Lovely Links in Literature

 

Amie

Berea

Olivia Bell a.k.a Livy

Mandalynn

Sam Bowling

Yashvi

Amanda G. D.

Lydia

Laura

Cailyn

Avery

Amie (again xD)

The Characters…

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Kyrie Noel Brink

Kyrie is a lonely orphan that lives with her old grandmother and prim and proper aunt.  She’s never had any adventures worth recounting (there is that time she was in the middle of a food fight…) but that soon changes.

She enjoys mostly books, shopping, and getting good grades.  She’s good-humored and doesn’t often get ruffled.  Her main fear is displeasing her aunt, who is very strict.  She isn’t one to say she won’t do something and just goes with the flow.

She’s fourteen with blonde long hair, green eyes, and a rather sour look.  She’s just used to sitting still and doing nothing.

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Christian Alexander Worth

Christian, or Alec as he’s known, is the oldest of the Worth quartet.   He is the leader of the escapades and hasn’t seemed to grow up.  He lives next door to Kyrie with his family.

Alec enjoys sports but his favorite is track.  He is a born runner.  He’s the one that goes sniffing around for adventure and dashing into it recklessly.

He’s seventeen and considers himself a man. (Much to Jill’s annoyance!) He has red hair,freckles, and blue eyes.

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Jill Morgan Worth

Jill is the oldest daughter and probably the most responsible.  She is as much of a leader as her brother, so they often butt heads.  She sometimes worry about the thoughts of her peers, but mostly she’s as eager for adventure as all her siblings.

Jill tends to be on the bossy side, with a bit of caution mixed in.  She enjoys music, photography, and fashion.  She likes her camera so much, that her brother’s have titled it her “BCF”  or otherwise known as best camera forever.

Jill is fifteen with darker hair, light eyes, and freckles.

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Edmund Timothy Worth

Ed was named after his mother’s favorite book series. (*sighs in happiness*  Guys, I want to name my kid Edmund!)  Ed is always prepared, carrying around what Alec kindly refers to as his ‘man purse’.  (Two of the articles in the purse are a knife and flashlight.)

Edmund is the witty one of the family; every ready for a quick come back.  He tends to be a bit of a sass king but at heart is brave and full of determination.  He isn’t as athletic as Alec, but he still enjoys outdoor activity.

Ed has dark hair like his older sister and blue eyes.  He’s fourteen, but according to Jill acts younger.

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Philadelphia Elise Worth

Phil often wishes she had a nicer name.  NO ONE is named Philadelphia or Elise, but it turns out Philadelphia is where her parents met.  She’s the youngest Worth and often feels neglected or slighted.  She hardly ever finds her voice listened to.

She enjoys animals of any kind.  She has her own bunny and they have a family dog.  She also really likes any boyish sport, especially baseball.  She is ever ready for a tumble in the mud or a fist fight, evidence of her temper.  She’s outgoing and kind, nonetheless.

Phil has red hair and green eyes with freckles.  She’s eleven and often complains eleven is old enough to be treated like a grown-up.

Sellena Gracelynn Reagan (Girl in the last paragraph.)

Sellena is a ranch girl who moved from Montana when her Grandfather died – her mother and father having died when she was younger. Soon after she moved from Montana, she started exploring….exploring old records and diaries. Records and diaries about the history of the town. She lives with her Aunt Carrie on a small farm with horses, cows, chickens, guineas, and goats. Sellena runs into the Worth kids and Kyrie when she comes to ‘her’ old warehouse that holds the best records of the town’s history.

 

~~Amie~~

If you had been walking down Elm Grove Street in Abbeyton, you might have heard the hoarse voice in number 73.  Old Mrs. Landers was nearly deaf and blind, and wasn’t much help to her spinster daughter in the raising of her granddaughter.  One thing she did help with was making sure Kyrie did her school work.

“Make sure you do it all,” Mrs. Landers croaked to her young granddaughter.  Kyrie had always been told she was an orphan from birth.  Kyrie looked up lazily from the book she held in her hand.

“I will, Grandma,” she promised, smiling a bit drearily, at least the normal observer would have called it that.  The keen observer would have called the full mouth dreamy instead of dreary.  The warm brown eyes seemed to have a lethargic glimmer in them, as if the soul within was already tired with this world.  Crowning her brow was locks of a striking blonde, almost of a gold color.  All together, Kyrie Noel Brink was not to be called ugly.

Spinster Eliza Landers walked into the room at that moment, if anything Eliza Landers did could be called walking.  “Mother, I think Kyrie should do her schoolwork outside.  It would be needful for Kyrie, as she hasn’t had her fill of sunlight for the day.  Outside, Kyrie,” Eliza ordered, half pushing Kyrie out the back door.

Kyrie grabbed her school books and went out the back door, heavily sitting down on the doorstep.  The sun shone in it’s golden beauty and the birds sang in concert.  The soft smell of flowers drifted into Kyrie’s nostrils but sadly, the girl was immune to it.  She sat with her chin cupped in her hand daydreaming about things far away.

“Ouch!” Kyrie gasped as a red ball landed squarely on her head.  Blinking rapidly, she stood up to see who had thrown it.

“See, Ed!  I told you that you threw it too high!” a voice came from beyond the hedge that separated the Lander’s yard and their neighbor’s.

