Chapter 2

~Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate~

I didn’t have many friends.  I wasn’t like the other kids; they were all so vain and liked themselves too much. I didn’t care for expensive things neither did I run around telling everybody what gifts I got, the price of it, and the super great brands. What I wanted, what I only ever wanted, I could not have.

Most of the kids sat in huddles on the field or in sharp corners out of sight behind trees. The kids in the lower grades were allowed in the playground. I usually sat on my favorite bench underneath a tree, free from bird droppings, and it was quiet. I could see almost everyone from here.  My friend, Aimee, would sit with me sometimes, but she liked to run around and talk a lot so she joined some of the snobby kids. 

I closed my eyes, resting my head on the top part of the bench, listening to the screams and chattering of the other kids. 

“Alone, again?” A strong, unfamiliar voice said from above me.

Startled I opened my eyes and saw a strange man wearing a top black hat peering at me with piercing green eyes.  I stood and began to run.

“Don’t go.” He said gently and sat on the bench. 

I don’t know why, but I stopped and turned to face him.

“Come sit,” He smiled.  It was a friendly smile, but it made me shiver.  “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.  How did you get here? It’s a private school.”

He looked hurt.  “I’m not a stranger to you.  I’ve been with you all the time, Willow.”

Stunned, I didn’t even hear the bell ring.  “How do you know my name?”

Chuckling, he said.  “You’d better go; otherwise you’ll be late for class.  Remember what happened last time.”

I grabbed my bag and ran. As I rounded the corner towards the building, I shot a quick glance at the bench. I was expecting to see that black-coated man with the blacktop hat, but he was gone.

***

It was quiet at the dinner table.  Mom was back, she only had to be in Spain for three weeks.  I was happy she was home, but I didn’t know how I should act, and with my Dad, I didn’t know what to say. Susan came for dinner and she was also quiet. Something must have happened.

I didn’t know yet how fortunate I was that we had Graham to cook for us, I thought it was normal. Graham was a quiet man and loved to cook.  He told me he went to a special school that taught him how to cook really well, and he traveled the world to learn about different kinds of cooking.  When I told my Mom I wanted to be a cook like Graham one day, she got angry, telling me to stop thinking ridiculous things. 

My Mom didn’t say anything to me about that deep blue-eyed man and I was afraid to ask. While she was away Miss Evans visited my Dad a lot and he took her out, sometimes he would only be back home late the next day. Dad usually would take me out, sometimes to his work and I would watch him look at toy buildings on a long table talking about it with other people. I loved it when he took me to the beach. We would go home and get dressed, if it was hot he’d let me play in the sand and the waves, otherwise, I’d build sandcastles I had a really pretty seashells collection.  We would watch the sun go to bed and leave when the moon showed up. He stopped spending time with me and nothing made sense to me anymore, something changed. Did I do something wrong?

***

“So,” Murphy asked as I ate my lunch during break time, alone.  “Where is your friend?”

“You mean, Aimee?”

“Who else would I be talking about?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she, she is no longer my friend.”  I stopped eating, realizing that she spent more time with the popular kids, the ones that wore bling and brands, and had parties all the time.

“It doesn’t matter.”  I sighed, taking another bite of my sandwich.  “I don’t need friends.”

“Hmm,” He said thoughtfully, swinging his hooked wooden cane around his arm.  “You’re very strange.”  He chuckled, “It’s no wonder I have stayed with you for so long. You are very strange.”

“Murphy, the other day you said you have been with me for a long time.  Like what you have just said now, what do you mean?”

He sat next to me and peered at me with those piercing green eyes that made me shiver, and said nothing. 

“If you have been around for so long, how come I can only see you now?”

“You’re asking a lot of questions today.”  He sound irritated. “Fine, I will answer. When bad things happen, they happen. When they happen you will find me.”

“That does not make any sense. I want a better answer.”

“That’s my answer. That is all I will say. You should really ask your parents if you want a better answer, but Willow.” He said, “Everybody has heard of me.”

“Huh? They have never said anything about you.”

“Of course they wouldn’t. They don’t know me.  On the day you were born, I was walking around the hospital and heard a woman and a man arguing.”  He looked towards the sky and laughed. “You are a funny bunch of people. They were young and blamed each other for you.

"Why?" I asked and stared at him curiously.

"When a child is born the woman goes through a lot of pain, so it’s no wonder they argued. For such a distinguished woman...” he laughed callously, "she came up with some unsavory words."

“And then?” 

He smiled and looked at me as if he knew something, a secret he did not want to share. “It was then I knew you would be trouble. And, I love trouble.”

***

 “Willow.” My Dad called me as I arrived home from school. Now that Susan was back, she would take me to school and pick me up. She was always kind to me and when I did something wrong, she didn’t shout at me.  All she did was say, “Willow, don’t do that again.”

Dad sounded serious and Susan disappeared very quickly, probably taking my school bag to my room, which she only did as an excuse to leave the room whenever there was a problem. 

 “Yes, Dad,” I followed him to the lounge. My Mom loved the gold and white combination for the room. She had good taste and decorated our house beautifully, but only used it for important occasions. Every detail was fine and looked like money; it looked expensive.

I sat next to him on the couch, he leaned forward, his hands clasped together on his lap.

 “I have news to tell you and I am sorry for only telling you now.”  He cleared his throat and averted his eyes from me.  “I just didn’t know what to say or how to tell you.”

 “What’s wrong, Dad?” The way he spoke made me feel scared.

 “I am going away for a while, Willow.” He then stared at me, studying my face. “I need to work somewhere that is far from here, in another country, and I don’t know when I will be back.”

“No, Dad!” I cried, tears streaming down my face, “No, why? Please don’t go. Please.” I held onto him tightly. I knew that whenever he left the country it would be a very long time before I saw him again.   

 “I have to go, Willow.” He pulled me into a tight hug. “One of my clients has given me a really important project to design and build many buildings all over the world. Do you understand?”

 “Can’t I come with you?”

 “You must stay here, with Susan.  She will look after you.”

 In the background, so faint, came an ominous chuckle.  See, I said you were trouble.

 “But Dad, I will be alone. Mom travels a lot. I never get to see her and now will I see you again?”

With a curved smile, he said.  “Yes, of course, you’ll see me, Willow.  I will Skype you all the time.”

 He’s lying. The voice added.

 “Promise?”

 “I promise,” He nodded. “There is one other thing.”

My stomach felt hot, and it was as if knots tied everything up inside me as I heard him say. “I am leaving tomorrow morning.” 

Dad allowed me to go with him to the airport.  He had a private jet so I could go right to the hangar with him. Susan held the large black umbrella covering us both from the rain as we got out of the car and walked to the hangar. The gloomy grey clouds must have felt the same way as I did; it started sending light rain and slowly the rain fell harder and harder followed by a loud rumble from the sky. 

Mom was there and hugged him goodbye, her face looked sad, but I knew she was pleased for him.      

 “Don’t cry, Freckles.” Dad hugged me tight, tears pouring down my cheeks. 

 “I will miss you, Dad.”

 “I will miss you too. Remember Willow, you will always be my Sunshine.”

With his bags loaded on the Jet, Susan pulled me away from my Hero, and I watched him climb inside pulling his jacket closer to his body.

My heart shattered into a million pieces, and I wailed as the Jet took off rising toward those gloomy clouds.  Susan wrapped her arms around me and held me tight for a few minutes, before prompting me back toward the car.