Yadayadayada, blahblahblah, I don't own anything but my own imagination! There, I've said it!
Chapter One~
It was the sound of oncoming thunder that awoke me from my sleep. Eyes slowly opening to the darkness of the bedroom, I lazily looked around at the room I had come to terms with as being "mine." For I'm staying with my aunt, Mrs. Knox, until my father comes back, if he comes back. The room was smaller than mine back home, with a simple single bed of oak wood and cream colored sheets in which I was tangled. The walls were a cream color with an ivy pattern, so I guessed it must be wallpaper. Below, the floor was solid oak which matched the bed frame. There was a square summer green rug on the floor to keep the chill from seeping up through the floorboards. Turning my head to one side of the pillow, I gazed out the window towards the rainy scene and could just make out the tree line of the back woods. There was a sudden knock on my door and the voice of my aunt coming through it asking,
"Are you up dear?" Rolling onto my other side and swinging my legs over the bedside, I stood and padded over to the door.
"Yes, aunty," I said loud enough for her to hopefully hear. I wonder what time it is? Must be late enough that she thought I needed waking. From the other side of the door, I could hear her clicking heels on the floorboards of the hallway floor as she departed from my doorway. So, I turned towards the dresser where my clothing was and decided to dress, seeing as if I was up anyway. Deciding upon a black knee length skirt and a red top, I slipped on socks before running a brush through my amber red hair. Once finished, I left the bedroom and quickly made my way out into the hallway. The hallway was of dark wood paneling with pictures of scenery hanging on the walls to add color. Many were commonplace valleys and forests but one always caught my attention. It was that of a clearing and an illuminated lamp post. Every time I would walk by, I could swear seeing the light of the lamp cast a shadow onto the other wall. Shaking my head to clear my musings, I walked over to the staircase landing and down the curved stairs into the foyer of the house. Above me sat a golden chandelier with seemingly a dozen bulbs glowing bright while on the floor below was a very large Persian carpet. The walls, a pale blue color, were bare of pictures. From the movement upstairs, I could guess that my aunt hadn't come down yet so I went over into the back hallway past a swinging door into the yellow and white tiled kitchen. As I was thinking about whether or not to start breakfast, I heard my aunt come down and into the kitchen behind me.
"Good morning , Alice," she said in her usually cheery voice. Turning to see her, I smiled back but said nothing. Dressed in a rose colored knee length dress with sleeves to her elbows, she had her raven black hair pulled back behind her head into a French braid and pearls in her ears. She smiled back at me and went over towards the refrigerator to begin breakfast.
"I have to be at the college around ten so I have just enough time to make you something. I wanted to wake you but thought better of it," she said pulling out the eggs and milk and then closing the frig behind her. Reaching up towards a cabinet of whitewashed wood, she got out a bowl and began mixing the eggs and milk together.
"Could you be a dear and turn the stove on please?" she asked turning her head just slightly towards me to see me out of the corner of her eye. Nodding, I went over to the stove and grabbed a frying pan before turning on the gas to a low heat.
"Thank you ,doll," she said in a sing-song voice. For one person, she sure had enough internal energy to run a marathon. And she usually did, seeing as if she's a professor at the college in town. Teaches literary arts for people looking for a master degree. Quite a "unique field" as my father said once. As she was busy making the eggs, I went over to the breakfast nook which is a screened-in porch and sat down on one of the very comfy lounge chairs.
After several minutes of silence, Aunt Knox called out saying,
"Oh, I forgot, I have tea today after school around four with the girls. You can join in if you please or go out if it's nice enough later. For now though it looks like rain for a while." And she appeared in the doorway with fresh cooked eggs and a cup of coffee for herself. Taking a seat before me, she dropped a brown envelope beside my plate and smiled. On the envelope were many strange postal markings and stamps, and it torn in three spots. But on it in clear ink was my name and address in my father's handwriting. I felt my eyes grow wide as I tore open the letter and decided to read it aloud.
