For Every Beginning

Chapter 1

8:00 A.M.

        Abbey woke to the sound of her alarm clock. Ringing ringing ringing, it seemed like it went on for an eternity. Still half asleep, she reached for the button to turn it off, missing it once or twice in the process. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she looked around her room. It was plain and normal, with its drab white walls, and floor that seemed to be engulfed by the mess of everything from schoolbooks to clothes. With a sudden feeling of contempt for her unclean room, she looked at her calendar on the wall across from her. December 11th, 2007. Seeing that made her just want to crawl back into bed. It was a big day for her, one that she would have been glad to miss.
        Today was the day of her big flute solo in the annual talent show at the Sandersville grand theater. She would have been fine with it had she not been so nervous. Hundreds of people were to be in attendance, including a few political dignitaries from all over the place. Her mother happened to have a job as a secretary at the mayor's office, so it was figured that she hoped Abbey's performance would help her in getting the nice and hefty promotion she had been looking for. But, for the sake of giving her daughter a chance to shine instead of herself, she never spoke of such things to her. Despite the fact that Abbey had already figured out why her mother had entered her into the competition in the first place; she felt small growls of disgust in her stomach every time she thought about it. How could anyone sell off their own daughter's talent like this, just to benefit himself or herself?
        As for Abbey; she was a very shy and timid girl and felt very closed off from everyone around her, so being in front of everyone in town simply frightened her. Winning the grand prize of $5000 and a trip across the country to perform for millions at some big festival in Washington D.C., really didn't mean much of anything, considering that it wasn't her idea to enter. But there was really nothing she could do about it now, and she began to think about every possible thing that could go wrong. What if they boo me? What if I mess up? What if I trip and fall off the stage? This moment of thinking was soon dashed by a knock on the door.
        "Abbey, are you up?" The voice on the other end asked.
        "Yes mother!" Abbey replied, a tiny hint of annoyance in her voice.
        "Well hurry up and get dressed! We have to get to your rehearsal!"
        Abbey then heard her mother walk down the hall and back down the stairs, trying to sing, "I'm going to get promoted, I'm going to get promoted..." to herself but failing miserably. Abbey could still hear her through the wooden door that stood between them and let out a sigh. She looked out window, the sun reaching in and touching her peach colored face, and out at the little town of Sandersville, which was all but sleeping. It was a rather average sized little community, far off from the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities. People were friendlier and everyone knew everyone. The wind swayed lightly through Abbey's light brown locks. A pair of sparrows sat perched on the tree across from her window.
        "Just another normal day." She said aloud to herself. She got dressed, putting on the black skirt and white shirt her mother had hung on her closet door the night before. She then looked in the mirror that hung in the corner of her room, making sure to push the clothes she'd lazily hung there out of the way.
        She was averaged sized, not too thin, not too anything else and rather plain looking compared to all the other girls her age. Her green eyes were the only feature that really stood out, as if they seemed to glow in the morning sun like a meadow after a rainstorm. Her cheeks were as red as an apple and as soft looking as a pillow. Her arms were scrawny and slightly thin, they almost looked like sticks of bamboo growing out of her shoulders, which in her white shirt became very much noticeable. She gave herself one final look-over and walked downstairs, closing the door behind her.
        The house was as ordinary as it could be with its sky blue walls and brown wooden doors. It was smaller then most of the other houses in town though, and was the best Abbey�s mother could afford on such a meager salary. She walked down the stairs, her footsteps merging with the creaking sound that came with each withered and wooden step, and walked into the kitchen. Waiting for her was her grandfather, who was in the middle of breakfast. The older man smiled at her. He had short white hair, a strong yet wrinkled face, and ocean blue eyes showing nothing much more then a loving welcoming presence as she stared lovingly back at him. The sunshine continued to warm their faces from the window across the room.
        "Morning sunshine!" Grandfather said, eating his bowl of Goldy-O's. "Ready for the big day?"
        Abbey gave him a hug, and sighed to herself again. She knew that she was far from ready but she didn't want anyone to get worried.
        "Yeah, I am." She said as she sat down and poured herself her own bowl of cereal. She began to eat, making sure to keep herself as clean as possible. Everything got a bit quiet until her mother walked in. She was rather average looking, much like Abbey, with shoulder length brown hair. She wore a dark suit, which Abbey swore was some form of maroon, and only added a hint of sophistication to her rather excited expression.
