l:namespace prefix = o />

            I marched along the gray sidewalk,
seeing a single flower peering out of one of the panels’ cracks.  What a poor flower, I instantly thought.  It was beautiful, and it deserved attention
and tender loving care.  The flower had a
lithe and thin pale green stem, rising slowly and bent slightly, and then it
had petals the color of ruby red. 
Layered, the petals overlapped in a small burst of color, the center
containing yellow pollen and having white, purple, indigo, and navy blue burst
out from the yellow, eventually fading into that red.

            And then I heard a voice as I stared
at that flower, that pretty little flower. 
I didn’t recognize the voice.

            “I like that flower too.”

            I turned around, but I was too late
as I saw nobody, only the street’s life. 
I wondered who it could be. 
Trying to replay the voice in my mind, I thought it was male.

 

            Our new house is smaller than our
old one.  Our old one had four bathrooms,
two levels, and three bedrooms.  I liked
it a lot, and I still miss it, but things have got to change some time or
another.  It was white with a dark brown
roof and the edges of the windows and door were the same dark brown.  The interior was decorated with our wonderful
furniture.

            The new house has one level, two
bathrooms, two bedrooms, and is green.  A
yucky, puke-colored green.  Not a pretty
dark brown and white, but a puke green. 
However, my parents agree with me on this one.  They’ve had it repainted, or at least are having
it repainted.  This time it’s going to be
cream with the edges of the windows and the door being light brown.  Our furniture has of course been put in their
rightful spots, though we sold a few that we didn’t care about anymore.

            My parents hired painters, as they
didn’t want to do the huge job themselves. 
They had lots of equipment put up and you had to dodge it all the time,
so it was somewhat of a maze just to get in the front door.  It has been a week since we moved here, and
we’ve gotten all the furniture and rooms painted.  It was actually really quick, and I like it
that way, especially since my room was one of the first to be finished.  “Do you like the new home, Alice?”  My mother inquired, peering at me over the
counter to the kitchen as she cooked pancakes for lunch.

            “Yes,” I answered, “I do.  And I’m especially glad we’re changing the
colors on the outside.  That green was
horrible.”  I smiled.

            “I agree.  Did a giant vomit on the house?” Mom said,
laughing.  I laughed with her.  “Do you want your pancakes with syrup or
without?”

            “Aw, you know me, mom.  Of course I want syrup.  And don’t wimp out on it,” I said, still
smiling.  Despite my words, I wasn’t fat
and I didn’t love food like the… wider
people.  I’m actually pretty thin, and
two years ago, I was underweight.  But
I’m alright now and at a regular weight and I have a nice figure.

            My mom put on two pancakes and some
syrup as I ate.  “Have you made any
friends yet?  I’ve heard from Sally that
the kids around here are really nice,” mom said.

            “Mom.  I obviously haven’t made any friends
yet.  It’s only been a week.  And, frankly, I don’t need any friends after
what happened at Greendale.”

            Mom frowned.  She didn’t say anything anymore.  On the inside, I think she’s really sad and
wants me to take it back and be her perfect little daughter.  But it’s impossible.  It’s not like I was bullied, but more like a
“silent” bullying, if that’s possible. 
Even though I’m not sure if they meant to hurt me that way.  It wasn’t a giant event or anything, and
ultimately we moved just because my parents decided to.

           

“Hello?”
I called out, standing by the flower.  I
was going to figure out this “mystery man.” 
But what if it wasn’t even human? 
You know, the supernatural could be lurking.

            “O Spirits, hail my call, come and
join me by this flower you have answered me next to previously.”

            Nope, nothing.

            “…Please?” I added hopelessly.

            “Are you crazy?” said a voice.  I whipped around full speed and almost hit
this guy standing right here in front of me.

            “Uh, no.  And might I ask, who are you?”

            “Mark.”

            “Mark, um, by any chance, can you
tell me if this place is haunted?”

            “No, it’s definitely not,” Mark
chuckled.  “You the new girl?  I saw you earlier by this flower.”

            New girl?  The way he said it was… strange.  Like I was an item.  The ‘new girl.’  “Yes. 
And were you the one who commented here?” I said, completely ignoring my
thoughts and just going along with his smooth voice.

            “That was me.  And I’m not a spirit, as you can see,” Mark
said.

            “You’re a poet and you don’t even
know it,” I said with a laugh.

