JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 1:59:26 GMT -5
Alrighty.....I talked about posting this a long time ago,but it wasn't finished as far as editting and all went. I finished it about 2 months ago and I done let like 4 people read it...so why not more right? If y'all are interested. ;D It's like......31 full posts,roughly 3 forum pages. I tend to be the lame ass romantic type,as you'll see if you read it. It's not all lovey dovey though....least I don't think it is. Anyhoo...I know,it's weird.....maybe a lil hard to understand....or down right does not make sense.....I'm not sure. I tend to ramble aimlessly in real life and it spilled over onto the damn story It's also heavily influenced by the ghost stories that float around about the Plantation homes around where I live. You'll see a lot of Louisiana in the story....lol. Alright alright.....no more yip......I'll post the story now. It's called Falling(Matter of Time) for lack of a better title. This one also ties in well w/ the title of the second story... Ahhh....ramble...again. Sorry. Here it is..... P.S. A lil attempt at the last name of the main character...Her name,Sonnier,is pronounced like sawn-yay. Sawn,sounds like dawn. If that makes sense....lol. I think the rest of the names are alright though.....that's the only odd cajun-like one.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
Likes: 1
Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 1:59:54 GMT -5
Jefferson Sonnier,most anyone who knows him will tell you one thing...he's the richest man in town. Town being a teeny little plantation grouping not to far from the port city of New Orleans,Louisiana. They'll also tell you that Mr. Sonnier is one dashing man,in spite of his withering age. For a man of nearly sixty he's quite the looker,his silvering hair bringing a spark of character to his strong,masculine face. To the ladies of the towns distaste,Mr. Sonnier isn't really the "ladies man". In fact,he's one lady's man....his one true love in the world,his daughter Christiana. Now,Miss Christiana has the kind of tender sweet gaze that could make any man within a mile radius stop dead in his tracks. With her sensual green eyes and flowing dark hair she kept pulled back into a loose bun at the base of her neck,one couldn't help but stop and admire the young lady of nearly twenty one. She's one of those girls who's got it all.....her girlish figure curves just right to fit in damn near anything and make all the other girl's green with envy,a petite Cajun Belle. It's no wonder Miss Sonnier became to object of so many's affections. One man in particual managed to catch the young lass' fancy.An outspoken,some would say downright rude,ambitious man by the name of William Monroe. William,he isn't the most handsome of all the potential suitors beating down the Sonnier residence's door,but something about him was deeply intriguing to Christiana. Most figure it was the fact that he's a Yankee by our standards. Hailing from upstate Virginia,he managed to make quite a hefty little fortune for himself in the tobacco indusrty before migrating to Louisiana to try his hand in the ever growning cotton business.
The whole town was a buzz on the day WIlliam approached Mr. Sonnier with the proposition of marriage to Christiana. Some say Jefferson was knocked to his seat by the outright assertive manner of William's request. Speculation spread like wild fire all over the tiny community,'will he say yes?' 'is WIlliam being turned away?'. For weeks the gossips of the town waited anxiously for the answer. It took a whole lot of persuasion for Mr. Sonnier to finally come to his decision...William had thoroughly convinced the old man to allow him to wed the beautiful young Christiana.There was,of course,one condition.......living arrangements. Jefferson wanted more than anything else to keep his only child close at hand,the thought of her moving away broke his weathered heart.So he devised a plan to keep her near. He spared no expense in having constructed a gorgeous,two-story manor for his daughter and her new husband and quite possibly their newest addition to the Sonnier bloodline. Sonnier-Monroe,as it is known,is an astonishingly massive structure.It's about as intriguingly beautiful as it is somewhat terrifying. Originally set on 20 some odd acres,the house stood out amongst all others in the tiny town where it rested. To this day,Sonnier-Monroe is a staple of perfection in every sense of the word.
Within the first two years of their marraige,Christiana and William had started themselves a lovely little family. Christiana gave birth to their first child,a son she named Jefferson after the child's grandfather. Young Jeff was his own father's pride and joy. Two more children soon followed,daughters Aundrea and Sierra. The family was by all accounts perfect......but as we all know too well,everything has it's flaws.Jefferson Sonnier,most anyone who knows him will tell you one thing...he's the richest man in town. Town being a teeny little plantation grouping not to far from the port city of New Orleans,Louisiana. They'll also tell you that Mr. Sonnier is one dashing man,in spite of his withering age. For a man of nearly sixty he's quite the looker,his silvering hair bringing a spark of character to his strong,masculine face. To the ladies of the towns distaste,Mr. Sonnier isn't really the "ladies man". In fact,he's one lady's man....his one true love in the world,his daughter Christiana. Now,Miss Christiana has the kind of tender sweet gaze that could make any man within a mile radius stop dead in his tracks. With her sensual green eyes and flowing dark hair she kept pulled back into a loose bun at the base of her neck,one couldn't help but stop and admire the young lady of nearly twenty one. She's one of those girls who's got it all.....her girlish figure curves just right to fit in damn near anything and make all the other girl's green with envy,a petite Cajun Belle. It's no wonder Miss Sonnier became to object of so many's affections. One man in particual managed to catch the young lass' fancy.An outspoken,some would say downright rude,ambitious man by the name of William Monroe. William,he isn't the most handsome of all the potential suitors beating down the Sonnier residence's door,but something about him was deeply intriguing to Christiana. Most figure it was the fact that he's a Yankee by our standards. Hailing from upstate Virginia,he managed to make quite a hefty little fortune for himself in the tobacco indusrty before migrating to Louisiana to try his hand in the ever growning cotton business.
The whole town was a buzz on the day WIlliam approached Mr. Sonnier with the proposition of marriage to Christiana. Some say Jefferson was knocked to his seat by the outright assertive manner of William's request. Speculation spread like wild fire all over the tiny community,'will he say yes?' 'is WIlliam being turned away?'. For weeks the gossips of the town waited anxiously for the answer. It took a whole lot of persuasion for Mr. Sonnier to finally come to his decision...William had thoroughly convinced the old man to allow him to wed the beautiful young Christiana.There was,of course,one condition.......living arrangements. Jefferson wanted more than anything else to keep his only child close at hand,the thought of her moving away broke his weathered heart.So he devised a plan to keep her near. He spared no expense in having constructed a gorgeous,two-story manor for his daughter and her new husband and quite possibly their newest addition to the Sonnier bloodline. Sonnier-Monroe,as it is known,is an astonishingly massive structure.It's about as intriguingly beautiful as it is somewhat terrifying. Originally set on 20 some odd acres,the house stood out amongst all others in the tiny town where it rested. To this day,Sonnier-Monroe is a staple of perfection in every sense of the word.
Within the first two years of their marraige,Christiana and William had started themselves a lovely little family. Christiana gave birth to their first child,a son she named Jefferson after the child's grandfather. Young Jeff was his own father's pride and joy. Two more children soon followed,daughters Aundrea and Sierra. The family was by all accounts perfect......but as we all know too well,everything has it's flaws.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:00:25 GMT -5
Kira McIntyre,a promising young medical student living in a small town in rural Tennessee,heads to her mailbox as she always does after arriving home from work. As she steps to the road,a gust of wind blows through her long dark hair,pulling it along with the breeze,leaving it to fall across her shoulder. She flips her ponytail back behind her head and brushes her bangs away from her brown eyes as she continues her trek retrieve the mail. Opening the mailbox,she comes across the usual flood of sales flyers,catolgues addressed to her sister,and a few bills. But something different made it's way through the local post office and into her hands on that September afternoon.
"Who in the world do I know in Louisiana? I've never even been to Louisiana" she proclaimed to no one in particular as she headed back to the house.
After making her way through the from foyer of their small home she stepped into the kitchen,laying the bulk of mail on the counter and focused her attention on the curious letter addressed to both herself and her younger sister. Upon opening it she was a bit startled to discover it was coming to her from a lawyer whom she was unfamiliar with based in the capital city of Baton Rouge.
"What the hell? A lawyer? What did I do to be contacted....." she stops midsentence,"Vada......." Kira rolls her eyes as she proceeds to read the letter she now assumes has something to do with her teenaged sibling.
The letter,however,is quite the contrary of what she had anticipated.It came to her from a lawyer handling some real estate matters in and around the area of his offices. He brings the news of the last wishes of a recently deceased relative Kira was unaware she even had.
Dear Mrs. McIntyre,formerly Sonnier, Upon a routine examination of the deeds to several abandoned properties within the area we have discovered that one of the residences in question,Sonnier-Monroe Manor,is propery of your family. Up until only a few months ago the property was owned by a one,Carolina Sonnier.
