Seminole story.

Chapter 1

                Tallulah Gates sat on the roof of her family's two story home in South Naples, FL watching the sun set. The warm yellow, orange and red hues of the sun melted together slowly and began to fade into the dark bluish-black sky. Tallulah wiped a tear from beneath her eye and shifted her body. As she repositioned herself, her shoes scraped against the rough shingles that were desperately in need of replacement, and made a rather unpleasant sound. Tallulah sniffed and wiped another tear off her face.

                Life wasn't terribly difficult for Tallulah, she had both her parents, a brother who was slightly over-protective, a job and a full-ride scholarship to the community art school. Tallulah had a roof over her head, food in her belly and nice clothes on her body. She was in exceptional health and was beautiful...but Tallulah was deeply unhappy...even depressed. She felt, despite all the wonderful people and opportunities in her life, that something vital was missing. Something deep inside that she couldn't figure out, but was still excruciating to be deprived of.

                Escaping to the roof was a near nightly habit for Tallulah. It was the only place she could be alone and think. Inside the house, if her brother wasn't annoying her with interrogative questions her mother was ridiculing her for not attending church. One-sided arguments between her mom and dad were frequent as well. Tallulah's mom was cold, strict and very plain. She was a stay-at-home mom, cooked, cleaned and prayed. The only thing she seemed passionate about was Catholicism. On the other hand, Tallulah's dad was a warm, kind and giving man who worked hard to help others. He didn't claim a religion, however, was deeply spiritual. Ever sense Tallulah could remember her father would tell her and her brother stories of the Seminole Indians. He would teach them of their beliefs, customs and way of life. When he would speak of the Seminole people his eyes would brighten and looked so alive. Tallulah deeply cherished these times, however, over the past few years it had become less frequent. Her mother despised any talk of the Seminole people in the house. In fact, any mention of any belief system other than hers would spark a meltdown. For everyone's sake, Tallulah's dad put his feelings and beliefs away. It seemed to be the only thing that kept the peace.

The toll this took on her felt as horrible as it seemed to be for her dad. 

The stories of the Seminole Indians made Tallulah very happy, and now, without them she felt the last bit of enjoyment in her life slip away. Her father had been picking up many extra shifts at the hospital and so Tallulah didn't even have his presence to comfort her. The courses she was taking at school barely captured her attention and work was so boring she found herself at times hoping some idiot would try to rob the place...some excitement would be nice.

Tallulah looked down the roof to the well-manicured lawn below and let out a small laugh. Jumping sounded exciting. She wasn't up high enough to die, but high enough to get adrenaline pumping through her veins. For a minute she entertained the idea, but then decided a ten second rush wasn't worth the back, leg and knee pain she'd enviably have to deal with afterwards. She drew a long, deep breath into her lungs then very slowly released it, visualizing all of her stress, anxiety, sadness and anger exit her body. She got up carefully and went back through her bedroom window and into her room.

                "Hey punk, what were you doing out there again? Dad said he didn't want to have to treat you in the ER, remember?" Jeremey said as Tallulah slid through her window and closed it.

                Tallulah rolled her eyes at him and flopped down on her bed, the old springs screeching as she did so. "I was being careful", she grumbled.

                "Being careful won't matter the moment the wind kicks up. You're so small it would probably take you with it!" Jeremey replied.