Railroad Dangers

A loud explosion shook the camp grounds. Rocks tumbled down the steep mountainside on the tents below. Lily McNeil peeked out from her tent and saw the Chinese workers hurrying towards the gaping hole in the mountain. The workers hurried to clean up the ruble. The most horrifying thing was that sometimes they found a dead body. Lily shook as the thought of seeing her dear Luke dead came to her mind. She was lucky that she had convinced her parents to allow Luke to work laying the railroad tracks instead of the dynamite. Lily hurried through the crowd during that moment of peace toward the log cabin that held the one person that held her back from the future that she wanted.

As Lily entered the cabin, she was shocked to see whiskey bottles lying around everywhere. James, her fiance, sat in a chair holding his head in his hands. Lily ventured carefully over to see what was wrong. As she drew closer, the smell of alcohol grew stronger.

“James, are you okay?”, she asked quietly.

“Do I look okay?”

“No, I'll just clean the room for you.”

“Fine, just don't make so much noise.”

Lily walked around the cabin carefully picking up empty bottles and making James's bed. Bottles seemed to be everywhere. Each step made a cracking noise as the glass cracked under her weight. Hours seemed to go by as she worked tirelessly to clean the room. The stench of alcohol made her faint. Finally, she was finished. Lily hurried out of the cabin and towards the secret spot that she had with Luke.

Lily walked with a smile on her face, but that quickly disappeared when she saw her mother walking towards her.

“Hello my dear, the wedding will be soon. I hope your excited.” said her mother, Liza.

“I'm very happy, but I wish we could delay it for a year or maybe a few months.” she replied

“We have delayed this wedding for five years. You will marry him whether you like it or not”

With that, her mother stalked off towards the head cabin. Lily hurried towards the lake and sat under a tree. Pain was clearly marked on her face. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her.

“Luke, stop it.” she said.

“Well, somebody is in a bad mood.”

Luke was perfect. He was tall, strong, and extremely handsome. His dark hair and eyes made him mysterious and interesting. There was nothing wrong with him except that fact that he had no money and was Chinese. Lily pulled away from him and walked to the edge of the lake. Silence seemed to take over the moment. The water reflected the sun light making the afternoon seem serene, but it wasn't.

“Well, I have to get back to work. I'll meet you here tonight.” Luke said

Lily watched him walk away and sighed in frustration. She hated the fact that she couldn't express herself the way she wanted to. Her eyes wandered toward the lake and she thought about her only hope. In a few days, she and Luke would be gone. They would leave this camp and live together without her parents and James. She would do anything to get away from James, anything. Slowly, she got up and prepared to reenter the world of pain and chaos. As she walked away from the lake, she didn't notice the pair of eyes that were staring at her and following her from the trees.

For the rest of the day, Lily was busy trying on dresses for her wedding day that would hopefully not happen. Her mother made horrible comments about the dresses and in the end, she decided to hire a different dress maker. The torture of being stuck in that room made Lily's mood become worst than before. When it was finally time for dinner, Lily was bursting with anger. To make matters worst, she had to spend time with her fiance. It was just painful to have to spent time with him. Lily loathed his rude behavior and the smell of alcohol that was always thick in the area around him.

“Hello, Father.” Lily said quietly.

“Speak up my child, you sound like a mouse.”

“I think that her voice is fine. At least it doesn't give me a headache.” said James.

“Well, she has been very quite ever since she was engaged to you. I think it made her grow up.” replied Lily's mother.

Lily sat at the table horrified about the conversation. They felt no regret in making fun of her. They felt no fault in saying cruel thing about her even though she was there. Doing what she always did, she excused herself from dinner early and hurried to the spot by the lake that she loved so much.