“Bother, you could have refrained from ‘I told you so’” a voice snorted.  “I don’t think it will take too long to get, Phil.”

“But that’s the Lander’s yard,” the first voice almost whispered.  “Let’s get Alec and Jill.  They might know what to do.”

“Do what?” a friendly voice said as a dark brown head appeared over the hedge.  The brown head was followed by a startling red one.

“Edmund threw the ball over the hedge,” the first voice said simply.

“Ed!” cried the friendly voice, now a bit more demanding.

“Well, Edmund will have to go and get it,” a voice said.  There was a strange silence over on the other side of the hedge.

“No, that won’t do,” finally the friendly voice said determinedly.  “I think we all should go and tell them.  It’s their ball now, isn’t it?”

“It’s their ball now?” the second voice snorted.  “No way!  I’ve got it handled, don’t you worry.  Now, where’s my bag?”

“Your man purse,” laughed a voice, the sound of clinking and a humph came from the other side of the hedge.  Kyrie started forward but stopped.

“What are you going to do, Ed?” the first voice asked.

“You’ll see,” answered the voice that must be Ed.  “You’ll be surprised.”

“Edmund, you’d better not!” the friendly voice warned when there was a rustling sound.

“Don’t worry, Jill,” came Ed’s voice, a bit muffled.  “I’ve done this many a time.”  The sound of snipping and grunts filled the air.

“Alec, stop him!” the girl she assumed was Jill cried.  “He can’t do that!”

“Why not?” asked the person who had to be Alec.  “Let him.”

Kyrie grabbed the ball and started to walk towards the part of the hedge that was trembling as if it were alive.  She wasn’t sure what kind of boy this was, but she had to find out.  The hedge gave another shiver and a head popped out.

“Oh, hello!” the boy cried, his blue eyes wide.  “I didn’t know that you lived here.”

“What is it?” asked a voice from the other side of the hedge.

“Just wait,” the boy instructed, wiggling out of the hedge and standing up next to Kyrie.  He was average height and just about average looking.  He smiled, revealing rather large teeth and full lips.  He had a small amount of freckles sprinkled over his high cheek bones.

“I would say you aren’t much of a talker,” he laughed.  “I’m Edmund Worth.”  Edmund stuck out a grimy hand expectantly.

Kyrie looked at Ed’s dirty hand and seemed half inclined not to shake it.

“Come now, it’s just a hand.  It won’t bite you,” Edmund said, looking at Kyrie.  Kyrie hesitantly shook it.

“I’m Kyrie Brink.”

“It is a shock to see you here.  We thought that it was only the sour faced lady and that deaf granny…”

“Edmund! Who are you talking to?” the friendly voice came, a bit sharply.

“That’s Jill,” Edmund said, as if that explained everything.  “I assume you guessed the ball is ours?  Can I have it back?”

Kyrie almost gave the ball to Edmund, but she suddenly changed her mind.  “No, I’d like to see your siblings before I give it back.”

“Why?  I’m the best one out of them,” Ed interjected.  “Mom says that I’m the worst but I wouldn’t listen to mothers.  I can’t decide which one is the worst but…”

“Ed!  What are you saying?” Jill yelled over the hedge.

“It’s actually probably Jill,” Ed shrugged.  “Well, let’s go under the hedge.”

“Actually,” Kyrie said timidly. “There’s a gate this way.”

“Oh, that would have been nice to have known,” Edmund laughed as he followed Kyrie through the gate that lead to the Lander’s front yard.  They cut across it to Edmund’s yard.  Three other people stood by the hedge.  A red-headed boy was helping a red-headed girl onto his shoulders.

“Wait!  There they are,” the tall brunette pointed out.  The boy jumped, making the smaller girl fall off his shoulders.

“Guys!” Edmund broke into a run.  Kyrie didn’t know whether she should follow or not, but decided to follow anyway.  “This is Kyrie.  I don’t know why she lives there, as you kept insisting I hurried.”

Jill looked at the girl in interest and stuck out her hand.  “I’m Jill Worth, nice to meet you.”  It seemed Jill and Edmund shared one side of the families looks.  Both had the full lips and slightly up-turned nose.  While on Edmund, it made him look a bit funny, the same characteristics on Jill made her stunning.  She had a generous amount of freckles and light blue eyes that were more hazel than Edmund’s.

“I’m Kyrie Brink,” Kyrie shifted the ball from one hand to the next.  “It’s nice to meet you too.”  Kyrie looked over the four children’s faces.  There was marked  similarity in all of them, making it easy to see they were siblings.  Yet, at the same time, they all had very different personalities shiny out of their eyes.

“This is Alec,” Jill motioned to the tall older boy with the red hair  He looked about sixteen, muscular and well-built.  His eyes were hazel, but he had the freckles that all the siblings seemed to have, more or less.  He stuck out his hand for a handshake.  “And Phil,” Jill motioned to the younger girl.  She had the same colored hair as her older brother, and the same nose.  Her eyes were large in her thin face and seemed greener with her green shirt.

Kyrie blinked.  A girl named Phil?  That was different.  “Hi,” Kyrie shook Alec’s hand and waved at Phil.

Phil smiled joyfully.  “I suppose you’re a hidden child locked in the closet that they found when they moved.”

“They who?” Kyrie looked puzzled.

“Oh,” Phil laughed.  “The deaf granny and the sour-faced lady.”

