The Beginning of the Blakes' Adventures

Chapter One: It All Begins Now

 It was nearly six o'clock in the evening when all the commotion began. In a small town in Massachusetts, named Kellerson, something was wrong.

In the small town of Kellerson resided the Blake family. Mr. and Mrs. Blake had been married nearly twenty years, and had three children. They had just told the kids of a change that had been set before them. The family had to leave. Kellerson was one of the more poor towns in the state. The economy was poor and good jobs were becoming scarce. The Blakes did not have any relatives who lived near, or had enough room. Things had become desperate, so the Blakes would be leaving to Europe to stay with their cousins until they were able to solve their predicament.

 When Mr. and Mrs. Blake told the children of their situation, it seemed to be going well. The oldest of the three, Charlie, had noticed the economic changes occurring in Kellerson and the surround towns, and knew that whatever his parents decided would be for the best. Plus, Charlie would look forward to seeing his cousin William. The youngest, Ava, was thrilled with the idea; she found Kellerson rather boring and she loved it whenever people had accents, and was always quite amused if she heard one. However, the second oldest, Mel, didn't like the idea in the least. Mel loved Kellerson's simplicity and had many friends there, and she didn't want to be stuck with her annoying cousin Abigail for who knew how long. No matter what Mel said or did, she couldn't convince anyone that staying was the better option.

After Mr. and Mrs. Blake finished discussing it with their children, Mel stormed out of the house. Mrs. Blake went to talk to her, but was stopped by her husband's strong arm, and his soft voice saying, "She's just blowing off steam. She'll calm down." Mrs. Blake nodded, and went to her bedroom to do some research before their departure to Europe. Everyone returned to their own rooms, everyone except Charlie. Charlie stepped outside, a cool evening breeze blowing across his face, and waving his shaggy brown hair to the side. He walked a block or two around his small neighborhood, but couldn't find Mel. He sat on the side of the rode, trying to figure out where Mel could be. An idea dawned on him. Not at all sure if he was right, Charlie started to walk to the old field.

 Charlie walked for a few miles, and finally found himself standing at the remains of the old burned down orchard. He saw Mel a few yards away, but takes some time to look at his surroundings. The old orchard was dead. A few trees were green again, but the rest had fallen, died, or were broken. The place looked like a worthless place, nothing of beauty anymore.  It seemed like the sun hid from this place, leaving it dark and cold. Charlie could still smell that faint smell of the fruit tree that once flourished. He began to walk to Mel, being careful of his steps and trying to be silent. He reached Mel, softly putting his hand on her shoulder. She shook with surprise, then calmed, seeing that it was her brother.

 "Mel," he started.

 "How can they do this to us?" Mel said, nearly a whisper from her frustration. Charlie put his arm around Mel's shoulder, and said, "It'll be alright." Mel pushed his arm away.

  "I'll be stuck with Abigail..." She said through her teeth.

 Charlie sighed, "And what's wrong with Abigail?"

 Mel looked at him for some minutes before replying, his eyes seemed to be imploring her. She sighed.

 "We just— have never gotten along... even being around her, I just feel angry."

 Charlie smiled at her, which she felt was like mockery.

 "You're laughing at me!" She stood angrily.

 "No," Charlie said, keeping his steady gaze on her, "We'll be fine," he hugged Mel, even though she gives no response to it. "We'll all be together."

 Mel sighed; "You're right."

  Charlie sat next to Mel, both leaning against a big old stump. "Ah, I remember this place," Charlie said, looking at Mel.

 "It was our favorite place in the world." Mel's face brightened.

  "Yeah, we'd come here all the time; since all those jerks at school were their own thing, we'd always do stuff together. I think it's better, anyway."

She sighed with a smile. They sat in silence for a few moments, each on a different train of thought.

 Charlie broke the silence, "Hey, it's almost eleven o'clock... we should probably go back." Mel's face looked obscure, as if she were between feeling confused and feeling angry; as if the thought of going home was simply incomprehensible.

 It had been three days of packing and saying good-byes. At first the Blake family seemed to be doing quite well, but as seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, and hours turned to days, the Blakes began to feel stressed and nervous about the move.

 The move was nearly two weeks away, so Mr. and Mrs. Blake thought a few days at the old beach house might brighten the family's mood. The Children were thrilled and hurried to find some of their things that weren't already packed up. Once they got everything together they headed to the beach house.

 The sun was setting over the waters which created a beautiful sunset; the golden reflection set over the waves. The smell of salt water filled the air, and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore seemed to echo across the beach.

 As the Blakes climbed out of the car, they each stretched their tiresome limbs and marveled at the beautiful sunset over the ocean. Charlie was the first to step forward. He took a deep inhale and said, "It's just as I remembered," And with a smile, he grabbed his things and headed towards the beach house. The two girls quickly followed Charlie towards the house, quietly talking to one another. Mr. and Mrs. Blake trailed behind, walking together side-by-side, hand-in-hand. Mrs. Blake turned and said to Mr. Blake, "It was right for us to come here, wasn't it?" Mr. Blake simply smiled at her, and they headed for the beach house.

 The next day everyone got on their swimsuits and Mr. Blake and Charlie gathered their fishing tack. Mrs. Blake busied herself getting things ready for an afternoon picnic. When everyone was finally ready, they went to the beach. It took quite some time walking up the beach until they finally found a good spot.

 The Blakes swam until they could no more. The tide was strong that day, exhausting them all the more.  Soon they stopped to have their picnic. When everyone had eaten themselves full, they began to chatter about their past visits to the beach house, and how they would all miss their small town in Massachusetts. Before long, the children were ready for more fun, so Mr. Blake found them a good spot so they could fish. Charlie helped teach Mel and Ava. All the Blakes agreed that Ava needed some practice after she caught her dad's hat and threw it to the birds, caught Charlie in the line, and screamed the first time she saw a fish. The Blakes didn't catch any fish that day, but nonetheless, it was wonderful.  

 The time seemed to fly by for the Blake family and before they knew it, they had already been there four days. It was time to go home and make the final preparations for the move. Reality seemed to catch up with the kids and they remembered that they would be leaving their home for quite some time, maybe permanently.