A New World

<p><br/>Chapter 2<br/><br/>Meadow<br/><br/>I woke up with my silver hair slung in my face. Something heavy was on me but it was so bright out I couldn't quite open my eyes to see. I laid there for a minute and tried to remember what exactly happened. I remember Wren freaking out about some weird smell and we tried to talk her down to keep out of trouble.<br/><br/>"Ugh, what happened" I heard Alba say just before the weight was lifted off of me. Now able to move, I rise and realize it was my sister thrown across my body, that was stopping me from moving just a second before. I looked around and notice that Wren and Ember were a couple feet away in opposite directions. Alba immediately slides over the Ember to check her pulse. I smiled slightly at the awkward love the two of them share for each other.<br/><br/>"Wren, wake up." She stirred "Are you alright? We told you not to hit that damn button! You truly are an idiot sometimes!" I scolded her as she came to, rubbing her head like she had the world's worst migraine. Se looked shaken, like she was still thinking about the smell and the button. I could see the wheels moving behind her eyes and something told me this was a mystery that we would follow to the end…to the answer.<br/><br/>"Ow! What…where are we?" She was the first to notice that we weren't in the kitchen of Ms. Hanafrey's Group home for troubled girls anymore. Where we were though? None of us were quite sure. There were trees and overgrown brush all around us. The sky had a lilac tint with a few soft waves of orange hues thrown in between like…clouds? The few flowers that we could see had almost a platinum colorant that made them dance wonderfully in the breeze when the sun sparkled just right on them. Honestly, it was breathtakingly beautiful. We had obviously never seen anything like this.<br/><br/>"Does anyone remember what happened after this moron hit the button" Ember called as she rubbed her head.<br/><br/>"I don't" I spoke up still looking around, taking in our surroundings. "I wonder if that smell Wren was talking about knocked us out when she hit the button." That was the only thing I could come up with as I racked my brain for more answers. Being the oldest, I felt I needed to have all the answers to properly protect my sisters. How could I not know what was happening? I began to silently freak out when someone came up behind me.<br/><br/>"I see the worry in those grey eyes of yours sis. This is not your fault. I'm sure there is a simple explanation." Alda patted my back consoling me with one of her amazing hugs. How she always knew when to comfort someone was beyond me. Perhaps that's why her and Ember were so close…she did kind of temper the cranky thing.<br/><br/>"Thank you, Alda! You are the sweetest." I turned a determined look on my three sisters, squared my shoulders and announced with more confidence than I felt "Let's figure out what to do now. Maybe we start by finding out where we are so we can get back to the home."<br/><br/>The girls all looked at me as if they didn't know what to do. I grabbed Wren's hand and took off for the trees to the right of us. Something told me we would find solace here if we stayed true to each other. I held my head high as I took in the sights around us. I felt like, my mind was reeling, but my feet were taking me exactly where we needed to be.<br/><br/>"How do you know we are going the right way?" Wren whispered to me. I looked at her, smiled and turned back to the journey ahead. Something told me this was going to be an eventful and long adventure, one worth smiling about. I squeezed her hand letting her know she can trust me and my gut. She didn't say another word.<br/><br/>It felt like we had been walking for hours when finally, we came to a clearing. The deeper we had gone into the trees the denser the strange forest became. I say weird because never have I seen trees that looked so alive. It was like they were breathing and communicating. Though I didn't know their language, something in me knew they were telling me we were headed the right way. I walked along and listened to their whispers that felt like they were telling secrets to me and me alone. The longer I passed them, the more I never wanted to leave their warm embrace. A forest of beauty and secrets to be revealed only to me. I felt lucky and honored to just be in their presence.<br/><br/>"Oh my, fresh air" yelled Wren like she had been suffocating the entire trek. "What is that in the distance?" She pointed past the clearing to a small body of water. It sparkled with the colors of the sky as the sun bounced rays off of its surface. There looked to be a small cottage on the other side of the lake with smoke coming from the chimney. "I guess we know where to head to next. Maybe they can give us directions or tell us where we are. Better yet, maybe they have a phone we can use!" She had so much excitement in her movements as she rushed forward.<br/><br/>"Meadow, are you really going to let her just march forward and put us in more danger?" Alda spoke up for the first time since we entered the forest. She had been quiet and kept looking around as if someone was going to jump out at us any minute.<br/><br/>"Where else are we supposed to go. We have to figure out where we are and how to get home. I'm sure Ms. Hanafrey has told the police we all ran away or something. Better to get back as soon as we can to meet her wrath." I shrugged and turned toward the direction Wren went. Ember huffed and grabbed Alda's hand.<br/><br/>Alda glanced at me for a minute as if she wanted to say something. She hesitated a moment too long. Ember noticed and immediately went into support mode.<br/><br/>"Come on Alda, we are in this together." Ember pulled her along after Wren. I watched as my sisters made their way towards the lake and smiled when they stopped to wait for me. I picked up the pace and caught up to them in a couple minutes and we all continued forward.