~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nor was I hungry; so I found
That hunger was a way
Of persons outside windows,
The entering takes away.
--Emily Dickinson, from Collected Poems, Life: LXXVI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two: Security
Two weeks later, the Tsukino household was finally beginning to adjust to Serena's presence, or perhaps her to them. In any case, after the first awkward dinner, during which Irene had talked loudly and quickly to cover the long silences between questions and answers on Serena's part, she was starting to feel as though this were a place where she belonged, instead of just a place where she was staying.
Frightened at the feeling of contentment, she had tried to fight it at first. She had long ago learned that if you didn't think of the house as home, or of the people as family, then it hurt much less when they were taken away. But this was by far the nicest home she had been placed in for a long time. Sammy had immediately and permanently latched himself on to her after that first super secret handshake. Serena could see that he had been desperate for companionship for a very long time. He was shy and sensitive around strangers, and preferred the elaborate fantasy role- playing games that he created to rolling plastic trucks around in the mud, two factors that did not encourage a lot of friends his own age. He found a willing comrade in Serena, however, who delighted in the boy's vast imagination and the lighthearted feel to the play. As it was still summer, and the beautiful sunny days had no school to fill them, the teenaged girl and her small companion quite happily spent the majority of their time together, capering through the woods around the house. Sammy had not previously been allowed into this wonderful playground, but his mother decided that he was safe enough with Serena there.
Serena yawned and stretched inside the gauze curtains of her bed. Pushing aside one light sheath of fabric, she read her bedside clock and did a double take. 6:12am! She shook her head in shock and looked at it again. It couldn't be that early. She never woke up before she absolutely had to, and would sleep until noon if Sammy didn't wake her up every morning. What in the world was her body doing, waking up naturally at this god-forsaken hour, actually feeling well rested? She rolled over and closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that she wanted to go back to sleep, but it was no good. She was wide awake now. There was no choice but to get up.
Slipping her legs out from under the covers, she stretched again, feeling the soft material of her new pajamas, purchased by Mrs. Tsukino, slide over her skin. She padded softly across the floor to the window, luxuriating in the thick carpet beneath her bare feet. She climbed up on her window seat, hugging a creamy pillow to her chest as she looked out through the gap in her curtains to the new day. It was just barely light outside. She felt the feeling of peace and belonging start to creep over again, and for once let it wash through her instead of fighting it. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. It had been six years since she had allowed herself this feeling. What was it called? Oh, of course. Happiness.
Both of Serena's parents had died when she was little more than a baby. She had never fully understood the circumstances surrounding their deaths; something about a car wreck or perhaps a drunk driver. With no relatives capable of taking on the care of a young child, she had been given over to the grace of the system known as foster care.
Her first home had been a good one, the only good one that she could remember, for there was no trace left of her parents in her memory. A lonely old lady who had lost all her family wanted a little girl to take care of, and Ms. Rei had put Serena into her arms. It was love at first sight for both of them. Serena loved everything about Grandma Lita, and Lita loved everything about her. The lady used to say that they were both orphans together, because neither of them had any family. Then Serena would climb up on her lap to be kissed and say, "Oh, no, Grandma, *we're* each other's family."
Lost in memories, Serena reached under the fabric of her pajama shirt, pulling on a thin chain that never left her neck until a gold locket touched her fingers. Lightly, she traced over the engraving on the outside, the delicate lines of the crescent moon and stars. Then she swung open the tiny hinges, carefully tipping the contents of the small container into her hand. Holding her palm up to the rays of light streaking through her window, Serena studied the way the sun attached itself to the planes of the jewel. Her wishstone.
Grandma Lita had let her hold it once, long ago. The old lady had laughed at her childish delight in its beauty.
"My mother gave it to me," Serena remembered Lita saying. "It will grant the wishes of the one who is meant to hold it."
Little Serena had looked up at her with shining eyes: "Will it really grant all your wishes, Grandma?"
"Not all of my wishes, darling. I'm holding it for her, whoever she is, like my mother did before me."
The old lady died two years later, from a heart attack, and Serena received the locket in her will. Lita would have gladly left the child everything she owned, but Serena was a minor, after all, and could not own the property that her house sat on, about the only thing of value that the lady had. The house, furniture, and everything in it, save the locket, were sold at auction, and Serena was put into another home.
