The Sun's Last Dance {ON HOLD}

Chapter 1

It was seven years ago today that my older brother, Peter, had died while stationed in France during the Great War. He was the man of the house ever since I could remember. Father had died of a mysterious disease when I was only two years of age. Peter went to war when he was only nineteen and he was killed in action just a few weeks before his enlistment period was up. He was twenty one when he died. Today, I was that same age.

I had nobody else to see me off at the station besides Mother and Miss Sandovsky. Mother was growing older and had some troubles getting herself around. Her eyes and face were wrinkled with years, but the smile on her face never faded. Her white hair ran smoothly down the lumps of the large coat she wore.

Ana Sandovsky was her care taker and had lived with her ever since I moved into the city. She was a Russian immigrant and she moved here with her family when she was very young. She was quite beautiful. She had shortly cropped red hair that she wore curled to one side. She had bright and young blue eyes and flawless porcelain skin. I assumed that she was my same age or around there, but I had never asked. The few short conversations we had always were centered on Mother’s doctors and special care.

“Johnny, my little one, you seem so grown up,” Mother’s voice trembled and tears welled in her eyes, “I always knew that someday you would leave me and then I would have no one to hold. But you are becoming a man now. You are going to start your career and find yourself a lovely wife and settle down.”

“Mother,” I said softly, but loud enough for her to hear, “You will never be alone. I will be up to visit with you and you have Miss Ana for company. You need not worry.” Ana stood off to the side and gave Mother a warm smile as she turned her eyes to her.

“My boy, come now.” She took a weak step forward on the hard concrete. I held my arms up to embrace her and she wrapped her wrinkled hands around my neck. She felt warm and she started to weep quietly into my shoulder. I looked past her at the windows off the ticket station that were edged with gold. The men behind them wore bright uniforms and humble smiles.

The ground rumbled and shook under our feet as the train thundered into the station. Ana rushed to my mother side when as she released me and wobbled on her own feet.

“I must go now, Mother.” I shouted as I started to walk away from the two women.

“Goodbye, Johnny, boy! Be back within the year!” Mother shouted with a throaty voice from crying.

“Goodbye, John!” Shouted Ana with a wave.

I smiled and waved back at them. I walked towards the gap in the cars where I climbed a small ladder and found two ushers on a platform. I handed my ticket to the taller, middle aged man who stood in front. He hand dark brown hair and a mustache that laid across his upper lip. The smaller, younger man seemed to be an assistant of some kind. He had longer blonde hair with no facial hair. The older man inspected my ticket for a few seconds then handed it to the younger boy.

“Oh, sir, you will be in our first class section with a room of your own. You may follow me.” I followed the boy down a narrow hallway. The train was quite elegant inside. Rugs lined the hallways and beautifully crafted wood twisted up the wall. I must have been lost in thought when the usher stopped because I bumped right into him.

“Pardon me.” I mumbled, surprised that I had bumped him.

“No, no sir. You have no reason to apologize. It was my error. Pardon me.” The usher opened the slim door into my lavish room. Wood was carved into elegant patterns that snaked up the walls. Exotic Persian rugs that must have cost hundreds of dollars lined the floor and hung from the walls. A beautifully crafted hardwood table sat in the corner next to a small square window. The window had curtains that were equally as lavish as the room. The bed on the other side of the room was piled high with cream-colored, silken pillows and a rosy velour bedspread. “A key to the room is on the table to your left, sir. If you need anything, you may ask for Robert M.”

“Thank you, good sir.” I said as I turned to the usher. I handed him a five dollar bill and gave him a small smile which he gladly returned.

“Remember, if there’s anything you need, please notify me.”

“Indeed. Thank you.” And with that the usher hurried down the hallway back to his station with the older fellow.

It was Mother who insisted I take the first class train. We were never in the highest class of society, but we were far from poor. Father was a wealthy businessman, but his untimely death was fatal to the family wealth. His funeral was expensive and with no regular income, our funds were always on the downward slope.

It was a shame that father wasn’t still alive to take advantage of the opportunities that businessmen had these days. With the war over and Mr. Coolidge president, Lady Liberty’s economy soared. Parties were bigger, houses were bigger, and bank accounts were bigger still. New York was a party, all the time. But, that’s why I had to go. Every successful person there knows all the stories and legends of the billionaires’ parties and the extravagant life that each of them leads. What everyone wants to hear about now is the South. For right now, nobody important seems to be living down there, so it’s a mystery to them all. That’s where I step in. I am traveling down for inspiration. I need to know what it’s like down there; eat their food, breathe their air, and dance their dance. I have always aspired to be a writer. For years, it has been my dream to write a story that will mean something to everyone else. And, I believe, that someplace deeps in the Southern lands of the good ol’ U.S. of A, I’ll find that story.

I wasn’t entirely sure where I was headed, but I knew that I was going on the right path. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have any luggage, except for a faithful typewriter. I did have one thing though; an open mind.

So with my eyes closed and my mind open, I kicked my shoes to the side, jumped onto the huge bed, and fell asleep the same second I hit the sheets.