The Redeemer

Chapter One

Two months after Rosemary's funeral it was decided that the Smith family will move to Fort Payne to live in the old family home. They wanted to sell it at first but since Jonathan and the twins both had so many fond memories tied to that house that they kept it and soled the flat they were currently living in, instead. 'After living in such a big city like New York, getting accustomed to living in Fort Payne will be a little hard.' Ellie thought. She will stand out, and making friends will probably be a nightmare for her since the kids her age all grew up knowing each other. She was sure the whole town knew each other. Even thought they used to spend holidays there she never played with kids her age, other than Daniel. It’s been around five years since they have been in Fort Payne and probably lots of things changed.

 All of the boxes were already sent to Fort Payne the previous day they only had a few suitcases with them. After they were placed in the trunk of the taxi Ellie looked toward the building where they lived for the last 7 years and smiled. All the happy memories as well as the bad ones flashed before her eyes so she closed them, trying to leave the bad ones behind.

 "Are you ready to leave?" Daniel shook her shoulders and she looked up at him.

 "Yeah” She smiled as she took her backpack and entered the taxi.

 During the flight Ellie fell asleep. A bright light bothered her so she opened her eyes and instead of finding herself in the plane like she expected, she was standing in the backyard of Rosemary’s house.  Ellie was surprised at first but soon realized that she was dreaming that familiar dream again. She looked around the sunlit flower garden when her attention caught the scene under the tree house on the Oak. A boy and girl were standing under it holding hands while both of them had their backs turned to her so she couldn't see their faces. Ellie went a bit closer to them hoping that she will be able to see the girl's face, but the boy turned around, and the girl disappeared. At that moment she woke up disappointed that once again she was unable to see her face.

 These dreams started when she was seven. Even thought the dreams aren't the same the two of them are always together. In all of these years she'd never been able to see the girl's face. She looked so familiar but no matter how many times and how many ways Ellie tried to get closer to her, the boy would always turn around and the girl would disappear.

 After the plane landed they took a taxi and a few minutes later arrived to Rosemary's house, now their new home. It was a Victorian-style house with two floors and attic, a small front porch and big backyard with a big Oak with a tree house that their grandfather, William,  built together with Jonathan, for Daniel and Ellie when they were still little. Even though it's been years since Ellie had been here, the house still looked exactly the same as she remembered.

 Ellie went straight up to the second floor to the last door on the right side of the hallway and slowly opened it. The sun shined through the big windows illuminating the flower patterns on the wallpaper. Ellie couldn't help but smile when she noticed her old dolls sitting on the casket by the bed. She walked in and took one of the dolls and sat on the bed, looking around the room. Everything was the same like the last time she was there. Her drawings still on the wall along with the posters of the actors and singers that she liked when she was younger, opened coloring books on the table and one of the blankets folded over the rocking chair by the window. Ellie put the doll back on the casket and walked to the balcony door and opened it, letting fresh air come in.

 "It hasn't changed, huh?" She turned to Daniel, who stood leaning on the door.

 "Not a bit." She said smiling. "Has your room changed?"

 "Nope. It's still in the same mess it was, with the all the racing cars on the floor." He laughed.

 "Dan, can you come and help me with the boxes?"Jonathan yelled from the bottom of the stairs.