Manifestation

1: Complication



I sat in the front seat of my mother’s newly upholstered silver Eclipse with my Zune turned up as we made our way home from the grocery store. My mother, Rachel, had been extremely fidgety all day. Whenever I would try to speak to her, she would give me the shortest reply possible and return to her thoughts; which was rare for someone like my mother, who would talk as much as possible at any opportunity to do so. By noon, I completely gave up and went on with my day. When we pulled into the driveway of our two story house, I swiftly unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car.

“Harper, would you mind bringing in the groceries this time?” asked my mom, refusing to look at me as she stood up from out of the car.

“Sure Mom, I don’t mind at all.” I replied, as I took my earphones out, wrapping them around my Mp3 player and shoving it into my back pocket. I opened the trunk and began picking up as many bags of food as I could and loading them into the kitchen.

“You didn’t get much food this week, Mom.” I commented as I brought the last of the heavy plastic bags into the house.

“Yeah.” was all she said in return as she turned her back to me and began unloading the bags of food. I sighed and began climbing the what seemed like never ending stairs up to my room.

“I’ll call you when supper is ready!” she shouted up the stairs, just as I had entered my bedroom. I closed the door and grabbed my Zune from my back pocket just before I fell back onto my bed. I stuck my earphones in and cranked up the music when my favorite band was playing. I hummed along to the songs as I closed my eyes and began to plan the rest of my four day weekend. I shot my eyes open when something soft hit me in the head. I looked over to see my mom standing in the doorway, saying something that I couldn’t hear with the music drowning her voice out. I shut my Zune off as I took the earphones out.

“Harper, I swear if you don’t stop blaring that music then I am going to ground you from it!” she yelled, raising her voice with every word she said.

“Sorry, Mom.” she sighed and shook her head.

“Dinner is ready. Wash up and get downstairs.” she said, leaving my room before I could reply. I just sighed and headed of to the bathroom down the hall to wash my hands.

I stared in the mirror as I waited for the water to warm. My abnormally bright blue eyes were staring back at me as I looked over myself, my long, dark eyelashes batting as I blinked. Every inch of skin on my five foot, seven inch, slender body was as pale as it could possibly be, despite the blaze of the hot Texas sun. I had a few freckles scattered across my face and arms. My soft, silky, dark auburn hair flowed to my waist, forming into bouncy curls at the ends.

“Ow!” I shouted, as the water went from freezing cold to boiling hot in a matter of seconds, breaking my gaze from the mirror. I turned the knob a little to the left to cool the water. I pumped some soap onto my hands and scrubbed it into my palms and around my fingers while the water slowly changed from scolding hot to slightly warm. I ran my hands under the faucet and rinsed the remaining soap suds off my fingers. After I dried my hands, I headed down stairs to the kitchen in a more than enthusiastic manner. While my mom was getting on my nerves today, we were having homemade macaroni and cheese, which was my favorite.

“Sorry I yelled at you, sweetie. I haven’t been in the best mood today and I had been calling for you for about ten minutes, I guess I’m just a little irritable today.” began my mom as we sat down at the table.

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“No, it’s not. I had no reason to shout at you, I was out of line.” she choked out, hiding under her curly blond hair, refusing to look at me. My eyes widened as she said this. My mother was stubborn and hardly ever apologized, and if she did, it was never as sincere sounding as this was.

“Apology accepted.” I replied cheerfully, trying to get out of this awkward position; my mom apologizing was not a comfortable situation. My mother took a deep breath then exhaled before she started speaking.

“Honey, we need to talk about something important.”

“Sure, what is it?” I asked, trying to sound pleasant. I racked through my brain thinking of what she needed to say. It was obviously important. The only time she had ever started a sentence like that is when she had to break the news that she and my father were getting a divorce three years ago.

“I’m not really sure how to tell you this and I know you are going to hate me for a while.” I was getting scared now, whatever she had to say I was obviously not going to like. She still hadn’t looked up from her plate since we had sat down.

“What is it?” I repeated, not so cheerfully this time.

“Well, you know that money has been tight lately and, well…” she hesitated and finally looked up at me. I stared into her blue, almond shaped eyes, trying to figure out what she was going to say.

“Mom, just spit it out.” I ordered sternly.

“We’re moving.” she stated. She looked back down at her plate, twirling her macaroni with her fork.

“What?” I yelled, standing up, my eyes filling with disbelief and shock. “You have to be joking! I am NOT moving!”