Carolina Sonnier,the name rang a bell to Kira. She remembered a time when she was child,a family reunion. A young girl of only 10,Kira was approached by this tiny,eccentric woman in a wide brimmed sun hat and overly extravagant dress. The woman had pinched her cheeks,kissed her forehead,and rambled incohearently about her home in Louisiana and how she could no longer live there because 'that damn woman drove me out of my own house". Thankfully Kira's mother had stepped in and pulled her daughter to a far end of the room to meet other relative before Miss Carolina got too far into her story.
Mrs. Sonnier passed away at the end of July,leaving the home to her next of kin. After checking the records we have concluded that you,along with your sister Vada Sonnier,are in all legal right the owners of this property as stated in the Last Will of Miss Sonnier. She stipulates that no one other than yourself and/or your sibling would be in ownership of the home unless it was of your wishes.
"Wait......." she said outloud to herself,"she left the house to me and Vada.....she never even met Vada. Mom was still pregnant with her when that reunion happened.....wow."
She continues reading on,This,she stated,was in accordance with the wishes of the homes establisher,Mr. Jefferson Sonnier. Mr. Sonnier stated that no one other than a woman of Sonnier decent could own the property unless she felt the need to part with it on her own accord.We request a meeting with both you and your sister to discuss the future of the Manor and the next steps we should be taking. Please contact my offices to set up a date for this consultation. Sincere thanks, Mr. James Cage
Kira,a young wife and working mother leaned against the counter in her stifilingly small kitchen in awe of what she had just read.
"Mommy!" she heard from behind. She turned to find her daughter of almost two,Maggie,standing behind her. "Juice,please?" Smiling,she crouched down to pick her her young child,carrying her to the refridgerator to get a juice box.
She could not get the thought of the extravagant manor out of her mind. With a home like this,she would finally be able to have a stable place for not only she,her husband and daughter,but for her entire family. The thought of everyone under one roof lifted her to Cloud Nine.
Closing the door to the refridgerator and putting Maggie down,Kira turns to pick up the phone.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:00:54 GMT -5
Roughly four months after that fateful mailbox experience Kira McIntyre,along with her husband Clarke and daughter Maggie,her father Russell and step-mother Sheila,and her eighteen year old sister Vada stood outside the enormous structure they now called home.
"I'm gonna need a map to get around this place...this is ridiculous" Vada huffed as she examined the exterior of the home,her attention repeatedly pulled to an attic window. "If I never see any of you again....it was nice knowing you" she sarcastically exclaimed as she made her way up the porch steps and through the front door of the house. Her demeanor changed immediately at first glance of the extravagant interior.
Somewhat dumbfounded,the fmaily made their way into the beautiful home,hardly able to control how excited they were. The foyer was a spectacle all it's own,stepping through the front door they were immediately greeted by two elaborate curved staircases leading to the second story. The intricate mosaic tiling of the flooring immedaitey caught the attention of young Maggie,who promptly dropped herself to the floor and began tracing the lines of the tiles with her tiny fingers.
"It's pretty Mommy......look." she smiled up at her mother and father.
"It sure is..." Kira said,"you like our new house baby?" Maggie nodded and smiled.
The bottom level alone was a sight to see. A huge kitchen and conjoining dining room sat off to one side of the foyer. This immediately caught Kira's interest because of her love for cooking and her longing to upgrade from the miniscual excuse for a kitchen she once had. A large,empty room sat to the left side of the foyer,Clarke and Russel both agreed,
"Game room!"
Kira looked at Vada,who rolled her eyes at the silly nature of her father and brother in law. Sheila stood close by,unable to control herself from laughing. The ladies further explored the house as the men gabbed about the pool table they were going to have to purchase for their new game room. They passed through into the smaller of two additional rooms on the bottom level,a fully stocked library.
"I have never seen so many books....in my life" Vada murmured. She circles the room,admiring the delicacy of the leather bound books,some of which dating back to the early 1800's. One book in particular catches her eye. She reaches out to pull it from it's dust covered space on the shelf when she hears Clarke from another room,
"Y'all come see!"
She shakes her head,leaving the book in it's place and makes her way towards the direction from which he called. The entire family stands in the monsterous sized family room containing nothing more than a beautiful grand piano.
Vada,being a lover of music,is overwhelmed by something so incredible within her reach. "we're keeping this right?"
On the other end of the family room sits a bar leading to the dining room by way of a semi-hidden corridor.One the back wall of the room,two french doors leading out into a glorious yard full of trees of all shapes and sorts. In the distance Vada notices smaller,unkept houses to the back of the property.
"I wonder......y'all think those are slave houses?" she asks to anyone within earshot. Getting no answer she steps away from the windowed doors.
The family then headed up the elaborate staircases to the second floor.
"So many rooms......I think everyone can pick two" Kira laughed. She looked behind her see her family member staring in awe. "Are y'all just gonna stand there? Pick a room! Let's get this show on the road!"
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:01:31 GMT -5
Vada Sonnier is quite the opposite of her older sister. Where Kira possesses an outspoken nature and somewhat spunky personality,Vada is much more reserved,almost reclusive. Her fragile nature makes it hard for her to open up with people,giving the impression that she may be more than a little bit on the unstable side. A vulnerable young woman,afraid of showing who she really is,Vada has spent her life in the shadow of her older sister. The expectations,the disappointments,the outright failures in her life weigh heavily on Vada,but she doesn't let it show to anyone,especially not Kira. The two sisters have an indescribable bond no one can touch. Like her sister,Vada was blessed with a striking,undeniable beauty,though no one could ever convince her of such. Her dark hair she kept short,in a fashionable bob cut,just long enough in the front to bring mystery to her stunning green eyes but short enough in the back to show off her graceful neck.
After venturing upstairs with the rest of the family,Vada wandered aimlessly around the second floor of the place she now called home. For some reason,a room off in the corner of by the top of the stairs had stolen her attention,not unlike the attic window had done upon arrival at the Manor. She quietly stepped into the spacious room and had a look around. She couldn't quite put her finger on it,but deep down she knew there was something about this room. The feeling was so overwhelming it eventually overtook Vada and possessed her to settle into the quaint,dim room. With no objections from her other family members,she began moving in. She lugged her heavy suitcases,and box after box of books,cds,magazines,her computer and countless other items from her old room into the new one. Her father and brother in law moved in her bed,desk,dresser and other large pieces she could not move herself. After everything was in the room,she stood in the middle,evaluating where to put everything. In her evaluation of the room she noticed more than a few oddities about it. One was a small cast iron stove in the corner by the window.
"I wonder what possessed someone to put a stove up here," she said to herself.
Another discovery close by soon diverted her attention. It appeared to be a hidden lever of sort. Pressing the lever,a small panel in the wall opened up,revealing a narrow decending staircase.
"Wow.....freaky."
Ever the curious one,Vada ventured through the passage to see where it would lead. She made her way down the barely lit stairway and emerged in the kitchen.
"This.....will definitely be useful!" she laughed to herself as she returned to her room.
Once she returned to her bedroom she bagan unpacking her many boxes. She set up her reading area,a small chaise-like bench in the corner sheltered by a beautiful handpainted screen,in the corner next to the closet. As she was hanging some of her many small ornamental pieces on the wall,she peered into the closet for the first time. Inside,she discovered yet another staircase,this one leading up into a very cold,dark room.
The attic was a tremendous space,completely empty if not for the small gathering of furniture being stored in the far corner. Curious,but not quite brave enough to venture all the way to the other end of the room without a flashlight handy,Vada made a mental not to come back and explore that part later on when daylight broke again. The window that had drawn her attention from the very start loomed near her,the orange light of the setting sun beaming through it,as well as the two other massive windows on the front side of the house. A matching set of windows graced the back wall as well. She headed toward to largest of the three windows on the back wall,hoping to catch a view of the back yard during the sunset. As she made her way across the weathered wooden floor,she stopped dead in track before she could reach her destination. She turned around and swiftly decended the stair and went out into the hallway to retrieve her sister and father.
"Did someone die up here?" Vada inquired as she showed her father the discovery she had made. A large stain in the floorboards. Vada knew enough from all her sleepless nights watching crime scene programs on television that the stain was blood,and enough to indicate that whomever it belonged to was no longer living. "daddy.....I don't like that.It's..........." she was to the verge of tears with the thoughs running through her mind.
"Don't worry about it sweetie," Kira assured her sister, " it's old.....very old."
"It doesn't matter......Kira,someone died right there. There's no way they didn't!"
"Vada,calm down" ,Russell exclaimed. "I'll take care of it. I'll call a contractor first thing in the morning and have the flooring replaced."
Vada looked up at her father,then back down at the floor. "That's a good idea daddy," she said,trying to cover her trembling voice. They made their way back downstairs and into the kitchen where the rest of the family had gathered for a quick dinner. As she sat at the table,Vada could not that her mind off of what she had just experienced. She shuddered at the thoughts swirling inside her head but,in usual Vada fashion, she faked a smile and carried on conversation as though nothing was wrong.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:01:58 GMT -5
The clock hanging above the doorway in the kitchen struck the one o'clock hour. It's chime broke through Vada's thoughts as she sat in the midst of her sister and step-mother's girlish gossip about their plans for the new day.
