Ezela Angelin' grew up with practically nothing. No toys, no parents, no love. The people who took care of her were inconsistent.
The caretakers were never the same person twice. They took care of her without even a drop of affection, only duty, like she was a one-day assignment. They never cuddled her, or even talked to her. The caretakers only did three things: they changed her diaper, gave her a bottle, stuck her in her crib.
They didn't even appear to
like her in any way.
As she grew older, she figured out who owned the tiny house she lived in- a middle-aged woman who had never held her, spoken to her, even looked at her. Ezela knew she wasn't a caretaker. Ezela saw her five times around the halls of the tiny house, but only from a distance and at a glance.
However, once she was six years old, the caretakers and the mysterious woman never entered the house again. Or at least she never
saw any one in the house again. Ezela raised herself. She ate the food that had appeared in the fridge while she was sleeping, did all her homework on time, picked out her clothes from goodwill and the salvation army, and got herself into bed by eight.
It was a lonely existence. She had no friends at school. They whispered about her and made fun of her. They laughed at her salvation army clothes and strange, quiet ways. But the main source of teasing was her eyes. Ezela's eyes were a strange gold color that was unnerving as it was unusual. They called her "Cat Eyes" and avoided her day and night. Her difference made them nervous.
When she wasn't at school or doing homework, Ezela was almost always at the public library. The kindly old librarian knew her well. Ezela went through books like a fat man went through donuts. She read both children's books and adult books alike.
She lost herself in adventure with the kind and brave people in the stories, people who wouldn't call her Cat Eyes, people who wouldn't care that she was strange. She loved to look at pictures of exotic new places, the crystle clear waters of the Bahamas or the murky tombs in Egypt. She became so lost in the words that her adreneline pumped quickly and she forgot she was in a library, and not discovering lost tombs with the famous French explorer Pierre Rosett'e. Books were her friends.
When Ezela turned thirteen, she noticed an immediate change. The food stopped magically appearing in the fridge.
The bills stopped paying themselves. She realized that she was now completely on her own.
She needed a job. She decided to try to get a job close to her friends, so she applied for a job at the bookstore. She was immediately hired, being told that the owner of the store had seen her and liked her. Ezela was thrilled. If the rich owner of the store, Nick Alto, liked her, then it would be easier to get promotions, hence earning more money.
Work at the bookstore, however, was far from easy. In order to pay all the bills, Ezela took double, sometimes triple shifts. She was exhausted.
She still made sure to finish all of her homework, but that prevented her from sleeping even more.
She no longer had time to read. She never had a spare moment. She barely even had time to eat anymore. She usually fell asleep at lunch as well as her classes. No matter if she did her homework or not, her grades were slipping from A's to D's and F's.
However, she was eventually invited to Nick Alto's house for a party. Ezela was relieved. She had never met Nick Alto in person, but she did know that he was one of the richest men in town, owning 90% of the businesses in Sunset Valley. He had a powerful politician for a wife, and his daughter, Holly, was her age. Holly was one of the nicer people at school, and had even talked to Ezela once without needing to.
If he likes me just from a glance and his daughter is nice, she thought,
then he is probably very kind too. She could probably get a raise or a promotion, therefore being able to take fewer shifts. Her heart race at the thought of finding a friend, and being able to sleep again.
That evening when Ezela arrived at Mr. Alto's enormous mansion, she was shocked to find that no one was there yet. A large, fifty-something year old man approached her. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. His eyes darted all over her body. Ezela blushed at the thought of her curtain-made dress. She was trembling. He slowly walked up to her and introduced himself as Nick Alto. "No one else has arrived yet." he said in a sugary yet slimy voice. "Come with me. I want to show you something." he grinned learingly.
Ezela's stomach did flip-flops. She was afraid and disgusted. Something was wrong here. As she didn't want to do something to make him angry, Ezela followed him shakily upstairs.
To her confusion but horror, she found herself in his bedroom. "What do you want? What did you want to show me Mr. Alto?" she asked shakily backing away from him.
