Disclaimer:
I don't own
Sophie, Peter, etc. I'm not using this
for money. Yatsa, Yatsa, and Yatsa.
Claimer:
I own all
people not of the HG realm.
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Their Tales
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June 14th, 2031
To
whoever digs up this time capsule –
I write this today, so the future
will remember that people, who are at the bottom and have so many problems, can
be truly amazing.
These are the short tales of my
family:
My brother, Nickolas, married Devon
shortly after he graduated from Horizon. They moved into Agnes, and both attended the community college just an
hour away. Nicky attained a degree in
psychology and a masters in high school English. Devon received a degree in childcare. He taught at Horizon for several years, while Dev worked in town
with some friends. He passed away
shortly after Devon was murdered in LA. My brother was twenty-nine. His
son, who was only five at the time, came to live with my parents and me. Devin Samuel just recently got married to a
wonderful girl named Sarah. Their first
child is due in May. On the 30th. He plans to name the baby Devon Aleeza or
Nickolas Ryo.
My sister, Xan, after a year of
chasing Reese Ionda, a tracker, she diverted her attentions to Ezra. Ezra, finding that Aunt Daisy was more
interested in Uncle David, fell in love with Xannie. They both became counselors at Horizon, until Nicky's death. She died just one month after Nicky, of a
broken heart, as we believe. Two more
days and she would have been thirty. She left behind three adopted children - Mae Alice, Monica Emilie-Grace,
and Andrew Peter-Ryo. Ezra was never
the same.
After Xannie died, Ezra moved on as
best he could, and stumbled across Aunt Daisy's phone number one night about a
year later. They agreed to meet at
Horizon, where her son, Ben, was a freshman. Aunt Daze, newly divorced from David, was hesitant to actually go, but
they did meet as planned, and their love rekindled. Aunt Daisy and Ezra were married at Horizon about two years
later, and six months later, four adoption papers were signed. Ezra is still with us as I write this, but
Aunt Daisy, after years of battling lung cancer, died peacefully, at home with
the four kids cuddled up to her, eight months ago.
Aunt Shelby and Uncle Scott are a
tale unto themselves. Aunt Shel became
pregnant just after they announced their engagement. She miscarried in her fourth month. It was a blow that would crumble the foundation of their
marriage, but it didn't kill it. Shortly after they lost the first baby, once again Aunt Shel was told
she was with child. The baby, a boy,
was stillborn. Determined to have a
child - healthy and happy, my aunt and uncle went for professional help. They tried a few treatments, but after their
third child, another boy they named Gabriel, died a week after his birth, their
marriage fell apart. They were
fortunate that Gabe had a twin, a beautiful sister who was named Kellie, but my
cousin couldn't stop the inevitable. They divorced, and refused to even speak to one another. Kellie was often shuttled between the two
houses by Great-Uncle Martin. Finally,
my parents, knowing full well that Aunt Shel and Uncle Scott did love each
other, schemed with the rest of my family to get them together. Their plan worked and my aunt and uncle
remarried two years later. They
finally, after all the pain, had two more children, both boys - Peter Scott and
Lucas Christopher. Uncle Scott was
accepted to the NFL shortly after Lucas' birth, but suffered a head injury
during one game three years later. He was
pronounced brain-dead after two days, and as all of us cried and hugged his
limp body, Aunt Shel had him taken off life support. She herself, lost in her sadness, commit suicide one year later
on the anniversary of his death. Kellie
was twenty, Pete just ten, and Lucky was four.
