Chapter 1

The morning was unusually especially brisk the sun was gone, but the brightness of the cloudy sky shone through Ellie’s Lace curtains. It marked her open notebook, on her nightstand, and the stack of books opened on her bed. However, she was nowhere to be found in that organized, yet messy room. She happened to be sitting on the porch, with her cup of coffee, watching the crows fly by her yard, and land on the street. She took a sip of her coffee, and took a deep breath. She exhaled, and could see her breath cloud around her. The snow was quiet, and so was the street.
She walked back inside and went to her room, where she found her things sprawled everywhere. She sighed, and laid down on top of the printed out resumes, and bus route maps. I need to get ready… I guess… she thought to herself. She opened her closet door and put on her interview clothes. She had been trying to find a job since she got out of school, which was, well… six months ago. She walked downstairs to see her parents sitting on at the table. “morning…” she murmured. “good morning.” They replied. Ellie grabbed a coffee to-go cup, filled it up, brushed out her black hair, and grabbed her bag. “Going to find a job. Ill be back later.” She said, as she walked out the door. She wasn’t expecting a response. She doesn’t open up or speak in general to her parents anymore. She had to learn the hard way that sometimes, it’s just best to keep silent. She boarded the city bus and sat down in one of the middle seats. She was heading to the general hospital nearby to beg for an opportunity to work, but her mind was somewhere else.
She was back in high school. Back in her old art class, with a clean paper sitting in front of her. She loved it. She loved looking around and seeing artwork on the walls, including her own. She found it to be so peaceful, especially the fact that she could do absolutely anything with that piece of paper. The possibilities were endless, and that made her smile.
What happened? Why did I decide to give this up? I mean, sure, im good at this medical stuff, but was my heart in it? No… I just did what I knew I had to do…
Things don’t go exactly how you plan, as in the case of Ellie. Her face felt hot, and her eyes began to water. She felt so trapped in the adult world. She didn’t have money, and she lost the desire to work in her field, as well as in the thing she once loved. She picks up a pencil, and puts it down. Here, in this world, it took a lot. A lot of denial, disappointment, regrets. It was draining.
The bus stopped at her destination. She picked her head up, inhaled, and exhaled, trying to make her tears disappear. She fixed her posture, and walked into the hospital with the most confidence she can show. She walked to the human resource department, and handed in yet, another application and resume. “Do you know when I’d get a response back?” she asked. “”well, it could take a few weeks. The human resource department is pretty slow, but we’ll let you know as soon as we can. You just have to be patient.” The woman replied.
Ellie walked out of there, strong, but as soon as she got outside, she let loose. She was still trapped in this world, and still suffocating in everyone’s expectations. She began to cross the street, when she heard a screech. She turned to see what it was, but as soon as she did, a black truck slammed their breaks, heading fast towards her…He was too late.
Chapter 2
The adult world. It drowns you in its high expectations, and disappointments. It doesn’t care and sure as heck shows no mercy. You never make enough money, you never have the perfect job and whenever something seems to be going right, it seems to just drag you right back down, because it just doesn’t care about you. You’re just another pawn in its little game of misery.
It was Early October. It was cool to live in a house where there was a park and a small section of woods in the backyard. There were plenty of trees and different adventures to be had back there.
“Lets go for a walk.” Suggested Ellie’s brother, Riley. He was always the adventurous type. He was up for anything, at anytime. And Ellie was always up to follow. Riley was Seven. Ellie was six. They left the house on the hill, and climbed the steep walk to get to the park. They pretended many things up there. Always finding something new to do up there. Today, Riley wanted to do something pretty traditional. He wanted to play hide and seek.
“You count, and Ill hide, okay? Count to thirty Mississippi’s.” He said with a mischievous smirk. Ellie hated that look sometimes. It knew trouble would find them somehow or just that Riley would find it himself. Still, she wanted to win, and she was pretty good at this game, because she knew everywhere he would go. But this time, Riley had something else in mind. He knew that his sister would find him, because he picked such obvious spots to hide. He had been planning the perfect hiding place. Ellie took the tree next to her and covered her eyes. She began counting.
Riley ran to his perfectly discovered spot. It was on a branch in a high tree. He had been practicing to climb it, and he was sure he was up for the challenge. He knew Ellie would never look there. He began to climb, branch by branch. Some were way too thin, but he only climbed the thick ones that he knew would carry his weight. He found his branch, and sat, dangling his feet, and looking down to see Ellie search everywhere for him.
Ellie finished counting, and she was on the search. She looked behind the trench before the houses on the hill. She searched around the monuments; she looked behind the trees on the trail. She even went back home to check the staircases, and the basement, even though she was scared to go down there. Riley was nowhere to be found. She made her way back to the park, to where she began counting.
“I give up, Riley!” she yelled. She was frustrated that he couldn’t be found. She was also upset because she suddenly felt the feeling of loneliness and the feeling of being lost…
There was a loud crash behind her. It sounded to Ellie, like a rockslide. She heard twigs snap at the initial fall, and a really loud snap at the landing. She had chills running down her spine, and her eyes widened with fear and shock. Goosebumps were covering her whole body. She turned around slowly, closing her eyes. Her mind was racing and a migraine suddenly came on her. She was facing the crash site, and she slowly opened her eyes.
There, lying on the cold fall ground, layered with brown, dead leaves, was Riley. He was cold also. Ellie walked over to him and sat down. She tried to pick him up, but he wouldn’t budge. She examined his face.He didn’t move. He, to her fear, was lifeless. Just like the fall ground. A tear rolled down her face. She layed down next to him, hoping he would wake up soon. She fell asleep.
It must have been a long time, because her parents were now standing over her, along with a few other people she didn’t recognize. They were all in uniform. Her mother was crying and her dad just kept shaking his head. Just as she feared, her brother was being taken away. He was gone. So was her childhood. She was in the hands of something else now.