        "Oh no honey, you shouldn't be eating that,� she said. �You�ll spill it all over yourself and we need that dress clean for your big night.�
        "Mom, I'll be fine. Really." Abbey replied with a hint of rebellion.
        "Oh, let the girl eat her cereal!" Her grandfather proclaimed. He then gave his granddaughter a smile and a wink, which was replied by Abbey with a wink back.
        "You shouldn't be eating that either Dad," her mother replied rather sternly. �You know what that does to your teeth..."
        �There�s nothing wrong with my teeth!� He shot back, opening his mouth and showing off his pearly whites to prove a point. Although the two of them bickered, Abbey suddenly got lost in a daydream. She dreamt she was far away, somewhere much more beautiful and pleasant than the little town that seemed to hold her prisoner. She dreamt of being free, like a bird out of its cage. She envisioned that she was flying over this world, over farms and cities and castles and deserts that seemed to glow like lighthouses at midnight. The voice of her mother calling her name took her from that dream for the moment.
        "Abbey, are you ready to go? We have to leave for your rehearsal,� she said as Abbey fully came back to reality.
        "Oh...yeah, sure." Abbey replied rather reluctantly. She finished the last of her cereal and went to put on her coat. She put on and tied her shoes, and was just about to pick up her flute case, which was sitting by the kitchen door, when she was called over by her grandfather.
        "I've got something to give you before you go Abbey." He said with the strangest of smirks. �Come with me."
        They walked upstairs, the steps creaking louder then before now that there was more weight placed upon them, and walked down the hall to an old and withered door.
        "Why are we going into the attic?" Abbey asked.
        "You�ll see," he replied, giving her another quick wink. He opened the door, allowing a flood of dust to overtake them. When it had all cleared, what stood before them was another staircase, this one more withered and dark than the last. Abbey had actually never been in the attic, as it was always under lock and key and began to wonder if these stairs would collapse under her weight. When they got to the top, another lingering cloud of dust seemed to be waiting for them. It was as if no one had been up there in decades. They walked to an area on the other end, through a path littered with boxes and old and dusty ornaments. It appeared as if the past never really died, but was pushed aside and thrown up there, never to be heard from again except from the wandering ear that could still hear it's faint call. Against the wall on the other side of the room, next to a crumbling bookshelf filled with long forgotten encyclopedias and self-help books, was a large chest. Black in color with golden trimmings, it looked as if it had come from a palace. Her grandfather gave off a faint smile, and reached into his pocket. When he pulled it out again, an old rusty key was in his hand.
        "It�s been far too long since I opened this..." He said. He knelt down, stuck the key into the rusty keyhole and turned it. A slight scraping sound could be heard, then a click. The chest was opened and he lifted the lid. Abbey looked inside. There were old and crumpled newspapers, some dating back 20 to 30 years ago. Her grandfather pushed them all aside, revealing another but smaller box. It was longer than it was wide, and was clearly made of ivory. A beautiful red rose had been painted on the top of it and below it an inscription. "Diligo est Eternus.�
        "This was your grandmother's,� he said, his voice showing a hint of sadness. He handed it to her.
        "Go ahead, open it."
        Abbey was a tad surprised by all this, as she had never known her grandmother and could never get anyone to tell her anything about what she was like before. She looked at her grandfather, then opened it just a crack. She peeked inside and her eyes widened. She then lifted the lid all the way. Inside was a beautiful flute, white as snow with gold trimmings and the head was in the shape of a dragon. It was expertly carved. She looked up at him.
        "You want me to have this?" She asked.
        He nodded.
        "What about mom? Does she know?"
        "Your mother was never the most musical person in our family, she sort of takes after me, I suppose. Please, take it. Your grandmother would have wanted you to. Playing it always calmed everything down when things were getting crazy back in the day.�
        He then looked to the floor, his withered eyes flowing with sadness. Wondering what suddenly had him down, Abbey wanted to say something. But before she could, he looked up and chuckled, Abbey's mother could be faintly heard calling for her from downstairs.
        "Come on, let�s go!" She yelled.
        "Coming!" Abbey replied, running to the attic door. She turned and looked at her grandfather.
        "Thanks Grandpa." She said.
        He said nothing in reply but gave her a smile. That was good enough for Abbey, and with that she was out the door and on her way back down the stairs.