“Those are my Aunt and Grandmother,” Kyrie said a bit indignantly.  Feeling as if she had to make Phil sting in the same way she had made loyal Kyrie sting, Kyrie maliciously asked, “So, why’d your parent’s name you Phil?  It is a boy name, you know.”
Phil’s eyes sparked dangerously, but before she could reply, Edmund snapped, “Oh, and Kyrie’s a girl name, is it?  I thought it was a cow’s name.”

“Ed!” Jill reprimanded.  “Phil’s real name is Philadelphia, but Phil is much shorter and easier to say.”

“I like Phil,” Phil spat, grimacing at Kyrie.

“Sorry,” Kyrie felt dreadfully sorry at make Phil and Edmund upset.  “I didn’t mean to upset you, really I didn’t.”

“And we didn’t mean to call you a chicken pie,” Ed muttered.

“Never mind Ed, Kyrie, he’s a case,” Alec said, bopping his younger brother on the head.

“Am not!” Ed exclaimed.

“I suppose you might be thirsty,” Jill said, pointing toward the house.  “We have some lemonade and chocolate cookies in the house.”

“Those are my cookies!” Ed objected.

“I’m sure we can scrape a few for you, Kyrie, if you’d like some.”

Half of Kyrie knew she should be studying her lessons, but her curiosity was aroused and she wanted to learn more about the Worth children.  They seemed nice and full of excitement.

“All right, I’ll come,” Kyrie agreed, following the Worths. She looked back toward her house, wondering what her aunt would think of this.  Alec dashed off toward the house while the rest followed more leisurely.

“How old are you?” Jill asked.

“Fourteen,” Kyrie replied promptly.

“What do you do all day in that house?” Phil scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

“I do my homework, clean my room, and practice my flute,” Kyrie answered, as if reciting a poem or research paper.

“That’s it?” Phil shook her head is disbelief.

“Mom says we can bring her in,” Alec announced, popping his head out of the glass door that lead into the kitchen.

“Okay,” Jill motioned toward the door.  “Come on in.”

Kyrie nodded and walked in.  If she had known the adventures that would have happened because of the simple action, she might have reconsidered.  But maybe she wouldn’t have.  Maybe the adventures were worth it.

 

~~Berea~~

Two hours later, Kyrie rushed in the Lander house, colliding with Aunt Eliza who had her arms full of dirty laundry.

“Oh, Aunt, I’m so sorry,” Kyrie gasped.  “Are you all right?”

Eliza, who was just recovering from back surgery, gave a short yell.  Her hands clutched at her back; the laundry fell at her feet.  Slowly, Eliza straightened, and the two pairs of brown eyes locked.

“Where have you been, Kyrie?” Aunt Eliza demanded, ignoring the question.

“At the neighbors.  Oh, Aunt, they are so much fun!  There are four children…one of the boys is my age.”

Eliza Lander’s brown eyes narrowed suspiciously.  “Children? Neighbors? Is that where you have been?”

“Yes,” smiled the golden haired girl, her lips turning up slowly but gradually.

“Well,”–Eliza said stoutly–“It seems they’ve done you good.  There is color in your cheeks.”

Kyrie’s eyes grew wider, and her hand reached up to her cheek.  “Just like the princess in The Jeweled Crown!  Are my cheeks really rosy, Aunt?”

“Yes, child, they are,” and for once Kyrie saw the love in her Aunt.

But good times pass, and soon Eliza was back to her old brisk self.  “Hand me the laundry, Kyrie; I can’t bend down.” So Kyrie did as she was told, and Eliza headed for the laundry room.  Kyrie followed at a distance.

“May I invite them over?” Kyrie asked, leaning against the laundry room door.

“For heaven’s sake, where would they play?” Aunt Eliza demanded, expertly shaking out cloth after cloth.

“The attic,” Kyrie sold, her brown eyes all a twinkle.

“So, you’ve already planned everything out, eh?”

“Yes.  They could come tomorrow when Grandma has her doctor’s appointment.”

“Is that so?” Eliza mused, her forehead wrinkled in meditation.

“Yes,” continued Kyrie, twiddling with her shirt fringe.  “It’s so big that we’ll have plenty of space to play.  And, it’s so high up Grandma will never hear us when she gets back!”  All this was true, but Kyrie had abstained from mentioning the fact that there were many old trunks and antiques from late relatives of the Landers that Kyrie wanted to search with her new friends.  She crossed her fingers and waited for her aunt’s answer.

Aunt Eliza threw the last clothe in–Kyrie’s Sunday dress–and slammed the washer machine lid shut.   She turned around to face her niece.

“Well, I suppose you can.  But–” she pointed a long, bony finger–“I want it nicer then you found it when you’re done.  Everything spick and span.  Or no more children over here, do you understand?”

Oh yes, Kyrie understood.  It’d be so clean that Aunt Eliza would think she had hired a cleaner–not four kids playing.  And may they come over to 10:00 tomorrow?  Of course, I’ll do all my schoolwork right now.  Thank you so much!  You are the best aunt ever.

Kyrie was bubbling with joy as she returned to the back door step to retrieve her schoolbooks.  Never in her life had she been so excited, she reasoned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night passed quickly, but when Kyrie rose at 6:00 the next morning, she sunk back on her bed in despair.  There were still four more hours left before the Worth’s supposed arrival. (Kyrie had phoned the Worth house the night before.)  However, Aunt Eliza had heard her sigh of disappointment and bustled in, her brown hair pinned back tight into a bun.  She flicked on the lamp.

