Seasons of Fate

Seasons of Fate

By Avery E Greene

‘I never used to believe in fate, how could I really when every choice I should have made in my life was taken away from me. My days would bleed together but then fate stepped in and changed my life forever‘.

Chapter 1

Summer
             

   I looked in the mirror at myself and wondered how I had reached this point in my life. A twenty five year old widow, with a four year old daughter named Lily. I’m sorry I should really start at the beginning. My name is Summer Clarke, I was born in London to a family who had little regard for their offspring. I learned at an early age that I could only depend on myself, dealing with verbal, emotional and physical abuse, it was drummed into me that I had no rights and every decision would be taken care of. I was not permitted to discuss our home life with anybody or an appropriate punishment would be carried out.

   Growing up my only friends were Lyssa and John, we met in primary school, both growing up in dysfunctional homes they worked out quickly that I was not quiet and reserved due to shyness. We formed a strong bond which carried the three of us through into adulthood, we never told anybody of our close friendships out of fear that we would be kept apart. The only contact we had was through school, my friends were the only thing that kept me sane even when things changed for the worse.

   When I was fifth teen I was promised to an older man in lieu of my fathers debts, this man was fifth teen years older than me, an influential business man with many friends in high places as they say, his reputation for being a powerful man in many areas was well documented so nobody dared to question him when he introduced me to his world. At eighteen I was married off and have been living a lie ever since. He was never really a husband as they say, he made sure I was watched and never did anything out of place, I had an allowance which was monitored and my whereabouts were reported back so I was consumed with worry for my friend’s safety
.
I worried they would be hurt if he realised that they knew things about my life. I used my reserved nature to my advantage when I could making sure to cover up any contact I had with Lys and John. I also made sure to listen and learn so when the time was right I would take back my life.

   I sat back to bide my time, however it would seem fate decided to step in on my behalf the day my husband took a wrong turn and was killed by a drunk driver. To say I felt nothing would be a lie, I felt an amazing sense of relief and even gratitude toward the drunk who finally did what I had wished for every night for seven years. It was at that point that I had a choice to make, play the grieving wife or allow the world to finally see what kind of man I was sold to. I gave myself a third option for the sake of my beloved child, I decided to bury my late husband and then leave my old life behind.

   So I find myself back in reality about to leave the only home my child has known, to bury a man who claimed to be my daughters father although he never even looked at her. You see the man who claimed me also took my innocence without my consent, and repeatedly raped me for the first three years of our forced union, I never knew when to expect him, or how often. I have never felt love, comfort, or a single touch which causes butterflies in your stomach, or so I’ve heard. He made sure that he was careful most of the time but it would seem even he was not infallible, when he discovered my pregnancy I was no longer seen as an easy conquest and later discovered he found his release elsewhere, a mercy for me.   

   So you see
Lily saved me in every way possible, from her abusive father, from my tormented mind, and a life I was desperate to leave behind. My every waking thought was Lily from the moment she was born, she gave me the inspiration and courage to make plans of my own in readiness for the time I could escape and give my child a new start.

   Now finally the day has come, looking at myself in a black dress, the woman staring back at me has most things figured out. Once his funeral is over, I will leave the house I have called my prison for seven years and walk into a new life with no plans to ever return.

  
‘Mummy when are we leaving.’ Lily understands that today is her fathers’ farewell, but more than that she knows that today we’ll be starting our new life together far away from here.  My little girl isn’t upset, she seems almost blissful, what did I expect, she didn’t really know her father, and he paid no attention, she was his mistake a reminder of how cruel a man he was.

   ‘Well I’m ready to go sweetheart, do you have everything you need?’ I was referring to her backpack which I had filled with all the essentials she would need to catch our flight once this charade was over.

  
‘Yes Mummy, can I bring Bella?’

  
‘Of course baby put her in the car so we don’t forget her. You understand where we are going now? Try not to tell anybody about our little trip ok? If any of the guests ask you anything just tell them Mummy is taking you away for a few days.’

  
‘Ok Mummy’ My little Angel always understood why we never talked to anybody about our lives, four going on fourteen, as they say, an old soul in such a beautiful child. I made sure to shield her from her father as much as possible although her easy going and happy nature stood out she’s always made sure to hold back when he was anywhere near her. I took Lily’s hand and we walked to the car, a modest mini, I was not an ostentatious person, I used my weekly allowance which he provided, to make sure I had all the things we would need to leave without making it obvious of what my plans were. This included a buffer fund which I had no problem saving, as I like the simple things, so I buckled Lily into her car seat and we drove the short distance to the church for a service to finally say goodbye to the nightmare we called Mr Seymour Blake.

   The service was as expected a pretentious affair in which every snake my husband had ever known and had dealings with came to pay their last respects although, I would be more inclined to think they were just making sure he was actually dead. I had arranged a small gathering in a near by hotel, to keep up appearances, which gave me the opportunity to finally speak with my closest friends and tell them of my plans, Lys and John were the only people I trusted with this information. With an open invitation to join me as soon as they could I carried Lily to the car and finally drove away from this life and London forever.