<br/><br/>For an odd reason, I was feeling a sense of peace wash over us. We had only been away from the group home for a few hours I would guess, and you could see the visible spring in each of our steps. Even Ember was chipper. I never thought I would say her name and chipper in the same sentence, but here I stand, corrected. It was like the beautifully weird colored sky, lifelike trees and exotic flowers had stunned our senses in a way that made us drunk with serenity. We decided to take a break from walking. The lake was further away than we thought, and the sun was high in the sky now. We were tired and hungry yet content in that moment.<br/><br/>Dare I say happy for the first time in… well our whole lives. I laid back in the grass and closed my eyes thinking of the only life I had ever known.<br/><br/>Meadow's Story<br/><br/>I was born March 1 and 11:59pm…18 years ago. My mom gave me the name Meadow and my father gave nothing but me a murdered mom at age 7. I watched as he fed her lies, drugs and booze my entire life. I used to think she was the victim until I was old enough to know better. Or at least old enough to make Ms. Hanafrey think I knew better. One Tuesday I came home from school to them arguing like usual. I was used to this life and didn't think anything of the words of hatred they were spitting at each other. The fight went on for hours and when it finally died down with my dad slamming the door and my mom screaming for him to never come back, I came out of my room.<br/><br/> My mom looked rough. She was obviously on her way down, from a long drug binge. That is another reason why I hate needles. I made my mom some coffee and a sandwich. Hoping she would smile and call me her 'Little Meadow'. She looked at me blankly and began to cry. I still remember her words…" You look just like him…get out of my face. I can't stand to look at you". I looked at her startled and confused by her words. I guess I didn't move fast enough for her. I was only 7! She balled up her fist and punched me in my mouth and screamed "I SAID GO!"<br/><br/> I jumped up tasting blood on my tongue. A warm sensation was running down my chin. I ran quickly to the bathroom, still in shock that my mother…my sweet but misguided mother struck me. When I saw my appearance I immediately freaked. My lip was split wide open and gushing blood all down my face. I heard an angry cackle from the kitchen. "I told your ass to go away. This is what you get." I was so scared and getting lightheaded by the minute. I rushed out of the house forgetting my shoes and went to my neighbor Trudy's house.<br/><br/>Trudy was a girl in my class who really did not care for me. That was ok with me because I did NOT care for her. But Trudy's mom was always so sweet and offered me a ride to school anytime it rained or snowed. As soon as I knocked on the door, I noticed my dad driving back to the house. I turned back around to Trudy's door and knocked again…louder this time. Just as I was about to pass out, Trudy's older, really cute, brother answered. He yelled into the house right as everything went black.<br/><br/>When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My lip needed 26 stitches. My jaw was swollen and bruised. Trudy, her brother, and their mom were sitting there when I woke up. The mom proceeded to tell me my parents were fighting and wouldn't come and asked her to bring me home when I was released. I sighed internally and looked at her with thanks in my silver eyes since I couldn't talk. She stared at me like I had too much "understanding" of life at the age of 7. I looked away from her and readied to go back to my shit life.<br/><br/>When Trudy's family dropped me off, I was nervous to walk into my house. Half expecting my mom to hit me again or worse for involving the neighbors. What I saw when I walked in, scarred me so bad. My parents were naked on the couch having sex! I was angry. How dare they fight, injure me, refuse to come take care of me like a parent should just make up and forget all about me. I stomped my foot giving them the signal that I was in the room. They hurried apart and my dad looked at me surprised.<br/><br/>"What the hell happened to you?" he asked…clearly high.<br/><br/>"OH…she had a little fall baby. I had the neighbor take her to the hospital so we could talk" my mom chirps all happy now. It was obvious to me that my dad had brought back drugs and made my mom oh so happy again. I rolled my tiny eyes in disgust and walked to my room. I had been taking care of myself for a couple years now. So I knew to take my medicine, eat and drink right and get plenty of rest. Someone had to be the adult in this house.<br/><br/>After I changed my bloody clothes into my pajamas, I pulled up my smokey grey hair and went to the kitchen to get some water so I could take my pills. When I glanced into the living room, my dad was standing over my mom. She had a needle in her arm and a crooked smile on her face. I had a bad feeling and slowly walked toward them. I heard the last sentence my dad said as he pushed a second needle into my mother's arm.<br/><br/>"You were weak and now you're dead…junkie." My mom's body began to convulse. Her mouth foamed and she jerked around. I stood there horrified at the sight. My dad was still standing over her chuckling like he finally won a lifelong battle. He stood up when my mom wasn't moving and realized I had just witnessed him murder my mom. He smiles as me and says…<br/><br/>"I'm sorry we weren't enough, my little sunshine. One day you will realize we did all this to protect you." With that he pulled a gun from a hidden spot, put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger. I fell to the floor and screamed until Trudy's mom was whisking me out of my house and on to a new life full of more…shit.<br/><br/></p>