“I’m sorry Harper.” she whispered so softly that I could barely hear her. “But I received an opportunity in Colorado that I just couldn’t pass up.” I finally realized what she was doing today; she wasn’t talking to me because she was worried about tonight, she was apologizing to me and cooking my favorite meal to butter me up, hoping I would take the news easier.

“When?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“As soon as we get everything packed up, I’m starting tonight.” she paused for a moment, then looked up at me. “I’m sorry, Harper.” I just stared at her, she was truly sorry, I could tell by looking at her but I was still infuriated with her. Her eyes slid back down to the table as soon as she saw my face.

“Did you even think about talking about this with me?” I shouted. Her head shot up and her expression changed from sympathetic to angry.

“Excuse me?” she yelled. “This isn’t a decision that I need your approval on! It was hard enough. I don’t know who you think you are but you better get in line, Harper!” she no longer cared about my feelings, I had pissed her off and she wasn’t going to ignore that.

“You at least need my input! This is my life too and you’re ruining it!” I started crying despite my efforts to hold the tears back.

“Oh, poor baby Harper doesn’t get her way, therefore her life is ruined. Please stop acting like you are five years old. Handle this situation with a little maturity.”

“Mom! How can you expect me to take this news lightly? You tell me we are moving in a few days and you want me to be happy-go-lucky about it? We’ve lived here since I was born and now you want me to just forget everything about my life; our house, my friends, our family, everything I’ve ever known?”

“Harper, you are being way too over dramatic about this. Quit acting like your life is over; all we are doing is moving. You’re sixteen years old, for God’s sake act it!” she was furious and I could tell that neither of us would be able to feel comfortable around each other for a while after this.

“No, all you’re doing is moving I’m not going anywhere.”

“Harper, we aren’t discussing this anymore, we’re moving by the end of the week whether you like it or not.” she promised.

“I hate you.” I said through my teeth in a stern tone. Her mouth dropped slightly and she exhaled, trying to hold her composure. I turned around and stomped off to my room, cursing her all the way.

“Start packing your things!” she shouted up at me. “I want your entire room in boxes by tomorrow afternoon!”

“I’m not moving, go by yourself!” I screamed back at her. I slammed my door with as much force as I had and locked it before I collapsed on my bed. I stared up at my ceiling as I thought about what just happened. This couldn’t be real, everything I know, my entire life, is in this tiny town. Now she wants me to just up and leave it behind me. I felt like my life was crumbling beneath my feet. I turned on my Zune and turned the volume up as loud as it would go. It hurt my ears but I didn’t care; I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t think; all I could do was close my eyes and cry until no more tears could escape.


2: Realization


I woke up the next morning to my mother banging loudly on my door. I jolted up, ripping my headphones from my ears.

“What do you want?” I screamed at my mother through the door as I quickly changed out of yesterday’s clothes.

“Open the door, Harper!” she commanded.

“No! Just leave me alone!”

“Harper, open this door now!” she said again, raising her voice with every word.

“Leave me alone! I don’t want to look at you!” I exclaimed.

“Damn it, Harper! Just open the door!”

“Why? What do you want?”

“Well, it’s obvious that you aren’t going to pack your things, so I came to do it for you.”

“You aren’t touching my stuff!” I promised, throwing the nearest unbreakable object at my door.

“Fine, Harper. Have it your way.” I heard her sigh from the hallway.
I fell back onto my bed and reached for one of the books I needed to read for school, although it wasn't much use anymore. After I was about 3 pages into To Kill A Mockingbird, I heard an electric drill start up from outside my room. I dropped my book and ran to my door.

“What is going on?” I yelled, unsure if my mom was able to hear me over the noise.

“I’m taking you’re door down, sweetie.” she answered pleasantly, almost as if she was enjoying it.

“What? No! Mom, stop!” I yelled in a poor attempt to stop her. Within a minute my mother was pulling my door off and forcing her way into my room with an armful of cardboard boxes.

“Mom, get out!” I ordered “This is my room; you can’t just barge in here!”

“Oh, but I can, and as I’ve just demonstrated, I will.” she stated with a smug look on her face. I watched her as she started loading my books and knick-knacks into boxes. I ran over to her and began unloading the things that she had already managed to place inside the boxes. She continued to take things off of my shelves and put them inside the boxes that were now being emptied.

“Mom! Will you just stop?” I asked in desperation. She looked up at me from her place on the floor and began chuckling to herself.