"I think I need to get to bed,I'm so exhausted all of the sudden" she announced to the two ladies on either side of her. "Goodnight,love you guys."
She hugged them both and made her way up the narrow stairway that lead directly into her room. Her bed wasn't even set up yet,just the mattress lay on the floor while the rest of it sat propped against the wall waiting to be assembled. She pulled a sheet,blanket and her favorite pillow from a box in the hallway and quickly made up the bed. Almost as immediately as her head hit the pillow,she fell into a deep sleep. A deep,peaceful sleep that was abrubtly interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Footsteps not from the hallway outside,but from the attic above.
The creak of the stairs shattered Vada's dreams and forced her into full conciousness. Her heart raced out of control,stricken with fear.
"What the f**k? There's no way......oh my God." panicked thoughts began racing through her mind as she tried to rationally assess the situation. "There's no way anyone's up there.....it's the only way in,I checked. This can't be happening." She tried sitting up,but her body was dead weight,as thought she were completely paralyzed by the fear of what she was about to be confronted with. The more she struggled to move,the more impossible it became.Her eyes fixed on what she could see of the dark staircase from where she lie helplessly,sight blurring and focusing in on exactly what she'd feared. She watched in terror as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows and into view.
She closed her eyes and cried out,but no sound left her lips. She tried to turn away to no avail. The figure she feared was now right next to her,she could feel it. She opened her eyes confront what could be her last deperate situation. Vada gasped,partially in fear,partially in shock of what she was seeing standing by her bed. Not an intruder as she had expected,but an apparition. A young woman,quite possible a little bit older than she herself.
"Now I know this is not real...." she told herself in an attempt to calm her ever panicked heart and mind. "Ghosts.....I don't believe it." She blinked her eyes in an attempt to make the apparition vanish,but it was in vain.
The woman,her agony showing like a scar across her beautiful face,studied Vada as she loomed over the place where she had been sleeping. She looked almost lovingly at her and she slowly lowered herself to the floor and sat down on the edge of the mattress. She was wearing a tattered burlap dress she had to lift off of the floor in order to seat herself. Her once white apron was stained and torn. A colorful and ornate wrap around her head led Vada to the conclusion that she was of African descent.
As she sat,she winced in pain. She cried out in mute,pain on her face. She turned her back to Vada,who gasped in horror at what she saw. The back of the spirit's dress was torn to shreds,large bleeding wounds covered her back. She weeped,shaking back and forth. Vada's fear began to turn to despair,not for herself,but for this young soul who had once been through so much pain.
The woman raised her hands into Vada's view,her blood covered hands.Panic swept over her as she turned and looked at Vada,who was helpless in her attempts to break free of the crippling fear she had felt. Suddenly,as if in a rage,the woman reached for Vada,grabbing her face and arm. She screamed in agony as she clutched onto her helpless companion in the room. Vada cried out,her vison blurred as a burning feeling shot through her body with the apparition's touch. Everything went white......
When she regained her sight,the room was filled with light. It was as though she were on the outside looking in on something in the Manor's dark past....something horrible.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:02:30 GMT -5
Christiana Monroe,obviously in waiting of the arrival of her fourth child,teetered her way down the long,curved staircase in the foyer of her elaborate home on route to the kitchen. Lucinda,her mid-wife,nanny,and dear friend,rushed up the stairs to meet her master midway.
"Ma'am,you know you should not try to walk the stairs alone. I am here to help you."
"Oh Luci," she affectionately replied,"I'm not helpless,I'll be alright." She took Lucinda's hand as they descended the stairs side by side and made their way into the kitchen where Lucinda pourder her a glass of cold water from the pitcher on the counter.
"Ma'am,it is my duty to assist you in whatever I can,Master said I must care for you and child." Lucinda said as she handed the glass to Christiana.
The sounds of footsteps scurrying down the stairs echos throughout the bottom level of the home. Christiana is greeted by her three children,Jefferson,Aundrea,and Sierra. They all rush up,hugging their mother and affectionately rubbing her tummy in a greeting to their forthcoming sibling. Her husband William walked by,harshly barking at the children,
"What have I told you all about running in this house?"
"We apologize Father." Jeff responded, "we only wanted to see Mother."
William glances over towards Christiana,but barely acknowledges his very pregnant wife. He turns and leaves the room just as abruptly as he had entered it.
He is not the man he was before. The man Christiana married was long gone,replaced by someone cold,callous,almost hateful. Christiana lived in fear of her husband,his angry outburst growing more and more frequeny caused increasing alarm in the young mother. She had no friends outside the home,William would not allow it.The only person she felt she could confide in was Lucinda. Luci,as she had lovingly nicknamed her,was always understanding,open-minded,and willing to listen. To most,Lucinda would seem nothing more than a common 'house slave'. Not a human being,no true feelings,didn't account for anything. Mr. Monroe moreso than anyone else held this feeling,Mrs. Monroe however,did not. She had a deep love for Lucinda,as did the three children who had been raised under Luci's care. They thought the world of their nanny and looked to her for a playmate,a friend,and a hug when in need.
A quiet girl of twenty-two,Lucinda was very mature for her young age. She had been through so much in her short life,having been born and raise in slavery,she's endured more than her fair share of hardships. At the age of eighteen,she ahd been chosed by Mr. Monroe personally to become the house maiden. She performed the everyday duties typically reserved for the lady of the house:laundry,food preparation and service,dishes,tending to the children as well as the pregnant Mrs. Monroe. It was more than obvious why William had chosen her to be colse by,all it took was one look at the lovely young girl and it became all too clear. Curvacious and tall,Lucinda was a sight to see. Her piercing brown eyes and contagious smile made her a desirable target for WIlliam. She wore her long dreadlocked hair tucked underneath a traditional headwrap,a tiny reminder of her rich heritage passed down to her by her grandmother.
Lucinda greatly enjoyed working inside the house.The late Louisiana summer heat was no more tolerable inside the massive structure of the home,but the surroundings made her so comfortable. She still had to return to the slave houses at the end of the long day's work to sleep,but it didn't bother her at all. She returned home to her family:mother,husband and young son,then,with the dawning of the sun she returned to the house.
The children of the house were her main source of happiness. Lucinda was such a loving woman toward the three of them,she concidered them like her own. She was especially fond of the youngest,Sierra who was barely three,due in part to the fact that her own son was of the same age. Jefferson,the eldest at the age of ten,had developed quite the crush on his nanny,though he would never dare voice that feeling to anyone in fear of how his father would react. Aundrea,the middle child of age seven,loved the stories Lucinda would tell at bedtime to help her get to sleep. She would often tell her beloved nanny she wanted to be,
"Just as pretty as you are when I grow up!"
Christiana,the lady of the Manor,developed a close bond with Lucinda during her third pregnancy. That was why now,pregnant for the fourth time,she was ever so grateful for Lucinda's help and companionship. Being an independent woman to the highest extent that she could,Christiana hated being limited by pregnancy,but Lucinda always had a way of helping her deal. She was going through a very rough time watching her husband,who had once been so loving and compassionate,slowly slipping away. WIlliam was,in the beginning,the type of man who would do absolutely anything for his wife. The first five years or so of their marriage he was the attentive,perfect gentleman she'd fallen so desperately in love with. But now,here in the twelfth year of wedded 'bliss' he seemed uninterested in his wife as well as the soon to be four children they shared.
Christiana had exhausted every effort she could muster in trying to rekindle a flame that had long since turned cold. A flame that burned so strongly during their courtship all those years ago.This was a tiring task for even the reasonably young woman. Though barely past thrity,she was concidered well past her prime. Her beauty,still as striking as ever,was no longer enough to keep the man she loved from developing a wandering eye. A wandering eye she feared had fixated itself on another woman,probably one much younger and who had not bore four children. Yet,somehow,in her heart she knew WIlliam still cared for her somewhere in deep down. He just had to. After all the years they had been through together,there's no way he could not.
"Luci darling,I know my WIlliam is still in there somewhere," she confessed, "I just cannot seem to find him. I don't know why he's hiding from me this way." Tears streamed down her face.
"Don't worry too much about it ma'am," Lucinda reassured her,"he will come around."
Christiana wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed up at her friend,"Oh Luci,you always know what to say to make me feel better."
"Ma'am," Lucinda started "I really think you should be upstairs in bed instead of down here in the kitchen worrying about the husband of yours."
With only a few weeks remaining until the birth of her child,Christiana was to the point of exploding. The doctor had come a few days earlier,telling her she should remain in bed for the duration of the pregnancy in order to secure the safety of not only the infant she carry,but herself. Lucinda had since tried her damndest to keep Mrs. Monroe in bed,obeying the doctor's wishes,but the stubborn woman would not comply.