            “What’s your name?”  The way he spoke sent chills down my spine.

            “Alice.”

 

            After that we talked a bit
more.  Mark was so calm and
collected.  He must be popular at his
school.  He had short dark brown hair in
the normal boyish cut, short little bangs covering the top of his forehead.  Deep brown eyes.  A voice that could melt chocolate.  A tiny, cute little nose.  Overall, just a freaking cute face.

 

            The next day, I went out.  The painters were almost done.  Maybe another day or two of work, we were
told.  The heat was mild, and I saw
Mark.  I waved and said “Hi”, but then
noticed he was with his friends.

           

Now
I wonder if Mark is one of those guys that starts out nice but ends up being a
jerk.   Then again, I’m also wondering if
I’m starting to be one of those overdramatic girls.  Seriously, so he didn’t look over.  Maybe he didn’t hear.  And he can’t see my wave if he doesn’t look
over, and he was looking and talking with his friends.  I assured myself it was totally fine.  Though naturally one thought nagged me, which
I wanted to bury forever.

 

            The day after, I see Mark sitting
out in his front yard.  I go over and we
chat a bit.  “Hey,” I say.  He looks really down in the dumps.  “Is something wrong?”

            “Well, for starters, I have the
flu.”  Mark looked over at me and his
face showed signs of sickness, which I didn’t notice before.  “Plus my girlfriend broke up with me.”

            Wait a second.  Hold up. 
Mark had a girlfriend?

~``~

A cat, black as pitch, crept along the bushes on the small
walkway leading up to Rest’s sleeping-place. 
Her tail flicked, the grass beneath her paws swishing gently with the
small breeze.  Every other cat, including
the Trainees, were in their sleeping-places, ready to sleep after a long
day.  She padded into her Leader’s
sleeping-place.  “Rest?” she called out.

            “Come in,” a deep voice answered – a
cat named Rest.  He was a ginger tabby
tom, leader of Breeze.  Breeze was a
large group of cats that was the black cat’s home, and home to many
others.  The cat’s unique yellow-orange
eyes gleamed in the moonlight.  “Naut –
oh, yes,” Rest began.  “You’ve been
appointed to guard the Stone tonight.”

            Naut nodded in reply.  “This is my first time.”

            A small smile crept onto Rest’s
face.  “It’s perfectly fine – there’s a
first for everything.  Just remember the
rules.”  With that, Naut squeezed through
the opening in the corner of Rest’s sleeping-place and into a cave similar to
that of Rest’s; one with a small opening and a small shaft open above that let
in moonlight, which shone on a makeshift pedestal made out of branches that
held a medium-to-small sized stone.  That
was the Stone of Riss.

            Riss, the ancient cat goddess, was
ruler of Laeta, the place where all of the deceased made their home.  She had granted this special stone to Rest in
a dream, one where she told him to become Breeze’s leader and essentially
create Breeze itself, complete with Trainees, a Healer, a Second-In-Command,
and basic members.

            Naut had been a member for a while
now, and as she took her place to guard the Stone, she couldn’t help but feel
incredibly uneasy.  She knew the rules
well – no obtaining of the memories, no shenanigans or messing about around the
Stone, fend off all cats that may want to obtain memories, never leave your
post, and do not fall asleep on duty.

            Every night, a different cat was
chosen to guard the Stone and cats may be ‘reused.’  Tonight was no exception to that.  No matter what, Naut could not deny this
position. After all, it is of great honor to guard the great Stone of Riss.

            What if’s started popping into her
mind.  What if I can’t fight the intruder? 
What if Rest is one of the intruders – do I fight him?  What if I accidentally press my nose to the
Stone, obtaining memories?  The fact
that no cat had ever obtained the memories made the last one even more fatal.

            Somehow, a feeling crept across
Naut’s fur, leaving sharp prickly sensations that all only contributed to her
fear of messing up.  Failure was not
something acceptable to Naut.  The
feeling became cold, as if the whole word became a block of ice.  Only the Stone of Riss emanated a source of
heat.  Naut crept a bit closer to the
Stone.

            The presence, she could tell, was
not friendly.  Her worst fears were
coming true.  There was an intruder.  Instinctively she got in a ready stance, her
muscles ready to release energy, her fur standing on end.  It felt like the intruder would never come,
that he’d take forever and make her suffer through uneasiness for a long while.