That was when the trouble had started. Things that Serena couldn't explain, that she hadn't meant to make happen; in fact, she was not entirely sure that it was she who had made them happen, whatever her various foster families swore to. Try as she might, she just couldn't come up with any logical reason why she had escaped unscathed from a fifty foot fall, or why the cruel bullies who had been about to tackle her were suddenly writhering in pain, screaming on the ground. She tried to be careful, to stop these things from happening to her, but eventually, it was always the same. The family would get spooked or angry, and she would be once again back in Ms. Rei's office, being relocated to another home.
Six years later, Serena was seventeen, and very tired of being shuffled from one home to the next. Holding her wishstone in her tightly closed fist, she prayed yet again for nothing to happen this time, so that she could stay in this place. She loved Sammy, and Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino couldn't have been nicer to her. Please, just let it work out, please. Just for a year, until I'm eighteen and I can take care of myself. Actually, she figured she was pretty capable of looking after herself now, but she was still a legal minor and required to be in foster care.
Slipping the wishstone back inside the locket and then under her shirt, Serena got down from the window seat and went to her closet. After a little consideration, she picked out a pair of flared jeans and a plain navy baby- T. She shoved her new running shoes (like her pajamas, courtesy of Mrs. Tsukino) on her feet after white socks and then went down the stairs as quietly as possible. Ken Tskino had left for work about an hour ago, but Irene and Sammy were both still sleeping.
In the kitchen, she poured herself a bowl of Lucky Charms, Sammy's cereal of choice. Irene had offered Serena some of her Wheat Crunch several times, seeming to think it more appropriate for a teenage girl, but Serena much preferred breakfast of a sugary kind. After adding milk, she sat down by herself to eat at the dining room table, basking in the quiet peacefulness.
Halfway through her last spoonful of soggy marshmallows, she heard a strange noise. Dismissing it as Sammy or Irene waking up, she stood and carried her empty bowl to the kitchen. After she had set it in the sink, the noise came again, more clearly this time. Serena paused to listen, frowning. It sounded high and screechy, like scratching on glass. Warily, she followed the sound to the glass door leading to the back deck from the Tsukinos' living room. Drawing back the curtains, she started in surprise.
Had the Tsukinos gotten a cat without telling her?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nor was I hungry; so I found
That hunger was a way
Of persons outside windows,
The entering takes away.
--Emily Dickinson, from Collected Poems, Life: LXXVI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two: Security
Two weeks later, the Tsukino household was finally beginning to adjust to Serena's presence, or perhaps her to them. In any case, after the first awkward dinner, during which Irene had talked loudly and quickly to cover the long silences between questions and answers on Serena's part, she was starting to feel as though this were a place where she belonged, instead of just a place where she was staying.
Frightened at the feeling of contentment, she had tried to fight it at first. She had long ago learned that if you didn't think of the house as home, or of the people as family, then it hurt much less when they were taken away. But this was by far the nicest home she had been placed in for a long time. Sammy had immediately and permanently latched himself on to her after that first super secret handshake. Serena could see that he had been desperate for companionship for a very long time. He was shy and sensitive around strangers, and preferred the elaborate fantasy role- playing games that he created to rolling plastic trucks around in the mud, two factors that did not encourage a lot of friends his own age. He found a willing comrade in Serena, however, who delighted in the boy's vast imagination and the lighthearted feel to the play. As it was still summer, and the beautiful sunny days had no school to fill them, the teenaged girl and her small companion quite happily spent the majority of their time together, capering through the woods around the house. Sammy had not previously been allowed into this wonderful playground, but his mother decided that he was safe enough with Serena there.
Serena yawned and stretched inside the gauze curtains of her bed. Pushing aside one light sheath of fabric, she read her bedside clock and did a double take. 6:12am! She shook her head in shock and looked at it again. It couldn't be that early. She never woke up before she absolutely had to, and would sleep until noon if Sammy didn't wake her up every morning. What in the world was her body doing, waking up naturally at this god-forsaken hour, actually feeling well rested? She rolled over and closed her eyes, trying to convince herself that she wanted to go back to sleep, but it was no good. She was wide awake now. There was no choice but to get up.
Slipping her legs out from under the covers, she stretched again, feeling the soft material of her new pajamas, purchased by Mrs. Tsukino, slide over her skin. She padded softly across the floor to the window, luxuriating in the thick carpet beneath her bare feet. She climbed up on her window seat, hugging a creamy pillow to her chest as she looked out through the gap in her curtains to the new day. It was just barely light outside. She felt the feeling of peace and belonging start to creep over again, and for once let it wash through her instead of fighting it. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. It had been six years since she had allowed herself this feeling. What was it called? Oh, of course. Happiness.