"I know Luci," she laughed, "but I'll be alright. I promise you nothing is going to happen."
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:04:06 GMT -5
An agonizingly piercing scream shattered the silence of the night as it echoed it's way through the semi-deserted corridors of Sonnier-Monroe.
"Hold on ma'am,it will be over soon," Lucinda's desperate cries rang out amongst the screams. "I can see the baby now...I see the head."
The labor had crept up on Christiana in the middle of the night and ripped her,along with everyone else in the manor from their peaceful sleep. Awakened by his wife's cries,William had rushed on horseback to the slave quarters to get Lucinda. She found her master lying in bed,sweat pouring from every inch of her skin. All the color in Christiana's being had drained to an eerie shade of white,as thought all the blood had rushed from her body,the pain she was in blatantly obvious across her face. Despite all of this,the radiant beauty Christiana possessed still shone through in her deep green eyes.
"Luci," she weakly spoke,"I'm not going to make it. I feel something is wrong."
"Don't say that ma'am," Lucinda tried to reassure her master,"You will be just fine. Everything will be just fine."
Deep down,Lucinda knew her master was right. She was losing so much blood there was likely no chance of her suriving through until the morning.Lucinda's worst fear was coming to life before her eyes,the friend she loved so much was slipping away and there was nothing she could do to save her. She tried with every ounce of energy she had not to let the fear show in her eyes as she gazed at Christiana,holding her hand as tightly as she could through the final moments they had together.She stepped away for only a moment at a time to check on the progress of the child. The infant's head was now almost completely exposed,but the doctor had yet to show. Young Jeff had been sent to get him nearly an hour earlier.
William paced back and forth outside the master bedroom door. He was in a state of nervousness that he had never felt before. Nervous not for the safety and well-being of his wife,but of his still unborn child...the child he knew was to be his second son. A son who was to arrive just in time because William was growing very weary of his household being overrun by so many females. His need to be dominant in every single matter of his life had reached the extent of obsession. An obsession that had driven him further and further away from his wife in the last months of her pregnancy. An obsession that had changed him from the man he once was into a jaded,cold man with not an ounce of love to spare for the woman he had once fought so hard to have in his life.
Young Jeff burst through the front door,the family doctor in tow. By this time,his mother's screams had been replaced by those of his nanny,Lucinda.
"Ma'am.....ma'am please!" she had ran out of the room to se the doctor in the foyer,then rushed back into the bedroom,"please hold on! The doctor has just arrived....he is on his way up now. Hold on!"
A few moments later the doctor rushed to Christiana's side,William lingering in the doorway as far from the situation as he could keep himself. Lucinda turned to him,the lifeless child lay in her arms.
"Doctor please...she is dying!" Lucinda frantically cried as she cradled the already lost infant in her grasp.,"Help her!" But it was too late. The doctor turned to William,shaking his head.
Christiana Monroe,the beautiful only child of the wealthiest man in town,was dead. As was her youngest child,a child who was never given a chance at life before he was taken to the light.
"You witch!" William screamed at Lucinda,"this is your doing!" Anger welled in his eyes as he loomed towards the defenseless woman still holding his son,"You killed my child! You killed my son!" He reached out,ripping the child from her arms and tossing him beside his mother on the bed as though he were a ragdoll. "Your evil voodoo magic.....you did this. You will burn in Hell for this. I promise you woman!"
"No Master!" Lucinda defended herself from his accusations," I would never harm Ma'am. I love her. She is my friend!"
William reached out again,this time striking Lucinda with such force she was knocked to the floor. He flew into a rage,taking every ounce of agression he had inside him out on the poor woman as she lie in the floor crying,kicking her repeatedly in her stomach,chest,and face.
"FATHER STOP!" Young Jeff cried,"Please! Don't hurt Nanny! You know she would never harm Mother!"
William spun around,slapping his son across the face,"No! You are wrong Jefferson! Don't you see that!" He pointed to Lucinda," That witch killed your mother....and you dare defend her!" Young Jeff cowered in fear of his father and what he might do. He peered at his nanny,who sobbed uncontrolably on the floor,blood flowing from her head and face.Wanting so desperately to help her but fearing the wrath his father may turn on him if her does so,Jefferson ran from the room in tears. William looked back to Lucinda,firey hate burning in his eyes. He looked around to see that the doctor had gone then closed the door,leaving only himself in the room with the defenseless woman at his mercy.
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JusHeather☥
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Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:04:35 GMT -5
The early morning humidity of the Louisiana sun coupled with the heat from the kitchen was taking it's toll on Lucinda on this early summer morning. Sweat ran down her back,stinging as it passed over the reminders that now covered her fragile skin. The reminders of the dicipline her master had inflicted upon her after the death of his child and wife a few days prior. William Monroe's dicipline of choice was six or eight lashes across the young woman's body with a leather whip. This was the first time Lucinda had faced the wrath of her master in such a way,but her first encounter with it. Her husband had been a constant source of these diciplinary actions for several months. Every night she retuned home,she would nurse the wounds the man she loved had endured. The pain in his eyes evident,despite his attempts to hide them from his beloved wife. She would hold his head in her arms,crying,trying to comfort him in any way she could. Now,having been through the torture herself,she knew exactly what her husband felt...shame. Shame in the thought of someone else finding out about it,shame in the though of them worrying about her well-being. The last thing in the world she wanted was for her husband and mother to worry about her.
While she was tending to her duties of the morning,preparing breakfast for her master,she managed to keep a smile on her face despite the pain she felt because Aundrea and Sierra were close by. She did not want the young girls to see what she was going through,both physically and emotionally. It had been barely a week,and the pain of losing her friend Christiana was still so evident,so strong. With every passing day the pain grew to the point where Lucinda had come to terms with the fact that it would never subside. She had no other choice but to put on a smile and pretend that the feelings had passed,for the sake of the children. It was difficult enough for them,having to deal with the loss of their mother,she did not want to impose any more worry on their young hearts.
Aundrea and Sierra ran back and forth on the back staircase that led up into the smaller kitchen. Usually Lucinda would not allow them to do so,but she felt she needed to be in a more leanient mood with the girls,as well as Young Jeff,for a while in order to give them some time to heal. The last thing they needed at this point was stern dicipline from their nanny,they had enough of that from their father. Lucinda was doing everything she could to keep the children smiling.
"Alright my lovelies," she said to the girls as she hoisted the tray containing William's breakfast and headed toward the stairs, "let's bring breakfast to your father before it gets cold."
The back staircase was a small,dimly lit corridor hidden behind a slide out panel in the wall to the front side of the kitchen. The stairs led up to the second level of the house and a somewhat large room where Lucinda would complete the preparation of the Monroe's breakfast before bringing it to them in their quarters each morning. She had made this trip hundreds of times in the years she had worked inside the home,but now it seemed so heartwrenching a task to have to perform. She used to come through,finish breakfast,and head to the master bedroom where she would be greeted by Christiana's smiling face....but now,all she had to look forward to was William's hatred. Entering the room,Lucinda set the tray down on the counter and went over to the small icebox and retrieved the fresh fruit and milk to complete the meal. She set them on the counter next to the tray,then picked up the plate holding the eggs and ham and brought it over to the tiny cast iron stove in the corner by ther window to keep it warm while everything else was being prepared.
A sudden cry shook Lucinda to her very bones,
"Luci! Help,oh it hurts!"
She turned to see Aundrea,blood dripping from a cut on her small finger. She had,wanting to be helpful,picked up a knife to cut up the fruit for her father's breakfast and hit her finger by mistake. She cried in pain as Lucinda made her way over to the child.
"Aundrea,my darling,are you alright?" she inspected the cut on her finger.
"I cut it,it hurts Luci." Aundrea said,sniffling through her sentences,"Luci please make it stop."
Sierra looked over upon hearing his sister's cries. "What's happened?" he asked to anyone who would listen. "Sissy,are you okay?"
Lucinda sent her to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of cool water and then went out to the hall closet,coming back with a white cloth which she dipped into the water and wrapped around Aundrea's finger.
"It will be okay darling. I will take care of it,you'll be good as new I promise." She smiled up at the little girl as she nursed her wound,wrapping it up good and tight so no infection could set in.
William,in an obviously elevated state of annoyance,burst into the room.
"Lucinda! What in the name of God is taking you so long woman? I told you no later than 8..." he stopped midsentence when he saw his oldest daughter's red eyes. His annoyance turned to anger as he glared at Lucinda.
"What did you do witch?" he demanded as he pulled Lucinda up from where she had been crouched down on the floor. "it's not enough you kill one of my children,now you have the nerve to place harm on another?!?!" He reached up,striking her across the face.
"Father!" Aundrea exclaimed,reaching over to grab her father's arm in fear he'd strike her nanny again, "it was my own fault. I knew I was not supposed to touch the knife. I only wanted to help."
