Read Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
The Beginning
“This story is not a fairy tale. A fairy tale begins with “once upon a time” or with a little old lady visiting a barren woman and blessing her with a miraculous baby. On the contrary, this story is about a girl who was born to ordinary parents in a land and time where people no longer believed in magic, myths, or least of all fairies. True, there had been times when some had gone so far as to witness the extraordinary taking place on the earth, but that was many centuries ago. Nothing extraordinary happened after her birth, and no one knew it was even possible for anyone to be truly extraordinary.
All creatures born of human parents must be human, and therefore must be ordinary.
It was a commonly known creed that kept the matters of both being born human and also of dying as a human consistent and guaranteed for everyone. If you are born with human parents, you are human. Besides, what else could you be?
Tatiana Lewis was born at a time when no one believed in the extraordinary. True, it was generally thought that other powers might possibly be at work in the universe – perhaps spirits or God or Mother Earth – but they did not involve themselves with humans. This would have caused a rift in the carefully organized play written and directed by the Western world; and so important was this stage, the spirits themselves would simply have to perform somewhere else, thank-you-very-much. The second of three children, she was seven pounds, three ounces at birth, nothing unusual; although her mother declared her beauty to be so extraordinary that the angels must have sent her down to earth as a gift.
Growing, she by no means felt any different than her two siblings or her very small group of friends. She was an observant child, preferring to watch people conversing rather than engaging in the discussions herself. As time went by, she began to pretend as though she could read minds, picking out truths from untruths in order to determine each person’s authentic beliefs. Introverted by nature, singling out the falsehoods came easily; for the more time one spends watching others, the more one can accurately judge a character. It developed until she could nearly conclude sentences, so carefully did she watch their eyes and lips and gestures.
She came to a crossroads during her pre-teen years; a decision had to be made between appreciating what people said aloud and allowing their statements to hold true despite was she guessed they were actually thinking; or to become cynical, always alighting upon her own conclusions of a person’s beliefs despite what came out of their mouths.
The decision was forced upon her earlier than it might have, had her world not begun to crumble when her parents decided one summer to take a trip to London for some “alone time” without their three children. The day arrived for their fateful trip. At least, fateful was how Tatiana – at eleven years of age – felt that it should be described. She’d spent the morning on the small grassy beach overlooking the lake by their home. Watching her reflection as it danced on the surface, she imagined she was a mermaid escaping the confines of human feet. Swimming felt like flying; freedom to move in ways that standing upright did not allow. Tatiana smiled. She liked being a mermaid.
A cold chill ran down her spine and she shivered. Something was wrong. Not yet even a teenager, Tatiana did not know how to explain the way she felt that day. She simply knew they should not go to London.
The night before, she’d gathered together all the courage she could muster and snuck into Isaac’s room after bedtime. Waking him up, she explained to him the dread she felt about the trip, explaining how something deep inside told her that they shouldn’t go. At ten years of age, he’d neither laughed nor tried to comfort her. Instead, he took her by the hand and marched her straight into their parents’ bedroom down the hall.
Being careful not to wake their father, who took his sleep very seriously, Isaac pushed Tatiana toward their mother, who was propped up by pillows against her bed frame, reading The Lovely Bones by the light of a small lamp on her night table. “Mommy, Tatiana has something to tell you,” he said quietly.”
Their mother looked up, several small tears resting on her eyes. Tatiana hesitated, not wanting to cause more pain, even if it was only a fictional story that had made her mother sad. She knew Isaac was ignoring the tears. Even at ten, he believed in honesty at all costs. And unlike Tatiana, he was never afraid of what others said; he believed what he knew to be true, no matter what anyone else claimed, and thus didn’t care what people told him might be the truth.
After a moment’s pause, Isaac pushed her gently forward. “Tell her what you told me,” he whispered.
Want to read the rest of the chapter? Sign up for our newsletter (weekly newsletter will begin May 2009) and receive the first chapter for free in your email inbox. You can cancel your newsletter subscription at any time. We’re just excited to find out about who’s interested in the book and to give you more information about upcoming events, coupons to our online store (coming in June), contest information and much more!
After filling out the information below, you will receive a link to the first chapter. Enjoy! 