“Time to get up, Kyrie,” she said.  Kyrie sighed once more and slid off her full sized bed.  The covers were a grand mess, and her clothes from the day before were strewed on the polished wood floor.

“Now,”–the bony finger once again was aimed at Kyrie–“I want your room spotless.  Breakfast will be ready at 6:30.”

“Yes, Aunt,” Kyrie yawned and rubbed her golden head.

“After that you can vacuum the living room.  Do you need to clean the attic before they get here?” Eliza asked anxiously.  The spinster was evidently ruffled at the event of having five children in her house at once.

Kyrie gave a short laugh.  “No, it will be fine.  What are we having for breakfast?”

“Oatmeal.  Now hurry up and start getting dressed,” and Eliza swooshed out, her old fashioned dress trailing after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chores helped pass the time, and before Kyrie knew it, it was 10:00.  She squealed with joy when she saw through the window, a glimpse of brown and read hair bobbing up and down the driveway.  She jumped from her perch on the sofa and ran to the front door, flinging it open.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Kyrie gasped, falling into Jill’s arms.  The latter laughed and hugged her new friend.

“Mother wouldn’t let us leave early,” Edmund mumbled, scuffing his shoe on the porch wood.

“Don’t tell me we’re playing dolls, Kyrie,” Alec smiled, his cheeks becoming little hills, and his green eyes twinkling.

“Nope,” Kyrie smiled back, ushering her friends into the house.  “We’re going to play in the attic.”

“The attic?” Ed snorted, while Phil gave a whoop.

“The attic!” She cried, excitement laced in her tone.

“Yes.  My grandmother has so many old dresses and letters and stuff from old relatives.  I though it would be fun to go through it.”

“You bet,” Alec said, who seemed to agree with Kyrie on everything.

Kyrie lead the quartet up the creaking wood stairs.  Her slender arm was holding onto the rail, going farther up with every step she took.  She looked back over her shoulder to see Edmund swing a leg over the railing.

Kyrie was too shocked to say anything at first.  If her grandmother of Aunt Eliza saw this they would truly, literally, die!

“No…no, Edmund!” Kyrie cried, as soon as she recovered her wits.  But it was too late.  He slid all the way down the banister and then, kaplunk!  Fell flat on his back.  Kyrie’s mouth slowly dropped, but his siblings looked as calm as you could get.  As if sliding down banisters is a regular activity! Kyrie thought.

Ed slowly pulled himself to a sitting position.  “Ed!  Are you alright?” Kyrie gasped.

“Awe, don’t worry, Kyrie.  Ed’s got a head made of iron,” piped up Phil.  But Kyrie snooker her head and trotted down the stairs.  What a thud he had made with he hit the bottom!

Kyrie dropped to her knees beside him.  “Do we need to call the ambulance?” she asked anxiously.

“Nope,” Edmund answered, giving a violent shake to his head.  “Guess I wasn’t expecting it,” and he gave a mischievous grin.

“Please, Edmund–umm, well, just don’t slide down the banister again,” Kyrie swallowed, trying to find the right words.

“Really? C’mon, Kyrie, your railing is so slick!  I ain’t never seen it like that.  It was like a greased lightning pole,” protested Ed.

Kyrie helped him to his feet and they mounted the stair while Jill, Alec, and Phil waited at the top.

“No,” Kyrie said firmly.  “My grandma and Aunt Eliza would die.  Besides, it’s not nailed in all the way.”

“Fine,” Ed grumbled, rubbing the back of his head where a fine sized knot was already appearing.

Kyrie couldn’t remember the last time she had been in the attic.  Years, she thought, and she didn’t even remember how it looked.  The first impression the children got was that it was dusty.  A spiderweb was in nearly every place it could be.  Rouches scattered under their feet.  Kyrie, who wasn’t used to such things, screamed and clung to Jill or Phil, who only laughed and stomped on the bugs.  The boys got out old walking sticks and began to clear the cobwebs away instantly.

How in the world does Aunt expect this place to be spic and span? Kyrie shuddered before burrowing herself in the nearest trunk.  Jill, Alec, and Phil crowded around her while Edmund still wrestled with cobwebs.

“I hope it’s not locked,” Kyrie muttered, and when she found it was only rusty and the lid opened easily, her face brightened.

The trunk was filled with old-fashioned dresses, but on the top sat a brown leather book. It seemed quite new, for it wasn’t very dusty.  Kyrie’s finger traced the patterns on the cover.

“Open it,” Jill breathed.

Kyrie flipped the cover.  It was not a book at all, but someone’s diary!  A ripple of delight went through the children, and Edmund joined them.

“What does it say?” Phil asked, squinting her eyes at the fancy handwriting.

“June fifth, Sister Ann’s house,” Kyrie read. “My name is Ava Joy Landers..”