Mr. Alto smiled slyly. "Please, call me Nick. And I brought you here to make a proposition with you: I know how you are struggling with money, my dear girl. I think we can both help each other- you make
me happy, I make YOU happy, you'll never have to deal with problems with money again." he grinned, taking her hand.
Ezela pulled her hand away. "What?! Do you mean...?!" she gasped, bile rising to her throat. "Oh, Ezela, I think we both know what I mean." he murmered, trying to wrap his arms around her.
Ezela jumped back and tried to swallow her disgust and fear. Her heart beat quickly.
I'm in his house alone with him. I need to get out. NOW. she thought quickly.
Nick leaned closer. His breath smelled sour. "Whats the matter, honeybun? Surely your not afraid of
me." he whispered.
Ezela choked out a gasp as his hands wrapped themselves around behind her, pulled her close to him, and began to fondle her.
With a muffled scream Ezela managed to break away. She must have surprised him, because she had run away before he had time to react. She reached her house gasping for air. She collapsed on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She was afraid to go to work. She had to start her shift at the book store in an hour. But she had too. He couldn't do anything to her while she was with the other employees, right?
When she showed up for work, Ezela was told that the Nick Alto had fired her. She tried to get another job at the grocery store, the fast food restraunt, even the grave yard. She didn't stand a chance. The Alto's owned them all.
She slunk home, defeated. And the icing on the cake; a note on her door saying that she was being evicted the next evening.
Finally, Ezela couldn't hold back the tears any longer.
She had tried. She had tried and tried and tried. She had done her best and more, and it still wasn't enough.
She tried to sleep for the first time in nights, but despite being exhausted, she kept getting up, throwing off the covers, unable to sleep.
The next morning, as she gathered her belongings, trying to figure out how much money she could get if she pawned them, she heard a knock on the door.
Heart pounding, she opened the door.
No one was there. Several envelopes were the only things on the front stoop.
She opened the first one. It was a travel brochure depicting lush green hills, sandy beaches, crystal clear waterfalls, and beautiful houses. It had the words
Angel Falls emblazoned on the front. Inside was a typed message,
Welcome to Angel Falls! Angel Falls was discovered by French explorers who instantly fell in love with the island as the earth was ripe and flourishing and the large crystal clear waterfall provided all the drinking water they needed. They named the island Angel Falls after discovering the shape of the island resembled angel wings, as well as after the group's head explorer, Claude Angelin'. They never left.
Over 300 years later the island has grown into a thriving community. The left side of the island was where the explorers first settled so here the buildings are much older and is now more of a farming community due to the fertile land surrounding the waterfall. Over the years the British government heard of this new flourishing land and set up an army base near to the waterfall and claimed the land as their own. Following this, the community spread across to the other side of the island and with it came the construction of a town centre complete with an array of job opportunities and amenities. Angel Falls showcases an array of quaint farm houses reminiscent of France in the middle ages to town houses design rooted in the Victorian era.
Claude Angelin'? Ezela thought in awe. Am I related to him? No, no, thats silly. Granted its an unusual last name, but.... She carefully tore open the second envelope. It had seven words printed on it alone, seven words that changed her life forever.
You are the heir of the Angelin's.
Seven words. Silently, hands trembling, Ezela gradually opened the final envelope. She slowly read it and inhaled deeply. What choice did she have? She began to walk.
She was scared, she had lost everything she'd ever known. Was this the right thing to do?
Who knew what the future would hold? Perhaps the adventure she had always dreamed of? A place where she was accepted? With newfound confidence, Ezela followed the last note's directions, and walked away from her childhood, never to see Sunset Valley again.
So, thats the first chapter. Its my first ever blog, not to mention my first ever legacy. I know some of the shots are bad, but what with the glitches I was unmotivated. If anyone says something that will solve my glitches, I'll.... do something! Dress up as a clown, dedicate an entire generation to you, something!
So, do you love to hate it? Hate to love it? Both? Please comment if your there (which I don't think you are.) But..... I hope you are.
PS I used the description of Angel Falls from Starsarah, (who writes legacies trillions times better than me) but I tweaked it a bit to fit the story. She mad Angel Falls, the most amazing place EVER. Download it here:
http://theseraphinelegacy.wordpress.com/angel-falls/
