52 SIERRA

"Remember what I said? Always act sweet and proper so that everyone will like you." The little girl nodded at the woman who was in her thirties, who was sternly gripping both of her shoulders. To avoid being reprimanded, the little girl could only squeeze her lips together and nod. "And everything I taught you." Her mother then added.

"Now tell me your name." The tiny girl's gaze wandered across her small, pink-furnished bedroom. 

She was just seven years old and had no idea why she had to wear a pink tutu dress with a ribbon around her neck and around her waist. She had no understanding of why her mother had brought her to a residence so far away from them and wanted her to have a different name and personality. All she knew was that this was her job and she had to do it because if not, she would receive another punishment that would surely break her bones.

"Tell me your name." Her mother's voice always sent shivers down her spine, it woke up her senses.

She and her siblings had always been perplexed as to why their mother treated them so harshly and coldly, but how easily they softened when their mother praised them whenever they did well.

A loud roar echoed around the room as her mother smacked her across the face. Allison burst into sobs, and her mother quickly found a piece of tissue paper and pressed it tightly against her face, causing her to cry even more because of the pain it caused.

"I told you not to cry!" Allison's mother screamed at her; Allison never stopped weeping, which enraged her mother. Her mother grabbed her arm and drew her near to the vanity mirror, pulling her chin up and forcing her to look in the mirror.

"You are no longer Allison, but Susie! We've been practicing for three weeks! You have the most beautiful looks of your siblings, but you are the dumbest!" Allison's mother snarled angrily, her eyes bursting out in frustration. "This is your first duty to make your mother proud, yet you're already failing me before you even begin!"

Allison shook her head several times as her tears never stopped streaming. "Please accept my apologies, Mama!" Allison cried, crossing her fingers in front of the mirror and staring at her mother's reflection. "I'll give my all!"

Her mother rolled her eyes in the air, till she felt her mother's nails sinking deeper into her flesh, causing her to yelp in pain. Her mother knelt above her level and whispered in her ear.

"Susie Ferron is your name, and you are seven years old. Dahlia is your mother's name, and she works as what?"

"She's a pediatrician." Allison whispered in a trembling voice.

"And why did you and your mother move in here?" Allison took a breath as her eyes started to flutter as she tried to remember the backstory her mother had told her about Susie Ferron.

"Because my father passed away and we are moving on from his passing."

"We want to start over, and Cazuelo Town is the perfect spot for us to do it, especially for my broken mom." Her mother's brow wrinkles had faded slightly when she answered correctly but she remained strict to her.

"What do you like to do for your pastime, Susie?" Her mother asked in a very sweet yet stern tone of voice.

"I enjoy drawing and pretending to be a chef because it piques my interest every time I see my Mom cook."

"Can you tell me about your favorite fruits and vegetables?"

"Strawberries and lettuce," she responded quickly.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Susie." Her mother gave her a warm smile and stroked her ginger curly hair. But it wasn't comfortable, but it only added to her fear.

"My father is Irish, which is why my hair is ginger. I am an only child, and I am a lovely person who enjoys making new friends. When my mother doesn't want me to play outside, I get stubborn at times; after my father's death, it was difficult for me to stay indoors since I could only see his face in frames, and I couldn't stop thinking about our memories, which would make me cry. My mother does everything for me, yet I can't help but feel sad at times because she is often away from work, it always makes me lonely. She kept herself busy in order to forget about her heartbreak. Allison's teeth were chattering, but she was pleased with herself for saying those things without faltering or forgetting them."

"Remember to always be reserved and just speak about yourself when asked. Never, ever say too much; instead, always be kind and sweet. Be cautious when speaking, or else..." Her mother was glaring at her in the mirror. "You already know what will happen if you fail me."

"I know mama." Allison muttered.

"Good job." Those were the only kind words their mother could say to them. 

She wished she could hear her mother say it to her all the time, but she only heard it when her mother praised her siblings.

Allison is the youngest in their family, and she only got her first name three weeks ago when her mother prepared her for her job. She was only referred to as number 'four' before, and she honestly believed that was her real name not until her sisters had gotten lovely names and was stopped calling numbers by their mother. Ever since that day, she hoped she could get one too, but now that she had one, her euphoria vanished in an instant, since she realized that having a name entails the obligation to lie about yourself and to others.

Allison had four siblings from separate fathers, and they lived in a modest house in Desorten Mills. Allison never met her father; she grew up in a household where toughness was required since failure to do so would result in punishment. It was nothing out of the ordinary for Allison and her siblings. However, as they attended different schools and met children who were similar to them, with loving parents and families, they began to wonder if they were simply different from them or there was something wrong with the way they do things under their house.

Allison, at the age of seven, she had to toughen herself in order to fulfill the task of pretending, as well as her siblings. She didn't understand why she had to do it at the time, but her mother's happiness was very important to them.

"Now go, befriend that ugly little child, and try your hardest to tame them." Her mother told her. Her mother spun her around to glance out the window and see the little girl named Nathalia who was busy watering their front yard.

Allison took a deep breath before grabbing a tissue from her mother's hands and wiping away her tears. Her mother gave her cheek flushes, and freshen her face, and she was finally set to go.

From that moment, she went out of the unfamiliar front door of a house, she embraced a new personality and life with a fictional girl named "Susie Ferron" that her mother had just made up and she had to do it justice from playing it right. 

Allison now understood why her siblings were usually away and would return home with unfamiliar faces. And she was now starting to think about why her mother had hundreds of papers and books piled up in a room of their house.

Allison was overjoyed to smell the air and grass around her for the second time, because she had spent her entire life shut up in their basement bedroom while her older siblings were out. She used to wonder why her siblings hated getting out of the house and finally going to school, but now she knows why.

