'STARS HANG FOR PENELOPE'

|Chapter 1|

Flowers.

      That's what surrounded the environment. Beautiful, Lovely flowers.  All sorts of colors stained the petals, bright as ever making Mother Nature proud. Blue birds flew up through the clear sky, chirping along to the beat of their own happiness. Butterflies swung below with the buzzing bees in harmony. The wind blew through the scene, warm and soothing.  Just what the world needs.
      It was one of the most loveliest open meadows in miles of the area. A big white two-story house sat a ways off, a barn settled behind. The property was gated off and isolated, animals and garden hidden inside. Along the white outside, vines traveled and spread wild. A shining classic cream 60s Lincoln sat parked in the curved gravel driveway. The last name 'Richmond' was engraved in gold on the left side. It fit perfectly with the estate, the family living there was obviously well off.
    The house stood tall for generations in the outskirts of Maryland. The glorious country side. The Richmonds were somewhat farmers, or use to be, the the spot was perfect for them at the time. The first few Richmonds wanted to be able to work their cattle, condition their horses and grow their crops in peace. Not a very social family until generations later. This generation living in the house now was all about money and social status. They spent their money on whatever they wanted and hosted the most fanciest parties around. Of course they knew where their money came from, so eventually workers were hired to tend to the house and land.
     Everyday, from sunrise to sunset, great groups of men worked the land and the women tended to the needs of the family inside. Their grunts heavy and beads of sweat long as they worked. A few little wooden shacks sat near, where the workers rested after their labors. It was a very sturdy system that was also very efficient. Nobody went out of place, and both parties played their roles. The family wasn't too cruel to the workers either, but the place also lacked warmth as time went on. No violence occurred, much, but you could still tell they looked at the workers as nothing but that. And this day, in the summer of '86, was no different.

     "Hallelujah, only a few more to go.." mumbled one of the male works, doing his daily tasks. His name was Mr. Mosley, he was one of the older workers to the Richmonds. Mr. Mosley was around 56 years of age, with cotton white hair and a beard to match. His skin resembled smooth dark chocolate, of course without the sweat drops oozing out his pores from his current situation. He was in charge of chopping logs today so the family would have some for their fire, since a cold front was to be making it's way through late that night.
    *Chop*.
      He finished his last piece of wood and dropped the axe where he stood. He stretched out his limbs and flexed his muscles, before turning towards the house entrance. He knew she was watching him through one of the windows and would be out any minute. Seconds later, the door swung open gently.
   "I just hate log day, it seems to drag on forever. I don't get how you do it Mr. Mosley."
  Walking down the steps and towards him, was a young lady. She was a little on the tall side, looking to be about 20 years old. Her hair was in a thick, short fro with a simple blue band around it. Her light skinned face glistened in the sun, framed by large glasses and plump cheeks. Hanging off her chubby, wide frame was a navy blue dress, white collar and apron tied around her waist. Her brown boots kicked the dirt on the ground as she hurried to grab two of the logs near.
   " I guess i don't mind, much. I also have a fine handy dandy helper on my hands." She smiled and chucked a little at his comment.
   " Go sit under that shade there, I'll make sure these logs get to where they need to be" she stated when she saw him struggle to bend down. She knew her sweet friend was getting older as time went and she knew the labor was doing a number on his body. She certainly didn't mind doing whatever she could to make it easier of him, or any of the other elderly around.  She turned and made her way to the red barn behind the house. She noticed how the red paint was chipping and fading away, making a mental note to come out and paint it later with the family's permission. She dropped the logs and slid the right barn door open. Picking the logs back up, she entered.
     "How goes it Susan?" She asked her favorite horse as she put the logs up. She went back to give the horse a loving rub on her way out, knowing she couldn't stop since she had things to do. She considered herself the horses friend since they shared the barn together, and it was just them two. The cattle was long gone years back since nobody knew how to care for them like the Richmonds before. Susan needed the company, plus the space in the shacks were limited. Henceforth, the friendship was born.
     Once she got back to the front of the house, she noticed the rest of the logs were gone. Her face twisted in confusion as she scanned the the area, looking for a clue as to what happened. She soon found it.
    " I just couldn't let you do all that walking back and forth. I had to help my helper. " Mr. Mosley stood there, smiling from ear to ear, standing proudly next to the wagon filled with logs. She noticed he was under the tree she told him to go to, so she wasn't too upset. Her mouth grinned.
       " I don't know what I'm gonna do with you mister, you ain't easy."
         " Neither are you Nell" she rolled her eyes humorously. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, waved him off, and headed towards the barn again with the wagon. She briefly wondered where the item came from, but let it go. After making her trip and closing up the barn, she wheeled the wagon behind her to the front of the property again. She strolled enjoying the peace until it was shattered by a stern voice.

    "What on earth do you think you're doing outside Miss Penelope?"

Her lungs stopped.

Note: Randomly decided to post the first real chapter. I first created this story through an app on my iPhone made for writing, didn't notice the chapters weren't as long as I believed. Sorry about that. Hope this chapter fits somewhere into your standards! Would like to reemphasize that this is the ROUGH DRAFT VERSION. No editing, revising or other improvements are present. Love you & God bless/whatever departing phrase fits your belief! xxx