“Honey, either you load up your crap or I will. I’m not playing anymore games.” she smiled at me, knowing that she had won.

“Fine, I’ll do it, just get your grimy paws off of my things!” I answered, wiping the smirk from her face and snatching a book from her hands.

“Watch your mouth, Harper.” she warned, standing up. “I’ll be in here in exactly one hour and if you don’t have a noticeable amount of things packed by then, I will be the one loading your belongings. Do you understand me?” she asked, pointing her finger in my face.

“No, Mom, I’m a complete idiot, I didn’t understand a word that came out of your mouth.” I answered in a voice that was high on sarcasm while I swatted her finger away from my face. Her eyes thinned and her jaw clenched. I could tell it was taking her every ounce of self control she had not to slap me across my face. “Good-bye now.” I said in an overly dramatic pleasant voice, smiling in a cheesy Barbie-type smile, hoping that she would snap and I would have a reasonable excuse to run out of this house, which I was debating on doing either way. She just shook her head and turned around, stalking out of my room, saying a number of curse words along the way.

After I had packed a majority of my stuff, I sat on my queen sized bed to relax. After staring at my walls for quite some time, I realized that my mother was right-I was being way to over dramatic. I would never admit that to her of course; she would take way too much satisfaction in my defeat. Sometimes I wonder how much she loves me. More than half of the time I spent with her consisted of us arguing or making fun of each other in a not-so friendly way. The other fraction of the time she is practically my best friend.

“Well, I’m impressed.” confessed my mother as she examined my room.

“Thanks.” I mumbled. My mom looked at me, sighed, and began to apologize once again.

“Look, Harper, I know this is hard for you but it’s what’s best in the long run.”

“Maybe for you.” I opposed under my breath. She rolled her eyes, whether it was to my comment or the doorbell ringing, I don’t know.

“That’s the pizza, go ahead and come down when you’re ready.” she leaned in to kiss my forehead but I flinched out of the way. She pretended not to notice and made her way downstairs. I finished loading the box I was currently working on, washed my hands, and then headed off after my mom downstairs. On my way down, I noticed that nearly every room was compiled of nearly nothing but cardboard boxes of various sizes. My mom must have stayed up until lord knows what hour of the night yesterday to get all of this done.

“I got pepperoni, you’re favorite.” said my mom in a normal tone of voice as I arrived downstairs.

“Great.” I croaked, still making minimal conversation. I cut myself two slices of pizza and sat down at the table.

“Harper…” my mom began as she took her seat across from me.

“Just, don’t. I’m not in the mood, Mom.” When I looked up at her, I could tell that she was indecisive about whether or not she would yell at me for ‘giving her attitude.’ She decided against it and went back to her pizza.

“You can’t ignore me forever, Harper.” she stated after about 5 minutes of silence.

“Want to bet?” I challenged, slamming my hands on the table and standing up. Although I admit I was a little dramatic yesterday, I wasn’t going to go back to the way things were. I was still pissed at her and I wasn’t going to let her forget that.

“Harper, please, you’re being ridiculous.” she sighed.

“Well then, I’ll go be ridiculous up in my room.” I retorted, throwing my plastic plate into the sink from where I was standing and then stomping out of the kitchen.

“I need you up by six tomorrow! Your aunt and uncle are coming to help us move things into the U-Haul!” she shouted as I left the kitchen.

“Whatever.” I huffed under my breath as I entered my bedroom.

“I mean it, Harper Delaine Corbett! If you aren’t up by six o’clock tomorrow there will be hell to pay!” my mother yelled as I slammed the door shut.

I continued packing my belongings and finished at around ten o’clock. I set out tomorrow’s clothes, changed into my pajamas, then crawled into my bed, knowing that this would be the last time I would ever sleep in my room in my house.


3: Departure



My eyes fluttered open and they somehow managed to find their way to the clock on my wall. 5:56. great, I had an entire four minutes before my mother ruined my day. I changed into the clothes I had laid out last night and threw my crumpled pajamas into the corner. I went back to my bed in sat on it with my legs crossed. I stared at the clock, watching the second hand tick. With no surprise, my door swung open and my mother standing in the doorway the instant it was six o’clock.

“Oh… you are awake.” She grumbled, sounding disappointed.

“So sorry to disappoint you.” I replied sarcastically, getting up from my place on the bed. The fact that she sounded highly let down by the fact that I wasn’t still snoozing away in my warm comfy bed was slightly disturbing.

