Fog. Again. Cleo leaned
against the windowsill and looked across the pond. The outskirts of the garden
were barely in sight on the other side, but everything else was shrouded in
white. “Figures,” she thought, “since I’m under house arrest, the view should
disappear, too.” Not like she was missing much, anyway. Living 15 miles out in
the country, the only exciting thing she ever saw was a fox. Home schooling was
not what she wanted, but she had very little say in the matter. It would be
better if Cleo could at least socialize, but as her foster mom said “strangers
weren’t allowed in the house.”
She turned back to look at
her room. It felt too small for her, too young and stale. The peeling pink
wallpaper didn’t represent her seventeen years, not to mention the dusty
stuffed animals and whimsical bed cover.
Diane was her one and only foster mother. Cleo had lived with her for 9
years, but she never understood why Diane didn’t legally adopt her. “I hate
going into town, you know that!” Diane would snap if Cleo asked. She had always
thought it odd that she never moved around. Diane was always vague and said
she’d found a loophole in the court system. Her real parents had died in a car
crash when she was 8, she was told.
“Might as well be years away
since I never go out these days,” she thought bitterly. On the plus side, she
had extra time to practice. Diane would leave her alone whenever she sat down
at the piano, so Cleo would play for hours. She was getting really good, too.
She was secretly planning on applying to the music conservatory when she turned
18, something Diane had said absolutely not. It confused Cleo, it seemed like
Diane thought she was going to stay after turning into a legal adult. She
wouldn’t hear otherwise.
Cleo was pulled from her
thoughts when she the front doors open. Cleo put on another sweater and braided
her long hair to the side while going down the stairs. She immediately started
playing piano, starting with her favorite assortment of Beethoven.
“I’m going to look for
truffles, I want to hear the jazz piece played perfectly when I get back!”
shouted Diane from the porch. Cleo shouted an acknowledgment and kept playing.
Hours passed but Cleo barely noticed, her fingers accustomed to long days on
the keys.
When she paused to crack her
knuckles, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She went to the open window
and saw a boy her age crouching under the windowsill. He smiled at her and bounded
up, and before she could call him out for sneaking around, he said, “I’ve never
heard anyone play that one so well. Usually people forget the repeat and skip
to the end.”
She closed her mouth and
assessed her trespasser. He was taller than her and had bright blue eyes, much
lighter than her own. Then she noticed he was carrying a music bag. That piqued
her interest. He saw her hungry gaze and chuckled. “You can try some, they’re a
little old fashioned but I prefer the classics.” She looked back at him and
nodded. “I’m Percy, by the way. Sorry for the intrusion, my car broke down a
few miles back so I was walking and I heard your playing. Couldn’t help
myself.”
They spent the rest of the
afternoon playing duets and talking to each other. Turned out he was a student of the
conservatory too. He played piano but wanted to be a music teacher. He had a
great wit, so she was laughing as much as she was playing. She was flattered by
his praise and she liked impressing him. She completely lost track of time,
such was the fun they were having.
The back door opened and made
Cleo jump. She didn’t have time to push Percy out the door when Diane walked
in. She stopped dead in her tracks, while Percy bolted up. Cleo could see
recognition in his eyes. “You. I know you, you were on TV when I was youn…” He
didn’t get to finish his sentence before Diane attacked. She rushed forward and
pushed Cleo down and ignored her yelling. She grabbed Percy’s coat and shoved
him towards the door, yelling and threatening him all the way. He resisted and
tried to get to Cleo. Finally he yelled, “I know what you did!”
Diane paled. “You know nothing. She’s mine! Her parents
took everything from me!” Quicker than lightening, she whipped pepper spray
from her pocket and sprayed Percy square in the face. He stumbled back with a
yell of pain while Diane slammed the door.
Cleo was stunned. Suddenly
she saw a flash back of strawberry hair framing her mothers face, the smell of
her father’s cardigan. Playing with her puppy. Then her memories shifted. She
heard her lawyer father talk about a woman in court blaming him for losing her
case. Seeing her mothers panicked face turning around to the backseat. A bright
light and a crash. Being jostled in the dark and waking up in an office. Diane
was there with a nervous looking woman, saying that she had to live in a
different place.
Cleo remembered it all. Diane
had planned it. Cleo moved to go after Percy but Diane tried to stop her. With surprising
strength, Cleo pushed Diane and watched in horror as Diane fell and hit her
head off the corner of the coffee table. Cleo hurried to check her pulse.
Alive. After a moment’s hesitation, she ran out to Diane’s car, started it, and
caught up to Percy.
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
Cleo sat looking out her
window. Her new window. She absentmindedly stroked the black lab’s head in her
lap. She was still getting used to the yellow walls of her new room, but it was
a change she was happy about. The smell of bacon wafted up from the kitchen and
she heard the front door open. Percy’s greeting was muffled by the walls. There
was a pounding on the stairs and a knock at her door. She turned to see Percy
smiling and leaning into the room. “Your mom’s cooking us breakfast before
class, hurry up or your dad’ll eat it all!” Then he blew her a kiss and she
caught it, feeling the butterflies she’d become all too familiar with. He
clambered back downstairs and she leaned back and looked out the window again,
smiling.
She couldn’t believe her
luck. She was finally home.
Alaine Field
TRACINGS
Based off of the fairy tale,
Rapunzel.
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