© 2002 by Alessandra Azzaroni aazzaroni@hotmail.com http://au.geocities.com/vcastairwaytoheaven/index.htm

STORY LAST UPDATED ON 01/07/2002

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Written in Australia. This story was partly inspired by Flowers in the Attic.

CHAPTER ONE: DEPARTURE

My aunt and uncle made it very clear that I wasn't their child. Not in a harsh, cruel way. Just "this is the way it is - face the facts."
I lived with Dominica and Alvin Estoril, and their daughters, Maxine and Nadine. They were twins, and they were my age - fifteen. The five of us looked similar, so sometimes people did think that I was one of them.
Maxine and Nadine, like their parents and me, had very dark hair, but their complexions were pale. My skin was the colour of honey. All four of them, like me, were tall. Yet I was still different.
Aunt Dominica had told me that my mother was her youngest sister. But she refused to answer any questions about her or why I wasn't living with her. And when I asked about my father, Aunt Dominica just said, "I don't know who he is." All she ever told me was that shortly after I was born, she and Uncle Alvin took me home to live with them and their twin daughters.
I would've thought it would be hard for them to raise three children the same age. The secret to their success was that when we were young, our maid and nanny took care of us. Her name was Wilhelmina Jessop, but I'd always called her Willa. She was a beautiful African-American who was a nun in the monastery near our house. Aunt Dominica said that her own mother, whose name was Viviana Grey, knew Willa and had convinced her to work for the Estorils.
I wasn't an Estoril. I was a Grey, the same as my mother. My name was Sassandra Grey, but Willa called me Sassy when we were alone. I knew my name was strange. I knew a Cassandra and a Sandra at school, but Sassandra was a rare name. Willa, who'd introduced me to geography and taught me to love the world, had got out an atlas and showed me that Sassandra was a place in the Ivory Coast, in Africa.
Aunt Dominica had said that my mother had named me. But she gave no reason behind the choice of my name. I was a mystery, even to myself.
Willa was my best friend, despite being forty years older than I was. She was the only person who seemed to care about me, who seemed to understand me.
She'd always told me I was pretty, but there was something about me that people didn't like, and I used to run home crying to her about it. It was my eyes. They were purple. And although I wasn't sure myself, people had sworn to me that my eyes had turned red on occasions. I wasn't sure if the people were joking or not, but I dared to believe them.
Willa would hold me close and tell me that it wasn't my fault. "You didn't do it, Sassy, you're not to blame. Don't you worry."
I barely even saw Uncle Alvin, let alone talk to him. He was always out on business. And Aunt Dominica would play the part of the dutiful wife. And as for Maxine and Nadine… they had ruined my time at school. Although our public school wasn't religious, they had told everyone that I had the eyes of the devil. Everyone teasing me and out casting me happened during recess and lunchtimes. In class we acted as if we were all friends, and the twins were almost like sisters at home. I just didn't understand, although I wanted to desperately.
But Willa would always be there for me. She'd told me so. And I believed her.
"Sassandra, get down here, please," I heard Aunt Dominica call out.
When I got down to the living room where she, Uncle Alvin, Maxine and Nadine were, I asked, "Where's Willa?"
"Wilhelmina has been excused from her duties," Aunt Dominica answered.
"What do you mean?" I asked, still standing.
"We've sent her back to the monastery."
I wasn't happy with that. Willa had been an asset to the household, and now she was going?
"She left last night," Uncle Alvin added.
"But… why?"
Aunt Dominica turned to my uncle. "Should I explain?" He nodded, so she continued. "Alvin is being transferred. He's going to be the manager of a very successful bank in Malaysia."
"Malaysia?" I echoed. "But that's on the other side of the world! We can't move there."
"Oh, you needn't worry, Sassandra. You'll be staying in the States. The four of us are moving to Malaysia."
I suddenly got frightened. If they put me up for adoption… I'd never be adopted. I was far too old for young parents to want. "What's happening to me?" I asked.
Aunt Dominica ran a finger through her perfect hair. "You'll live in Virginia with my parents. Your mother's parents. They're expecting you, and you have a flight tonight, so you'd better get packing."
"We bought you some suitcases," Uncle Alvin added. "They're in the guest room."
A few hours later, I was in the air.