“Get downstairs, your aunt and uncle will be here any second and I want you ready by the time they are here.” She muttered something else about disrespectful teenagers as she stormed out of my room.

I put on some make-up, combed my hair, then regretfully made my way downstairs to help my mother pack our things. About ten minutes into taping up boxes, the doorbell rang. I joyfully went to answer it, using any excuse I could to get away from my mother.

“Uncle Matt! Aunt Hannah!” I exclaimed as I opened the door, giving each of them a hug as I let them inside our house.

“Hey, kiddo. How’s my favorite niece?” asked my uncle in a playful tone.

“Uncle Matt, I’m your only niece.” I interjected, smiling at the fact that we had this conversation every time we saw each other.

“Therefore, my favorite.” He responded, chuckling as he messed up my hair.

“Hey, Harper. How have you been?” inquired my aunt with a sympathetic look and a concerned voice as she kissed my forehead. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed.

“Okay, I guess.” I answered in a voice that couldn’t fool a five year old.

“You don’t have to lie.” She encouraged as Matt left the room, going off to help my mother.

“I’ve been horrible Aunt Hannah!” I exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around me. “I don’t know what to do, my mother is being a royal bitch and I can’t talk to anyone about this!” I cried out, nearly breaking down. She gave me a look when I called my mother a bitch, but she let it slide, knowing that I was extremely worked up.

“Shh.” She soothed, trying to calm me down. “Everything will work out, Harper. I promise.”

“Can’t I just stay with you?” I whimpered. She released me from her embrace and bent down to my level, looking me in the eyes.

“You know that you cant, Harper. Whether you like it or not, Rachel is your mother. You have to do what she says and respect her choices. You may not agree with what she says or does but you still need to respect her. My sister-in-law may not be the greatest mother of all time but she does what she can for you. She loves you with all of her heart, Harper.”

“I doesn’t feel like it.” I murmured, turning my head away. I wiped away the few tears that managed to fall, gave my aunt a hug and walked into the kitchen to join my mother and uncle.

Within the next few hours, the four of us had managed to load the majority of our house into the largest U-Haul available. During those hours, the only words my mother had said to me were where to put boxes and what to load up next. I only acknowledged her with a nod or a quiet “okay.” If she wasn’t going to make an effort to talk and patch things up, then neither was I. Around twilight was when my mother and I had to say our goodbyes. I tried not to cry but I failed miserably at that attempt. I was going to miss my aunt and uncle so much. They were always over, more so than any of our other family which was mostly my dad’s side. It seemed silly when my uncle would say it every time we saw each other, but I was going to miss our ‘Favorite Niece’ conversation. I would miss my aunt more than anything though; she was more like a mother to me than my actual mom was. Aunt Hannah was always there for me, no matter what the occasion was.

“Drive safely, sis.” said Uncle Matt as we got into the car, shortly after the
U-Haul drivers had arrived.

“I will, Matt.” She replied, revving up the engine. While my mom and uncle said there goodbyes through the car window, Aunt Hannah walked over to my side of the car and bent down to the open window.

“Call if you need anything. I know that you and your mom will work things out though.” she reassured, kissing my forehead. “I’ll miss you, sweetie.”

“I’ll miss you more.” I replied, giving her a small hug through the window.

“Not a chance.” she whispered to me as she returned to her husband. My mom finished her goodbyes, and then pulled out of the driveway slowly. I waved to my aunt and uncle through the car window. They shouted goodbye as my mother drove down the road, leaving our lives behind us.


4: The House



I slept for most of the drive, only waking up to go to the bathroom at our short stops at various gas stations. My Zune was playing as I went in and out of sleep, admiring the snow covered mountains as we entered Colorado when I had my moments of alertness.

“Harper. Harper!” my mom shook me, waking me out of my peaceful sleep. “We’re here.” she stated with a small smile on her face. I fluttered my eyes and sat up in my seat, fidgeting with the seat belt buckle, trying to release the strap. I looked around, trying to seem unimpressed but it was useless. The scenery was magnificent! The peaks of tall mountains were covered with powdery white snow in the background, the giant green and yellow trees were scattered throughout the property, bunching up next to a small lake. There were assortments of flowers in a variety of colors, although most were yellows and oranges. The sun was rising in the east through the light wispy clouds, giving everything a slight tinge of ginger color. Hills surrounded me and my mother, all covered in flowers and brushes of different sizes.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” my mother asked, interrupting my wide-eyed stare at our surroundings.

