THE BEGINNING

Thaddeus Carter, seven years old, stood knee-deep in the cold shallows of the river weaving his way closer to a flight of half-starved black swans. The river raced with such brute force he had to brace himself with every step he took to remain upright. Though he tried to remain calm as much as he could to avoid alerting the swans, he soon fell into the puddle for the tenth time. The resulting splash was just like it had been. He had stood upright and had continued his quest, as focused as before.

"Hey!" Thaddeus jerked from the familiar sound. "Dont make me pull you out of that water again."

His elder sister, Tonya, was sitting close-by under one of the few shades by the river with her friend Emily Anne Lucas. They sat with their backs to the river, snuggled together and giggled like a couple of high school lovers. 

Thaddeus rushed as fast as his scrawny little legs could carry him, to stay in the waters was to incur the wrath of Tonya. He knew better. With her small frame, she has the power of a sumo wrestler within her. Today wasn't the day to piss her off, not when she's busy with Emily talking about things he'd never understand. He thought to himself as he ran his hand through his hair,  shaking like his bones had become fragile and brittle. 

He was a sight to behold for his sister as she let out a burst of high-pitched girlish laughter. He kept walking, shoulders hunched, hands in pockets. His shins and feet felt numb, his shoes and clothes by one of the trees look considerably farther away than they had been just a few minutes ago. 

"I'm going home." His voice sounded more like a whisper than a shriek. The girls bursted out laughing uncontrollably again.

"You won't last a minute out there without me." Tonya said without even bothering to look in his direction.

"Very good! Just watch me." He was walking off like a man on a mission.

"Don't get lost in the woods. I wouldn't want to be the one rescuing you again."

"What?" Thaddeus pretended not to hear a single word she had said. "Bye!" He screamed again. He knew what he was doing.

Tonya glanced up. Without hesitation,  she jumped up and ran after him while Emily hurriedly packed up the remaining sandwich they had left into her bag. Within seconds, she was already catching up with Tonya.

"Just teasing you. Don't be mad, I'm sorry. You won't say none of those?" Tonya screamed after him.

"No," he increased his pace. "You can go back and play with your friend, keep laughing out there with her."

Thaddeus was too fast for her. He was even already far off, Tonya knew she wouldn't catch up with him. Unless... Of course. "Emily, can you help me out here?" She screamed.

"Thad!" Emily called.

He slowed down his pace. Her perfume, it tickled him in parts only him could understand. It was pleasant. Or was it the mere thought of her body? He soon stopped and turned, pretending to wait for them as his eyes stared intently at her, examining her: her skin, the color of hot chocolate with a splash of milk; her eyes, bright and intense... His eyes traveled down the length of her dress and suddenly felt shy under her penetrating gaze. Tonya was winking as they closed in on him, she knew.

Thaddeus smirked also, his plan worked out perfectly.

They soon meet and began walking together, their voices stopped the croacking toads in the damp corners.

And then the ringing of the Cathedrals bells drowned their voices out. The swans in the river paid no attention to these hourly chimes. The silver moon, however, took notice of the tunes of the bell and rose from behind the traveling clouds to light up the sky and send silver ripples across the Isis as the rain began to fall. 

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The Carter's home was nothing, just two rooms with a tiny kitchen and a bath, the third floor up from the street overlooking a small drug store in the West Alley neighborhood. Standing on the compact porch, you could see streams of laundry hanging from balconies and a forest of satellite dishes stretching as far as eyes could see. The streets were dotted with potholes, littered with trash, and filled with smells of burnt out cigarettes. The streets were made up of dilapidated high-rise apartment buildings with scrappy charm, a street of faded glory.  Everywhere was trash, piled high and the stench was nearly unbearable and worsening as the days passed by. The occupants of the West Alley were indifferent.

Few stray cats loitered in a nearby alleyway and birds feasted on a nearby dumpster as all sorts of businesses were coordinated along the alleyway and in the streets. 

The apartment was small, cramped, old-fashioned and dark but immaculately clean, the furnishings were worn and inexpensive, common in this side of town. The most prominent pieces were the well-kept old-fashioned couch. The walls are wood-paneled but devoid of any photograph or paintings over the door is a digital clock displaying the current time in London and Florida.

Tonya paced for a few moments in her short polka-dot gown, sandals and straw hat. She hated being made to babysit her siblings when all she wanted was to play with Emily. She wanted the fresh air; she wanted to play in the sun. This moment is always frustrating to her. 

Not wanting her mom to see or sense her agitation, she chose to sit on the recliner close to the ironing board. She folded her arms, closed her eyes and prayed for Emily to knock.

Her thoughts quickly drifted to the cartoon she had seen earlier that day, she imagined a world free and sweet. Although pretty young, she had learned early enough that life is no fancy tale. In Tonya's world, intelligence was next to godliness. She was a pretty girl but was so often serious that her habitual expression seemed to be a frown. 

Of the three Carter children, it was generally agreed that Tonya has the brains, Thaddeus has the looks and Shanice just cries her way through it all. 

She was at her best when she, Emily, and Thaddeus went off the river or the woods on some imaginary adventures.