 

Olivia Bell a.k.a Livy

Kyrie looked up, her face pale. “Ava Joy Landers, that’s my grandma’s name!” She looked back down on the large book in her hands. Squinting to make out the handwriting, it being more fancy than she’d read before. She continued to read:

“June fifth, Sister Anne’s House. My name is Ava Joy Landers, a woman of bright intention and strong will. You, my dear diary, will soon discover interesting things about me; at least, I hope they will be interesting. I live in a large mansion near Abbyton, on the outskirts of town in what some would call the countryside. I live with my dear husband Leonard. We have one son, all grown up now, sadly enough. He is a tall young man, handsome, of a strong build. He lives across town with his lovely wife, Mary. Together they have a beautiful baby, my true joy. The day my little granddaughter was born, my heart nearly burst in sheer joy. They babe, she is beautiful to behold. Her now being almost eighteen months old, she has lovely little golden curls, a truly angelic little girl if I’ve ever seen one…”

Phil stood reading further on as Kyrie looked up, her face conveying complete shock. “Man, whoever the little baby was, she must have been spoiled rotten by her Grandma!” Phil spoke up as she skimmed ahead.

Alec piped up from where he had been listening the whole time. “What’s wrong, Kyrie?” His blue eyes registered concern for his new-found friend.

Kyrie stuttered for a moment before answering in a frightened, astonished voice. “A granddaughter with golden curls, that sounds like me! But,” She paused, afraid of what these children would think of her past. “But, my parents are dead. They died when I was young, my Grandma and Aunt have been raising me my entire life, and I don’t remember anyone else…”

Jill stepped across the squeaky wooden floor to wrap her arms around the girl. “I’m so sorry, Kyrie. That is… unimaginable!” She squeezed her friend’s shoulders.

“But, who is Mary?” Kyrie asked. “Is she my mother?” And who is the son? Is he my father?” Kyrie’s questions popped out, unchecked by her usual shy, quietness. “Why is the son unnamed?” Suddenly, a loud thump and a crash interrupted her thoughts and she whipped her head around to see the source of the noise.

Edmund, after conquering the spider webs that shrouded a corner of the attic that was dimly lit by a dingy window, and being uninterested in the diary, had busied himself with rummaging through a trunk he thought looked like it could be a hundred years old. Inside, he had found a pair of antique roller skates and had decided to give them a try. Having never roller-skated before, the inevitable had occurred.

Jill shook her head as she surveyed the mess her brother had made. A large lamp, probably an antique, lay shattered on the floor beside a boy – who wasn’t moving.

Kyrie dropped the diary back into the trunk and rushed to the boy, bending down once more. “Ed, are you alright?” She poked the boy’s shoulder. No movement. Gasping, she looked over at Alec. “What should we do? Do you think I should call an ambulance?”

Shaking his head, his red hair really contrasting in the dark and drab attic, he walked over to where his brother lay. He’s seen this trick before and knew exactly how to remedy it. Reaching, he grabbed his brother’s shoulders and started – tickling him? But, the trick worked and the supposedly “dead” Ed jerked away from his brother’s grasp.

“Ah, c’mon, Alec!  Do you have to ruin everything? I was totally going to fool Kyrie this time.” He tried to stand, and then realizing he still wore the roller-skates, he sank back down. Muttering something about being sorry, he asked the older boy. “Mind taking these things off of me?” His blue eyes shone with mischief.

Kyrie stood shaking her head, “I’m so glad you are alright! I was praying you weren’t seriously hurt, and our good Lord answered!” She smiled, and then as she remembered their startling discovery, her smile faded.

She strode back over to where Phil, unconcerned for her brother, had continued to read the diary after Kyrie had dropped it. The eleven-year-old looked up at her new friend and cried, “Oh Kyrie, I skipped ahead and… and…” Tears glimmered in her green eyes, her red hair falling around her face. “Don’t read it, please don’t read it!” She tried to close the book, but Kyrie snatched it away too quickly.

Hastily skimming to where she had seen Phil reading, Kyrie quickly began reading.

“January first. The New Year is here, usually a time of grand parties and celebrations, but not this year – not for me. All I feel is sadness and pain, my dear diary. It pains me even to write the terrible things that have happed the last few days, but I feel as though I must. I am grieved to start by writing that my dear daughter-in-law, Mary, has died. It happened so suddenly, none of us were expecting such a tragedy to strike. One day she had a simple fever and a mite of a cough, and merely two days later, she was gone. My dear, dear Mary…I miss her so. She was an angel, just like her daughter. And now the poor child, Kyrie, is left motherless, with a father who…My son, Edward, he is not fit to raise the child. The man, of the past few months, he never can keep a job for more than a few weeks. I am so confused, my son becoming a reckless half-wit, my dear daughter-in-law dying, and little Kyrie – my angel. I believe it’s my duty to raise the child myself, I won’t trust her to her father, no I won’t. I’m ashamed that this has happed to my son, but I will not allow him to keep her. With Jesus’ strength, I know I can get custody of her, I know I must. Diary, remember my prayer as I write it here, “Lord, give me the strength to know what to do in these troubling times, and please heal my hurting heart. I know all things are possible with Your never ending strength, I believe it, to the very last word. Please help me, my Savior, I believe You died for me and rose from the dead and I know that this, in compared with that, is a very small matter. Please help me; I can’t do this on my own. Without You, it’s impossible…” 

As the last words left Kyrie’s lips, she slowly lifted her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her long, blond hair clung to her face as she looked at each of her friends in turn and said, “Where is my father?”

~~Mandalynn~~

“Dustin?” A man sat in a chair looking out of the window; gray clouds loomed overhead.

