Photo credit: City of Key West
Chapter 1
Parents are meant to love and support their children. Hold them as they cry, and build them back up when they fall apart. Nurture them, protect them, and take pride in their accomplishments.
But my parents don’t. They’re the farthest thing from loving; they despised their children. They don’t despise us in the way a child believes, like when they aren’t given McDonald’s. They despised us children in the way CPS believes. My siblings, Reese and James, and I rarely get food. Somehow, we manage to look like children who simply exercise often and keep slim figures.
We’re still alive only because Reese has a talent. Despite being the age of 11, she’s a fox – stealthy, sly, and flexible. She easily steals money from Mom and Dad.
But Reese is caring and kind, and she shares every single penny she finds.
James is 9, bright-eyed, and the most compassionate person that I have ever met. He still manages to find good in our lives when there is none to be had.
We live in a lovely area with shops and a large park near us.
It’s the people we live with who are not lovely.
Today is one of the days when James, Reese, and I sneak out of the house to go to the park. I shepherd them down the road towards the park. The park is one of the few places where we can all relax and act our age. James can be a 9-year-old, Reese can be 11, and me, well, I still have to be the parent. Sometimes I wish we could just leave Mom and Dad behind.
In my dreams, I find a way to escape with my siblings in tow. Often, I steal Dad’s car, or manage to buy three plane tickets, or simply flee into the night with Reese and James at my heels. But I always wake up before we can get away.
James barrels into the gate, pushing it open. He tumbles to the ground, but springs up immediately. Reese and I exchange a look. We both love our brother to bits, but he is very clumsy. Reese follows suit (though she manages to follow him towards the swing set without falling over).
Reese is the opposite of James when it comes to stumbling. She can effortlessly traverse even the steepest or ruggedest paths. When Mom and Dad lock us out of the house, we go to the park, as we usually do, but we run to the far side and climb the hilly paths. There’s a dense forest on the other side, but we’re all too chicken to go in there.
I follow them in, sitting down on my usual bench. I pull out the magazine Reese had pilfered from a stand on Main Street. It’s the only item she’s stolen that wasn’t money.
In my opinion, it’s the best thing she has ever stolen. Reese and James had given it to me for my 15th birthday. It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten. (It’s also the only gift I’ve ever gotten, but I don’t care.)
I open it to my favorite page. I have to be delicate, so I don’t rip it. It’s a beautiful two-page advertisement with a beach and a happy family playing in the surf. I have the whole thing memorized, despite only having the magazine for a little over a year.
VISIT KEY WEST! I read. A BEAUTIFUL, TROPICAL ISLAND DESTINATION! ESCAPE ALL YOUR WORRIES!
I wish we could go to Key West and get away from Mom and Dad. I sigh, as I so often have. I know this isn’t what Key West looks like. I have never been, but I snuck a Google search on my mom’s phone. The photos also looked beautiful, but a different type of beauty. More of a candid and less of an advertisement look.
“Allison!” I look up to see my sister with a look of sheer and utter terror. My brother cowers behind her, with fear in his eyes.
“What’s-” A cold hand grips my shoulder. I know that hand anywhere.
My mother has found us.
She puts on her sweet voice. “Children, it’s time to come home. You know you aren’t allowed this far by yourselves.” Her nails dig into my shoulder. I wince at the pain.
But it’s not as bad as our punishment will be.
“Yes, Mother.” I stand up slowly and look at my siblings. They follow my mother’s command.
We follow her home. We do not speak. There’s no need – we all know we’re in for a treat.
___________~~~~~~~~~~__________
Reese, James, my demon of a mother, and I file through the front door and into the living room. My father is lying on the couch. He’s watching a loud television show.
I want to turn around and run out the door. I want to grab the biggest thing I can find and throw it at my mother.
My father is stupid. I’m not being mean; he is the dumbest person to ever exist. My mother is smart, but she’s even crueler than him. They hate children so much. It makes you wonder why they had us.
They barely even like each other. They both think they’re the ones in charge. It’s kind of funny watching them. Or it would be, if they weren’t fighting to be in charge of our punishments.
“Guess who I found in the park unsupervised?” My mother smirks at us. She knows that we’re going to get hell for this, even if we behaved and didn’t draw attention to ourselves.
“I don’t know, who?” My dad has a look on his face that shows that he’s not playing coy or rubbing it in. He genuinely has no idea who was found outside unsupervised.
“The kids, John!” My mother reaches over the couch. She smacks him on the head. She doesn’t do it playfully; she’s mad at him.
Don’t feel bad for my dad. He’s just as bad as her.
I hit back once. They locked me in a dog cage.
“Well, Martha, maybe you shouldn’t ask me questions with un-obvious answers!” My dad grabs her wrist and squeezes it. Again, he’s not doing this lovingly. He despises her.
I don’t know why they stay together. Maybe they can’t afford a divorce? Maybe they just don’t want to? Maybe they don’t hate each other, and this is how they express love?
Yeah, that doesn’t seem right.
“What do you think we should do to punish them?” My mother grins with a smile that is far too wide to be real.
Annoyed, Dad looks at her. “But what about our trip?”
“What trip?” James looks worried.
“SHUT UP!” Mom shakes her head vigorously. “God, we should just take you all to the orphanage!”
Dad perks up. He taps my mother on the arm. She spins around angrily. “WHAT?”
“We should take them all to the orphanage.”
Wow! That’s the first idea my dad has ever had!
My mother looks very pleased. She turns and faces us. “We’re taking you all to the orphanage. We are tired of each of you being disrespectful and ungrateful. We’re leaving tomorrow for our trip, so we’ll drop you off on the way.”
“Where are you going, Mother?” Reese looks down at her shoes as she says this. She knows not to challenge them when she asks something.
“We’re going to fly to the Bahamas.” My dad smiles, pleased and smug. He knows we’ve never been on a vacation.
“So go pack your bags. Tomorrow, we leave.” My mother proclaims.
“Of course, Mother.” We all say. We turn and run upstairs.
“I don’t want to go to the orphanage!” James quietly cries out as we climb the stairs. Tears begin to roll down his face.
Reese and James walk into our meager, shared room. It’s very small, but we have three mattresses low to the ground that manage to fit.
I follow them, but I stop in the doorway.
I’ve had an idea.
A wonderful idea.
An idea that could save us.
“We’re not going to the orphanage.” I smile as my two siblings turn to face me. My favorite people in the whole world. My everythings.
“What?” Reese asks. She looks at me like I just grew an arm out of the top of my head. “Yes, we are. Mom and Dad just said so.”
I quickly walk into the room and close the door behind me. “We’re going to run away.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Hi! Thank you so much for deciding to read my story, Lost at the Cemetery. We, meaning the Mariner Messenger staff, wanted to do something fun to honor October being National Book Month, so after a few ideas being bounced around, this story was approved for publication. Each issue will have a new chapter published, so tune in to find out what happens next! (If you want your story to be featured in the Mariner Messenger, submit a story through our form!)
Thank you so much to my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me every step of the way. Thank you to all the Conchs out there (both freshwater and regular) for making Key West one of my favorite places in the world. ♥️