            “Come out, come out, wherever you
are,” someone mewed deeply.  If evil had
a voice, that would be it.  “Come on out
to play… and hand over the stone!” it
said, screeching out the last part.  A
flurry of black fur sprung out at Naut, barreling into her and knocking her
clean off of her feet.  Pinned, Naut was
breathing hard.  “Or else you’ll suffer
the worst suffering imaginable.  Well…
for a cat like you, anyways,” the cat hissed. 
The cat’s eyes stared into hers, as if it was looking into her soul and
making it cower in a corner.  The
strangest thing was that the eyes were a blood red.

            “N… N-n-no!  The Stone is the property of Breeze and Riss
only!” Naut retaliated.  Whoever this cat
was, he wasn’t getting away with a clean sweep. 
She bit his nose and he let his grip go slack, and in that instant Naut
rose up, catching the cat off-balance and then she went for his neck.

            “I… wouldn’t do that… if I were
you,” the cat hissed, and…. Vanished. 
Naut tumbled into the stone wall headfirst, and she soon realized the
presence had only shifted to behind her. 
The cat grabbed her by the scruff and forced her nose onto the Stone of
Riss.  Naut’s last thought before she
plunged into darkness was, This is
Sirrat, ruler of Banish.  This is what he
meant by suffering.

           

 

            Rest awoke to a peaceful
morning.  Right after Naut had left to
guard the Stone, the leader of Breeze had fallen asleep like a newborn
kitten.  Stretching out, he went out to
see if anybody was up yet.  “No, just
Cattail,” he said to himself, hearing the soft shuffle of herbs coming from the
Healer’s nook.  Then the thought of Naut
crept into his mind.  “I should check up
on her… I hope she didn’t fall asleep.”

            He calmly padded over to the cave
holding the Stone.  Poking his head
through, what he saw was nothing near what he expected.  It definitely wasn’t pleasant, either.  Naut had her nose jammed up into the Stone of
Riss.  That was the way you gained
memories.  She was now the only cat in
history that had these memories – an ultimate violation.

            “Naut!” Rest hissed, and Naut woke
up with a confused look on her face. 
Rest’s ex
pression was hard and cold. 
“You have violated the biggest rule in guarding the Stone of Riss!”

            “I… What?” Naut asked, truly unaware
of what had happened.  Looking around,
everything started coming back – and so did things that she had never known
before.  Things that hadn’t even happened
yet.  Did this mean…?

            “Come with me,” Rest spoke harshly
and grabbed Naut roughly by the scruff. 
Naut didn’t resist against her leader, for she was in a state of pure
shock.  She also knew it wasn’t her fault
that she had gained the memories, it was Sirrat’s evil doing.  But now all the blame was on her, because
Rest had only seen part of the equation. 
If only he knew!

            Trying to explain now wouldn’t work,
Naut knew.  Rest could be a bit
thick-headed and at this point in time he wasn’t going to listen to anything
Naut had to say – he’d immediately categorize it as a lie.  Rest plunked her down on the edge of the
small cliff that his den sat on.

            “Cats of Breeze, gather,” he said,
as he always says when he wants to share something important.  However this time Rest added something else,
“We have a traitor among us.”  The Breeze
cats, every one, was now completely alert to what their leader would say
next.  Most also had a confused and
disappointed look on their face when they saw Naut sitting next to Rest.

            “One of your fellow cats has
committed the crime nobody would wish to commit – it is the ultimate
punishment, one of much toxicity.”  Rest
turned his head to glare at Naut, a glare that said he no longer had an ounce
of respect or delightfulness of having her in Breeze anymore.  “Naut has obtained the memories from the
Stone of Riss.”

            Gasps and whispers struck the cats,
ringing out like a disrupted chorus. 
Naut’s parents might have been crying if they weren’t with Riss in
Laeta, however Naut believed that they had seen the truth from above.  At least Riss and her parents would not blame
her for this wrongdoing, however they would be aware that it was Sirrat.

            “What you have done is foolish and
wrong,” Rest meowed deeply, the Breeze cats quieting by the end of his first
word.  “Naut, you shall be exiled, never
to return.”  Naut searched for anything
that could be a sliver of trust and hope in her leader’s eyes, anything that
would let her know he at least partially thought she was not the culprit.  But she found nothing, absolutely nothing,
except for hatred.  A true, burning
hatred that was so sudden it even surprised her during this sad event that was
taking place – her exile.

