Spirit of the Weeping Willow Swing

Prologue

The year is 1912. My name is Lunette. Lunette Faye Madison to be exact. I have long black hair, flowing a little past my waist. I'm a petite girl, but I have medium-sized breasts and curvy hips. My eyes are purple with a hint of gray. Like a softer hue of violet. The townspeople say I have an angelic face with the skin of porcelain. Basically, I get compared to a doll all the time. I always ask my father why he and my mother gave me such a ridiculous name. His response is always "It's because you're our 'little moon fairy', sweet pea."

My father recently got married to a horrible woman. Her name is Cordelia. She's always saying how much she hates me when my father isn't around. When he is she acts like we are best friends. It makes me sick to my stomach. I know she only married my father for his money.

My mother died while giving birth to me, so my father has been alone for 17 years. I understand that he is lonely, but I wish he would have married a kind person. Instead, I got stuck with a 'step monster'. The thing I don't understand is she's actually quite beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, she's the ugliest being alive.

Our head butler says she hates me because she's jealous of my beauty. I always giggle and tell him to get his eyes checked. I personally don't think I'm anything special, but the whole town seems to disagree. Always gossiping about me, saying things like 'Her beauty far surpasses any young lady I've ever seen.' Or 'It's like God sent her from above, like an angel to entertain our eyes.' I always roll my eyes at that remark. My father says I look just like my mother did.

When my 'step monster' or the townspeople start to annoy me, I take a walk up to the top of the hill. This hill overlooks the town. It has a beautiful weeping willow, with a rope swing on it. It's my favorite place in the whole world. I can lose myself in the beauty that unfolds up there. I especially love nighttime; the main reason is the moon.

Years ago, I started to understand why my name means 'little moon fairy'. My father told me when I got older, my mother loved the moon too. It made me happy because now when I look at it, I feel more connected to her. The 'step monster' hated when my father and I spoke about my mother. As if it was a bother to her.

Tonight, as I gaze up at the moon, I start to sense like something bad was going to happen. I dismiss the possible impending doom and continue to admire the magnificent full moon. After a couple of hours I started to get sleepy, so before I could doze off on the swing I got up and snuggled against the weeping willow. I started to drift asleep when suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.

"Such a stupid child, always gawking at that damn moon." "I recognize that voice," I said in a questioning tone. I quickly turned around, and I was right. Standing not even 2 feet away was the 'step monster'. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "What do you want Cordelia?" I said, sounding annoyed.

"Is that any way to speak to your stepmother?" she said as if shocked. "I merely came to wish you goodbye." as a cruel smile crept on her face. "Goodbye? What do you mean? Are you leaving?" I asked, confused. "No, silly twit. You are." She answered in a matter-of-fact tone. I started to back away in fear, but it was too late. Cordelia pulled out a pistol and shot me in the chest 5 times.