Twisted Dreams

Chapter One

      Her squeal of delight rang out across the lawn as she gained more height on the next swing. I watched as Elsie swung her feet back with a mighty force unlike any I've seen from other 7-year-olds. She swung forward grinning, her long blonde hair streaming behind her and glowing in the afternoon sun.

      "Vee! Did you see how high I got on that swing? I almost touched the branches!" she yelled excitedly as though I wasn't just a couple feet away.

      "Yes, I saw," I responded with a chuckle.

      I glance back down at my journal to see the progress I've made on my drawing. Those who've seen my works say that I have a talent, the ability to capture real life on a paper. Yet, as I look back and forth between my real life sister and my crudely drawn version of her, I'm beginning to realize I've done her no justice.

      Unlike the person, my drawing lacks the light pouring from her smile, and the shimmer in her eyes as she gains more height with each swing, and I wasn't quite able to capture the fluidity of her hair.

      I sigh to myself knowing I'll never truly be satisfied with my artworks, and instead work on brushing up some features of hers. I sharpen the nose, and deepen the eyes a little, accentuating the features she inherited from my father. I then stare at the real version of my younger sister as she swings, marvelling at the immense differences between us despite our relation. While she received my father's slick blonde hair, I inherited my mother's thick red curls. In place of my sister's and father's sharp noses and deep blue eyes, I got my mother's thin curved nose, and brown eyes. I used to love the way I looked, an exact replica of my mother whom I always believed to be so beautiful. Now, seeing my reflection just makes me sad with the knowledge that she's gone.

      "Vee! Come push me! I'm getting tired," she whined from the swing.

    "Okay, okay," I laugh, pulling myself up from the ground in a dramatic manner, "if you insist."

      As I began walking towards Elsie, I heard the sound of an approaching carriage. By the way Elsie whipped her head and jumped from the swing, I could tell she heard it too. We held hands and raced excitedly to the house, curious of who could be coming this late in the day.

     Yet, when I heard the voice of the one that arrived, I immediately regretted my haste. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

      I slowed my pace and hesitantly peeked around the front of the building hoping to not get caught. Unfortunately, Elsie was oblivious to my plan and continued walking with my hand in tow yanking me unceremoniously in front of our newly arrived visitor.

If you're reading this, thank you! I will attempt to make edits on this every few days. I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I didn't want to jam-pack the first chapter with too much, so I'm sorry if it's starting off slow, but it's about to pick up in the next chapter! :)