            Rest, seeing no movement from Naut,
shook his head and hissed under his breath, “Leave!”  Naut hung her head in shame, her head now
full of everything it shouldn’t know. 
With that, she padded out of the heart of Breeze’s territory, past the
hunting grounds and training grounds, past even the outskirts of it all.  Naut was gone, she was no longer accepted
here.  She was exiled… never to return.

 

 

            The one thing many didn’t know was
that Naut was bearing kittens.  She was
early and not completely sure about it all, and her mate had mysteriously
disappeared after her exile.  Months and
months passed after that horrid banishment, and Naut gave birth to one healthy
kitten.  “You will be magnificent,” she
breathed to her newborn daughter.

            When a cat with all of the memories
of Breeze had kittens, one kitten would gain all the memories so that it would
be passed through the bloodline and the parent would no longer have the
memories.  Naut noticed the memories
waning away from her own mind as she started knowing nothing about Breeze’s
past, present, and future and realizing her daughter knowing more every day as
the little kitten told interesting “stories” to her mother.

            If
only my little girl knew where her stories came from… I’ll tell her soon.  I’ll tell her soon.

            “Soon” seemed to come too fast. 
The large talk came and so did a huge explanation.  Naut’s daughter was upset that she wasn’t
told earlier, but unlike most young rebellious teens, she understood why her
mother hadn’t told her earlier.  She
understood everything.

            “Mom, I have another story for you,”
she mewed afterwards.

            “What is it this time?” Naut purred,
ready to be amused once more.

            However amusement was nothing near
what her daughter said next.  “There’s…
There’s going to be a traitor in Breeze. 
It’s Rest’s son, Mace.  And
Divah.”

            Rest’s son?  Little, sweet Divah?  “But Rest doesn’t have a son –” Naut cut
herself short.  She realized this must be
in the future.  Or maybe even right
now.  With a sigh, she didn’t want to
hear anymore.

            “Let’s go to sleep, Memory.  Let’s go to sleep.”

            Memory nodded and curled up in her
cute little way, her silvery-gray pelt beautiful in the moonlight.

 

 

            “Mom!” Memory woke up with a start,
as she was having a bad dream in which she found herself wake up to a mother
being mauled by a – “MOM!” she screeched, horrified to the extent of being
paralyzed with fear and anguish.  The
dream was a memory, and now that memory was unfolding.

            The black and white mass shook Naut,
its jaws locked onto her body.  It hadn’t
held her by the neck, but its thrashes and jerks and spins along with a deadly
and toothy grip was certainly going to be fatal.  Naut’s ears swiveled to the sound of Memory,
her daughter, but a shocking pain spread through every part of her, and her
words were choked off.  “Stay there… I love you…” She needed to
tell Memory that; not wanted to, needed to.

            “I love you, mom,” was all
Memory managed to say before the badger threw her mother out in the forest and
decided to play with his dead toy.  What
was now a plaything for an ugly beast used to be Memory’s happiness, joy, and
sole companion and family member.  The
only thing that kept her going was that she knew that her mother loved her
back.  She could hear her mother now, her
gentle voice saying, “I love you.”

            Love you, too, mom.  I really,
really love you, too.

 

 

            Memory had grown quickly, soon
becoming what would have been a Trainee’s age in the middle of his
training.  Naut, however, was no longer
with her, but she’d known enough to be able to stay alive through everything.  She had even concocted a plan to stop what
evil was aforementioned long ago – that Divah and Mace would harm Breeze.  In what way they would, the memories would
not tell her, but she had to at least try to right things before the wrongs
came up.

            Today was the day Memory’s journey
began.  She was going back into Breeze’s
territory, where she knew she’d recognize from her mother’s deive
tales.  Plus, if she couldn’t remember
her mother’s words, she could resort to the memories she had obtained.  It sounded simple, and Memory almost let her
believe that was what it was going to be – simple.  But she always had to remember that nothing
was ever easy, and anything that you wanted to work and to be paid off was
going to be long and hard.  In her case,
it would also be treacherous, for many dangerous predators lurked the forests
and how would she ever be able to prevent the evil from happening?

            Padding forwards, Memory was
ready.  She began through the grass,
which over the course of her journey became mountains and plains.  It had even snowed, which meant that the season
must be winter.  When she realized that,
she couldn’t believe she’d been out looking for Breeze’s territory for so long.