“Oh, hi Kate,” he said, turning to face a pretty lady with chocolate colored hair.

“Honey, I was getting worried about you. I thought you were going to be home by four?”

“Sorry about that, Kate. I just had some matters to finish up here first, but I’m done now. How about we drive home together? I can leave my car here and pick it up tomorrow.”

“That will be fine,” Kate replied.

The man and his wife walked out of the building and got into a small maroon colored car. The first raindrops began to pelt the windshield as they drove out of the parking lot.

I must now interrupt our story to give a little background about our characters. The man was Mr. Dustin J. walker. He was in his late forties, tall of stature and heavy set, with misty gray green eyes, and short, coal black hair.

Mr. Walker had once been known as Edward Landers. He, his twenty five year old sister Eliza and his mother and father had moved to Abbeyton when he was nineteen. A year later, Edward had married Mary Simson and moved into number 77, Elm Grove Street; a little down the way from his parents.

Not long after his marriage, though he had always been a somewhat rebellious child, Edward began to reveal his real self; the black heart that had been kept hidden while living with his parents shown through.

His young wife had died two years later from an unknown sickness. And, some said, heart sick over her husband’s wrong doings. Edward’s father, Leonard, followed Mary to the grave one month after from an ongoing fight with cancer. At a time when Edward’s mother, spinster sister Eliza, and his seven month old daughter, Kyrie, needed him most, he wasn’t there.

Mrs. Landers eventually got custody of Kyrie and had daily praying meetings with her friends and daughter for her son. As the only man in the family, it was supposed that Edward would care for the three, but instead, he only added more burdens. Having lost all his money in gambling one month after his wife died, he came to his mother to borrow some, but was turned away at the door with a sorrowful look by Mrs. Landers.

Nevertheless, Edward managed to scrape together some money two days later to feed his gambling addiction. That night, a fight broke out between several men and Edward was involved. He packed up his belongings and fled the town without coming to say goodbye to his family. He was never heard of again.

 

Ten years later, Edward had a new identity. He had changed his name to Dustin Walker, gained some weight and dyed his used to be blonde hair, dark black. He had also gotten remarried to Kate Rayner.

Mr. Walker heard that Abbeyton’s mayor was up for election and having already been involved somewhat in politics, he decided to go back to the town and run for mayor. It was now four years later and he was running for reelection. But let us now get back to the story.

******

Randal Lemons sat in a chair reading a book when his phone beside him rang. He glanced down at the caller id, “hmm. I better take this call.”

He went out his apartment door and down the stairs whith his Great Pyrenees dog, Woof, following along behind. They walked around to the back of the apartment complex where Randal paced back and forth in the small yard as he talked on the phone.

“Hey Eddy, I mean Dustin.”

“Hi Randal. I thought it was time we had another talk. Now that we’ve gotten past the democratic primary and avoided a runoff, it’s time for us to start planning what we are going to do so I can beat the republican candidate, Neil Binverisie. As my political advisor, I wanted to know what you think we should do.”

“Well, since I’m your only buddy from when you used to live in Abbeyton who still lives around here, I was the one to help you out and I’m glad that you hired me as your political adviser. Now that the race is pretty tight, we are going to have to remove all evidence against you that might be found. They can use anything to win the election.”

“But nobody even knows I used to live here,” Mr. Walker said.

“Yes, but Binverisie could still investigate. I heard that old newspapers are kept in the archives of the town library. We need to figure out a way to get in there and destroy them before anyone can find them. Then we will come up with our own accusations against him.”

“Alright, Randal, I’m trusting you to take care of that. In the meantime, I’ll start creating rumors about Binverisie. Kate’s calling me for dinner so I better go. Bye Randal.”

“Bye Dustin. I’ll look into it all tomorrow morning.” Randal said. He pressed the end call button and slipped his phone into his pants pocket. “Well, Woof old boy, looks like I’m taking a trip to the library tomorrow.

 

******

 

“I’m so sorry, Kyrie,” Jill whispered, leaning over to give her friend a hug.

Phil hugged Kyrie from the other side. Edmund made a face, but Alec’s stern glance sobered him.

“It’s okay,” Kyrie said finally. She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“How about we do something else?” Jill suggested.

“And I know just the thing!” Edmund cried.

“What might that be?” Phil twisted around from where she had been poking through another box.

“We can make pie!” Edmund exclaimed. “And we can make it a contest so it will be more fun: Jill and Kyrie against me and Alec.”

“What about me?” Phil wondered.

“You can help either team out and be the judge of whose pie is the best,” Edmund suggested.

“Have you ever even made a pie before, Ed?” Jill asked skeptically.

“No, but everyone always says ‘easy as pie’ so it can’t be hard. Besides, I’ve seen mother and you make them all the time; it doesn’t look to difficult. What do you say Alec?”

“I’m fine with it,” Alec replied.

“I think we should ask Kyrie since this is her house,” Jill put in.

“Oh, it sounds like lots of fun!” Kyrie said, her eyes sparkling. “I never bake. Aunt Eliza does it and I only help out sometimes.”

“Well,” Jill said smiling. “There no better time to learn like the present. Let’s all go down to the kitchen and decided what kind of pie we are going to make.”

The five children traipsed down the attic stairs and followed Kyrie into the large and airy kitchen. The walls were painted a cherry yellow that matched with the yellow polka dotted curtains, which ruffled in the breeze from the open windows.

