Finding My Yellow Brick Road

Chapter Two - Munchkinland

GABRIELLE? GABRIELLE? OH, please wake up, Gabrielle! Please don't be dead!" My cousins' voice rattles around in my head.

I groan as I sit up. "My name is Baby." It's ironic, actually. She's the one who gave me that nickname. When she was little, she couldn't say Gaby, which was my nickname at the time, so she said 'Baby', and it kind of stuck. I was seven when she was born, so of course, I remember everything. Because of our age difference, my mama always wanted me to protect Dorothy, and I've always taken that very seriously.

She sighs and sits back on her heels. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought you were dead."

"Ah, yeah, I noticed." I put my hand to the back of my head, and it comes away bright red. My head starts pounding and I see stars. I inhale sharply through my teeth. "That hurt like hell. You good, cuz?"

Dorothy laughs incredulously. "Am I okay? You're the one who cracked your head open on a rock!"

I turn around, and sure enough, there is a rock protruding from the ground, red with my blood. "Huh. I guess I did."

"Look at you, you're all banged up." She gingerly takes my arm and pulls it into my line of sight. It's covered in bruises and scratches; I look at my other arm, same thing. If I were to pull up my pant legs, I'm willing to bet they look much the same as well.

"But you? Not a scratch on you?" I ask, waving her off.

"No, Gabrielle, I'm fine. You're always worried about me," my cousin smiles, gently tugging at one of my curls.

I blink at her. "My name is Baby. You know this."

"Well, actually, your birth certificate says–"

"Well actually," I repeat mockingly, "your birth certificate–shut up!" I shove her face away, and get up, before reaching out to her to help her up too. "You're the one who named me Baby." I lean against the house, which fortunately fell right next to us.

She groans. "For the last time, it was a mistake!"

I look her up and down. "You know what, City Girl? You were a goddamn mistake."

"You and I both know that's not true. You, on the other hand?" She says, grinning maliciously.

"Yeah, all right, whatever. You know what else? Silence is golden. Duct tape, on the other hand, is silver. Take your pick" I know my parents didn't want kids. Once I was born, my daddy changed his mind, but I'm not one hundred percent sure that my mama did. Sometimes I feel like she treats me as another one of her helpers.

My cousin gulps and changes the subject. "Well, listen, I've looked around a little, and I don't know what part of Kansas we're in; I've never seen it before." She looks around and I follow her lead.

"Ay yo, cuz, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Dorothy looks at me, eyes wide, then starts screaming. "Aunt Em!"

"Hey, hey, Dorothy–" I try calming her down.

"Aunt Em, where are you?"

"Yo, look at me–"

"AUNT EM!"

"Aunt Em?" A voice repeats, skeptically.

My head jerks to the side, looking for the voice.

"Aunt Em?" Dorothy asks hopefully.

"Aunt Em?" The voice says again, as though asking who that is.

"Who's saying that?" My cousin asks, frightened, looking to me for help.