            Another month passed before
something similar came into view.  It was
forest, lush and plentiful, and it was then that Memory knew she had reached
her goal – she had found the territory.

            Staying out of the bounds, Memory
slept in a bush that night, concealed from anything that might be looking for
her.  She fell asleep quickly, only to
awaken again in a place that wasn’t inside of a bush…

 

            “Memory,”
a voice spoke.  Memory immediately
recognized this voice – it was the same exact voice she had grown up with.

            “Mom!” she shouted, frantically looking about, her
mother’s same exact yellow-orange eyes desperately searching for the black
pelt.  “Where are you?  Where did you go?  Let’s go home, mom, please.  Where are you?!”

            Finally her mother appeared.  However, Memory now thought that, looking
around, this was not any place she had come to know.  “Wh-where am I?”

            “You’re at Laeta… For the time being, anyway.  No, it doesn’t mean you’re dead… But I’ve
come to tell you that four cats are going to be finding you.  You’re going to have to lead them,
sweetie.”  Naut’s gentle voice was smooth
and calming.

            At this, Memory cocked her head.  “Lead them? 
For what purpose?”

            “The same purpose you sought out Breeze for.”

            “Divah and Mace, you mean?  But what’ll four cats need–?”

            Naut shook her head, almost disapprovingly.  “Can’t you understand?  They’re going to help you in your next
journey.  Meet them at the Stump – you’ll
know where to go.  Look to the memories.”  Then she became to disappear.  No – she became vapor and evaporated,
almost.  It was as if she was smoke and
suddenly was blown away.

            This crushed Memory. 
“WAIT!  MOM!  NO, DON’T LEAVE ME!”

Memory
jolted awake, panting heavily and wildly looking around.  Her claws had become unsheathed, digging into
the soil below her.  Her mother had come
to her in a dream – a dream of Laeta, which meant she was dead and trying to
perceive a message to her.  The message
was to meet four cats at the Stump, which she would know where to find through
memories, and they’d help her with the upcoming problem.

            The puzzle pieces starting coming
into place from the jumbled dream, but most of the puzzle was still
missing.  Memory would have to make sure
she finished this puzzle.  Peering out of
the bush, she noticed that it was no longer dark outside and the stars no
longer hung outside – nor the moon, for that matter.

            It was surprising how fast time
seemed to be recently.

 

            “Can’t catch me!”

            A playful voice sliced the air, and
Teyrn’s instinct to play kicked in. 
“Just you wait, Meyra!” he called back, speeding off into the
forest.  His mentor yowled for him and
Teyrn couldn’t help but think how annoying that Bern could be.  Bern was a weight on him that never told him
anything good, but rather nitpicked at everything and only said “no.”  How about a “yes” for a change?!

            This time, Teyrn was making his own
decision.  He could see Meyra’s calico
tail up ahead, and as she glanced back for only a moment, she slowed.  The window of opportunity was open for a
split second and Teyrn jumped through. 
He tackled his sister and they play-wrestled, their giggles and glee
filling the forest.

            But, of course, the party poopers
had come soon enough.  Bern padded over
and started scolding and lecturing Teyrn, who was, for the most part, tuning
him out completely.  It wasn’t so easy to
when Meyra stopped playing and received a small scolding from Divah, her own
mentor.  The two Trainees continued
practicing hunting, though now they were doing it separately.

            One day, when Teyrn finished his
training, he’d be able to do anything he’d like without permission.  And then he wouldn’t get any scolds for
running off for a mouse or wanting to go talk to his sister.

 

 

            “Cetta, are you sure you don’t want
to help me today?” Cattail asked.

            “Yes.  Yes, I’m sure,” the ruddy-colored cat said,
though on the inside she’d really enjoy helping the Healer.  It surprised her how easily she could lie.

Cattail seemed to notice a sadness in her eyes, but simply replied,
“Alright, then.”  She picked up multiple
herbs wrapped in a large leaf and walked away towards the Healer’s nook.

~``~

Chatper 1

 

We’ve been out for a while now.  Just me and mom, mom and me.  “Will daddy ever come back?” I asked her,
frowning, tears at my eyes once more as I expected the answer.

“No, he’s never coming back.”

I sobbed. 
Or, rather, sobbed more.  I had
been tearful for a week now – the exact amount of time that we’d been separated
from dad.  I don’t know why he left and
mom won’t tell me, but I’m not going to nag her about it.  I want to be a good boy.  Even now, as we were hanging around in our
car in front of our former home, I still had my crazy ideas.  Maybe he left to go on an adventure.  Maybe on that adventure some rabid scorpions
from an old temple came out and ate him.

