Above The Clouds

Chapter Two.

Knock Knock

Niomi and I look at each other as we hear a knock at the front door.

"Hello! Anybody home?"

"Aunt Pamela!" My sister and I both exclaim.

"Well, I don't think I've heard the two of you so excited to see me in about ten years" My Aunt Pamela says to us as she walks into the kitchen, smiling. I jump up and give her a hug. I really don't remember the last time I was this happy to see her.

"About time." Niomi replies to our Aunt while rolling her eyes.

"Well excuse me, Miss. Attitude. I do live across town and it does take a woman time to get dressed, then drive here. Now what was the rush in me coming over?" She says as she notices Mom looking at the envelope, "Oh, I see. Your Mother made you wait."

"Yes, I made them wait. You know as well as I do that they hate to wait." Mom answers.

"Mom! She's here. Can you open it now? Please!?" I was getting extremely anxious.

"Well, Serika, because you got out of bed at a decent hour this morning, AND got the mail, I'll let you do the honors." Mom replies.

"YES!" I exclaim, as Niomi crosses her arms. My Mom hands me the envelope. I jump up and stand in the front of the kitchen to make sure I have everyone's attention. I rippethe envelope open to find a blue piece of paper with cursive writing on it. This too, has a scent. I smell the letter. It smells not of flowers but of.. Rain.

"Dear Palmer Family

Have you ever imagined a place, without any crime? A peaceful place, where everyone got along? One without violence, thievery, jealousy, etc..? Many people believe that a place like this is nonsense, impossible, non existant. Well my friends, those people are wrong.." I pause my reading to look at my family. My mother looks interested, my Aunt looks puzzled, while Niomi looks like she wants to throw up. Niomi's into vampires and horror movies, love and peace just aren't her thing. I'm interested though, so I continue to read. "Over time, there are families whom live in harmony have shown love to the world around them. This peace has created a town. A town where those families can live, and not have to be surrounded by the hate of others. Your family is one of the few selected to visit this town. Not many have heard of this town or anything like it. You will not find it on any map or gps system. The only people who know of it's existence are those who receive a letter similar to the one that you a currently reading. On the back of this letter, there is a map. The only map you will find that shows where this town is located. The members of the town and I invite you to come and visit our town. We hope your visit will become a longer stay as well, but for now, we can start small. So, on August 17th, 2012 we invite you on the tour of our town. We welcome you with open arms and hope to see you on that date in

Newtonville"

I stop reading, and turn the letter over. Sure enough, there was a map. Newtonville wasn't that far from Adams. The map was done all fancy and pretty like too.

"Well, who's it from?" Aunt Pamela asks.

"It just says, "The Mayor of Newtonville, John Newton."

My family is silent. We all just kind of look at one another. What was this? Some kind of joke? Or was this place real? Was it possible for a town to live in complete peace?

"I'm not going. Getting raped is not on my list of things to do this summer. Maybe next year." Niomi announces sarcastically. Mom gives her the, "watch your mouth" look.

"Well, I say we should go. We're all big girls. We can handle this. And if something goes wrong, we'll have fully charged cell phones." Aunt Pamela announces. This is why I love my Aunt. She's always up for anything. She's not afraid of taking risks. She doesn't care what people think.

"I'm not sure, Pam. I mean, the idea does sound pretty nice but, how can we be sure that this is real? What if Niomi is right and it's just someone who wants to hurt us? I don't want to put the girls, or ourselves, at risk."

"I understand, but what if we miss out on the adventure of a lifetime?"

"Yeah, Mom. Who would sit down and hand write such a fancy letter AND map? Plus, the envelope and letter are scented. Why would someone go through all this if they just wanted to hurt us?" I ask.

We 're all silent for awhile.

"When's the tour?" Mom asks me.

I look at the letter, "Tomorrow."

My Mom looks out the window. After a few minutes, she turns to us, "Alright, we're going, all of us. Make sure to charge your cell phones tonight. Serika, make a copy of the map and letter to leave behind. That way if anything bad happens, some one can find us."

Aunt Pamela and I high-five each other. Niomi just shrugs her shoulders, "Ser, wanna go practice?"

"Niomi, I love my guitar, but that's not on my mind right now.."

"It is now."

I roll my eyes, "I'll be up in a few." When I was thirteen, Niomi was sixteen, our Dad passed away. He was shot when he was over seas in Iraq. That year for Christmas, we found gifts under the tree that our Dad had bought before he passed, my guitar and Niomi's bass. Ever since then, we spend most of our time making music, alone and together. Niomi lived for her bass. It was really all she did.

Niomi turns and goes upstairs, as I turn to my Mom, "Thank you, Mom. I'm really excited for this!" I hug her.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I just hope that nothing goes wrong.."