Post by Francesca~*Pura Vida*~ on Mar 15, 2009 10:44:47 GMT -5
I can't put too much in a letter. You know the
situation, Melissa. Get Alexandria out of the city,
as soon as you can. I don't know how much longer
I have. Just get Alexandria and yourself out of this
horrible place as fast as you can. Love, Darius
situation, Melissa. Get Alexandria out of the city,
as soon as you can. I don't know how much longer
I have. Just get Alexandria and yourself out of this
horrible place as fast as you can. Love, Darius
Melissa crumpled up the letter and hid it in her pocket. Whether these were the last words she would ever hear from her fiancee, she did not know. But what she did know was that he was correct. She had to get herself and her daughter, Alexandria, out of this horrible place for good.
Knock, knock. Melissa breathed in deeply, then opened the wooden back door of her house. It was only Krista, her roommate.
"Krista, you scared me to death! Where have you been all day?"
"Looking for you! Why have I been hearing rumors that you're leaving Ashwan?"
"Who have you been hearing rumors from?" Melissa breathed, apprehension on her face.
"Oh, you know...the guard!" Krista was impatient, confused, and wanting answers from her sister's best friend. "Why are you leaving?"
"If you can overhear things from the guard, they can overhear things from you. I can not tell you. I must get myself, or at least Alexandria, out of here."
"Why do you need to get Alexandria out of here?"
"It is extremely important, but I can not tell you now. You'll know soon. Where's Anissa? I want to say goodbye."
"She's still at the school, Melissa. And what about Darius?? Are you going to leave him here too?"
"Darius?" I repeated, trying to sound unconcerned. "You mean the man who has been locked in prison the past 3 months, thanks to our wonderful Shujin?"
"Well...yes. But he'll get out! It's so unfair! They have to let him go!"
"They haven't yet, and they're not going to. Excuse me. I must ask Alexandria to help me pack."
Krista stood her ground.
"Krista, don't make me kill you. You know I can."
"But you wouldn't."
"Don't test me."
Krista still stood stubbornly in front of the door, blocking my path to freedom.
Melissa sighed. "Fine. Can you please get Anissa? She's the only one who can talk me out of this. I'm not going out there with those guards."
Krista eyed her roommate suspiciously, then turned, leaving.
Once Krista was out of sight, Melissa hurried Alexandria into the bedroom and asked her to pack her things quickly. Within 10 minutes, they had packed all the essentials, and left everything else behind.
Outside, everything and everyone was glum. The guards were patrolling the streets on Shujin's orders. The people avoided each other's eyes and guarded their possessions and children to themselves. This secretive nature was nothing new to the guards, who said nothing to Melissa as she and Alexandria hurried past, toward the gate. Melissa's cousin Tabatha was standing just outside of it, waiting for them. A few more steps---
"Halt! Melissa McGriever, release the child into our custody and stay where you are with your hands above your head!"
"Alexis, run!" I threw Alexandria through the gate, and gave one last pained look at my frightened daughter before the guards converged on me.
Chapter 1
Why is it that everyone else's lives
seem to drift in front of my eyes like
a movie?
With its ups and downs, climatic
endings, scripted the way life was supposed to be.
For me, life is like a single-speed, nonstop
train headed towards no-man's-land
no defined end, no clear beginning
Just a monotony.
I wake up to the constant California sunshine,
eager to begin the monotony once more.
seem to drift in front of my eyes like
a movie?
With its ups and downs, climatic
endings, scripted the way life was supposed to be.
For me, life is like a single-speed, nonstop
train headed towards no-man's-land
no defined end, no clear beginning
Just a monotony.
I wake up to the constant California sunshine,
eager to begin the monotony once more.
I put down my favorite pen and sighed. Squinting in the bright sunshine, I stuffed my journal under my bed.
Ready to begin a new day? Not in the least. I wore raggedy old gray shorts with numerous holes and a white cami, my hair in a messy bun as usual. I debated not getting ready and going to school like this, just to get some more sleep before I left, but decided against it; Judy would not approve. I had to be her perfect little girl every day. Except that I didn't think 15-in-two-weeks was so little, and Judy's babying was really starting to get on my nerves.
I went to one of the two dressers in my room, and picked out blue jean shorts and a yellow shirt.
Giving a last, sad look at my oh-so-inviting bed with its flowery pink and white sheets, and large, fluffy white pillow, I turned around to walk out of my room. This task, however, was not as simple as it may seem. To traverse my bedroom, I was forced to walk across mounds of unwashed, sweaty clothes, so generously dumped on the floor by Judy's adopted son, Jason. Yes, I shared a room with a boy. A 17 year old boy.
I didn't know why Jason had been brought here and I was never going to ask. He annoyed me enough that it didn't matter to me.
Upon entering the kitchen I was bombarded by Caitlin, Judy's 6 year old daughter. She also had Josh, who was 12. They each had curly red hair, freckles, and blue eyes; just like their mother, Judy Daly. They were both spoiled rotten and thought they could do anything they pleased. I almost thought that they should be punished, and Jason and I rewarded. We were the ones with no parents, no home to call our own. They had been pampered all their lives by Judy. I considered it favoritism, and therefore I had no shame in being jealous of them.
When I was around 2 years old, my mom disappeared. No one had any idea what happened to her, except that she had disappeared with a tall, white man wearing a black cloak. Everyone supposed this was my mother's lover, but I never believed that story. Judy, and this was the only thing we ever agreed on, thought that he had kidnapped her. She never remembered my mother speaking of a lover, and she and Judy shared everything, they were best friends.
It was now declared a cold case by the outstanding San Diego police force. My mother had been gone for almost 13 years now, and her accomplice left no trace of DNA. Like he didn't exist.
My father, meanwhile, was a dead-beat low-life who hadn't bothered to come for me at the time of my mother's death, and left me with Judy. Maybe that was why she was so bitter towards me; she had never asked to take care of me, but did it out of respect for my mother.
I had never seen my father before, but I could guess what he looked like, because I look nothing like my mother, except for the blue eyes. My eyes were deep set and oriental, and I had high arching eyebrows. A tiny nose and plump pink lips made up the rest of my face. My skin wasn't pale, but it wasn't tan either. Short and rather skinny, my look was completed with shoulder length, wavy brown hair.