Chapter 2

As chapter two has only 1 post from this week I will continue chapter 2 up to next Sunday before i post the whole chapter.

Grilled beef with white grape vinegar sauce and apple, tomato, red onion stew.

Capter 1

 On this one you can comment to give suggestions and corrections.

Part 1.1

The days grew shorter and the nights grew longer. Darkness arrived at four in the afternoon and had control until nine in the morning. The day walkers were left with no choice but to go in and stay in the artificial light. Candles were lit everywhere. Small candles on the window panels laminated the glass. Large candles with flames dancing 15cm from the table stood in the middle of the dining table. The door steps lit by a outside light, and wide yet thin candles in metal trays on each side of the walk way bringing warmth and light in the midst of the darkness. A young face could be seen behind the thick 5 layered glass window. The light twisted and bended between each glass plate distorting the image so that the face was more of a ghostly figure than an actually face. A gush of wind pushed itself around the house corner and swiped past the walk way candles blowing them out on the way. As the light from the candles faded the face in the window disappeared. The winds started to pick up more and soon the howling of the cold wind could be heard in all parts of the house. The young figure inside had moved away from the window and found her way to the second floor room. She was in a dark room. There was not a single candle in there as her parents did not trust her with fire in her bedroom. The curtains were drawn to the sides and the girl could see out as a result of not having any light source on the inside of the glass window. She had wrapped herself in a warm wool blanket. The golden wavy hair hidden under the blanket. The only thing that could be seen was her face where her two green eyes shined reflecting the little light which was emitted by the street lights outside. Her small fingers could be seen clutching the blanket holding it tightly around her body. The sky light up as a bolt of lightning slashed through the clouds scattering light. The dark clouds were revealed momentarily. One of the street lamps turned completely of and the other one was left flickering. The thunder was not far behind and when it finally came the house shook. The windows rattled and the bed pounded the floor as it shook. The girl did no budge. She stared out the window and in the flickering light you could see as a wide grin appeared on her face revealing the row of perfectly aligned teeth with only a few teeth missing. The sky flashed bright again. The girls face was ghost white from the light reflecting off her pale skin. Now the thunder roared immediately after signaling its nearness. The street lamp flickered three more times before it turned off. The girl sat in complete darkness. She could not see the window anymore. Then through the constant howling of the wind laud taps echoed in the night. First only a few but quickly the number increased. Another set of lightning and thunder rumble filled the sky. The taps came to a full on sleet. It was sometime between the start of the hail and the last lightning that the girl had fallen asleep. She fell asleep early enough to miss the figure which planted its face against the window. It tried hard to see in but with no light it was impossible. The sleet increased in strength and chased away the lurker. It was still dark when the knock came. She heard two knocks then her mother calling her name. "Anna wake up and unlock this door," her mother shouted. Anna crawled out of her warm bed and went to the door. "Hi mom," Anna said with a wide grin on her face. "Anna, are you still in your yesterdays clothes?" her mother asked squinting her eyes and biting her lower lip. "Yeah, I guess I fell asleep while watching the storm," Anna replied care freely. "You really are a interesting child," her mother said shaking her head, "now come eat you can change after breakfast." Anna passed her mother and raced down the stairs. She went into the kitchen which was also the living room and sat in front of the piano. She had just started to learn to play moonlight sontana on the piano.