“What kind of pie shall we make?” Alek said, as Kyrie handed a large cook book, yellowed with age to him.

“How about apple? That’s always good” Edmund said.

“Yeah, but then we have to cut the apples,” Alek pondered. “what are you girls making?”

“I think raspberry pie would be delicious! Do you have any raspberries, Kyrie?” Jill asked.

“Sure. There’s a whole quart in the fridge. Aunt Eliza buys them for me to snack on. They taste so good!”

“All right then. let me just find a recipe,” Jill said, opening another cook book and turning the pages.

“How about we make pecan, Ed?” Alec spoke up. “Here is a recipe for one.”

“Yum!” Edmund cried, “let’s do it! Where are your folks, Kyrie?” Ed asked, as he began to get out ingredients for pie crust.

“Grandmother had a doctor’s appointment today, so Aunt Eliza took her. They won’t be back for a couple of hours,” Kyrie replied.

The two teams talked little as they made their pies. Phil  helping them both when needed.

“How big should I chop the pecans?” Edmund asked Alec.

“I don’t know Ed, but I’m trying to roll out this crust. ask Phil.”

“Hey, Phil!” Edmund hollered from across the kitchen, “will you come chop these nuts for me?”

“Sure,” Phil said. “There isn’t much the girls need help with over here.”

Jill and Kyrie worked like a well-oiled machine. Their crust was perfectly shaped by Jill’s experienced hands, while Kyrie mixed up the filling. “I think the boys are having a little trouble over there,” Kyrie giggled.

“Hmm,” Jill said, “Edmund, do you really think it is that easy now?”

Edmund gave a grin, “it’s working out splendid! Don’t you think Alec?” His brother gave only a grunt as a reply, for he was engaged in carefully pressing the pie crust into the pan.

The oven had been preheated and at precisely the same time, both pies were put in.

“Well, we finished the same time you did,” said Edmund to the girls.

“Yes, but it wasn’t a race,” argued Phil. “The real test is in the tasting.”

“And I think I know who the winners are,” Jill said.

“Us!”exclaimed Edmund with a saucy smile.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” laughed Jill.

“Oh? wasn’t it?” Edmund asked. “I don’t know who else could be the winners. Our pie looks quite good. Don’t you agree, Alec?”

“It could win a blue ribbon at the county fair!” Alec said proudly.

Phil shook her head “without my help you boys would be nowhere.”

“Well,” Kyrie interrupted, “Aunt Eliza said to clean the attic if we played in it, so I think we had better do that while the pies bake.”

The children collected brooms, feather dusters, rags and other cleaning supplies, and hauled them up to the attic. As they cleaned they talked, though Jill noticed Kyrie was a bit quite.

The older girls organized the boxes and bags,  Alec and Edmund swept, and Phil dusted.

“These window sills have dust an inch thick,” Phil said, wiping her rag across the wood. Just then the timer beeped down stairs.

“That must be our pie!” Kyrie cried. “I’ll get it. The rest of you stay up here so how it looks will be a surprise.”

Kyrie soon returned, her face all smiles. “It looks splendid!”

“How about ours?” Asked Edmund hopefully.

“It looked alright. You set a timer, right?”

“Yes,” Edmund nodded. “For thirty five minutes.”

The hour dragged on as the Worth children and Kyrie continued talking and cleaning. “What is that strange smell?” Kyrie said, resting her head against a beam and turning up her nose.

“Our pie!” the boys yelled in unison.

Edmund made a wild dash for the stairs and was the first to reach the kitchen. Black smoke billowed up from the oven in front of him. “Oh, dear,” he sighed.

~~Sam Bowling~~

“‘Oh dear!’” mocked Jill, “Quick! Turn off the oven!” Edmund hesitated.

“Um, which button is…”

“Oh never mind!” Jill turned off the oven herself and stepped back, coughing. “Kyrie, where are the oven mitts?”

Kyrie handed them to her, then jumped and clapped her hands to her ears as the piercing wail of the fire alarm started.

“Oh dear,” sighed Edmund.

Alec located the alarm and unscrewed it from the ceiling. As he held it low down, away from the smoke, the noise stopped.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to take it off the ceiling,” said Kyrie as Jill raced by them with the smoking pie, headed for the porch.

“My mom does it all the time!” said Alec. “How else can you make it stop?”

“Well, be sure to put it back up before my aunt sees it. She’s very concerned about—cough—fire safety.”

Phil opened the kitchen windows and the smoke began to clear. Jill came back inside.

“Well,” said Jill “that was interesting.”

“Sorry about that, Kyrie,” said Alec “I told Ed to set the timer.”

Edmund glared back at Alec “I did set it!”

Phil pointed to the timer “You were supposed to push ‘start’.”

Ed groaned, “How was I supposed to know that?” Jill rolled her eyes.

“Ed?”

“Yes, Alec?”

“I think our pie baking career is over.”

“Brought to an untimely death-by-timer,” sighed Edmund.

************

Kyrie drained the last drop of milk from her cup, not wanting to set it down and have to look at people again. In the momentary silence, the thoughts Edmund’s pie contest had tried to brush away returned. But she couldn’t spend the afternoon staring at the bottom of a glass.

Edmund giggled. “Hey Kyrie, I hate to break it to you, but there isn’t any more milk in your cup.”

