The girl said quietly. "May my name be Alice…White?"
Linda smiled at the girl with glistening eyes in danger of spilling over. "Of course, Darling," she choked out, "you can have whatever name you want…"
At this, little Alice managed to poke out a little smile through her thin lips. At her smile, she happened to reveal abnormally pointed teeth like a predator's. "Thank you, Miss Holland- er, Linda. You're a very kind person. I think I'll be ok now that I'm here." She stood there for a moment, but looked rather awkward. She then slowly got close to Linda and put her arms very lightly around her waist. As heart warming as it was, she could sense how virgin the hug was to Alice.
I can almost tell she's never given a real hug before… That poor girl… Poor Alice. "No, thank you, Alice dearest! Now hurry and claim your bunk before all the good spots are taken. And Alice?" Linda said to catch the departing Alice from leaving, "How about you sit next to me for dinner tonight?"
Alice didn't speak for a moment. For several moments… A whole minute now. But then a smile managed to tug on her lips gently, and Alice replied with the sincere happiness a 6 year old is suppose to use. "…Sure. I'd really like that." She stood there for a moment in the cramped hallway and then slowly wandered her way down to where Linda had indicated the Bedrooms to be.
Linda was sitting on a fairly large hill right by her small Urban-style apartment with her boyfriend, Jack. They always went to the hill after work was over to watch the sunset; it was their spot and no one else could ever take that away from them, she decided.
Jack had decided on the very first date that they were to have a spot declared for themselves to ponder things and have bubble-blowing competitions. At that moment, she knew she hit gold. Quirky, intelligent, and very cute with short brown hair and caring blue eyes, she had discovered something extremely rare: A man worth her time.
He had his arm around her and they were talking about how their day went when she suddenly started crying.
"What's wrong, Linda?" Jack said with light surprise and concern. "Was it some brat at the orphanage giving you a hard time? If so, I can teach that hooligan a lesson or two…" He held his fists up and started boxing the air.
At that, she laughed and told Jack the story of little Alice. "No, Jack. I only wish it were as simple as a misbehaved kid. This little girl… she's something different. If she weren't so sweet, I'd say she was of demon descent! I'm worried she won't get along with the others; I seem to be the only one she's talked to at all today. I just don't know what I should do…" She put her head in her hands and sat like that for a while. The wind blew her golden hair around her face a bit, almost as if it were trying to cheer her up by playfully sweeping her hair around her heart-shaped face.
"…You know, I say it's this hill that's grieving you. I'm getting a very sullen vibe off of it; Tis be a rather Melancholy Hill, eh? Let's go back home and sleep. I think you'll feel better about it once you get some sleep in you." Jake said in a matter of fact tone.
When he's like this, there's simply no point in arguing, is there? She thought in an exasperated tone. They stood up and wiped the grass off of their clothes (And in her case, wiped the fresh tears out of her eyes as well.) and walked back to their low rent apartment. She was about to follow Jack inside when she turned around one last time to glance at the newly deemed Melancholy Hill. "Alice…" She whispered.