Part 1..2

It was exactly six years from that day when a strange man knocked on the front door. Anna was playing her favorite symphony moonlight sontana on the piano. At first she did not hear the knock but when she finished the song she heard the knocking. She went to answer the door and called out to her mother. "Hello there young lady, does your mother happen to be home." Anna was about to call out for her mother again when she appeared at the front door. "George what a surprise." Anna left the two at the door and had just gotten into the living room when aha heard her mother scream. She ran back and saw that the man was running away, the door slowly closing, and her mother lying on the floor with a kitchen knife stuck in her chest. Anna dropped down to her knees and lifted her mothers he'd onto her knee. "Anna he said your father is dead but I know he is not find him because only he can help you,and Anna," her mother said before dying. "Mom!"Anna cried out. She puled out her cell phone ad dialed 911. "Hello, this is the emergency line how may we help," said the voice in the phone. "My mother is dead. She was stabbed to death by some man who came to our house," Anna said trying not to burst into tears. "Ok, just calm down and tell me your address and we will send an ambulance and a police car." "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm town when I'm holding my dead mother in my lap." When the police arrived Anna was still holding her mother. The medics took the body into the ambulance and the police started asking Anna questions. They started with the details of what events lead to the death. After they heard about the man they asked for details on what the man looked like. She gave a very accurate description and the sketch artist drew furiously. After moments they had a rough sketch of a Mid 40s man with a three day beard. Shard face with battle scar on his left cheek. The hair was cut short like a soldiers and he had thick eyelashes.

Part 1.3

When the commotion had finally died down Anna retrieved a towel and went to the bathroom. After removing her clothes she put the water to maximum heat and let the watter run at full volume. As the watter started to reach its maximum heat the bathroom filled with steam. Steam rose from the shooting out watter. Anna stood just out of the waters reach letting the hot watter on the floor run over her feet. When the bathroom was filled with steam she turned the knob on the shower so that the watter would by medium hot. The watter splattered of her forehead and dripped down from the tips of her long hair. The blood on her hands spread and ran down her body as she rub soap along her arms, neck, chest, and legs. Once she had shampoo her her hair she sat down on the floor with her back against the bathroom wall and her knees tucked in against her chest. The watter sprayed onto her head and the shampoo ran down her cheeks. Anna increased the watter temperature until it was just bearable with slight pain. She sat in the hot shower crying. Anna was only 13 and with no family. She had seen pictures of her father holding her as a baby, but according to her mother Michelle her father had gone to war in Pakistan when she was just 3 years old. They had not heard from him since and Anna had come to the conclusion that he was probably dead. Sitting there under the shower Anna did not know what would become of her life now. She was in her seventh year of school and had a crush in school. Her mother had been strict about her dating at that age but now that she was gone she was not sure if she would even get to stay in the town of Bethel, Alaska. She had never met her cousins as they all lived on US mainland. Every Christmas they would receive a Christmas card from her aunt Shila. Shila was Michelle's older sister and had three children. Anna did know know any one from her fathers side. She turned the watter off and stood up. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin was bright red from the hot watter that had being pouring on her for ten minutes. She wrapped the towel around her hair and walked up the stairs to her bed room leaving wet foot prints and a stream of watter behind her. She took out only long shirt which reached down to her knees and put it on after which she laid down in her bead looking up at the ceiling. There was a picture of her in a swing with her mother pushing her. The picture was surrounded by glow in the dark stars. Tears returned to her eyes and ran down the side of her cheek and onto the light blue sheet. Anna closed her eyes and could see her mother smiling and calling out to her with open hand. She was seeing her self in the summer at age 8.

