𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐄 • 𝐏. 𝐌𝐀𝐗𝐈𝐌𝐎𝐅𝐅

I

September 14, 1966
Woodstock, Vermont

In a small town in a small state, there sat a small house. In that small house, a girl sits lazily on a couch, softly stroking her cats coat. Cartoons were blaring on the television in front of her, but she had been ignoring it for the past few minutes. She was more worried about where her mother, Cheryl Pine, was located. Her mother was supposed to be at the house ten minutes ago, and if ten minutes had passed they would have gone to the store to buy new clothing.

Valerie lazily stared at the cat, the television, the clock, anything to keep her mind off of her mother's whereabouts. But with the more time that had passed, the more anxious Valerie grew. She began to play with her fingers nervously, twirl her fingers through her hair. Eventually, she had looked up at her clock that sat in between the dining room and the living room, and it seemed as though someone unscrewed the back of it and was turning it on its own. She looked at it strangely, and then watched the view outside of her window. The sky seemed to be getting darker and darker as the seconds passed.

Valerie heard footsteps from outside the front door, and excitedly turned around to stare at it, hoping it was finally her mother to bring her shopping. But it was only her father, Leonard Pine, at the door. Valerie looked at her father quizzically, wondering why he was home so early.

"Hey, Val. Did Mom not bring you shopping? Where is she?" Her father asked, confused as to why she was sitting alone in her house, the television still noisily on.

Valerie simply shook her head. "Momma never came home. I'm worried about her." Her father simply shook his head and muttered some things about young girls and their imaginations. Valerie hopped off the couch and turned off the annoying cartoons, and walked upstairs to her small bedroom. She rifled through her wardrobe, carefully picking out clothing to wear to sleep.

Once she finished dressing, she walked downstairs to find her father preparing dinner. She silently walked up to him and helped him with the meal, putting plates, glasses, and utensils out on their small table. She stared up at the clock again. Still, her mother was not home. She turned and looked at her father, his hands slowly cutting some vegetable unknown to Valerie. She heard the door softly creak open, and there her mother was, in all her old but beautiful glory. She smiled and ran up to her, letting her embrace her despite the wet coat she was wearing.

"Sorry I'm late, the roads were heavy with cars today." She smiled warmly, letting go of the embrace her and her daughter were in. She looked up from the child and saw her husband. She carefully slipped off her shoes and walked up to him, gently kissing him on the lips and giving him a small hug.

When the dinner was served, Valerie ran to sit in her seat, eager to tell her parents about what had happened with the clock and the cartoons. Her mother sat down next, gently sitting down in her seat as Valerie's father followed.

As they began to eat, her mother decided to spark some conversation. "So, anything entertaining today, Val?" Her mother and father would call her the name every now and then, and it would put a smile to her face every time.

"Yeah, actually." Valerie stuck her fork into her meal. "Today, when I was watching the television, I started to worry, because momma wasn't home. I notice it getting darker outside, so I look up at the clock and see its moving quicker than usual. And then dad just walks in like it wasn't 3:47!"

Her parents suddenly stop eating, and looked at each other quizzically. They seemed to have a mind-reading conversation, because then they both looked at the girl.

Her mother placed her hand on her daughter's, gently rubbing the top of it with her palm. "Val, you're gonna go somewhere tomorrow. Somewhere special. Would you like that?" Valerie didn't respond, looking between her two parents as her dad nodded along.

"I guess, sure. But where?"

"Some place where.." Her mother paused, trying to find the right words. "They'll teach you that what you did, how special it is and how you can use that to do good things. Do you want to do good things?" Valerie nodded.

Her mother continued, "Good. You can go upstairs if you'd like. Pack a few things. We'll leave tomorrow to send you there."

Valerie obeyed her mother, slightly jumping out of her seat to reach the floor. She walked up the stairs slowly, trying to hear the indistinct voices of her parents. She eventually gave up. Going upstairs to pack her few things that she owned. When she was pushing down on her suitcase, she heard a knock on her door. She muttered a "come in" and her dad entered her room. He softly sat down on the bed and stared at her, not knowing the next time he sees her after tomorrow.

"It's time for bed, all right? When you wake up, we can get breakfast from that place you like. And then we leave. Got it?" Valerie nodded her head and placed her suitcase on the floor. She crawled into her bed and under the covers. Her dad softly kissed her forehead and exited the room. Not long after, her mother entered. She had obviously been crying, Valerie noticed. She kissed her daughter's forehead and stared at her eyes. She sniffled, and exited the room. Valerie went to sleep like it was a normal Tuesday, unaware of what was going to happen in the morning.