"Do not defend her Aundrea!" William scoffed as he puched his daughter aside, "do NOT defend her. She killed your mother remember? Don't you?" He turned to face his other daughter,who was crying in the corner. "Get out of here....both of you! NOW!" The two frightened little girls ran past their angry father and out of the room.
Now alone with William,Lucinda feared what her master was about to do to her. She knew his anger and she knew how irrational he could be. She'd done nothing wrong,but she dare not defend herself,knowing it would only enrage him even further. Instead,she kept quiet on the outside while inside she screamed.
"How could you?" William wailed at her, "who do you think you are?!?!?"
Lucinda remained silent as his advances slowly pushed her closer and closer to the far wall of the room.
"Do I not take care of you? Have I not been good to you?!" his fury burned like fire in his eyes. "I take care of you,and this is how you repay me?" He reached out,grabbing Lucinda by her throat. "ANSWER ME! You evil witch!"
Enraged to the breaking point,William threw Lucinda against the floor,kicking at her and screaming to the top of his lungs despite the fact his children could possibly hear.
"Master...." she begged," Please. I am sorry sir. I did not mean to harm Aundrea."
"Sorry? SORRY!" he wailed, " you are a liar! you are not sorry,you hurt my child,on purpose. Admit it!" He moved abruptly,reaching down and grabbing the front of Lucinda's dress,pulling her to her feet.
"You will not get away with this woman!" he said,pulling her face close to his,"I will make your life more Hell than it already is!" He slammed her petite frame into the wall behind her,severe pain surged through the still healing wounds on her back as they began to bleed once again. As hard as she tried to hold back the tears,Lucinda could not stop herself from crying as she fell to the floor.
"Do not do that witch! It's pathetic!" William said as he glared down at her,the hatred boiling in his eyes.
"Father!" Aundrea burst into the room," Father come quickly.Young Jeff,he is ill!"
The doctor made his way to the manor a few hours later.
"Mr. Monroe,it appears as though Young Jefferson has come down with a mild case of pneumonia." he explained to WIlliam as they stood outside the boy's bedroom. Lucinda listened in from where she was hidden in the upstairs kitchen. "I see no cause for alarm,the boy should be more than well within a few days."
That is what the doctor said,anyway. Had he only known how wrong he would turn out to be.
Young Jefferson Monroe died in his sleep one stormy evening in the summer of 1854. The 'mild case of pneumonia" the doctor had diagnosed turned out to be far more severe than anyone had anticipated. Of course,in William's eyes,the only logical explaination for his son's sudden demise was Lucinda. The witch had killed his only son with her voodoo magic just to spite him. Nothing anyone could do or say would sway him from his wild obsession with Lucinda and her 'black magic'. He was convinced that she was out to harm him and she was using his family to do so.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:05:07 GMT -5
The remainder of the season did not fair well for the Monroe family. The illness that had taken the life of Young Jeff had ravaged it's way through the home,taking with tit both Aundrea and Sierra within mere days of each other. Lucinda remained helpless,watching as her world was ripped right out from under her feet. She'd lost her friend,the children she loved as her own,and it seemed inevitable to her that more bad karma was to come upon the Manor. As if things could not get any worse for her,William refused to allow her to attend the funerals of the children she'd cared for most of their lives.
"I will not have that witch putting any more of her voodoo curses on my family," William had said to the funeral director as they made preparations one early morning, "She'll probably try to turn my poor children into zombies." The line left his lips and sent chills up Lucinda's spine. He had rehearsed it so many times it almost sounded like he felt the emotions he was trying to project. His deceptive nature had the town fooled. All they saw was "poor Mr. Monroe,lost his whole family." No one was the wiser when it came to the true cold-hearted nature he possessed.
Those "voodoo" comments of his cut deeply with Lucinda. She herself was in fact a practicing member of the religion,her mother was a priestess,as was her grandmother. William liked making the voodoo religion out to be something evil,wicked...when in fact it was not. It was the exact opposite of all that. It was the one thing Lucinda had had faith in throughout her entire life.
William had grown increasingly out of control following the deaths of his children. His diciplinary actions toward Lucinda became more and more severe as time went by. The beating were becoming more frequent,and it didn't stop there. His drunken rages were moving further and further away from beatings,and closer and closer to something far worse. Lucinda dare not tell her family of the horrors she endured behind the closed doors of Sonnier-Monroe. She did not want to worry them any more,they already feared for her safety every time she left to return to the main house. It humored her how something she had once loved so much she now dreaded with ever inch of her soul. At this point she wanted nothing more than to stay behind,go back to the cotton fields in the hot summer sun,anything so as not to have to return to that house. But,as expected,every morning with the dawning of the sun she would rise from her bed and prepare herself for the journey to the house. She kissed her mother,husband,and son,and headed off down the worn pathway between the trees up to the manor to await on her master's bekoned call.
This July morning in particular was not unlike any other. She rose from bed,dressed,said goodday and headed out into an eerily thick fog that had laid itself across the grounds for as far as she could see. She had awakened in the early predawn hours with a strange feeling deep inside her. Something felt out of place,though she didn't know what it was or why. She had shaken it off and returned to sleep,but upon waking again,the feeling remained. Again,she shrugged it off as being nothing and stepped out onto the path to start her trek to the house.
William was in a particularly foul mood on that morning,starting in on the girl as soon as she stepped through the french doors into the family room. For reasons still unknown,on that day,just the mere sight of Lucinda sent William into a rage. He could not control his agression anymore,everything she did was met with the fury of his blows. As hard as she tried,she just could not steer clear of him and his angry fists. After only a few hours in the house,Lucinda felt as though she had been pushed to her physical breaking point.
Come dusk,Lucinda was a tattered,exhausted wreck. She sighed in relief as the sun made it's way toward the treeline,slowly tucking itself out of sight.
"This dreadful day is almost finished" she thought to herself as she completed her last duties of the evening,preparing dinner for WIlliam. She could not keep the smile from her lips as she daydreamed of being safe in her husband's arms,their son playing nearby.
"What are you smiling about witch?!?!?" WIlliam barked,breaking through her pleaseant thoughts. "I do not see anything for you to be happy about,you have done absolutely nothing today! Nothing at all!" His tone escalated to a fevered ptich. "You are worthless,usless! I should wipe that smile off of your face once and for all!"
"Master,I apologize." Lucinda started to explain herself in hopes he'd have mercy on her,but it only fueled his anger even more.
Her pleading was interrupted by William's hand,slapping her across the face with such force he knocked her to the ground. On the way to the floor,Lucinda struck her cheek on the corner of the kitchen table. Blood began dripping from the fresh wound onto the floor below her.
"Why are you bleeding on my floor?" William's tone again rose as he glared at Lucinda,who stooped helplessly on the floor holding her face,trying to stop the blood. She knew this time was not going to fair well. His anger was like none she had encountered before. The intensity of his hatred toward her had reached it's breaking point. "I am sick of you woman!" he reeled, "I don't even want to see your face again!"
William grabbed at Lucinda as she tried to crawl away from his grasps. He took hold of her wrap,pulling out away,her long dreadlocked hair falling around her face and back. Again,she tried frantically to escape her master's wrath.
"Don't run from me witch!" He reached down,taking a handful of her long hair in his hands and began pulling her across the floor in the direction of the back staircase.
Up the stairs and into the kitchenette,Lucinda cried hysterically the whole way. William continued to drag her through the cold dark room into a closet,then up another flight of stairs to the house's monstrous attic. The attic that had always frightened Lucinda,ever since she had started working in the house. The attic that had never frightened Lucinda more than it did at this moment. Her fears became all too real as she was dragged across the giant room towards the back window.
Chains hung from the crossbeams in the ceiling. The sight of them sent Lucinda into a panic.She struggled with all of her might to break free of William's grasps and succeeded,but only for a moment. He quickly grabbed her again,this time around her waist,hoisting her up like she were a sack of rubbish. He carried her back over to where the chains hung,strapping her wrists to them with thick leather bands. He pulled a large hunting knife from his boot,shredding the back of her dress into pieces.When he was finished,he abruptly turned away and left the room.
Terrified,exhausted,face still bleeding from the fall,Lucinda waited helplessly hanging from the chains that bound her. The cir5culation slowing drained from her hands as she waited,wondering what was to become of her.
"Is he just to leave me here?" she thought to herself,all the while dreading the answer. An answer that came far too quickly.
William returned a few moments later,leather whip in hand. He bagan lashing wildly at Lucinda's naked skin. She could feel the blood begin to run as she screamed in agony,begging her master to have mercy on her for the sake of her child.
"Your child?" he screamed, "did you show mercy to my children? No! You didn't! You don't deserve mercy!"
