Secrets

Prologue

"Be safe," the voice from the front of the seat called to her.

The young girl with her hair pulled back to keep it out of her eyes stepped out of a small yellow car, often used for transporting strangers to wherever they wanted to go for a reasonable fee. The girl, however, and the man driving this yellow car were not strangers, but were in fact very close in relation to one another. She stepped onto the curb of the street with her backpack on her back and two cases in each hand. She wore tinted sunglasses as a way of concealing her identity from others whom she might not desire to get to know. The sun was setting behind the large grey building and a lawn which even though with the fading light the girl could tell was brown and as dry as hay. By hay, I do not mean the casual greeting that you might give to a friend whom you are meeting for a cup of chai latte at a cafe in a small town just outside of Paris or to an acquaintance whom you happened to have bumped into on your way to the library to return a book of codes. Nor do I mean the word that one might use when attempting to lure a villainous man away from an unsuspecting baby rabbit which he was attempting to scare or possibly attack. By hay, I meant the dried food that is often found in barns to soften the ground as you fall from the rafters or to feed to unsuspecting animals, who may in fact simply spit up the food that was given to them when you are not looking. The girl who stood on the curb knew that this grass would be better used as animal feed than lining the field in front of the set of grey and black buildings that were meant to represent a prestigious boarding school. It in no way enhanced her feelings that what was going to happen here was going to be anyway eventful, interesting or happy.

She looked at the pathways made of bricks which were crumbling and had moss growing in between them. The girl thought that it was rather disgusting and knew that a simple amount of heat in the form of a blowtorch or bunsen burner could clear up the unwanted growths. She simply stood there looking at what she would now be forced to call home for a little while. The words that her father had told her echoed in her head.

It's just for a little while. Here I know you're safe.

But this girl felt anything, but safe as the dark buildings, each shaped to look like a thumb and with blackened windows that stared at her like eyes.

"Don't forget your case in the trunk!" the voice from the front seat called.

"Right," the girl said. She went to the back and pried open the sleek back compartment of the car. She put one of her cases under her arm and grabbed an oddly shaped case from the pile of suitcases that belonged to the driver. She carried her luggage to the curb and left them there so she could return to close the trunk. She then went around to the driving side of the bright yellow car in which the driver rolled down the window. He stuck his head out and kissed the girl on the top of her head. Both father and daughter tried to hold back the sadness and tears within themselves.

"It will only be for a little while," the man said for the seventh time since the girl found out that she would be dropped off here.

"I know," the girl said.

"Be safe and remember your skills," he said. "If something should happen, use those skills to disappear."

"Yes sir," the girl said quietly.

"And remember," he added. "If someone asks if this is a sad occasion you say..."

"The world is quiet here," the girl finished.

"Good girl. I love you, be safe," he said as he rolled up the window and put the car into gear. He waved at her one last time before driving off down the street, turning a corner and disappearing.

I wish I could tell you now that this girl would, in fact, see this man again; she would be so happy to be reunited with her father and be allowed to kiss him once more, but unfortunately, my duty is to record the actual events that occurred and not make up some happy ending. Which reminds me, if you are reading this book right now, it would be best to put this story down and find something more pleasant to read, for the events contained within this book are unbearably sad and unusually mysterious. So much so that it still has me shed a tear whenever I read over my work before sealing it in an envelope, taking it down to the local mailbox and slipping it into a false compartment designed specifically to hide this work.

The girl picked up her cases from the sidewalk and walked towards a large stone archway that was meant to greet each individual as they made their way onto the grounds. The archway itself had large black letters pasted on the top which were put in such a manner that it looked like a rainbow. A rainbow of black and grey letters spelled out this message for the girl as she walked underneath it carrying her cases...

"PRUFROCK PREPARATORY SCHOOL" and underneath it were the words 'Memento Mori' which the girl knew meant this...

'Remember you will die'

I should be so lucky the girl thought.

Disclaimer 1: Any and all characters, locations and situations mentioned in every chapter and the entire story belong to their prospective owners. Any characters that I create are my own.

Disclaimer 2: I do not own A Series of Unfortunate Events book series or television show, or any of the related characters, locations or scenes/situations. The book and television franchise is created by Daniel Handler and owned by HarperCollins Egmont (UK only), Netflix and Sonnenfeld Productions, Inc. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story.