"Dearest darling Alice, we are in a small city in France today which is still under German rule. Though we fight our hardest, it seems like the Germans are one step ahead of us. Yet we do not lose faith, and cannot lose it for we are fighting for something bigger than ourselves and we know that. We see it in the eyes of the children here and we hear it in their voices though they are silent. I don't know when this will get to you, but we plan on moving with four more units towards Paris tomorrow. Remember, I love you always and forever. Your father, James Williams."
As I finished, I looked up towards my aunt whose eyes were large. Getting a hold of herself quickly and not saying her thoughts aloud, she sipped at her coffee as I ate in silence for the rest of an hour. As I finished with my meal, she stood along with me and said hurriedly,
"Well, I'm off. Remember, don't go outside unless you plan on contacting me telepathically, understand?"
"Yes, aunty," I replied as I washed off my plate in the sink. Not seeing her nod, I heard her walk towards the front door and heard it open before voices caught my attention.
"Mrs., is this the household of Mrs. Knox?" came a strange male voice.
"Yes, this is why? How can I help you?" replied my aunt in a rushed tone. Clearly, she was late and was trying to be courteous towards the person at the door.
"Can I find the daughter of General James C. Williams here?" asked the voice not seeming to pick up on the fact my aunt was in a rush to get out the door. His question though caused me to move closer to the swinging door and slowly open it so that the hinges wouldn't squeak when I peeked out to see who it was. Standing under the overhanging roof before my aunt was a man dressed in a tan trench coat with a hat atop his head. Something about the way he stood caught my attention, how his back was straight with his shoulders square at attention and his head forward facing.
"Yes," answered my aunt slowly with another question on her tongue. But it was lost when the man pulled out a small envelope from his jacket pocket.
"Is she here? This is meant for her," said the man inclining his head but not really looking into the house itself.
"Alice," called my aunt, but I had already emerged from the kitchen and was walking towards the door with dread in every step. Each step felt heavy and weighted as if I was being chained down by links and links of weights all wrapped and locked about my body. For support, I looked to my aunt and found her slightly shaking a bit. It was then that my breathing became hard and my chest tight. She handed me the envelope with a shaking hand, and looking down at it, I saw blood smears on it. Carefully opening the envelope by the seal, I heard a jingle and when I reached in felt a metal object. It was then my heart froze, for I pulled out my father's dog tags from the envelope. Tears began to form in my eyes as I reached back in and pulled out a letter with an official stamp on it.
"What does it say?" asked my aunt from beside me, but I had already dropped the letter.
"They're sorry? How can they be sorry? How can they say such a thing when they're giving me these and not my father. How can they be sorry that he's dead!" I said screaming the last part and throwing the dog tags onto the floor in a fit of rage.
"He promised me! He promised he'd be back!" I screamed feeling my face turning hot and my chest tightening even more.
"I'm so sorry, miss," started the man, but I was so mad that I had to get out my anger, even if it was only on the poor messenger boy.
"I DON'T CARE! HE PROMISED!" I roared. As tears fell down my face, I fled from the scene out back towards the kitchen and beyond the kitchen through the back door which was very rarely used and into the rainy world outside. I could hear my aunt screaming at me to stop and was sure she'd follow but didn't care. I had to get away. I raced into the dense woods, my heart pounding in my chest as I jumped over fallen logs and twisted through trees. Like a deer running for its life, I ran with legs pounding into the soggy earth as my breath came out in pants. From above lightning tore the sky into shreds as rain beat down onto me, soaking me wet. But, I wasn't afraid for I had to get out my sorrow. I had to run, I had to flee, I had to! And then suddenly, the ground beneath me collapsed, and I was quickly tumbling down into an unseen ravine. A scream torn through me as rocks and broken pieces of wood grabbed at my body bruising and battering it while causing my clothes to tear in several places. Down and down I went, seemingly towards the bottom of the earth until I finally hit bottom and struck my head on a rather large rock. The very last words I was able to mutter out before being swallowed into darkness were,
"Please, help me." And, it was then that I thought I heard a lion's roar.
