INCEPTION

How Felicity Merriman and her siblings came to being

A Short Story

Written By: Commander Cody CC-2224

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Felicity or any of the characters in the Felicity series.

IN THE BEGINNING...

April 21, 1765 A.D.

God was bored. Well, he was feeling kind of bored as he was resting from the heavenly clouds, looking after the mundane affairs of Colonial Williamsburg.

He had gone around the world, tending to the affairs of the continent of Eurasia, which at that time comprised of both the countries of both Europe and Asia. Especially he had to tend to the wealings and dealings of Europe, since her children were constantly locked in constant warfare with each other.

In the meantime God decided to see for Himself the affairs of America's thirteen colonies. After asking some of his angels to take a survey on the circumstances of the colonies themselves, he decided for some unknown reason to check for Himself what was up with one of the Middle Colonies. Of particular interest to Him (again for some unknown reason) was Virginia's town-like capital city, Williamsburg He decided to survey the town for Himself.

Everything seemed fine, He thought to himself. However, He decided the town needed a little more tweaking with the inhabitants, especially with the children of that town. The nature of the boys and girls was usual, with the boys going about their usual boisterous activities and the girls going about their usual ladylike activities.

However, God decided that He would do something unusual; something that the whole of Williamsburg would perceive as slightly unconventional to the regulations of English society. He had the formula of a girl who would slightly stand out among most of the girls in all of Williamsburg. And He would plant this seed in the most unlikely family residing in the midst of the town, the Merriman family.

Edward and Martha Merriman were already settling down. Mr. Merriman ran a general store, and Mrs. Merriman was about to take steps to become a house wife and mother. Before Mrs. Merriman realized that she was pregnant with her first child, God was already working out the designs and intricacies of how this child would be formed.

The child would be a girl. God would provide the body, shape her features, and endow the child with certain character traits that would make her outgoing and slightly stand out among the rest of the girls in all of Williamsburg. Using common clay of the earth He shaped and molded the child's body, adding bones as strong as the trees, muscles that would allow the child to run like the wind, and skin with a tang of the color of light peach and milky white (Caucasian). Her traits would be of a spunky, spritely nature, as one restless as the wind itself. She would have the restless impatience of conforming to the norms of English society, instead, having a preference for the outdoors and especially horses. Her face would be irresistibly beautiful, as God would apply a bit of decoration by adding hair of a dark-reddish color that would slightly curl and yet flow a little more freely. He would even apply green eyes that would sparkle as the emerald jewel, and apply a dab of stubborn freckles on her face. The child's face would reflect the traits she would be endowed. The smack and tang of her spunk and sprite would be reflected in her face, beaming a smile that would charm most boys and compel them to look upon her with reverent awe. The child would possess those special character traits and develop them during the rest of her childhood and beyond.

As if it wasn't enough, God decided to bring about the birth of this child in the springtime, as the whole of Mother Nature, with all her beautiful flowers, would give fitting celebration of this child's birth, for she would eventually share a love for the outdoors, much to her joy. So on April 21, 1765 A.D., this child was brought into the world, in Mrs. Merriman's gentle arms. During her christening at the Bruton Parish Church, the child would be given an appropriate name: Felicity Merriman. For she was a creature that would bring radiant happiness to her family and her friends. Out of affection, both her parents would call her "Lissie".

Three years later…1769 A.D.

Felicity was now three years old, continuing to develop her inherent traits as she began to learn more and more about the outside world. She would often rush outside, running from the house to her father's General Store, much to the dismay of both her mother and father. Perhaps she even rushed to the stables, eyeing on the horses, for she had a fascination about them that was so strong. She would even attempt walking on the fences as well.

Over time, God was beginning to take notice of the little girl's tomboyish activities. He was particularly concerned that, left alone to her own devices, Felicity would not only get in trouble with her parents, but also with society in Williamsburg, for she would eventually be the talk of the entire town. He would need to add some balance to her stubbornness.

Gradually an idea came up in His mind. He would give Felicity a sister, one who would act as an auxiliary tether to Felicity's unruly activities. She would bridge the gap between Felicity's stubborn personality and the personality of English society at large.

The Supreme Maker got to work when He molded the body of what would eventually become Felicity's younger sister. He would add features similar to what Felicity had, except that her character traits would be different, that is, directly opposed to the Felicity's traits. Her face would nearly resemble Felicity's, except that her hair would comprise of an auburn shade and flow freely down her head. God decided to gift this creature with the traits of being sweet, sensible, and patient, including an inclination to use her head more often than her heart. Furthermore she would be endowed with a condition being more reserved in word and action, and a touch of primness to add to her appealing charm. She would be a child who would lovingly teach Felicity some degree of propriety, and restrain her from doing anything that was not considered proper for a gentlewoman.

This seed was planted in the womb of Mrs. Merriman, and was brought into the world sometime in 1769 A.D. At her christening, the child was given the name Nan Merriman.

Three years later…1771 A.D.

God was satisfied more or less about the balance he created for Felicity. But He thought that there was still a bit of tweaking to perform in the Merriman family.

God thought that maybe it was time to bring a male child to the Merrimans. He got to work (again), this time molding the body of what would eventually become Felicity's new brother. The child would be given similar looks (and hair) as that of the mother (and perhaps the father). He, like Felicity, would bring a sense of lively joy and manhood into the seemingly feminine setting that for the time being encompassed the Merriman household, imbued with a liking for "mischief and mud puddles".

So during that year this child was brought into the world. The family christened him William Merriman. Felicity would then have a new brother to play with.

Four years later…1775 A.D.

God looked kind of pensive and thought to Himself that the Merrimans could do with one more child. He might have had other offspring for them in mind, but decided to find out if the Merrimans could handle at least one more.

So it was back to work again. He decided that this next child would be and act similar to Felicity. For some other reason God decided to keep the tradition of having redheads in the Merriman family, so He came to a decision that this child would have red hair, perhaps just like Felicity's.

And so on that day this child was brought into the world. She was christened Polly Merriman.

The Merrimans were now blessed with four healthy, lively children in the household. It is unknown whether God had other plans to bring more children into the lives of the Merrimans. For now, He made up his mind for the time being to make sure that these children, with whom He went into a lot of trouble designing, were well cared for under the Merrimans' loving and watchful eyes. In time, He thought, each of them would eventually determine their own destinies, their own sense of purpose for their existence. In each child He had some unknown but special plan for them.

THE END

A/N (1): I apologize that I wasn't able to add additional interesting details to William and Polly Merriman. This is because almost all the information I could find on these characters in the Felicity Series books is in the American Girl Wikia, and not a lot is written about them on the subject of their lives, even in the Series books. However, if you happen to have any further information about these characters please let me know in your reviews.

A/N (2): The phrase "mischief and mud puddles" was taken from the description of Felicity's brother William on the website, as well as the description in the Felicity Series books.

A/N (3): The descriptions for Felicity and Nan Merriman were largely inspired by the vivid descriptions of Lincoln, the Man of the People, a poem which depicts the formation of Abraham Lincoln, written by Edwin Markham (1852-1940 A.D.).

This story is dedicated to those who are campaigning for the rights of the unborn children, both in the private and public sphere of political influence. If any of you readers are pro-life, I encourage you to share this story amongst yourselves.

Well, that's it for now. Please review and rate this story! Any feedback on this story will be greatly appreciated (honestly), whether they consist of praise or constructive criticism. Flames are sort of OK, though they might be un-preferable.