The sun slowly rose in all its glory as its golden rays peeked through the ratty brown curtains of the dark, dank attic. You could see the film of dust coat everything in sight as if nobody had been up there in ages. Boxes of picture albums had been stuffed in the far back corner of the room laying forgotten like this attic. A beautiful white laced wedding dress that adorned a mannequin stood in the middle of the small room. Green mold crawled on the wood ceiling and the floor. The scurrying sounds of rats racing across the thin boards of the floor were the only sounds of life. However, if you were not looking close enough, you wouldn't notice the sleeping form of a tiny little redhead girl shivering in the thin sheets of her makeshift bed.
The bed was a metal twin sized one and creaked every time the small girl so much as flinched as if it was about to collapse in. The little girl looked too thin for her age not having the rounded cheeks of adolescence that should have adorned her pale face. Her nose had a splattering of light red freckles that continued over onto her cheeks. Her short corkscrew curls flailed around the pillow while partially covering her peaceful face.
Suddenly, her eyes screwed together as the morning sun finally struck her face. She slowly sat up and balled up her tiny little fists to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She sighed as she flung the sheets off of her and swung her feet off the edge of the bed. You could see the pitiful and dirty sleeping gown the girl wore as she rose to her feet and headed toward the wooden dresser that sat in front of her bed.
She opened the box and took off the ratty nightgown she wore folding it neatly into the dresser. She then took out a filthy black dress and slipped it over her head. The dress was baggy on her thin bony frame. She slowly closed the box as if not to disturb anyone and made her way to the vanity that sat by the window.
The little girl sat in the creaky wooden bench and began combing through her short wiry locks. The curls only expanded more as she brushed through them making her hair look like it was standing out from her. She finally set the brush back on the table and grabber a black ribbon from the vanity drawer. She tried pulling all of her hair back into a slick pony but couldn't seem to do it. So she let the flailing pieces alone knowing it would not do any good.
One feature that stood out about the girl, other than her fiery wild locks, was her large almond shaped emerald green eyes. They were so wide and childlike innocence shown through in her small round face.
A soft knock resounded on the thin wood of the door as a kind looking old lady opened the door and peeked into the room. Her warm brown eyes scanned the dimly lit room until they finally rested on the little girl.
The old woman smiled warmly at the small child and one could notice the fine wrinkles that surrounded the woman's face. "Goodmorning Miss Lily," the woman whispered softly and kindly.
Lily turned her small body to face the woman and smiled brightly at her. "Good morning Birdie."
"Are you ready for some breakfast? I made your favorite. Chocolate chip pancakes with homemade syrup."
Lily's face brightened even more considerably as she excitedly jumped from her chair and began quietly skipping past Birdie downstairs towards the sweet aroma of the pancakes from the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, however, she immediately grabbed the tray with the stack of steaming pancakes doused in thick syrup with a bowl of freshly picked ruby red strawberries and cold glass of milk on the side. She made her way out of the kitchen and down the still dark hallway holding the tray. When she finally reached her destination, a door that was covered in flowers and had a sign that read Petunia, she noticed the door was slightly open so that she could just walk right in without having to set the tray down and open it.
Lily graciously knocked on the door with her tiny foot, as her hands were full, and peeked into the room. A blonde headed girl, that appeared older than Lily was, continued to brush her already stick straight white locks.
"Goodmorning Tuney," Lily said quietly as she walked into the room and set the tray on Petunia's dresser.
"Goodmorning Lily," Petunia said in an annoyed tone as she continued to brush through her hair. Petunia wore a pretty light pink night gown on with lacy ruffled sleeves and fluffy slippers to match contrast to Lily's drab one. Petunia's open closet revealed numerous dresses that looked like the latest fashion for little girls. Her room was also very different from Lily's. It had a four poster bed with a white lace canopy unlike Lily's. Paintings of flowers adorned the her walls, and an old Barbie doll house sat abandoned in the far corner of the room. The room was exactly how you would picture a little girl's room to look like.
Lily then lowered her head as she quietly left the room and slowly shut the door. No matter how many times Lily heard Petunia's indifference to one could tell it hurt the little girl's feelings. As she scurried down the hallway with her eyes trained on the floor, she didn't notice the man walking her way with his head buried in the newspaper. They bumped into each other both giving a oomph sound. The man folded the newspaper and noticed Lily standing there with fear in her large emerald eyes. The man, wearing a black business suit had the same vibrant shade of red hair as Lily but his brown eyes looked empty as her stared at the little girl.
"Goodmorning Daddy," Lily whispered as she looked down at the floor again. Her father simply huffed and walked past her into a room slamming the door shut. Lily cringed as she began walking hurriedly towards the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Birdie was washing the pans she made the pancakes in while humming the song she used to hum to Lily to sleep. As Lily began to grab one small pancake for her breakfast, there was a knock at the front door. Birdie and Lily both glanced at the clock which read 8:50 a.m. and then at each other in confusion. Who would come over here so early at the beginning of summer? They weren't expecting any guests.
"Would you mind getting that, darling? I'm still trying to finish up the dishes." Lily nodded and walked out of the kitchen towards the door. She peeked through the curtained windows that allowed her to see who was waiting at the front door. A beautiful blonde headed woman stood outside tapping her tall black heels impatiently.
Lily decided the woman was not a danger to her and slowly opened the front door peeking at the woman around it. The woman's annoyed face suddenly softened as she looked into the large emerald eyes of the frightened little girl.
"Hello Lily. My, you have gotten so big since the last time I saw you," the woman said sadly as she began tearing up.
"Who are you?" Lily demanded quietly as she looked behind her inside the house and then back the lady.
The lady bent down to Lily's eye level as she tenderly caressed the little girl's cheek. Lily's eyes closed in contentment while reveling in the feeling of her motherly touch. The woman let a tear slip down from her deep chocolate brown eyes.
"You look so much like your mum," the woman whispered. Lily's eyes opened and widened in wonder at the mysterious woman.
"How did you know her?"
"Your mum was my sister Lily. I'm your Aunt Ivy." Lily looked confused as she contemplated this statement.
"I didn't know we had any other family. What are you-"
"Lily. Who is at the door?" Lily's father interrupted harshly from behind. Lily spun around quickly and ducked her head as her father fully opened the door to reveal Ivy. He gasped a short intake of breath when he saw her.
"Hello John," Ivy clipped in an angry tone.
"Ivy," he whispered in a pained voice. After a few long minutes of staring at each other, John got out of his pained confusion and began furiously glaring at her.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demanded lividly. Lily gasped at her father's harshness to the family member. She had never seen him so angry before.
"I'm here to collect Lily." Lily looked up and gaped at her aunt in shock along with her father. "It's time John."
A/N: This chapter is a little longer and sorry for the wait! I've been so busy with school! I didn't really revise it so there will probably be a few little mistakes! Just bare with me! Reviews make me happy :)