“Yeah, it really is.” I sighed out with a slight grin on my face. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all. I closed my eyes and listened to the running water from the lake, breathing in the cool air. I could get used to this; I smiled at the thought.

“So I’m assuming that you hate me a little less after seeing where we will be living.” I opened my eyes, a little uncomfortable with this subject. I let out a sigh in an irritated manner.

“I don’t hate you, Mom.” I affirmed confidently.

“Well, I assumed that the many statements of ‘I hate you’ counted for something.” she retorted, raising her eyebrows.

“Hmm, I guess that makes since now.”

“What does?” she asked curiously.

“Why they say you shouldn’t assume.” I replied. She looked at me with a puzzled look.

“Because you make as ass out of you and me.” My mother looked at my blankly. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Ass-u-me…” she still looked at me baffled. “A-s-s-u-m-e…it spell assume, Mom.” she looked at me and crinkled her eyes as she thought about it.

“Hahahahahaha!” she started busting out laughing as soon as it ‘clicked.’ I let out a snort at her face and rolled my eyes.

“Nice, Mom.” I said, slightly embarrassed, but glad that we were getting a little closer to normal.

“That was brilliant, Harper! Where did you hear that?” she inquired, still laughing, as we made our way to the front door.

“I don’t remember, school probably.” I answered with a chuckle, a little perplexed at her sudden attitude change. She unlocked the door and we stepped into our new house. Our jaws dropped simultaneously. I took a few more steps into my new home, shrugging off my jacket and throwing it over my shoulders, looking around at the house. The first thing I noticed was the polished, wooden staircase, elegantly winding up to the second floor. I scanned over to the right and noticed the dark wooden panels of the floor were intricately laid out in connecting squares until it reached the living room, which then switched into fluffy beige carpeting. Beyond the winding stairs, I could partially see a kitchen off to the left side with a dining room off to the right. The entire first floor was so big and open. I walked towards the back of the house, noting the enormous glass windows that only accented the already overwhelming spacey area. When I entered the space between the kitchen and dining room, I looked through the tall windows, nearly the size of the wall itself, I was astonished by our backyard; it never ended! While of course our property probably cut off a little ways out, the untouched land went for miles, all covered in trees and assorted foliage. I stepped through the back door, almost completely made of glass, to get a better look at the never-ending forest that was my backyard.

I once again shut my eyes. I just stood there and listened to my surroundings; the birds chirping in the tall Aspen trees, the water in the lake rushing downstream, the cool autumn air whistling through the trees, the orange and red leaves crackling on the ground under animal’s feet. It was all so soothing. I smiled as I felt the rays of warm sunshine suddenly smother me in heat. I let a deep breath out through my nose and opened my eyes, not knowing how long I had been standing silently in my backyard.

My eyes widened and I gasped quietly after I had released my eyes from their tight close. There was a deer, or a buck rather, that was staring me in the face, only inches away from my body. The buck retreated slightly at my gasp, enough for me to take a small step backwards without startling it. He cocked his head to his right and approached me once again. The buck was massive, a good six inches taller than I was, at least three times my width. I gasped lightly out of reflex and he stopped, straightening his head. He was close enough now to where I couldn’t back up without possibly frightening him. The buck took another step towards me and slid his head under my lowered right hand, raising it to a comfortable level for him. He kept it there, moving his head side to side. He suddenly stopped and looked at me through the corner of his eye. I slowly curled my fingers back and forth, stroking the top of his head. The buck just stayed there, content, as I continued to rub his head. He would occasionally move it side to side, indicating where he wanted me to stroke him. I looked to my side, toward the house to find my mother approaching the window. Once she arrived, her face filled with fear as she reached for the door knob, not letting me from her sight. My eyes widened and I quickly, but subtly, shook my head back and forth, and mouthed ‘it’s okay.’ She stopped but didn’t leave the window, her face still overwhelmed with shock. I heard a twig snap off to my right and both the buck and I turned to face the sound. There was a deer and a small fawn beside her, staring at me and the buck. The fawn got all giddy and started to approach us, but the mother didn’t approve, and stepped in front of her. The buck looked back at me, nuzzled my hand once more, than walked back slowly into the woods to join his family. I just watched breathlessly, as they got further into the forest, eventually disappearing into the trees. My mother rushed out of the house as soon as the buck had left.