Kyrie set it down hastily.

“Now, Edmund,” said Jill, “don’t tease Kyrie so much! She’s probably not using to having such a…hilarious boy around.”

“Why, thank you, Jill!” Ed radiated mock gratitude.

Jill watched Kyrie with hidden anxiety while keeping up her banter with Ed. She had invited Kyrie to lunch at their house so Kyrie wouldn’t have to eat alone in the smoky kitchen, but she wondered if it would have been better to leave her alone. Poor Kyrie. But there wasn’t anything they could do about her father, really, so…

“Alright!” announced Jill “What shall we do next? Does anyone want to be in a photoshoot?”

Alec and Edmund groaned. “Not another one!”

“Well, what would you like to do, Kyrie?” asked Jill.

Kyrie shrugged. “Whatever you guy like. I don’t really mind.”

Phil jumped in “Why don’t we go into town and do something? Maybe we could stop by the library!”

Kyrie looked up from inspecting the tablecloth, “You like the library?”

“Yes! Do you?” Phil asked.

“Oh yes! I’m always asking Grandmother to take me, but she hardly ever does. I have a library card, though.”

“You mean she doesn’t let you go into town without her?” asked Edmund.

“She says it isn’t safe. Your mom lets you?” Kyrie had only met Mrs. Worth half an hour ago, but she had already been surprised by her leniency a dozen times.

“As long as we go together. It’s only half a mile away!” Said Alec.

“Hey, that was my question!” said Edmund.

“Whatever,” interrupted Jill “Would you like to go, Kyrie?”

Kyrie bit her lip. “Well…”

“Do you really think your Grandmother would mind?” asked Alec.

Kyrie knew she probably would mind. But more than she wanted to stay out of trouble, she wanted to be with Jill, and Edmund, and Alec, and Phil of course. Not just to be with them, but to be one of them. They already think I’m a baby. Crying like that in front of all of them. I’m never allowed to do anything fun…

“Alright,” said Kyrie, “I’ll come. I’ve never asked Grandmother about going with someone else; I’m sure if your mom thinks it’s alright, it is.”

Edmund jumped up from the table. “Then let’s go!”

“Hey!” said Jill “We have to clear our dishes first.”

“Okay, let’s go after we clear our dishes and do everything else in due propriety!”

Jill rolled her eyes “You read too much, Ed. Due propriety! What does that even mean?”

So everyone cleared their dishes and prepared to leave while listening to Edmund lecture Jill on the meaning of the word propriety, which was evidently shamefully overdue.  Finally they made it out the door, only to have Phil run back in to get her library books.

Kyrie scuffed her tennis shoe on the driveway, trying not to think about Aunt Eliza. Jill watched her.

“Phil!” Jill shouted “We’re waiting for you!” She turned to Kyrie “Sorry about that. Phil is always forgetting things!”

Seeing that Kyrie still didn’t look very cheerful, Jill added “Why don’t we go ahead and start without her?”

“Alright,” said Edmund, “She can catch up.”

On the way to town, Alec and Edmund filled the girls in on a new game they had made up last time they went.

“It doesn’t really have a name,” said Ed, “but basically, you have to make it from one end of Main Street to the other without anyone seeing you.”

“Right,” said Alec, “you can go through alleys or whatever you like, but you have to meet at the ‘Welcome to Abbeytown’ sign at the end of Main Street.  Whoever gets there first, without being seen, wins.”

“What if somebody does see you?” asked Jill.

“Then you have to start over.”

Jill glanced at Kyrie “I don’t know, Alec. It sounds like kind of a bad idea.”

“Come on!” said Edmund, “it’s great! What could go wrong?”

“Um, Ed, a lot of thing could.”

“‘Don’t bother me with trifles!’” quoted Edmund in a strange accent, “‘After waiting twenty five years—‘”

“Alright, alright,” Jill interrupted “No Inigo Montoya, please! What do you think, Kyrie?”

“Well, it does sound exciting!”

“Alright, then,” sighed Jill, “I’m in.”

“Although,” said Kyrie, “I don’t know my way around town very well. Maybe…”

“I’ll go with you!” shouted Edmund, “I’m, like, an expert.”

Despite everything on Kyrie’s mind, she grinned. “Alright. That sounds fun!”

Just then they heard Phil running up behind them. “Hey Jill! Alec! Wait for me!”

They turned around and waited for her. “There you are!” said Jill.

“Sorry,” Phil panted, lugging her bag of library books, “I hoped you would wait for me.”

********

Ten minutes later, Kyrie and Edmund peered around the corner of a large brick building. Phil had decided to stay at the library, but the race was on between Alec, Jill, and Ed and Kyrie.

“This is so easy” said Edmund, “there’s hardly anyone out. Last time I had to—there’s someone!”

Kyrie pulled back, “Wait till she goes by,” she whispered.

“But she’s coming right this way—oh no!” Edmund grabbed Kyrie’s hand and ran to a small door in the building.

“Ed!” Kyrie whispered, “We can’t go in there! What are you—“

“It’s just the back door of the library!” Edmund hissed, opening the door and pulling Kyrie through into the darkness.

 

~~Yashvi~~

“Edmund! Do you have any idea how much trouble we could get into if someone found us?” Kyrie hissed as her eyes began to adjust to the dark.