He was absolutely relentless with his fury. Lucinda could feel herself growing more and more lightheaded as the blood continued to flow. To the point of near unconciousness,William beat the girl. All the while,looking in from where they stayed in the slave quarters,Lucinda's terrified family watched as the torture escalated.
William walked away,leaving the torn woman hanging,bleeding extensively,slipping in and out of conciousness for more than an hour. By the time he returned to pull her down,almost every drop of blood from her body had seeped it's way onto the hardwood floor below her. Panicked and angered,William pulled Lucinda's hands from the chains. Her body slumped lifelessly to the floor. William screamed with fury toward the dead woman at his feet.
"How dare you!!!! Die on me!!!"
He went to the far end of the attic,retrieving a blanket which he laid out on the floor. He pushed her into the blanket,wrapping her up and carrying her down the stairs and outside the the grounds where he loaded her onto the back of his horse and made way toward the slave quarters. He rode right up to the front door of the shack she called home and pushed her body from the back of the horse,then went on his way back up to the main house.
Lucinda's husband came from the house,unwrapping the blanket to find the woman he loved tortured,dead. He lifted her into his arms,rocking her back and forth as if to try and comfort her in this time of pain. Her mother ran out of the home,hysterically screaming in the direction from which William and come and gone. Overwhelmed with anger and grief,she muttered under her breath a curse upong the man who had so viciously murdered her only child.
"He will not get away with this," she vowed to her son-in-law and to herself, "I will make sure of that!"
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JusHeather☥
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Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:05:27 GMT -5
A piercing scream ripped through the empty hallways of Sonnier-Monroe Manor. Kira McIntyre,along with everyone else in the home rushed toward the sound coming from her sister's room. Vada sat straight up on her matress on the floor of her dark bedroom.,covered in sweat,screaming uncontrollably.
"Vada! What happened?" Kira rushed to her sister's side. "Why are you bleeding? What happened?" she grabbed her sister's right arm looking for a source of the blood she's seen not only there,but on the same side of Vada's face as well. "Did you do this? Vada.....did you do this?"
Vada sat,almost in a trance,staring blankly into nothing. Kira shook her violently,snapping her back into focus. Vada pulled away from her sister,not realizing who it was that held her arm so tightly.
"What the f**k? What.....I didn't do anything." she exclaimed, "why are you on me? I didn't......." she looked down at the arm Kira had been grasping, "oh my God......oh my God.........." panic swept over her as she frantically tried to wipe the blood from her arm.
"Vada don't do that!" Kira barked at her. She took her arm once again to examine it closer. After a few moments she realized that not only was there no source of bleeding on Vada's body,but even had there been it would have been impossible for her to have left that distinctive marking,a right handprint, on herself. There was no physical way she could have done it.
"Oh God Vada," Kira cried,terrified by the thought that had just crossed her mind, "there's someone here? Did someone hurt you?"
Still shaken and stunned,Vada looked around wildly,as thought trying to find the person who had attacked her. "I'm not bleeding," she muttered, "she did this to me......she.........." panic once again swept over her, "where is she? That crazy b****! Where is she?!?!" Vada fell over sideways on the bed and cried hysterically.
"Vada calm down!" Kira tried to console her sister, "You're not making any sense." she leaned over on the bed,embracing Vada, "tell me what happened. Who is she? I don't understand."
Russell,seeing the state his youngest daughter was in,had called the paramedics. By the time they arrived Kira had managed to calm Vada just enough to where she was able to talk to the medics. She also,for some reason unknown to her,took photographs of the marks on Vada's arm and face,the marks she and Vada both swore to anyone who would listen were not self inflicted. Her mind raced,trying desperately to figure out how the handprints could have gotten on her skin in such a manner. Clarke,armed with a baseball bat,had ventured up into the attic to check it for intruders but there was nothing. No one in the attic,no one in the house that didn't belong. Nothing.
"Vada sweetie,there's no one up there." he assured her as he came back down the stairs. "There's no way anyone could have gotten up there. I checked the whole room. I promise. No one is up there." he stepped over to her side as the medics were helping her onto the stretcher to take her to the hospital, "I don't know what you saw,but it's not there now."
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JusHeather☥
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Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:06:05 GMT -5
Vada Sonnier was not one for hospital,she hated them with an utmost passion. Throughout her childhood and teenage years she had spent quite a substantial amount of time in and out of them. The thought of,once again,ending up in a hopsital for people to poke,prod,and pry their way into her head brought sheer terror to her. Upon being loaded into the ambulance,the medics had to sedate her to stop her and her hysterical attempts to break free of them.
"Not again," she cried to herself, "please God,not again. I can't do this again." She turned her face away from the window as the ambulance pulled in to the hospital Emergeny Room entrance.
Once inside,just as she had suspected,Vada was examined practically from head to toe by at least 6 or 8 different people,all of whom had questions.
"Miss Sonnier,did you do anything to deliberately harm youself?" they asked her. "Miss Sonnier,we know you have a history of self-mutilation." they said.
She spent hours trying to convince them she had done nothing wrong. She had done nothing period. But all of her attempts to explain seemingly fell upon deaf ears. She lay strapped to a bed in the ER,two individuals talking behind the curtain nearby. She recognized one of the voices as that of her father.
"Yes,she's done things like this in the past. She's been hospitalized several times before." he was saying. "No,I don't think she's suicidal anymore. I know she wasn't happy about moving,but I don't think she's gone to that extreme over something so meaningless."
Disgusted by the conversation,Vada turned her head away,trying to block out what was being said about her.
The entire hospital staff was abuzz with the circumstances of her admition. It seemed no one could logically explain the blood found on Vada's person. There was no source,and the blood itself appeared to be so old it was almost degraded by the time she had reached the ER. Rumor spread like wildfire,speculation as to what may or may not have happened to her while she slept. One thing they were all in agreeance of was the fact that she was,by all their accounts,mentally unstable. After hearing her explaination of a strange,ghostly woman entering her room and taking her on a trip through time,no one bring themselves to believe anything other than the fact that Miss Sonnier was quite possibly out of her right mind.
When the early morning hours fell upon Brownstone Hospital,Vada was taken,in a wheelchair that she was strapped down into,up to the second story of the building to a psychiatrist's office for a closer evaluation of her mental state. He sat listening,taking notes,as Vada once again explained what had happened to her the previous night. The evaluation took roughly three hours,and by the time she left out of it this doctor had,for all he knew,convinced Vada that what she'd experienced was nothing more than a dream. The woman,the flashback,it was all explained away as a severe case of noctophobia,more commonly referred to as 'night terrors'. She was then sent down the hall a ways to a room where she was to spend the next three weeks,doctors and nurses monitoring her every move,listening in on her every word.
On the rainy morning she was finally discharged from the facility,Vada wanted nothing more than to go home,crawl into her bed,and never get out of it. She felt so helpless,as though she were nothing more than a joke,nothing more than something for others to look at and laugh,inquiring about her mental health casually during their coffee breaks. The feeling of shame she'd endured throughout her stay in the hospital would not shake,no matter what she did. The entire drive home,she sat in silence in the back seat of her sister's SUV. Despite Kira's attempts to make small talk,Vada remained dazed.
"The doctor said I'm fine......f**king nuts.....but fine." she thought to herself as they pulled into the long driveway leading up to the Manor.
She stepped through the front door of her home,looking around as though almost frightened of what she's see if she looked too closely.
"Vada,are you okay?" Kira asked as she stepped up behind her sister in the foyer.
"Yeah....fine." Vada lied. "I just wanna lay down. I'm exhausted,I think I need to rest." She then headed upstairs to her room,which she so dreaded entering. She loomed outside the door for a few short minutes before scolding herself for being so silly.
"Just open that damn door!" she told herself, "there's nothing in there." She pushed the door open and stepped inside her dark bedroom,immediately flipping on the lamp by her bed. She changed her clothes,put on the stereo,and climbed into the bed.
As she lay there,staring at the ceiling,a curious nag kept pulling her attention back to the attic and what she had seen. She knew it was real,she knew it had happened. The evidence was right there on the floor. As hard as she tried to divert her thoguhts,they kept racing back to the attic,the tragedy,and the man responsible.
"I wonder whatever happened to the A****." she thought to herself as she sat up in the bed. "whatever it was I hope it was long and painful."
There's an old saying,'curiosity killed the cat'. At that moment Vada Sonnier was feeling very feline. She tried again,in vain,to divert her attentions to something else but it was no use. Every ounce of her was pulling towards the attic once again,just as they had the very first time she ventured up there. She got up out of the bed,threw on her robe and headed toward the stairs located inside her closet.
"I really don't wanna go up there!" she said aloud to herself as she continued to ascend the stair into the attic.
Nothing at all had changed since the first time she had explored the room. It was still a big,dark,damp old room. The strong odor of must from the ancient furniture in the far corner nearly knocked her off her feet as she tried to get closer.
"Oh no!" she exlaimed, "no way!! I gotta go get some air freshener or I'm gonna die!"
