No Happily Ever After

Chapter 1

Onceupon recent months, in the town of Faraway, Washington, a troublesomeand unfortunate situation unfolded. Frankly, a lot of the problemsactually occurred within the shadows of the dangerous wood, justoutside of town. But certainly, many of the residents withinthe city limits of the gloomy burg also played their parts.

And hopefully, ifthere be even an inkling of justice within this dastardly strangeuniverse... Hopefully, they'll regret it, every day of theirwretched lives.

Our tale beginswith one Ms. Zoe Locke, a girl who grew tired and desperate. Everyday grew colder with the promise of a particularly harsh winter. Every day she sat pressed against the cold panes of her living roomwindow, watching the snow angrily swirl from the barren grey sky. And, every day, she hated her life more.

In particular, ZoeLocke hated her mother. At age sixteen, Zoe was left mainly to fendfor herself. Her mother managed the bills (most of the time) butoutside of that, responsibilities fell upon Zoe. If she didn't wantto live in filth, then it was up to her to clean the apartment. Ifshe became ill, it was up to her to find her own remedies. If shehad difficulties at school, she had to sort it out alone. And if herstomach growled, it was up to her to fill it.

Sometimes, shecould track down her mother, at a job, or a friend's house, or on oneof her many dates. She could convince her that she needed grocerymoney. Sometimes, she'd be given grocery money for a week.

Sadly, for a numberof years, Zoe had known she had to stretch one week of food forthree.

Zoe staredforlornly down at the street from her second story roost. She livedright down town in a tiny apartment above a decades old bakery. Theheat from the ovens and the scent of the pastries rose pleasantlyupwards. It was Zoe's one small blessing, the only thing that feltlike home in her life.

She watchedtownsfolk come and go below, hurrying to escape the cold.Thanksgiving steadfastly approached. And people below walked withbrisk steps to conduct their preparatory business. They visited thedeli to secure their turkeys and hams. They passed in and out of theoffices of lawyers, accountants, and the newspaper to get ready fortheir extra day off. They briefly paused to exchange pleasantriesand polite smiles.

She wished that oneof them, any of them, would cast an upward glance and notice herthere watching.

But no one did. Noone ever did. She doubted a single soul knew she lived up there. Orif they did, they certainly did not care.

Zoe dragged herselffrom the window seat and sulked to the bathroom where she stoodbefore the mirror. Her blue eyes appeared sunken, lacking any sortof sparkle or life. Her cheeks were hollow as she was far too thin. Her lips were pale and chapped. And her hair. Oh, her hair; itdisappointed her most of all. Her long golden locks hung limp andstringy, as she had been out of shampoo for quite some time, andwashed it only with water. Zoe's hair should've been such abeautiful thing, yet, like everything else, it had fallen into shabbydisrepair.

And nobody noticed.

Staring pensivelyinto her own sallow face, Zoe Locke decided once and for all, thatshe must be invisible. Which was awful. Except that, invisiblepeople could do remarkable things; wasn't that so?

With a rare smile,Zoe decided to test the theory.

***

The next morning,Zoe waited until ten a.m. to go to school. She wanted to see if theschool would call when she didn't show up. She slept late; sheprepared herself for the day leisurely, munched on some stale toast,and read a library book. The school did not call.

After a leisurelystroll to school, she strolled in the gigantic front doors of FarawaySenior High and down the center of the main hallway. It was emptyand quiet outside of the low drone of classes in progress up and downthe long bright corridor. She walked slowly and peered intoclassroom after classroom. Not a single glance was cast in herdirection. Zoe smiled.