Well, whatever the case, we were now living in our
car.  Homeless.  Don’t ask me how we lost our house, because I
don’t know that either.  But my uncle was offering us a place to
stay, and tomorrow mom and I were going to go live with him.  Mom was a bit reluctant, though faced with
our situation, she soon gratefully accepted. 
I’m excited to go visit him.  I
haven’t seen him in what seemed like forever… I wonder why.

 

Chapert 2

 

       I sighed, gazing down at my young
son.  My fool of a husband had become so
rude to me.  He wasn’t abusive, but I
wouldn’t have been surprised if he started to. 
I’m actually happy he shoved those divorce papers in my face.  Good riddance.  But then he kicked us out of the house!  Now that was just stupid.  What a huge jerk.

       Living in a car isn’t great, at all.  I wonder how Jamie’s taking it.  My poor little six-year-old; I love him so
much, but I hate how I have to beat around the bush with him about the truth of
our situation.  “No, he’s never coming
back,” I had answered him after his particularly question yesterday.  I fought back tears with that answer.  At least today we will go to live with
Jamie’s uncle, my brother, Kendall. 
Kendall’s offer was incredibly kind and I still can’t believe he even
wanted us to go visit, let alone live with him ’till we could straighten up our
lives.

       Right now we were pulling up to the
driveway.  The door opened to reveal…
Nothing.  I exited the car to go greet
him before hauling Jamie and I’s luggage in, but as I peered in the door, I saw
nothing.  “Jamie, honey?  Stay in the car,” I told my son.  His child seat was ripped out of the car and
thrown in the trash by my horrible husband and he had already figured out the
secret to the seat belt, so I often had to give him the order to stay.

       I stepped inside the huge mansion-like
home, the oak wood floors and dark brown walls seeming suddenly eerie.  “Kendall?” I called out.  “Jamie and I made it.  Where are you?”  My hands started to shake as I went upstairs
and looked inside Kendall’s bedroom, finding nothing.  He wasn’t in the bathrooms, either, nor in
the kitchen…  By now, I was really
scared.  Where the heck was my brother?

       Then I started opening everything that
could open and looking in every nook and cranny.  I checked the garage for his car, and his red
convertible was still there.  He couldn’t
have gone out, he said he was free and waiting for us the last time I’d called
him.  “Kendall!” I shrieked, “Where are
you?”

       Then I opened the last door.  It was the closet.  If he was in here, I swear, this is the least
original spot in the world to –

       I suddenly screamed the loudest I’d ever
screamed.

 

Chatper 3

 

       “Mommy!” I shouted, quickly unbuckling my
seatbelt and scrambling out of the car. 
I struggled with opening the car door, but managed.  Sprinting up the flight of stairs, I
frantically searched around for my mother and saw her at the end of the hallway
staring into a closet.

       “Jamie,” she said in between quick gasps of
breath, “No… It’s… Go in the car.  The
car, Jamie!”  I didn’t obey her.  I, slightly frightened, turned my head and
body so I could peer into the closet.  It
was Uncle Kendall.  Why was she all
freaked out?  It was then that I noticed
how pale he was and the darkly stained shirt. 
Uncle Kendall was dead.

       “Mommy, Uncle…,” I began, but she put up
her hand to silence me and then burst into sobs.  She opened her arms to me and I hugged
her.  She wrapped her arms around me and
rocked back and forth, crying.  It was
then that I noticed the tears streaking down my own cheeks.  “What are we going to do now?” I asked her
softly.

       “Call,” was what my mother said before
rushing down the stairs and picking up the phone.  I don’t know who she contacted, but it was out
of my hands.  I couldn’t help but stare
at my now lifeless Uncle Kendall.  I
wanted to touch him, just to make sure he was dead, but concluded otherwise.  The evidence pointed to death and because of
that it was no reason to check.

       “I love you, Uncle Kendall.  Good-bye,” I whispered as I heard a car pull
up and my mother grabbed my hand and took me back to the car.