“Harper, are you okay?” she asked as she arrived at my side.

“Yeah, Mom, I’m perfect; it’s just a deer.” I reassured.

“Baby, that deer was taller than you are! What were you thinking? He could have killed you!”

“Mom, you’re overreacting.” I told her with a sigh, slightly annoyed that she was ready to make my life a miserable hell a few days ago.

“Fine, whatever you say, Harper. Just please be careful if you’re going to make this a habit. I’m worried about you, you could get hurt.” I shot her an irritated look at the corner of my eyes. She rolled hers in return.

“Well when an irritable grizzly decides to show up, don’t expect me to save your skinny little butt!” she retorted, stalking off back to the house. I followed shortly after, shooting once last glance towards the forest.

Upon entering the house, I was just as amazed as the first time I walked in. I wondered how long it would take me to get over the sheer beauty of the place. Even though the house was built in the late 1700s, and the outside clearly showed its age, the inside looked like it was just built; everything was polished to a perfect shine, the walls were newly painted and seemed sturdy enough, the windows shined, the carpets were flawless, not a fiber out of place. Although the outside had little or no work, the interior of the house shined. Literally.

After admiring the first floor, I made my way up the stairs to the second floor; it was just as perfect as the floor below. The hallway was massively wide, as was the soon-to-be game room that was on the opposite side of the stairs. I observed all of the rooms, including the three hall closets that were big enough to be small bathrooms. My mother’s master bedroom was an unbelievable size. It was big enough to fit 2 entire rooms worth of furniture in it with plenty of moving space. I almost thought about begging her for it even though the chances of her buckling were nonexistent. I continued on into her closet which was big enough to be a full-sized bedroom itself. My jaw dropped in envy, I might actually have to try to get this room, I’d even beg if necessary. I made my way over to the master bathroom connected off of the side of her room after staring in disbelief at her closet. Once I entered the bathroom, I nearly fell down due to shock; it was absolutely gorgeous. The exceptionally wide glass shower was the first thing I noticed. The large shower head hung from the ceiling, the dials for the water on the wall. There were shelves in the walls, perfect for bottles and other random shower necessities. I glanced over to my other side, noticing the square bathtub. I don’t even know if you could call it a tub, it was so big that the word ‘pool’ came to mind. It was made of white marble, along with the counters and bottom of the shower. The floors were also composed of white marble. Although it was a different pattern, it still matched the rest of the room perfectly. I could only imagine how much this bathroom alone cost.

“So,” began my mother. I turned around to see the leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed across her face and an entertained smile across her face, most likely due to my expression. “How do you like you new room?” I blinked many times, trying to grasp what she had just asked me.

“Wh…wh…what?” I sputtered.

“I asked you how you like your new room, Harper.” she replied, a smirk on her face.

“Are you serious?” I gasped.

“As serious as I can be.”

“Oh my God, Mom!” I shouted as I ran up to embrace her in a hug.

“I’m glad you like it, sweetie.”

“Gah, this is amazing, Mom! Are you sure?” I asked, only out of politeness, I really didn’t care if she was sure or not. She just gave me the room and I am keeping it.

“Of course I’m sure! I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t.”

“Why?” I inquired.

“Why what?”

“Why are you giving me the master bedroom?” I was honestly curious.

“Because I don’t like all the space in my room. I wanted something a little more quaint and simple. While the other room isn’t smaller by much, I like it better; it makes me feel more comfortable.”

“Wow. I personally think you’re crazy for giving up the room but I’m not complaining in any way, shape, or form.” I told her with a smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

“No problem sweetie.” she kissed my forehead and began to walk out of the room.

“Hey, Mom?” I called after as a thought popped into my head.

“Yeah?”

“What exactly are you doing to be able to afford all of this?” she chuckled. “You’re not in the mob or anything right?” I asked, only half joking. She looked down and started bursting with laughter.

“No, baby. I received a promotion. I am now the head executive for the company I am employed at.”

“Oooohh, okay, makes sense.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, wrinkling her eyes.

“You’re very good at being bossy.” I said with a tinge of sarcasm. We both laughed as we walked downstairs, side by side.

“Well, the movers are going to be here any minute. With my fancy executive position, we can afford to make them move everything from the U-Haul to their respective rooms.” she stated, grinning from ear to ear.

“No way! We don’t have to do any of it?” I asked in joy.

“Not a single box do we have to lift.” she confirmed, still grinning.

