Breathless Mannequins

Chapter 1

In the picturesque seaside town of Clarenside Sunday mornings before sunrise was one of the most serine places you could find. White sandy beaches stretched along the coast in curved lines. Rocky patches of boulders lined with bright green moss covered parts of the shore. If you were coming in by boat it looked like Greece had merged with Scotland. Fog covered the small white house’s lining the shore, stacked from the top to the bottom of the hill.

In one of those cute white wooden houses at the top of the hill, Leigh awoke to the sound of two birds chirping in a tree outside her bedroom window. She loved the sound of birds in the early morning.

When she opened her eyes, she came to realize that it was not even light out yet, glancing at the alarm clock on her nightstand she noticed that it was 4:45am. She knew that she would not be able to sleep again as the excitement of her big move had been intensifying since the night before. She tried to close her eyes and fall asleep again but after rolling around a few times, she gave up.

Slipping out of bed, grabbing her robe and slippers from the stand, she headed to her bedroom door and for a moment she hesitated before she opened it. She felt sentimental about the fact that it would be the last time she would go about her morning routine in her childhood home. She swallowed at the lump in her throat and blinked away the tears. She couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to her parents.

She made her way down the stairs to the front door, grabbed the morning paper on the porch and continued to their cottage styled, open plan kitchen and switched on the coffee maker, grabbed the biggest cup she could find and plopped herself down on the nearest barstool, opening the paper.

Nothing interesting ever happened in Clarenside. For 25 years, there hadn’t been as much as a single petty theft. She scanned the underwhelming headlines on each page, hoping something would tickle her interest. “Woman finds a hat in a tree”, “New footpath gate too noisy”, “Mrs Daily Finds Gecko in Fridge”. Her luck was out, evidently. She felt excited that she would be moving to a city where there were actual headlines in the morning paper. The thought of staying in Clarenside and becoming a journalist was just not a viable option. She decided to turn to the back page to do the crosswords since she had too much time on her hands. She was leaving for Dullston City in the afternoon and had about 10 hours to spare. She had been so excited since the week before that she was already packed and ready to leave two days before.

“Morning honey” – her mom's comforting voice came from behind. She grabbed a cup herself and was hovering across from the kitchen island, right across from where Leigh was sitting. Her mother was a long lean woman with a square set jaw; she had brown dead straight hair and a fringe that reached the bends of her eyebrows. She had small green eyes, a bigger nose than the average and thin lips. She was beautiful to Leigh and had a very nostalgic way about her. She was a teacher at the local Primary school, she taught English to second graders.

“Did you sleep well honey?” – She put her cup on the table top and traced her finger around the top of the coffee mug, not looking directly at Leigh.
“Mom you don’t have to make small talk.” Leigh knew that this was a very emotionally challenging day for Lara. In just a few hours she would be greeting her only child and Leigh had known how big of a deal this had been. Her mom had started crying the moment she had broken the news about her moving to the city and there hadn’t been one conversation about her move from that point on that hadn’t ended in tears.

Her mom cleared her throat and in her most cheerful voice said – “What do you want for your last breakfast at home? Nothing is off the menu, you name it and Momma will make it.” – She was smiling from ear to ear, but Leigh wasn’t fooled by her smile as she could see that the sadness in her eyes, looming just beneath the surface. “How about some waffles, crispy bacon and maple syrup?” Leigh suggested.
“Perfect” – her mom responded and started with the preparations.