"Good morning!" Susie waved her hand in the air as she descended their stoops. Susie's other hand is held around a basket of strawberries; she wanted to make sure that when it came to making friends, she would be remembered as this sweet little Susie with a huge bright smile.

When Nathalia understood that Susie was speaking to her, she looked up from watering their front garden and waved her hand back.

"Hello!" Nathalia yelled back, dropping the watering can and sprinting over to Susie's house, which stood right in front of theirs. Susie strolled gracefully, holding the basket of strawberries with aplomb.

"I'm Susie Ferron, and we just moved in here yesterday." Susie began when Nathalia approached her. She was much taller than Nathalia, and her mother was right about Nathalia, because she was a lively and sociable girl like her.

Susie held out the basket of strawberries to Nathalia, whose eyes quickly twinkled in excitement. Of course, Susie's mother was aware that Nathalia and her mother adored strawberries; she had observed them visiting marketplaces solely to purchase fresh strawberries.

"My mother asked me to give you that; we have a lot of boxes of strawberries, and we truly enjoy them, we also want to share them with our neighbors." Susie chuckled slightly, covering her mouth with her palm like a princess while looking around their neighborhood. 

It was still early in the morning, and there were tiny kids and other people in their front yards, but Allison's mother didn't want anything to do with them. They were solely interested in Nathalia and her mother, who came from an affluent family in the neighborhood.

"Really?! This is also one of our favorites!" Susie winced as Nathalia squealed, but she quickly erased it from her expression. "Oh, we also have a gift for you, but my mother is still working on it. We are delighted to have you here." Nathalia went on, still flashing her teeth.

"Nathalia, where have you gone?!" They both turned to gaze at Nathalia's yellow house, where Grace, Nathalia's mother, was waiting for her on the front porch; Grace stopped when she noticed Nathalia talking to a new neighbor. Her lips formed a smile on their own.

"Hello, sweetheart, Are you the new neighbor?" Grace walked right over them. Susie smiled, respectfully bowed down, and nodded in response to her query.

Nathalia swayed the strawberry basket towards her mother. "See, Susie gave us strawberries, Mom." Grace, like Nathalia, was overjoyed when she saw the basket filled with strawberries.

"Oh! Thank you so much!" Grace exclaimed.

"My name is Susie Ferron, Ma'am." Susie introduced herself properly.

"What a lovely name you have; it complements your lovely face." Grace couldn't take her gaze off Susie. Susie had these stunning hazel eyes and wavy hair that drew everyone's attention. 

"My name is Grace Young, but you can call me Ms. Grace if you want." 

Susie had learned a lot about the Young family in just a few weeks, despite her young age. It's all thanks to her mother.

"And my name is Nathalia, and I apologize if I forgot to introduce myself because these strawberries captivated me."

"Oh, we adore strawberries a lot." Grace declared triumphantly.

"And Susie adores them as well!" For the time being, Allison's ears were hurting from Nathalia's squeals, but for the moment, she is Susie. Susie is kind and considerate.

"Wait, are you by yourself right now? Because when you moved in, I saw your mother. I knocked on your door in the afternoon but no one answered." Grace said. 

Susie bit her lower lip in fear; they were in the basement when they heard their neighbors knocking on their door. She wasn't ready to face them yet, so her mother chastised her for hours and never let her eat; she couldn't hit her since she was afraid others would notice Allison's fresh bruises.

"Oh, sorry, I think mom fell asleep, she was so busy at work and I was probably watching television in my room that day. I'm so sorry, Ms. Grace." Susie politely said.

Grace waved her hands, "no it's okay, I'm just hoping to invite you to dinner in our house. My mother will cook delicious food." Grace stated. Susie let Grace continue what she was saying since Susie was taught by her mother that it is rude to interrupt people who are older than her.

"My mother is inside the house right now and I know that she'll love it. It's a good thing she's free right now since she really wanted to meet everyone in our neighborhood, but because of her busy schedule she couldn't. But honestly, we enjoy making new friends." Susie said.

Grace thought she was very polite and formal for her age, in contrast to Nathalia, who was rowdy, and Susie's tutu dress caught her attention; the little girl was made up like a child from the 1950s.

"Is it okay if I leave you here for a while? I'm just going to call Mom, I'm sure she would be glad to meet you two."

"Of course, sweetheart." Grace expressed her awe by blinking her eyes open. She couldn't help but be astounded because it's rare to find a courteous child these days.

Susie bowed twice before walking quickly but properly toward their house. 

Allison sighed, her heart pounding in her chest; she had no idea how she did it. But as soon as she walked into the house and shut the door, she realized it wasn't the end of her job.

Her mother greeted her with a smile; she had no idea her mother had been listening in on their neighbor's conversation through the peephole in their door.

"Good job, Susie. Continue to make me proud." Her mother quickly tapped her on the shoulder as she exited the house.

As soon as the door closed, Allison's shoulders sagged, her shoulders heavy, as she gazed around the strange living room, feeling sad and awful for lying to their good neighbor. And she didn't understand why her mother's praise didn't make her happy anymore.

She tightened her little fists and stared up towards the ceiling, just as her eyes welled up with tears again.

This was the work her siblings had been telling her about; she now understood why they cried themselves to sleep whenever they came home and how much they wanted to just stay in the basement with her. She used to envy them because she thought they had more freedom, but she was mistaken, and all she wanted to do was go back under the basement with them as "number four."

For her, seeing the light meant experiencing the harshest things.

"Come over here, Susie, honey!" Outside, she heard her mother yelling the unfamiliar name. She embraced herself for a split second. It made her confused about how she had no idea what her mother's name was either.

Allison simply wanted that day to be over.

But little did she know that she'd lie for the rest of her life.