 

Chatper 4

 

       Somehow, something happened and now our
permanent home is Uncle Kendall’s home. 
Mom says we “inherited” it.  I
asked her what “inherited” meant, and she said that it was like giving a gift
that’s already used.  It made enough
sense to me.  His home was huge with lots
of dark and warm tones.  One of the
bedrooms didn’t go along with the theme, since it was a pastel green.  That room was mine.  My mother and I also inherited all the
furniture, so we didn’t need to go spending the money we also inherited from
our apparently rich Uncle Kendall.  He
never told us he had so much money!

       To me, we were living the good life. No
longer in a car, rather an already beautifully furbished home; no longer poor,
rather stinking rich; no longer sad, rather feeling happiness and the memory of
life with dad was quickly becoming a distant past.

       “Jamie, honey!” my mother called from
downstairs in the kitchen.  “Dinner’s
ready!”  I scoot out of my bed and stop
watching the TV positioned in my room, proceeding downstairs.  I take my seat at the dining table that was
fit for a large family.  “We’re having
your favorite – chicken strips and mashed potatoes.”

       My mother and I didn’t regularly have
“big” meals, more so they were simple. 
Such as what we were eating today. 
My mom was having the same thing tonight, but usually she fixed herself
something different.

       After dinner, I was about to go back
upstairs and resume watching Power Rangers, but my mother’s voice stopped
me.  “I’m going out to check the mail,
honey.  Be good.”  As if she had to worry about me being good –
didn’t she know how good I was already?

       I heard the door open and close as I
continued my trek upstairs.  About a
minute later I heard open and close again, signaling mom’s return.  I didn’t think much of the mail, but perhaps
I should have.

 

Chapert
5

 

      
The mail was pretty standard from one glance at it, but if you looked closer it
seemed odd.  There was a bill, an ad, a coupon sheet, and two envelopes –
only one of the envelopes had a return address.  And I recognized
it.  Why?  Because it was my former home which was now my
ex-husband’s home.  Why would he be sending a letter to me?

      
I set the bill down on the counter to look at later and threw the ads
away.  The coupons were also put on the counter so I could decide which
ones to clip afterwards.  But at this moment, I was going to open the two
envelopes.  The first I opened was the one from my ex.

      
It began, “Dear Linda, …”

 

      
Dear
Linda,

 

           
I’ve decided you can have your stuff back.  I guess since it’s actually
mine, it’ll be a going-away gift.  Tell Jamie I love him.  And that
I’m sorry that I’m not coming back but that I had to go.  This’ll be short
and sweet.  So good-bye.  Come pick up your stuff on Thursday if
you’re going to.

                                               
-Rick.

What
a stupid letter.  Honestly, he couldn’t even suck it up to write a nice
letter?  And it was so short – why waste paper and stamps when you can say
it in person?  Also, what about giving my stuff back?  Did he believe
it was his property all along?  Oh, so it’s a gift to give me what’s
rightfully mine. Sure.  Great present.

      
I am so not going to see his face again to get my things back.  He can
kiss my… erm, butt.

      
I shoved the envelope into the trash and opened the next one, the one with no
return address.  It was all typed up instead of handwritten and very neat
and clean.  It seemed almost like the person had wanted it
untouched.  As I opened it, the inside letter was very neat and typed as
well…

 

      
Dear Woman.

 

                       
Your child and you are going to suffer.  Be very afraid.  This house
and the way it came upon you must seem like an incredible gift, a miracle;
though it’s anything but.  You’ve landed yourself in a whole lot of
trouble, woman.  You’ve been warned.  Even if you get out now, you’re
going to find yourself miserable.

           
            Be
terrified.  Oh, yes, be incredibly terrified.  You’ve got a right to
be.

 

See
you soon, woman.

 

I
was shaking as I read the letter.  What did it mean?  What was it
for?  Who was saying this?  Was it a prank?  If it was, it was a
really sick joke.  I found myself glancing over my shoulder to see if
anybody might’ve been watching… waiting…

      
I shook my head.  I was getting paranoid.  This was nothing.  It
was going to be all right.

      
But the letter tugged at my mind.  “This house and the way it came upon
you must seem like an incredible gift, a miracle; though it’s anything but”…
“You’ve landed yourself in a whole lot of trouble, woman”… “Even if you get out
now, you’re going to find yourself miserable”… “Be terrified … You’ve got a
right to be”…

The
words swirled around my mind.  The many questions I had were mixed in as
well.  I rubbed my temple.  I was creating my own headache. 
“Everything will be fine,” I kept telling myself.  “Everything will be
fine, Linda.”