Part 1.4

In the afternoon the door bell rang again. Anna was still mourning in her bed. When she heard the old buzzer she got up and grabbed a pair of skinny blue jeans. She slid them on as she walked down the stairs zipping and buttoning them up moments before reaching the front door. As she opened the door the face of a middle age womans face pushed through the opening. Short curly hair covered the womans hair. She had big by-focal glasses on and her eyes looked at Ann curiously. "Hi, I'm your Aunt Shila. I got on the next flight as soon as the police informed me of your mothers death." The big brown mole on her cheek danced up and down as she talked. "Uh, do you want to come in," Anna said frightened, but was interrupted as her aunt Shila started talking again. "How are you feeling? Why aren't you wearing a bra? Your old enough that you have to start wearing one or else you'll be indecent and some one might see you like this." Shila pushed the door open and laid her stuff down before walking into the living room with her shoes still on. "Well sure why don't you just make your self at home and bring in all the dirt with you," Anna mumbled closing the door behind Shila. "Where is my sisters room? You wont mind if I stay in there while I help sort things out with the officials do you?" "Sure, its the door next to the stairs." "Thank you and while i go unpack go put on something more appropriate." Anna walked out of the room rolling her eyes and thinking to herself. Oh God I'm sure all the neighbor boys are going to be lurking outside my house waiting to see me be indecent. Her mother had boughten her a few training bras as she did not really need anything else since she had not really started to grow yet. Anna returned to find Shila looking completely different. Her hair was suddenly dark brown, straight, and halfway down her back. The big round glasses were gone and replaced by nice small square glasses with teal titanium rims. The big ugly mole she had on her cheek was gone and she had changed from bright rainbow colored baggy clothes into a black skirt and a tight white collar shirt. Anna's jaw dropped as she could not believe that Shila had changed so much in that little time. "What was that all about aunt Shila?" Anna asked in confusing. "Oh that? I don't like it when guys look at me on the plain. All that tight seating with strangers just scares me. I want to lessen the lust factor when i travel. The wig, the mole, and the glasses do a really great job of distracting everybody from this body that i hide under those baggy clothes. Oh how I hate the way I look in them but a womans got to do what she has to to keep her self safe." Anna had to admit that aunt Shila looked good. She did not know what Shila did for her job but what ever it was she looked good doing it. Shila was taller than Michell and was slim like a model. Anna's mother had been thin, but it was due to her working on fishing boats. "I think we should go to the social services as soon as possible and get the required paper for you to move in with your cousins." "Me, my cousins, but," Anna protested. "Oh don't start butting at me. I got only a few days of from work and I want you to be with me when I go back because I don't want to come back to this crazy town again." Anna did not see any point of protesting. Besides she was too busy thinking about how she had lost her mother that morning and now it was clear that she would have to say good bye to all her friends as well.

Part 1.5

The Social services office was in the middle of town beside the police station. Shila talked a lot and after two hours they walked over to the police station to clear things with the investigator. Shila gave all contact information to the investigator and then came back to get Anna. "What did they say?" Anna inquired. "Oh not much. These folk here are very persuadable and i got it arranged that your pares will be prepossessed by tomorrow and by Thursday we can fly back to Miami where you will get to meet your cousins." Anna kept getting amazed at how different her mother was from Shila. Her mother would have never called the people of Belman folk. They stopped at a travel agency and after some time Shila returned with a one way ticket for Anna. For the next two days Anna got to help her aunt pack up the house and say good bye to her friends. On Wednesday Shila set up the for sale sign in front of the house as the last boxes of stuff were loaded onto a rental pickup which would take the boxes to a shipping office where they would be sent as slow shipment to Miami. That night Anna watched from her bed at the view of her window knowing it was the last time she would sleep there. The past days had gone by so fast with so many things to do that it was not until that moment that she though about her mother again. When she closed her eyes she could see her dying mother bleeding on the floor. As she would approach her mother the eyes would open and her mother would give cold stare. There was no life in them just sorrow and pity. Then blood would start pouring out of the eyes, the mouth, and nose. She saw her mother suffocating in her own blood and then Anna would wake up screaming. Shila had arrived to the bedside and tried to calm Anna. "It's just a dream Anna. Your mother is going to a good place." That was the worst pep talk ever Anna though to herself. Shila spent the night beside Anna and in the morning Anna watched as the beautiful Shila transformed into the homely old aunt. By 9 A.M. they were ready to lock up the house and leave for the airport. Shila had called a cab and so they loaded the bags in the trunk and sat in. Anna watched as the city she had grown up in went by and disappeared into the distance as they approached the airport. At 10:30 A.M. the plane was on the runway ready for take off. The jets rumbled with power as the pilot released the breaks and the plane started move. The small plane picked up speed fast and soon was in the air. It swerved over the town and then west towards Anchorage where they would change plains. From Anchorage they would take a plain to Minneapolis for another change to the last flight which would take them to Miami. After the change in Anchorage they crossed over to Canada and Anna said good bye to her old life and Alaska.