   I had searched different possibilities for our new life but before I could decide where we would settle down I made the decision to take Lily away to a place I had always wanted to go, New York. I had wanted to travel but thought I’d never get the chance, however I hoped which is why I had made sure to keep Lily’s passport up to date, as well as my own even though neither had been used before. I drove to Heathrow, parked the car, carried my precious cargo into the airport and bought tickets for the first flight leaving London to New York. Weird really I had never travelled before so you would think I’d be nervous but all I could think about was the good memories I wanted to make with my daughter.  Fun filled memories which I was hoping could eradicate any of the badness she may have been witness too. I actually felt scared but not of moving forward more of something coming out of the woodwork and stopping me in my tracks, maybe one of his business partners or an associate he worked with, somebody holding a grudge ready to use us in retribution but you know what, they never did

.

   We had an uneventful wait in departures in which we decided a little exploring was required, Lily found the fun in most things including the shops. We ate a light lunch before boarding our flight an hour later, we were well on our way to New York with no stops.  Our flight was smooth and luckily Lily slept for most of the trip, I used the time to gather my thoughts and make sure I had a plan for the next several weeks. On arrival into JFK we cleared customs quickly and I hailed a cab requesting a nice hotel in the city. The trip didn’t take long and before I knew it we were being dropped off outside ‘The Sanctuary Hotel‘ aptly titled I thought, a rather nice hotel which I assumed usually housed a more exclusive clientele although I had no experience with this kind of thing.

I paid the driver and carried Lily into the hotel, we checked in and were shown to our suite, I had never seen anything like this so we took the time to have a good look around, it housed all the amenities we would require for our stay, two bedrooms, a sitting area with a huge TV, a luxurious bathroom, and a view to die for. I was happy that Lily would be safe in this environment. Once settled I unpacked our things and ordered some food. Later that afternoon we took a walk to gain our bearings, the hotel was right in the heart of everything and only a short walk from Madison Square Gardens, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre and Broadway. Wow I was like a child again learning new things but Lily was awed and seeing things through her eyes was a whole different experience. When we arrived back at the hotel I gave Lily a bath and we snuggled in bed, this was our first night of freedom and I felt completely tranquil in an amazing new place, however it wasn’t long after we arrived that I discovered you can never truly leave that sort of life behind as my nightmares confirmed, most nights anyway.

   We settled into a routine in no time at all, we washed, changed, ate breakfast and took in the sights of New York, the hotel were nice enough to provide a stroller which I put to great use, as Lily’s little legs would only carry her so far, we visited Central Park, the Zoo, the Carousel, we visited the 911 memorial and museum, The Rockefeller Centre, and Grand Central Terminal. Anything I could think of we experienced together, of course you couldn’t come to New York without going shopping so what better place to start than a toy shop, so I took Lily to
FAO Schwarz
, wow, I couldn
’t get enough of the new faces I watched my baby make during those first trips in the city. Those memories would last me forever. Throughout our first few weeks we did everything and anything we wanted, a new experience which I cherished, little did we know that things were about to change once again.

   I had grown rather fond of the staff that assisted us on a daily basis. They seemed to adore Lily, which just made my day. Her blue eyes were in complete contrast to my brown ones, my hair was a light brown, and Lily’s was a dark blond, strange to most but an unfortunate reminder of her sperm donor’s contribution. Nobody asked any questions about us and when they did I stuck to the truth for the majority of things apart from where we came from, I knew this would need to be something I thought about so that I could start to explain why we were here, so as we began another day, Clive the doorman greeted us as usual. He was a sweet older man with salt and pepper hair and dimples when he smiled, he was strong and the kind of man who made you feel safe regardless.

  
‘Good morning Ms Clarke, out for a bit more adventure I see.’ Amazing how obvious we were

  
’Yes I told Lily we could go to Bloomingdales and buy her some new clothes, she’s a little excited as you can see.’ Lily bounced up and down beside me waiting for Clive to bring out the stroller.

  
’Well then shall I get you a cab?’ said Clive,

  
’Oh, yes please that would be great thanks’ Clive went outside while I leaned down to tie Lily’s laces.

  
’Mummy? Can I bring Bella bear?’ Bella bear was usually glued to Lily’s side, it was her constant comfort.

  
’I don’t see why not sweetie, I’ll go back to the room to get her.’ When Clive returned he offered to watch Lily while I ran back to get Bella, it only took a few moments but in that time it would seem Lily had half the staff entranced by her sweet antics. This always made me smile, how innocent a child can be drawing people to her.

   I watched them coo over her while I went outside to hand the stroller over to the cab driver, as I turned to go back into the hotel a black SUV pulled up with darkened windows, not a strange occurrence in New York I imagined, most people probably wanted privacy. I watched for a moment then turned to fetch Lily, before walking through the doors a light caught my eye blinding me for a moment, when I turned all I saw was a hand reaching out with a knife, out of instinct I leaned forward and pushed the hand away, halting its decent. Unfortunately this allowed the hand to turn back onto me, and before I knew it I was lying on the ground watching somebody in black running away from me.

It’s a strange feeling being stabbed and although I knew on some level that I had in fact been hurt I felt oddly calm. When I took a moment to regain my perspective a million things ran though my head ’Lily’ being my main concern, ’Oh My God, I cant leave Lily’ where my thoughts over and over. Then everything seemed to dim, I opened my eyes to a man leaning over me, he seemed shocked but also frantic. I think he asked me something but I couldn’t make anything out, then he reached out and touched my face. I couldn’t help but ask him if he was ok, he seemed almost delirious and then I noticed flashing lights and lots of people surrounding me, but all I could think about and say was ’Lily‘ that was before everything went black.