“Awesome!”

“So, when they get here, how about you and me go get a bite to eat?”

“Of course! I’m starving!”

Just as promised, as soon as the movers arrived, my mother and I were off to Pizza Hut to fill our stomachs with greasy, delicious, pepperoni pizza. The day was nice; we did a little bit of shopping after we finished eating and just looked around the stores at the nearby mall. I was really enjoying my mom’s new job. If this is what we could afford to do, I wasn’t really going to be missing home at all.

We spent all day at the mall, arriving at the house long after dark. When we walking into the house, the movers where just finishing up with the last of the boxes. My mother paid them and they were out the door and down the street before I got to my room. I pulled my comforter over my body as I lay on my bed and drifted into a sleep. That night was the first night I dreamed of Angelique.


5: Angelique


Her smooth blond hair was whipping in the breeze as she faced the forest in my backyard. Her head was tilted up a bit as she faced the moon, high in the sky. I walked closer to the strange girl. As I approached I noticed she was humming a song; something soft and elegant, much like the girl herself. I stopped a few paces behind her and listened as her song came to an end. The blonde’s small, petite figure was covered in a long, dark red dress, much like the ones you see on royalty in the late 1700s. There was white lace that outlined her sleeves and the collar to her dress, along with the bottom of it. The dress had a huge white silk bow tied in the lower arch of her back, draping nearly to the heels of her bare feet. She turned around to face me, revealing her pale, angelic face. This stranger couldn’t have been older than seventeen. She was smiling a pleasant smile, making the dimples on her cheeks pop. Her dark blue eyes were staring at me, analyzing me as I was her. All of her features were astounding; she seemed to have the perfect face, the face each girl could only dream about, each angle of each feature corresponding with another. She had on magnificent jewelry, gold chains with various sizes of rubies and sapphires embedded in them, along with emeralds and diamonds layering her fragile-looking neck. Her fingers were also covered in stunning rings, much like her necklaces, obviously expensive, with many gems and crystals. The one item of jewelry that I couldn’t take my eyes off of was a gold ring, placed on her right index finger. Inside the ring was an oval gem of the most stunning shade of red. It was a deep, dark color that glistened in the moonlight, making it dark and light at the same time.

“Hello, Harper.” she said in a dainty voice. I blinked profusely, wondering how she knew my name.

“Er…hi.” I replied, still confused. She giggled lightly at my puzzled expression.

“My name is Angelique Belle, but you are more than welcome to call me Angel if that is more convenient for you, Harper.”

“Angel…” I laughed inside my head at how her name reflected her appearance. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.” I stated, although it came out more as a question than a statement.

“No, no, the pleasure is mine, Miss Harper. I’ve been waiting a very long time for you.” she countered.

“Is that so?” I asked in a questionable tone.

“Oh yes, many, many years have gone by and I’ve spent every single day of each one waiting for you to finally arrive.” she smiled a childish smile at me, and then giggled. “We’re going to be the best of friends, Harper Delanie Corbett.” she smiled wider and chuckled once again in an adolescent manner.

“How do you know my name?” I finally inquired.

“Oh,” she laughed juvenilely and looked down at the ground before replying. “I’m very observant, Miss Harper. You’ll come to realize that soon enough.” I just stood in my place, confused by this girl and the freakish things she said. She looked at my expression and laughed to herself. “Oh, don’t worry about these silly things I’m saying. They will all unfold soon enough, my dear.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like I said, they will unfold soon enough.” she said, smiling at me and giggling lightly.

“But what are you talking about? What do you mean they will unfold? Who are you?”

“Patience, Harper, all of these questions will be answered with time.” I grimaced in annoyance and huffed.

“Okay then, what are you doing here? Can you at least answer that question?”

“I just came to…check up on you, make sure you were proper.”

“Proper for what?” I asked, extremely irritated.

“Patience my dear, it’s all in time.” she reminded me, grinning like a child with candy.

“Mmhmm.” was all that I replied, getting a little freaked out by this bizarre girl and her childish mannerisms. I started backing away towards my house. She just stood in her same position with her hands clasped in front of her and extended downwards, watching me as I retreated towards my house.

“Well, it’s been…” I struggled for the appropriate word. “interesting, Angelique, but I think I ought to be getting home now.” she giggled once again before she spoke.

“Oh, don’t worry, Miss Harper, we’ll meet again soon.” she paused for a moment. “I promise.”