Part 1.6

When they landed in Minneapolis it was raining. Low clouds made it hard to see the city from the plain. Anna was slightly depressed as for the first time in the past three days seeing a big city had been something she had looked forward to seeing. Her disappointment was however forgotten when she stepped into the terminal. There were so many people and stores it was overwhelming. There was a three hour layover in Minneapolis so Anna and Shila ate at a Subway. Anna had a Italian BMV as she loved meat. Shila had a regular smoked turkey sub. The plain to Miami was a 767-300 Boeing double jet. Anna's seat was located 17 rows behind Shila. She was seated between two big guys in the middle isle. The other one was in his 40s and slept most of the way snoring the whole time. The other was a male model who kept looking at himself in a small pocket mirror he carried. Having never flied before Anna was exited and scared at the same time. She was too shy to ask if she could go to the bathroom so she held it the whole flight. When the plain finally reached Florida it was already dark. The bright lights of Miami could be seen from the air plain windows and Anna tried to peak past all the people sitting in between her and the window. Since she was sitting in the middle of the plain she did not see much. The plain landed and taxied to a halt. Everyone in the plain shot up before the seatbelt light turned of. Anna asked the man who had sat beside her to help get her bag from the top. She walked past all the seats and smiled at the stewardess who waved good bye and said, “Thank you for flying American Airlines.” In the Terminal where the tube connecting the terminal to the plain ended Shila waited. “Welcome to Miami, I know you will love it here. Everyone does,” Shila said.

Part 1.7

The airport parking lot was filled with cars. Anna and Shila walked past the row of parked cars pulling their bags to a halt in front of a black porch. Anna's eyes popped out and her mouth opened in aw. The black porch was a 2009 model cayman and she had only seen pictures of it before. She climbed into the passenger seat and fastened her seat. The interior was black as the night with leather seats. "What do you do for work?" Anna asked Shila. "I work as a accountant, but I'm not the one with the money. It's my husband who bought me this." The engine stated up and soon they were pulling out onto the highway. Shila and her family lived outside of Minneapolis and the trip from the airport to the house took around an hour. Having gotten a ride in a porch Anna's expectations for the house were high. She was expecting a large mansion, but was surprised when they pulled in to the garage of a normal looking house that any regular family could afford. Anna was glad to get out of the car as she was not sure if she could take any more of Shilas yapping. It seemed like there was no end to the talking. Shila's two children were waiting in the living room when they heard the door open. They greeted their mother coldly and then said a short hi to Anna. There were no hugs of any kind. "This is my son Zedar, he is 16 years old, and this is my daughter Ally, she is 14 years old. They will show you to your room and give you the basic introduction to the house rules. I will be back later, but now need to get back to work." "By mom," both Zedar and Ally said. "So, Anna right?" Ally asked. "Yes, I'm your cousin I guess." "I heard about your mother. Getting stabbed by a kitchen knife," Zedar said emphasizing on the kitchen knife. Anna's new room was a shared room between her and Ally. The room was large than her old room, but having another person in there would make it feel allot more crowded. The beds were in opposite sides of the room hidden nicely into niches in the wall. there was a bathroom and one large window. Zedar had already disappeared into his room by the time Anna laid her bags down on the floor. Anna listened to Ally as she explained all the little facts that Anna needed to know. Then after that they separated to their own sides of the room and did not talk to each other until dinner.

Part 1.8

The next morning Shila took time off work to take Anna to school. They got her enrolled and by 9 A.M. She had finished the tour and was ready for school the next day. Shila gave Anna money before leaving her for work and said, “Buy anything you need with this but spend it well because I don't give out money easily. The mall is two blocks down the road. Don't be late for dinner.”