Both of Serena's parents had died when she was little more than a baby. She had never fully understood the circumstances surrounding their deaths; something about a car wreck or perhaps a drunk driver. With no relatives capable of taking on the care of a young child, she had been given over to the grace of the system known as foster care.
Her first home had been a good one, the only good one that she could remember, for there was no trace left of her parents in her memory. A lonely old lady who had lost all her family wanted a little girl to take care of, and Ms. Rei had put Serena into her arms. It was love at first sight for both of them. Serena loved everything about Grandma Lita, and Lita loved everything about her. The lady used to say that they were both orphans together, because neither of them had any family. Then Serena would climb up on her lap to be kissed and say, "Oh, no, Grandma, *we're* each other's family."
Lost in memories, Serena reached under the fabric of her pajama shirt, pulling on a thin chain that never left her neck until a gold locket touched her fingers. Lightly, she traced over the engraving on the outside, the delicate lines of the crescent moon and stars. Then she swung open the tiny hinges, carefully tipping the contents of the small container into her hand. Holding her palm up to the rays of light streaking through her window, Serena studied the way the sun attached itself to the planes of the jewel. Her wishstone.
Grandma Lita had let her hold it once, long ago. The old lady had laughed at her childish delight in its beauty.
"My mother gave it to me," Serena remembered Lita saying. "It will grant the wishes of the one who is meant to hold it."
Little Serena had looked up at her with shining eyes: "Will it really grant all your wishes, Grandma?"
"Not all of my wishes, darling. I'm holding it for her, whoever she is, like my mother did before me."
The old lady died two years later, from a heart attack, and Serena received the locket in her will. Lita would have gladly left the child everything she owned, but Serena was a minor, after all, and could not own the property that her house sat on, about the only thing of value that the lady had. The house, furniture, and everything in it, save the locket, were sold at auction, and Serena was put into another home.
That was when the trouble had started. Things that Serena couldn't explain, that she hadn't meant to make happen; in fact, she was not entirely sure that it was she who had made them happen, whatever her various foster families swore to. Try as she might, she just couldn't come up with any logical reason why she had escaped unscathed from a fifty foot fall, or why the cruel bullies who had been about to tackle her were suddenly writhering in pain, screaming on the ground. She tried to be careful, to stop these things from happening to her, but eventually, it was always the same. The family would get spooked or angry, and she would be once again back in Ms. Rei's office, being relocated to another home.
Six years later, Serena was seventeen, and very tired of being shuffled from one home to the next. Holding her wishstone in her tightly closed fist, she prayed yet again for nothing to happen this time, so that she could stay in this place. She loved Sammy, and Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino couldn't have been nicer to her. Please, just let it work out, please. Just for a year, until I'm eighteen and I can take care of myself. Actually, she figured she was pretty capable of looking after herself now, but she was still a legal minor and required to be in foster care.
Slipping the wishstone back inside the locket and then under her shirt, Serena got down from the window seat and went to her closet. After a little consideration, she picked out a pair of flared jeans and a plain navy baby- T. She shoved her new running shoes (like her pajamas, courtesy of Mrs. Tsukino) on her feet after white socks and then went down the stairs as quietly as possible. Ken Tskino had left for work about an hour ago, but Irene and Sammy were both still sleeping.
In the kitchen, she poured herself a bowl of Lucky Charms, Sammy's cereal of choice. Irene had offered Serena some of her Wheat Crunch several times, seeming to think it more appropriate for a teenage girl, but Serena much preferred breakfast of a sugary kind. After adding milk, she sat down by herself to eat at the dining room table, basking in the quiet peacefulness.
Halfway through her last spoonful of soggy marshmallows, she heard a strange noise. Dismissing it as Sammy or Irene waking up, she stood and carried her empty bowl to the kitchen. After she had set it in the sink, the noise came again, more clearly this time. Serena paused to listen, frowning. It sounded high and screechy, like scratching on glass. Warily, she followed the sound to the glass door leading to the back deck from the Tsukinos' living room. Drawing back the curtains, she started in surprise.
Had the Tsukinos gotten a cat without telling her?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