She ran downstairs to the hallway closet and retirved a can of linen scented air freshener and a flashlight,then headed back into her room and up the stairs into the attic once again. She beamed her light in the direction of the collection of antiquities on the far end of the room and ventured forward,liberally spraying her air freshener as she walked.
"Alright,enough of that!" she laughed as she set the can down on the legde of the small window near what looked to be a wardrobe or something of that nature. Also admist the mass of dust that had accumulated over the years was a loveseat,some end tables,and a beautiful grandfather clock. "This stuff is gorgeous! I wonder why anyone would hide it all up here." She ran her finger across the surface of the wardrobe,leaving a line in the dust. "It could definitely afford to be cleaned.....ugh."
Pulling the heavy wooden doors open she discovered that the piece was fully stocked. "Weird." she thought to herself as she rummaged though a pile of linens that appeared to her to have been at least a hundred years old. On the very bottom shelf,tucked inbetween a few sheets,was what looked to be a coloring book. Several pages of painted flowers,butterflies and such all tied together with a pink satin bow.
"Oh...how pretty." she opened up the little book,looking through all the pages. When she finished,she turned it over to the back cover to find it's signature. The name Aundrea was written across the bottom of the page,along side the date April 1840. "Maybe I shouldn't be touching this!" She quickly but carefully put the delicate thing down so as not to damage it's fragile pages.
"I wonder...." she started to ask herself but then stopped abruptly. There was no need to ask,she already knew exactly who Aundrea was. "That poor baby." Tears welled in Vada's eyes as she closed the door of the wardrobe.
Opening a drawer underneath,she discovered some old coins,a pocket watch,and a newspaper dated November 1842. The headline told of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a Mr. William Monroe.
Vada gasped at the sight of the name,"That's him! Oh my God.....that's him!"
She scrambled down to the floor to retrieve the paper she had dropped,eager to read what had become of the man she had,for reasons unknown to her,grown to fear.
Doctors are still debating the cause of death in the case of Mr. William H. Monroe,34,entrepreneur and owner of Sonnier-Monroe Manor. Speculation of fowl play has arisen in the events surrounding his death
"Are you f**king kidding me?!?" Vada harped, "someone killed him. Someone killed him?" She opened up the paper,looking to read the remainder of the article,but it was missing. "Well isn't that just great! I wanna know what happened! s***....I wonder if the library keeps record of this stuff." She put the paper clipping back into the drawer,obviously disappointed by her findings,or lack thereof.
As she turned to leave she came face to face with someting she'd prayed she'd never again have to see. She screamed,dropping her flashlight on the ground. The light went dead,only the moonlight creeping in through the windows made it possible to see.
"Lucinda?" she asked in a terrifed,shaking voice. She tried to hold back her panic as the woman moved closer to her,nodding her head in repsonse to Vada's question. "What did I do to you? What do you want with me?" Vada cried out to the figure in front of her. She was on the verge of hysterics once again, "why did you do that to me? What did I do to you? I don't even know you. I don't even know him!"
Lucinda glared at her,her beautiful eyes still filled with more pain than any one woman should ever have to endure.
"Answer me dammit! What the f**k is wrong with you? What did I do to you?!?!? Please....leave me alone! Please!" She slid down onto the floor,sobbing. Lucinda stood over her,looking down upon the terrified girl. She leaned forward. Vada tried desperately to get away,fearful of what was about to happen,but her back was against the wall. Lucinda leaned in close to her face,looking deeply into her eyes,and kissed her gently on her forehead. Then,as quickly as she had appeared,Lucinda was gone.
Vada sat alone on the cold attic floor,crying. So many thoughts and fears were racing through her head she could hardly bear it. She lay down on the dirty hardwood floor near the side window and eventually cried herself into a deep sleep.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:06:41 GMT -5
Warm,unrelenting sunbeams broke their way through the glass panes of the windows all around the monster of an attic belonging to Sonnier-Monroe. The striking brightness of the rays broke their way in to Vada's head,forcing her to awaken from her restless sleep. The cool morning breeze crept it's way in through the hundreds of tiny cracks and holes throughout the surroundings of the giant window overlooking the backyard. Groggy and somewhat disoriented,Vada opened her tired eyes to look around the room.
"This isn't where I fell asleep..." she thought to herself as she gazed across the room at the old wardrobe she had been rummaging through the night previous. "how the hell did I get here? I am seriously losing my f**king mind."
She rolled her eyes at herself as she started to make her way up off of the floor and towards the doorway in her closet. As she climbed to her knees on the cold hard floor she stopped dead in her tracks,almost paralyzed by fear.
"Oh dear God!" she cried out,scurring away as quickly as her weak limbs would allow. Once she felt to be safely within distance,she stopped and sat herself down on the floor. Looking back to where she had lie sleeping she was face to face with the one thing in that whole room she had chosen to ignore at all cost,the place where Lucinda had met her untimely end. She tried with all of her energy to tear her eyes away from the blood on the floor,flashbacks of that horrible night racing through her mind.
"What the f**k!" she screamed to no one at all. "This can't be happening,this doesn't happen." She sulked to the ground crying hysterically as her eyes scoured the floor leading from that horrid spot all the way to the door. "This can't be happening" she whispered to herself as she shook her head relentlessly.
When it had first been brought to the attention of the Sonnier family,the dilema at hand had been nothing more than a large,almost oval in shape puddle long since dried out and degraded. But now,sitting there by the windows in broad daylight Vada was horrified by what she was seeing.
"It's my imagination.....it's got to be," she told herself as she repeatedly closed and opened her eyes in an attempt to make what she saw go away. Her efforts,despite how relentless,were useless. It was there,in clear view,undeniable. Drag marks...leading all the way from the spot in the floor to the door to her bedrrom. Not only that but handprints,bloody handprints all the way along. It appeared as though someone had crawled across the floor and made their way out the door,onto the stairway where they changed from hand to footprints. "I really am insane." she finally confirmed to herself as she had made her way as cautiously as possible back to the entrance to her bedroom. From the top of the stairs she closed her eyes and ran wildly through the room and out into the hallway.
Just as she was emerging from her bedroom,her step-mother Sheila was leaving out of the laundry room with a basket full of clean white towels for the hall closet.
"Vada! What's wrong baby?" she rushed to her daughter,wrapping her arms around the trembling girl as tightly as she could. "Baby...are you okay? What happened?" Vada cried hysterically as she sat in her step-mother's arms.
"Russell! Hurry!" Sheila called to her husband who came running to the aid of his child,who now lay on the floor sobbing.
"Baby! Baby what happened?" he tried to get her to speak,but all she could do was cry. "Baby...it's Daddy,talk to me!" Russell looked into his youngest daughter's face,fear blatant in his eyes. Fear for her safety,both physical and mental.
"DADDY!" Vada cried,wrapping her weak arms around her father's neck. Russell scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the stairs.
"Daddy,she won't leave me alone. Please make her stop."
Russell could not hide the tears welling in his eyes as he made his way into the family room and laid Vada down onto the couch.
"Baby,everything's gonna be alright. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you,I promise." he tried his best to reassure his frightened child although deep down he was unsure himself as to what would happen to her. He'd prayed every night and day since she was a young girl that she would be able to conquer whatever demon it was she'd been fighting,get through whatever was troubling her. His prayers seemed to work,until the move. Since living in the Manor,things had gone from bad to worse for her. He sat on the floor near the couch,stroking his child's long,dark hair until she could fight it no more and fell deep into sleep.
"Is she alright?" Sheila's concern was evident on her tired face.
"This is getting to be too much.....I don't know what to do for her anymore," Russell stopped midway through his thoughts,"I can't handle anymore Sheila,it's getting too out of hand."
"What are you saying?" she enquired somewaht angrily of her husband.
"I'm saying...she needs help. She needs to be in a hopsital or something. She's obviously not right,she needs therapy....medication...something!" he exclaimed. "I can't take care of her anymore,I can't!"
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
Likes: 1
Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:07:13 GMT -5
The setting sun came peeking it's way through the drawn sheers on the French doors in the Sonnier family room. Vada sat up on the couch abruptly,grabbing her forehead in pain.
"Ugh,headache!" she murmured as she looked around the room. As her eyes focused,she saw her sister Kira getting up and leaving the room. Clarke,her brother-in-law,sat at the end of the couch near her feet.
"Hey sweetie,how you doing?" he asked,reaching out and rubbing her leg.
"I'm okay..." she replied, "I guess." Vada smiled at Clarke as she crawled across the couch to lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her,kissing her on the top of her head.
"You had us scared for a minute there!" he told her,the concern in his voice more than obvious. Vada looked up at him,his warm hazel eyes gazing lovingly back at her. She reached up,brushing back his light brown hair.
