Rimona
The keys clacked loudly underneath my fingers as the typewriter in front of me struck down with each new letter. Soft music played in the background coming from the antique record player on the corner table. A steaming cup of hot chamomile tea sat next to me; its comforting scent wafting throughout the room.
The shelves that covered the walls of my small bedroom contained the many trinkets and treasures I had collected over the years. Porcelain elf sculptures, rows of rugged books, and various dragon sculptures lined the shelves. Polished rocks glittered among the other items, filling much of the available space.
Where there weren’t shelves, posters of boy bands enveloped the remaining walls. Most of them had boys with dark shaggy hair, flawless fair skin, and prominent bright eyes.
As I finished the page I was working on, I slid it out from my typewriter and placed it on top of a stack of already finished pages, before preparing the next one.
My cat Draco was curled up and slept quietly on top of my folded quilt which lay across my bed behind me.
I had just started on the next page, when soft footsteps could be heard outside my door, and shortly after a knock was heard.
“Rimona, it’s time for dinner, sweetie,” my mom said softly.
“Okay, thanks, Mom,” I said.
I finished the line I was working on, then uncrossed my legs and slid on my slippers.
Draco was now watching me, and yawned widely before stretching out his legs in front of him. I mimicked his action by stretching my arms high above myself, before shaking them out and heading towards my bedroom door.
I grabbed my cell phone that I had previously put on silent just before I opened the door and headed downstairs.
As I walked downstairs, several notifications littered my screen. I swiped each of them away, making a mental note to disable some of those notifications. One of the last ones I dismissed I saw was a text message from one of my friends. Reluctantly, I opened up the messaging app and stared at the text message he had sent to me as well as several other people in a group chat. An image of some twisted meme filled the screen, and I looked at it unamused. Rolling my eyes, I quickly sent a terse reply, before sticking the phone in my back pocket.
My younger brother Tony sat in the corner of the sofa, his eyes glued to a brightly-colored and obnoxious show on his tablet. I shook my head in minor disgust, as I turned the corner and sat down at the table.
The delightful smell in the room was mouthwatering. My mom was bringing out the last dish, and setting it in the middle of the table. Our dining room had a cabinet of fine china against one wall, and a crystal chandelier overhead.
“Wow, mom. That looks amazing.” I said as I eyed the large glazed ham platter she just brought out.
She smiled with a slight nod as she continued to bustle, setting out forks for each of us.
I pulled out the wooden chair and sat down. I began helping myself to the bowls of green beans and potatoes, scooping generous portions of each.
“The food is getting cold,” my mother called out, trying to get the attention of my dad and brother.
She sat down next to me, a slightly drained expression on her face as she began to dish herself out.
My father came into the room, still on a phone call and sounding annoyed at whoever he was talking to. He made his excuses and hung up the phone as he sat down.
Finally, my brother came into the room, his eyes still glued to the screen of his tablet. He sat down putting the tablet on his plate, not even bothering to grab food for himself.
“Tony, you need to turn off the tablet while we eat.”
A groan escaped my brother’s lips, as he turned it off and gave my mom a scowl.
The silence was deafening in the room, as my family finished dishing themselves out and began to eat, with only the sound of forks lightly scraping against plates.
“So I am almost done writing my latest novel,” I said proudly, breaking the silence.
I had never been published or anything and I wrote them mostly for myself, but I enjoyed seeing what my mind would create.
“That’s great, honey. But wouldn’t it be faster if you used that nice laptop your dad bought for you?”
Not wanting to sound unappreciative, I joked, “I like torturing myself.” The fact was that the screens bothered my eyes, and I liked having something in front of me that I could hold. No matter how good the resolution was, I could still see the tiny dots that covered the screen, and it was distracting. “And anyway, my stories on the pages feel more real that way, at least when I am trying to be creative. I’ll use my laptop at school, I promise.”
“That’s right, school starts tomorrow.” My dad said. “Are you excited?”
I wasn’t really looking forward to another boring school year. I preferred drawing and writing in my free time, but I was excited to see my best friend Lynne. She had been away most of the summer at a summer camp, so we hadn’t hung out in months.
I nodded and smiled in response to my mom.
Tony was playing with his food, and began tapping his fork against his plate. I glared at him. He smirked at me and started doing it louder, enjoying the attention. He always seemed to be looking for attention.
“And maybe you’ll even get a boyfriend this year!” she said excitedly.
My dad groaned as she said this.
“Maybe,” I said doubtfully. It wasn’t that I couldn’t get a boyfriend, I just didn’t find most boys interesting enough to want to talk to them for more than about 5 minutes.
“I’m done eating,” my brother said, drawing their attention away from me. Thank goodness.
“You hardly ate anything on your plate!” my mother said in disbelief. He shrugged, and slipped out of his chair, taking his tablet with him and leaving his barely touched plate behind.
My brother’s vastly different behavior from my own made my mind begin to wander.
I was quite different from the rest of my family. Both my brother and I were adopted. My parents couldn’t have kids of their own, though they desperately wanted children. They adopted me when I was less than a year old.
My real mother had abandoned me as a newborn when I became gravely ill and the doctors were sure I wouldn’t survive more than a week. Unable to afford the expensive bills she knew she was facing, she left me at the hospital without a trace. Miraculously, I recovered from my ailment seemingly overnight. The doctors were stumped, but I was shortly after put into foster care, and eventually adopted.
When my parents revealed the truth about my past, it sickened me. The thought that someone could leave their child like that was incomprehensible to me. It took me months to reconcile my thoughts about the situation.
I knew nothing of my real parents, other than my physical features I inherited from them. My features are fairly average: brown hair, slightly tanned skin, light freckles dotting my cheeks, and a slim figure. The only notable feature I possess are my eyes, which are a bright teal color. Most of the other kids assumed they were contacts, because of their exceptionally unusual color. At some point, I stopped correcting them, and just let them believe what they wanted.
My adoptive parents had always been generous and kind to me. My father was a high-ranking executive at a large company, so he could afford us anything we desired. He knew I enjoyed my antiques and collectables, and even gave me my current typewriter for my birthday. My mother worked tirelessly raising my brother and I, and keeping our house in order.
My parents were conversing as I was lost in my thoughts. I finished my plate, and excused myself, bringing both my brother’s plate as well as my own to the kitchen sink. I ripped a small chunk of ham off of my brother’s plate before scraping the rest into the trash can.
When I returned upstairs to my bedroom, Draco immediately jumped off of the bed to greet me, arching and rubbing his back along my legs. I gave him the small chunk of ham I was holding, before returning to my typewriter.
My tea was cold now, but I drank the rest of it anyway, not wanting to waste it. I stared at my typewriter, but decided I wasn’t sure what to write next anyway, so I went over to my bed to stare at the ceiling hoping for inspiration.
I imagined the impossible: dragons, magic, and elves. I knew they couldn’t possibly exist, though the premise of such amazing creatures sent my mind on adventures of fantasy and imagination.
Large stone castles with dragons roaming the halls filled my imagination. Elves bustling back and forth with scrolls in their hands. Trees that swayed and moved as if to song, with flowers that bloomed at only a touch. The fantastical scenes in my mind were clear and vivid, as if from a memory.
Before I knew it, my eyelids were growing heavy. I turned off the lamp next to me. As I drifted off to sleep, I could see images on the back of my eyelids of dragons spreading their wings and bellowing mighty roars.