While this happened, my Aunt
Juliette once again began to battle bulimia and cutting. Uncle Auggie tried to help her as best he
could, while taking care of their four kids, but in the end, it was my father
who dragged my twenty-five year old aunt back to Horizon. She re-entered the school, but obviously not
for the education. She stayed there for
a year before she was pulled back to reality and back to her family. Of course her mother, a name I will never
say nor like as long as I am on this earth, returned. When she did, it nearly ruined my aunt and uncle's marriage. Uncle Auggie, ready for the storm, managed
to show up her mother and Aunt Jules' mother was never heard from again,
although Great-Uncle Hal kept in touch with them until he died. Uncle Auggie, always a painter, completed
one last portrait shortly before he died of a heart attack not long ago. It was Aunt Jules dressed like an angel and
glowing like one, a smile on her face. He titled it, My Saving Grace. It
still hangs in the Metropolitan museum of art in New York City. Aunt Jules is still here, but not for very
much longer, as her body is shutting down.
Of course, the only couple left are
that of my parents - Peter and Sophie Scarbrow.
My mom and Dad were married in
December of 2000, on Christmas day. I
was six when they adopted me. I happily
adjusted to living with them, and within a year, my mom and dad adopted a
daughter - Caylie Maire. Cay and I
continued to grow in our parents' house. Cay, four at the time of her adoption, had been abused since her birth
until she was three, but amazingly, she learned to trust again. Me, I got lucky, my mom gave me up at
birth. I did eventually find her. But to rewind, I was the oldest, until my
seventh birthday - when the adoption papers were signed for Nicky and Xan. After they graduated, and their respective
marriages, they went off to college. But every year on birthdays and holidays, they were home.
Mom and Dad continued to run Horizon until my father handed to reigns over to me. He and Mom retired, but continue to help me with everything possible. Dad loves to help organize the annual Morp, and Mom organizes reunions.
As for me, I married a friend (an
ex-cliffhanger), Misty, six years ago tomorrow. Our son, Erik Gabriel, will be five soon, and our adopted
daughter, Sophia Marie, is almost one. We live on Campus in the house that was built a few years ago. Misty is working on making her way through
med school.
Caylie never married. She does have an adopted daughter also
though – Moira Claire Elizabeth Hope Scarbrow. Don't ask about the name. It's a
LONG explanation that's boring! But to
tell you about my sister now – Cay, ever the independent, did everything for
herself from the time she entered high school until the time she graduated law
school. Mom and Dad are still amazed
that their darkling daughter worked and paid for EVERY trip, ring, book –
everything. She worked her way through
college as a waitress, a tour guide, a painter, and a musician. She made her way through law school as a
dishwasher, a bus driver, a taste tester, a stock girl, and finally an intern
at a local firm. After she passed the
bar, she headed home to Agnes from New York. She was the first ever graduate of Horizon that chose that profession,
as most went, and still go, off to college to get teaching degree and
psychology degrees. My parents have
never been more proud then the day she and Moira Claire came home, Cay showing
off the paper that said she was a lawyer. (I prefer to call them snakes, but she's my sister so I'll give her some
leeway.)
Now I never said the tales would
always be happy. But amid the
tragedies, there was always love and hope. I know that Aunt Shelby and Nicky weren't all that happy and hopeful,
but they were. They, as did everyone
else, knew that they had risen from the loneliest place on earth to become a
family who knew how to deal with cruelty and be loved. Kellie, my cousin who was the fourth child
of my aunt and uncle after one miscarriage, one stillborn, and one death,
survived the death of my beloved aunt (hey, she was the one I knew the best!) and got full guardianship of
her brothers. She lived off-campus at
Harvard, so the boys could attend the public school. She graduated Harvard not too long ago, after a year and a half
to get everything in order. Now we have
an archeologist in the family.
Everything in life doesn't turn out
the way you want it to. It just
happens. Some things could and should
be stopped. Others you just have to
watch and see how wonderful it can be. It took six years for Kellie to graduate from college, six years for the
flower to bloom, and when it did, she gained the respect of the world – she
found Atlantis. Amazing how a map, and
a lifetime obsession with finding it, paid off. See what I mean – you never know what the future holds.
With hope and love and wishes,
John Donald Scarbrow
A watcher in this world and of this family.
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Cassie Jamie
You know what I'm gonna say, right? Right?