"I'm okay. I just got a little spooked is all." she assured him. "No need to call out the National Guard or anything." she joked. As hard as she tried not to,she could not help but giggle at him for being so worried.
Clarke had been the closest thing to a big brother Vada had ever had. He and Kira dated from the time they were teenagers,all throughout highschool and college. When they announced their plans to wed after 8 years of dating no one was surprised. Clarke was welcomed with open arms as part of the Sonnier family and it had remained that way ever since.
Kira returned to the room with a glass of water in one hand and two ibuprophen in the other.
"Here you go sweetie," she said,handing the pills then glass to her sister, "make you feel better. It's just Advil." She sat down on the couch next to Vada,rubbing her back, "are you alright?"
"Yeah,I'm fine," Vada told her,"I just had.....an episode. Is all. I'm fine." She looked around the room in a futile attempt to hide the fact that she was far from fine. Glancing toward the windows at the setting sun,she quickly fchanged the subject. "What time is it anyway?"
"Five thrity." Kira said after glancing at her watch.
"Geez,you let me sleep here all damn day!" Vada harped, "Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"Because you needed to rest." Clarke told her,Kira nodding her head in agreeance.
Once again allowing her eyes and mind to wander,Vada felt drawn the windows once again.
"Hey," she said,suddenly sitting up straight and preparing to get up form where she sat, "are those slave houses back there?" She walked slowly over to the French doors and pulled back the sheers.
"Yeah,I think so," Kira answered in a somewhat inquiring tone. "Why?"
"I dunno.....just curious I guess." Vada answered,her attention not moving from where it had fixed itself on the tiny buildings on the back of the property. "Have y'all been out there yet?"
"Nope! Sure haven't." Clarke stepped up behind her,pulling the sheers back even further to gaze out into the yard. "You wanna go back there or something?"
"Clarke!" Kira called to her husband, "Don't be stupid! Why would she wanna go all the way out there to look at a bunch of old run down houses?"
"I dunno! She acted like she wanted to see 'em up close or something! Excuse me!" he responded,teasingly poking his tounge out at his wife.
"Actually," Vada interrupted, "I would like to go out there..." she looked over at her sister. "If it's okay with you."
"Sure sweetie. I don't see why you couldn't." Kira told her,shrugging her shoulders.
No sooner than the words left her lips,Vada pushed past her in the direction of the stairs. She returned to the family room a few minutes later after a change of clothes. She had traded out her night shirt and shorts for a zip up hoodie and capri sweat pants. Sitting down on the couch once again to tie her running shoes,she stopped midway and gazed up at her sister.
"You're not going now are you?" Kira asked her,surprised and puzzled by her sister's actions.
"Yeah. Why not?"
"Sweetie,it'll be dark before you know it." Kira told her in her almost maternal tone, "and besides,that's awefully far away to be walking isn't it?"
"No biggie!" Vada went behind the bar and retrieved a flashlight,turned it on to ensure it worked,then headed toward the doors leading outside.
"I don't think you should go out there alone Vada." Clarke said,that more than subtle hint of concern returning to his voice.
"It's fenced in right? Private property?" She pulled open the doors and stepped out onto the deck, "Don't worry so much about me,I'll be fine." She waved to them both as she closed the door behind her and started on her way across the yard.
The sun still was on it's way out,barely visible over the towering treeline,thought it was already cold and still miserably humid outside.
"Gotta love this Louisiana weather!" Vada laughed to herself,rolling her eyes. She pulled down the sleeves on her grey hoodie and began her trek to the slave houses. She crossed the newly refinished deck onto the grounds of her backyard.
The lawn was beautifully maincured,as it should be concidering Russell had paid a pretty penny to have it done. Sheila,Kira,and Maggie had begun the task of planting flowerbeds all around the deck. Camilia bushes and magnolia trees lined the extensive landscape. Gazing up at the trees towering over her head Vada immediately understood why the early Louisianians had chosen the magnolia to be the symbol of their state,the beautifully massive blooms were everywhere,filling th air with their distinct fragrance.
She wandered on,all the way across the yard and up to the thin,winding path that cut through the trees making it's way back to the small structures in the distance. The trees were just scarce enough that Vada felt safe walking alone down the long deserted but very well worn path. The path Lucinda had walked nearly every day of her adult life,on her way to and from the manor.
A sudden chill gripped Vada's very spine as she approached the end of the path. She could feel in her soul that Lucinda was watching her,somehow.
"What does she want with me anyway?" she thought to herself, "I don't understand this s*** at all. What did I do?" That question perplexed Vada so deeply she didn't even notice she had reached her destination.
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JusHeather☥
Ensign
Golf is like sex,even if it's bad...it's still sex
Likes: 1
Posts: 414
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Post by JusHeather☥ on Jul 23, 2009 2:07:37 GMT -5
The small remains of what was once someone's home loomed in the dusky light. Very few of the structures still had the cover of a roof hanging over them,those that did were full of holes.Majority of the tiny houses frames had completely collapsed in over time,leaving nothing more than mounds of old rubble. A circle of large stones set in the middle of the homes,appearing to be a meeting place of sort. Vada imagined the families living there all gathered around a fire in the middle of the circle,laughing,enjoying each other's company.
She looked around outside for a few minutes before venturing her way toward one of the houses still standing. Though she had never been there before,the place felt so familiar to her. As though she had been there,but not in body. The strange feeling gripped her to the core. Peering into the window of the tiny shack,she saw shadows in the dim light. Beaming in her flashlight,she discovered a make-shift rocking chair sat in the corner next to a small table. Against the wall,a pile of worn fabric she assumed to have once been blankets. Aside from those few items,the house was empty. She found herself wondering once again,unable to fathom how anyone could be forced to live in such conditions.
The ever present nag in the back of her mind pulled Vada around to the side of the house. She stepped around the buliding's east wall and made the discovery she had prayed not to...a pile of stones,large and small,all set up in the form of a monument. A grave. She knew exactly who it belonged to without having a second thought. The chill had returned,this time gripping Vada all the way to the bone. She shuddered,trying desperately to shake the feeling,as she scrambled backwards away from the gravesite. On her way back around the front end of the house,she lost her footing. She tripped clumsily over her own feet,colliding with the door of the house and knocking it nearly off it's ancient hinges as she fell to the ground.
"f**k! I broke it. Good job idiot!" she exclaimed,immediately growing irritated with herself and her clumsiness. She pulled herself to her feet,trying to think of some way she might be able to repair the damage she had done. Turning around,she once again clicked on her flashlight and entered the dark little room. She found herself oddly captivated by the quaint surroundings. The rocking chair she had observed from the outside of the house was now obvious to her as the centerpiece of activity for the family who had once occupied the home.
"Worn by love," she giggled to herself. She had heard her grandmother use the term so many times in describing something that had been worn almost completely due to so much use. She ran her hand across the back of the chair,admiring the brilliant grain of the wood. The craftsmanship of the piece was most impressive. Despite being created from any random piece of scrap lumber that may have been available,the chair was truly a work of art.
Something off in the corner caught Vada's attention as she steppeda round the chair towards the window on the back wall of the house. At first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a loose baseboard due to the poor conditions on which the house was constructed and maintained,but upon closer examination she realized that her initial impression of the flaw was deceptive. Reaching down,she pulled the loose board away from the wall revealing a small hole. She beamed her light into the wall,unsure of what she might find. Something glistened as the light danced back and forth in the small space.
"Oh wow." she said to herself. She began to reach into the tiny hole before stopping herself abruptly. "Okay dumbass,what are you doing?" she silently inquired. After a few moments of fighting back and forth in her own mind over whether or not to take the chance of reaching into the small opening,her curious side won the argument and Vada stuck her petite hand into the unknown. After feeling around for a few seconds,she felt something obviously out of place. She pulled from the space tiny wooden trinket box. "How beautiful!" she said aloud as she examined the delicate thing in her hands. She sat herself cross-legged on the dirty wood floor and closely examined every inch of the box in hopes of finding a way to peek at it's contents. Just as she hoped,with a little time and a lot of persistence,the tiny box popped open to reveal what it had been keeping secret for so very long.
Vada sat,astonished by what she held in her hand. From the box she had pulled a small group of portraits,five or six of them,obviously older than she could possibly imagine. The faces in the photographs were all to familiar to her,Young Jeff and his sisters Aundrea and Sierra.
"Oh my Go...." she stopped short,tears welling in her eyes. Her mind could not wrap around the fact that she was actually holding real photos of the people her 'vision' had shown her,the people her doctors had done so much to convince her were not real. She could not help but notice how much the adorable youngest daughter Sierra reminded her of her niece Maggie.
As she sat fumbling through the pictures in a state of awe,one portrait in particular took her breath away. She knew who it was,there was no doubt in her mind of that. The woman in the photo was the lady of the house,Miss Christiana Sonnier-Monroe.
"She looks just like...." Vada gasped to herself, "just like.......me."
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