ALICE

CHAPTER 2- TIME TICKS FORWARD

"She looks like a drowned cat, who got drenched and whacked at the same time!" It was Charlie, who had arrived at some point, and was now looking at Sophie with amusement.

"Ouch!" Mike slapped him on his head. "Shut up, Charlie! This is not a time for jokes!" He scolded.

"It was not a joke! More of an observation, Mike." Charlie calmly pointed out.

Alice barely heard them. She was staring at her mother, who indeed looked like a drowned cat. Her grey gown was fully wet, even though it had not rained at all. Her shoulders were sagged, as if she were carrying a huge burden. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. 

Sophie entered the house, completely ignoring Alice, and went into her room, but not before she placed the envelope gently on the table.

This was not at all how Sophie usually was. Her mother was always a woman, who despite all her worries, had a smile on her face, and always had her head held high with pride. Sophie was very careful about how she looked and always scolded Alice to be the same.

"A woman must always know how to carry herself. A quality which is required in every young woman, Alice!" Sophie had always said.

Alice realized this might be one of the first times in her life that she was seeing her mother like this, and she was sure that she did not like it.

Alice was not sure what to do. Should she open the envelope or not? Surely her mother had left it there for a reason. She decided to take the risk. She had to know what was in that envelope that had shaken her mother so badly. Though Alice feared she already knew what she would find. Her friends were all staring at her expectantly. She looked at Maria, who gave her a nod of encouragement.

Alice walked up to where the envelope was and picked it up. It felt heavy in her hands. She slowly opened the envelope, which revealed a letter. It was in her father's handwriting. She recognized it the minute she saw it.

When Alice was small, the time her father used to visit, they used to spend hours writing stories. Then at bedtime, her father used to read her story, while she read what her father had written. 

Alice's eyes welled up, thinking about that now. She shook the memory off her mind and began to read,

DEAR SOPHIE,

YOU AND I BOTH KNOW HOW HARD WE HAVE TRIED TO MAKE THINGS WORK BETWEEN US, BUT SOME THINGS ARE JUST MEANT TO END. I TRIED A LOT OF TIMES TO LOVE ALICE BUT I JUST CANNOT BRING MYSELF TO. WHENEVER I SEE ALICE, SHE REMINDS ME OF A SON I COULD HAVE HAD. A SON WHO COULD TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH ME, NOT TRY AND TIE ME AT HOME. I HAD GIVEN YOU THE OPTION TO SEND ALICE SOMEPLACE FAR AWAY, AND WE COULD HAVE STARTED A NEW LIFE, BUT YOU DID NOT LISTEN. HENCE I HAVE DECIDED WITH A HEAVY HEART, TO END ALL OF THIS. TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL RECEIVE THE DIVORCE PAPERS. PLEASE SIGN THEM AND ALLOW US BOTH TO BE FREE!

EVAN.

Alice stood, shocked at what she had just read. Her father had left her mother because of her. She staggered back, almost falling.

"Alice!" It was Maria, who immediately came to her side. "Are you alright? What did it say?"

'My father hates me!' Alice wanted to say. 'He wishes I did not exist at all!' she wanted to scream, but she could not bring herself to.

Instead, she sunk to her knees and started crying. The twins gathered around her, as Maria took the letter and began to read. When she was done, she passed the letter on to Mike and Charlie. They all seemed shocked, clearly none of them had expected this.