Breaking our bonds

Chapter two

Convinced that my story has just begun, I longed for the smiles that Joan would flash at me. Yet all I could do was return home
before my parents had time to notice my mud-stained shirt.

"Well, where could you have been?" said a surprised voice right behind me. That voice belonged to none other than my sister Caroline.

Caroline Ferreira, although my sister, was unlike me in so many ways. Her long, blonde hair fell in large waves down her shoulders and she was the friendly, vivacious girl that I could never be.

Her bright sapphire eyes were fixed on my shirt with an expression of surprise. "Did you and Ian go on some out- of -school rendezvous, because if you did, I'm not letting you rest until I hear every tiny detail of it."

I laughed. " There is nothing going on between Ian and I, " I said remembering the days Caroline's eyes gazed longingly at Ian when she walked our school's hallways. Unfortunately, Ian did not fall for the statuesque beauty that is my sister. He fell for me.

"There can't be nothing going on, Elizabeth, " she said.

"Caroline, listen to me, I never liked him. Never. Okay, maybe we kissed a few times but that was more like him smashing his mouth over mine."

My hands flew straight to my chapped lips after I said those words. I shouldn't have. Caroline's eyes filled up with tears as she glanced at me.

" I told you I don't care about him. I'm in love with someone else."

"All the boys love you," she said her voice though not tinged with jealousy, was mournful.

" No. I'm not in love with any boy. I never have been. I'm in love with Joan."

"Joan," she scoffed. "No person who loves their son would ever name him Joan."

" Umm...you know that Joan is a girl right?"

I trusted Caroline to be supportive. And she was a lot more than that. She was helpful too.

"You can ask me to drive you there anytime, you know that don't you, Elizabeth? And I'd cover for you too. Mum and Dad trust me."

That was true. The smarter, prettier Caroline was the favourite child, which often treated me to echoes of my parent's favourite phrase, 'why can't you be more like your sister?'

Gritting my teeth at the memory of these words I went to my own untidy room to do my homework. After finishing an exhausting two pages of Math, my mind strayed to the story I was going to write. The story of dirt roads and racial conflict and a girl who stole my heart away. It was a story about a world so far away from my own. A world I would much rather belong to.

Yet my story would never be written unless I could find my journal. It was was a large, red and gold book which I carried everywhere I felt like there was a story to be written. So far it never hid from my sight.

After making my messy room messier by throwing everything I own onto my dark, wooden floor, my journal was not to be found.

" Caroline, " I said, padding into my sister's room and waking her up. Unlike mine, Caroline's room was neat and organised so I didn't trip or bump on anything on my way to her bed.

The scent of her lilac and raspberry body lotion hung to the air as I approached her bed and shook her awake.

"What?" she answered, her voice heavy with sleep, before she stretched herself, showing me the God-given voluptuousness that had so far forsaken me. The effort of banishing my jealousy was arduous.

" I forgot my journal. I left it in that lane."

"So?" she said still tired.

"I need to get it back," I said and when she still didn't seem to understand I said, " Now."

She tried to talk me out it. She was reasonable and patient and could wait for something this important to be put off till tomorrow. But I couldn't.

"Please Elizabeth, you know I'm worried about you. Can't this wait till tomorrow?" she said. "Something could happen to you at this time of the night, you know."

"Well, I'm not afraid. I just want my journal back," I said before sparing a last look at my sister. She sat there on her princess bed, her full lips stretched into a smile over her high cheekbones. 'No, I am so not jealous, ' I thought before turning away. The last thing I remembered before I climbed out of her window was a slight gold glimmer on her desk.

The night air blew violently against my uncombed hair transforming it into a tangled mass.

Unlike the rest of my acquaintances, my sense of direction was utterly useless it meant finding my way to a library.

I found my way towards school and managed to dodge the notice of the policemen on duty. All was quiet. The stars shone like auroras in the night sky and its light highlighted the magnificent beauty of the girl sitting in front of me.

" Elizabeth?" Joan said, her full lips parted in an expression of surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here."

" Well, neither did I, to be honest. I'm just looking for my journal."

"What journal?" she said. " I didn't see any such thing here."

I had hoped to find my lost journal here. However, I was far from disappointed. To me finding and experiencing a story is better than documenting it. If my journal was lost, I would find another. I shivered to think of what would happen if Joan was ever lost.

As I explained to her my search for a story apart from school football matches and how I've always written in my journal, her eyes loomed larger than before. I wanted to tell her I loved her, but I feared that she'd feel that this was far too soon for love.

As the night sky was blanketed by a sea of stars, it felt only natural that her arm should slide over my shoulders. Yet, every cell in my body exploded at her touch. I felt a tinge so warm and yet so pleasant, slide down my spine and as if possessed by the spirit of a more flirty girl, my face inched closer to hers.

"You're so passionate about what you do", she said. " And so beautiful."

I had to laugh at her comment. I am not beautiful. I told her so. "I think you need to bet your eyes checked Joan. Can you even see me clearly? I have tangled hair that isn't blonde or brown but some kind of odd mixture, dull grey eyes and a body the shape of a very short broomstick."

" I can see very well, " she laughed. " But I'm talking about you, and you are beautiful. You're intelligent and brave and too feisty for your own good. All you need to do is love yourself, " she said before raising her sparkling bright eyes to mine and saying, "the way I love you."

I tried to look at her. I tried to say those words I've been meaning to say all those hours back. But it was too late for any of them now since I felt her soft lips touch mine. Ecstasy rushed through my veins and crowded my heart. I felt it all through those few seconds until her lips were torn from mine by the sound of a shuffle.

A few feet from us stood a tall figure whose identity was hidden by the darkness of the night.

" Who are you?" Joan called but it didn't answer. It lay there lurking around, trying to spy on our every move.