Chapter 1
Chapter 1:
“Life is bearable when you have someone to write, and someone who writes you back. Even if it’s just one person.”
― Eunjin Jang
It was summer in the town of Maple Hollow, a small seemingly never aging type of town, like it was frozen in time, with obvious yet small modernization. The ones where attendance was mandatory every Friday under the stadium lights at the high school. The type of town where rumors spread about a person before the person it was about even knew. It was a hot humid summer, few cars on the main road and few people laced the sidewalks in the unbearable heat, except for this particular day three friends.
On the sidewalk of main street, passing the library was Amber, Derek and Eliza. A car waved them to go in the exit of the corner pull up to the bank, and the crossed over to were the only real shops in town were. Eliza dragged behind Derek and Amber, the two were arguing about nonsense Eliza didn’t dare get involved into, as she watched her surroundings only hearing bits and pieces. A cool drift of air brushed through Eliza’s dark brown hair as she passed the Mini mart next to Arnold’s floral shop. The owner, Jean, waved in the window, Eliza returned a friendly wave and smiled and continued on.
The friends stopped coming across a second hand store, Box Of Treasures.
“C ’mon let’s go in.” Amber said in a sing song like voice. She took off her black and silver gemmed shades and flipped her long blonde hair. Her tanned skin sunk into the lamp lit shop as she began to browse, “retail therapy”. Amber took on the position of ringleader in the friendship, the type of friend who has a diffrent name at every coffee shop. The one who actually seemed like she had her shit together, but her personal life was a different story. Her parents divorced the previous fall, since then her mother’s become a regular drunk and her father married a woman half his daughters age. All this stress nearly led Amber to leave it all, she was hospitalized for a month.
“Why? There’s no point, this store smells like old grandma.” Derek chuckled. Derek was not a porcelain doll himself. His dad was abusive. He was the type of job aholic father, if his desk wasn’t in the right order someone would pay. He came home one night, drunk per usual, started hitting Derek’s mother, that’s when Derek realized his ‘sorry ass needed to go’, and was courtly ordered, thanks to a restraining order saying he can’t come within 300 meters. It didn’t stop him at first of course, at Derek’s football game when college scouts were watching, shortly afterward he showed up, his breath heavily of alcohol he got violent once again was taken into custody, now giving up he’s off somewhere in Canada.
“Takes on to know one” Eliza laughed as she entered the store, receiving a playful nudge from Derek. Eliza was the quiet one. She liked to quote Anne Frank a lot, I think a lot, but I don’t say much. As it was true, as it applied to Anne as it did her. She had light brown skin, curly brown hair with a green streak. Her mother died in a fire in Kansas when she was five. Her father nearly lost his life trying to get her out but it was too late. Now living in the boring town of Maple Hollows, Ma, her past sometimes frightens her. Thunderstorms mostly. Kansas comes flooding back like the rain. Her philospy, even nature needs to scream somtimes, not the dumb shit her therapisrt feeds her, “into a pillow”.
The group shifted around the store, Amber and Eliza stayed close together. When the girls came to a small rake of vintage clothes, Derek was close behind.
“People used to wear these?” Amber scrapped through the wrack of jackets and clothes, carefully, as if not to ruin the nails she bought with her mother’s credit card.
“Yeah, sorry, we ran out of Designer.” The owner of the store, her name was Valerie. Dark brown hair, straight, clung to her shoulders, rolled her eyes. She wore clangy jewellery and earrings, a skirt that swept the floor, she walked past the group into the back room chuckling under her breath.
"Ok boomer..” Derek said under his breath. Causing a laughter to arise from the two girls as Valerie re-entered the room.
“Generation X actually, i’m only 54.. Say aren’t you Dean Smith’s daughter, Eliza?” she pointed at Eliza. Eliza’s heart began to flutter, her eyes gazed across the gypsy like fashion choices of the woman.
“Yeah.. why?”
“I’ve heard about your mom, i’m a good friend of you dad’s, have been since you moved here. I’m sorry.”
Eliza pursed her lips,“yeah...long time ago.. But me too.” she turned back to the racks and continued to pretend to browse. Pretending seemed to be something she was good at.
“Truth or Dare..“Derek spoke up trying to lighten the mood.
“Dare.“Eliza put her hands on top of the rack. She smiled at Derek, these types of moments brought back her thoughts if there was something between them but again, the quiet one thinks too much.
“I dare you..” he moved over the same side Amber and Eliza were on. He shuffled through the rack until he came to the coat. A faux fur coat, vintage, mixture of red, brown, white and black furs,“To buy this vintage almost designer, almost, fur coat that runs at..$135, and I know your vegan and I’m pretty sure it’s faux.”
“Derek, I’m sure it’s not fox fur.” Amber piped up.
“You.. are so stupid..” Eliza smiled and laughed at Amber,“Fine. Give it to me.” Eliza marched up to the counter where Valerie was, she set the coat on the counter, she fished to her back pocket for her wallet when Valerie began to speak.
“Ya know, this coat belonged to some rich woman, long long time ago, she died on the spot no one knows why. I believe in the 1920′s, the story some deep hidden legend in this town, but..”
“So this coat could be possessed by some angry bitch..” Derek asked, smoothing his hair. Eliza laughed and grinned pulling out a credit card.
“Yeah I guess so, no.. no need.” Valerie stopped Eliza’s hand and handed her the bag with the coat.
“Thanks I guess..” Eliza smiled, taking the bag and then turned on her heel. The group walked about town before they knew the day had turned to night fall. The teens went there own ways and ended up on a face-time call that night.
“You should check the pockets of that jacket.” Derek spoke through Eliza’s phone. She was at her desk working on a sketch, and the phone propped up on her desk lamp.
“What song are you listening too, ’liza?” Amber asked. She was reading a book, believe it or not, dumb or not, she could read.
“It’s called ‘day to remember’ by a band called the complications.”
“Hello check the pockets ding-dong.” Derek cut Amber’s snarky comment by reminding Eliza he had been talking first.
“Fine, fine you know what, I will” She swiveled in her chair and walked past her canopy bed to her closet. On the hanger on the back of the door, hung the jacket. She walked back to her desk and held the jacket up as proof. She reached inside and was shocked by what she pulled out.
“What the hell?” they said in unison.
