Hooked

Chapter 1

        “Clara! Clara!” Wendy laughed as I looked up from my book. She had her usual white nightgown on, but tonight she was dressed up as a pirate as well. Not surprising considering tonight was story night. Every Friday evening, Wendy would tell our little brothers John and Michael all sorts of wonderful stories. There were stories about adventure, glorious battles, and of course, pirates.

          “Yes?” I smiled, knowing what she was about to ask.

          “Please be in our story. Won’t you play with us?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. Wendy was only twelve, but she had the creative mind of someone who’s lived for hundreds of years.

          “Pwease! Clara!” Michael, the youngest, said as he clung tight to his beloved teddy bear.

          “Oh, alright,” I agreed with a sigh and stood up. Needless to say I was a little too old for playing dress up, after all I was twenty-seven years old; however, I still loved playing with my little siblings.

          The three of them celebrated as John, the middle child, went to grab a costume for me. Who knew what the story was going to be. I could get lucky and simply be forced to play the damsel in distress destined to be saved by the brave nine-year-old John, or I could be doomed to play the notorious Captain James Hook.

          Hook was the villain that haunted most of Wendy’s elaborate stories. Every time he would be defeated by one of her brave heroines. When Hook first came into play, I was startled. How could a twelve year old come up with such a horrifying man? A man whose left hand was sliced off and now a silver hook sat in its place. A character so maniacal…where does a little girl come up with a character such as Hook?

          Michael came up to me holding the familiar red coat, curly long wig, and hanger to be held. Hook it was.

          “Give it up, Girlie!” I yelled with wooden sword in hand, pretending to have Wendy in a trap. We had been playing for about half an hour, John and Michael now stood by my side as fellow pirates around Wendy.

          “Who be you to order me about and call me Girlie?” Wendy spat back and lunged at me with her “sword”. We all laughed as I dramatically fell to the ground due to my newly acquired battle scar.

          I heard the door to the nursery open as my mother walked in. Her elegant composure was still beautiful, even in her old age. Nana, our nurse dog, followed in closely behind her. My mother had always laughed at us having a dog for a nurse, but my father however believed that Nana brought horrible gossip about the family. Everything had to be proper with him. He’s the reason why I still lived with my family. I made the mistake of telling my father about my dream of traveling the world. His response was just shy of pure disbelief. “Travelers are NOT highly thought of in good society,” was his only calm sentence on the subject. He forced me to stay with them, but I will always dream of traveling to a different place.

          “Hello Mother,” John said as he went to hug her.

          “Hello, it’s getting late. You all need to go to bed,” Mother said. John and Michael of course complained, but Wendy and I both were ready for bed. I said my goodnights to everyone and walked out to my room, still hearing the boys whine.

          When I reached my room, I walked toward the seat next to my window and sat down. My eyes searched the stars desperately. Every night it was the same. At about nine o’clock, there would be a shooting star. Every night I watched it fly across the sky. It was clockwork. It always followed in the same direction. In the sky, there were two stars much bigger than the others. The shooting star would always rush to the second start to the right.