Golden Wings

Chapter 15~ Present Day, The Blue

"Come on, Janet, we're leaving soon!" I called as I ran down the stairs, excitement brewing inside me.

"Calm down, Clarisa, we're not leaving until tomorrow morning." Mother scolded, smiling as she ruffled my hair.

"Yeah, but tomorrow morning is so soon!" I bounced up and down on the spot, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's not my fault that I don't want to move and leave everything and everyone behind!" I hear Janet call from upstairs, slamming something shut as she does so. Mother sighs, traipsing upstairs to go comfort Janet for what seems like the millionth time.

I don't get what she's so upset about. Yeah, I have friends, but they didn't seem sad that I was moving. They said they'd miss me, but that was the end of the drama for me. I was excited to go to America. It was where all the cool things Mama reads about in the paper happen. To add to that, we're moving to New York! We already bought this really nice house, and soon I'll be going to shows every night and skating on the lakes and sneaking out late to go dancing. I couldn't wait.

But Janet could.

"Janet... please... you know why we have to leave." I heard my mother say to her.

"Yes, but why do we have to leave now?" Janet wailed.

Mother and Father said we had to leave.

They said we had to go soon.

They never said why.

They never told me.

Janet was only two years older than me, but they told her everything; I barely even got to know the day we were leaving.

I'm not dumb. I know somethings going on. Something they don't trust. So we're leaving England, and going to America.

To New York.

~

I bolted upright, my heart beating erratically. I hadn't thought about that night since...

"Where's Janet?" I demanded, making poor Jacklyn look highly sympathetic.

"Clarisa, I..." She sighed, not knowing what to say.

"Where's Mama?" I cried, looking around frantically, "Where's Papa?" I stood, my new wings making my steps unstable. "They have to be here."

"What do you last remember?" Jacklyn asked seriously, a complete change of tone.

"I..." I swallowed, remembering...

The rain... The salt...

The cold.

"I slipped. I didn't mean to, there was a wave, and I slipped on the deck. Janet said we should go see the storm and she didn't think that I would hurt myself, but I slipped. It's not her fault; it's mine! Mother and Father were with the captain, they didn't know; it's not their fault either! I slipped on the deck and the water-" I was interrupted as Jacklyn wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Oh, Clarisa..." She cooed as I felt myself relax in her arms. "They're not here."

"Where are they?" I asked, my voice muffled.

"They're still in the ocean. They're still on the boat." She paused as if considering whether to continue. "They're still alive."

I had pushed the memories so far out of the way that to think of them now is just so... Random. I had suppressed these memories for so long, and now... I gulped down breaths of air to calm my heart as I made a decision. I let my mind open up to the memories as they came.