By Chance In Oxford

1. Athena

I wake up to the Oxford, England sunshine beaming through the french doors of the small nine-hundred square foot apartment that sits five miles from my school, University of Oxford. It's May 26th and my second year of undergraduate education is coming to an end, and as it does I realize something. Though America, especially that little town in Georgia will always be what I call home, England has something incredible to offer me, coming here was my biggest fear turned into the best decision. All my life I have never felt like I had a true place, a true home, a true environment that I "belong" in but England changed that for me. I had applied to all colleges in America as per my father's request to keep an eye on me. My aunt feared that his abuse would follow me everywhere I went if I didn't get far enough and suggested I apply somewhere overseas. As a little girl, I had dreamed about University of Oxford after the stories my mother used to tell me about how beautiful it was and how if she ever got the opportunity to go to college someday to get a real education instead of being married off, she would go there. To me it sounded like paradise on earth, a place you had to see in person to believe it actually existed, after she died when I was fifteen my connection to the school grew stronger and my dream to go there and pursue my dream of becoming a Obstetrician felt like it could only come true if I went to Oxford. While hesitant, I listened to my aunt who had stepped up to become a true mother figure in my life as my dad could barely be a father let alone do both and I applied, in secret. The acceptance letters came through the mail like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun, while my dad continued to drink and pressure me into choosing a college out of the thirty-three he forced me apply to. I was still waiting on that one letter and it came at the worst moment. I had gotten home from my shift at a small florist I worked at in high school and a long Thursday of classes to find my dad sleeping on the couch, his body engulfed in bottles and the smell of whiskey with a large envelope laid across his chest. I picked it up and turned it to find the words The University of Oxford Admissions Office printed along it, the seal completely broken as if to say someone had tampered with its contents. I quietly sprinted to my bedroom to find a letter reading "Dear Athena Carter, Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I offer you admission to The University Of Oxford's class of 2024! In the event that you choose us, we plan to offer you a full academic scholarship for all four years of your undergraduate education." I couldn't believe it. For a moment the world had stopped, all the pain I had ever felt had subsided and for just a few seconds with a tear gently caressing my cheek the letter I had held close to my chest had felt like I was touching my mother again, like she had come back and was going to take me away from this place. Reality hit me when my door flew open and the next thing I knew I was sitting in a hospital bed with my aunt hovering over me saying a prayer, and a scar across my torso that I knew I would have to live with for the rest of my life. I don't know where he is now, what he is up to, and quite honestly I don't want to know. All I knew was he was an angry misunderstood man, money and my mothers death had turned him upside down, and the demons he had locked inside for so many years had finally decided they had had enough of being hidden. My father was a successful movie director in New York City, he met my mother there and before he knew it he had a life many people dream of. When my mother passed away in a car accident, he shut his business down and took a downward spiral of anger, drinking, gambling, and pretty much forgetting he had a child to raise and provide for.  After the incident, I decided to forget everything about him and my past, and I had moved in with my aunt who then officially adopted me. She moved us down to Ellijay, Georgia, a quiet town with kind people, one that lacked greed, selfishness, ruthlessness, and anger. I spent whatever time I had left before coming to England soaking up that gorgeous one-hundred acre farm, playing with the horses, feeding the chickens, milking the goats, and picking daisies and dandelions from the fields. Endless sunsets, spring breezes, and my aunt's love were the things that helped me to forget and move forward towards something bigger and now, I'm here. I call Aunt Marcy almost everyday and we talk about all the things we do in our days and things we want to do, goals, dreams, questions we have, and shows we're watching and for once in my life I have felt content and at peace with who am I, where I'm going, as well as the support system I have. I have a lot on today's agenda so I soak up the last rays of sunshine in my beautiful king sized bed, fitted with the most gorgeous white silk sheets and I get up ready to seize another day I am blessed to have. The temperature has been rising recently so I decided to dip into my spring wardrobe, a midi floral skirt, a draped front satin cami, a pair of square toed low white heels, some jewelry, and a basket purse. After I finished braiding my hair I stepped outside to make the journey to class. I only have three classes today before I have something exceptional planned. When I got to England, I never really had much time to explore my surroundings, landmarks, events, museums, I never strayed outside of my small bubble. School, home, the occasional shop or bakery, work, and the airport. I have been so caught up in my job and studying that I never got the chance in the years I have been here to see the incredible things I was blind to before, things that people would kill to get the opportunity to see, I guess you could say I don't want to leave here someday without being able to say I truly saw everything and experienced everything, I'm done letting the opportunities pass me by. I was able to take a day off of work today, I'm not sure how I managed it but I plan to take advantage of the free time I have. I've worked for Henry Channing and Annalise Channing since I was about a month in of being in England, I was venting to a friend about how I really wanted a job here that dealt with children, she had told me about Henry and Annalise and how they had a gorgeous manor property, a beautiful young baby girl, and quite the large bank account. Henry has  his hands dipped far deep in American stock and Italian business and Annalise is a world renowned fashion mogul who created her own startup when she was just sixteen. They had been looking for a mostly full time nanny to care for their newly welcomed daughter Melody, their careers were quickly picking up and trying to juggle them along with one of the biggest responsibilities a person could carry, a child, would be extremely difficult. The paycheck and flexibility made the job even more impossible to resist. I had called them and they told me to stop by the manor on a day that I was free. My first impressions are impossible to describe, I was in awe of the beauty of such a structure, it sits upon a foggy hill, ivy crawls up the walls as if its protecting the home from outside danger, the landscaping is beautiful with an aisle of trees leading to the front door and a garden in the backyard, the front door is large and homey and wooden. Stepping through I was led to Mr. Channing's office where he, Ms. Channing, and Melody were all sitting waiting for me. They asked me questions about my capabilities, my interests, my current life stage, my past, my present, my future, and then finally they had me play with Melody for a while outside while they deliberated. While both her parents were brunettes she had gorgeous light ginger hair and the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen, while she was only just shy of one when I met her, I knew she was going to grow into the most beautiful young women someday, and though I had only known of her existence for a few hours, I knew I needed to somehow positively impact this baby in some way, I needed to care for her, and teach her things, and love her, and laugh with her, all almost as if she was my own child, I had connected with her so greatly that I had prayed her parents had seen something in me, enough to get the job because I couldn't let go of this fragile young baby I felt I needed to protect. They had come outside to and Henry and Annalise had told me that they saw a connection between Melody and I, that they felt I had a maternal personality, one that would cherish and take care of their daughter when they couldn't, they had said that they saw something special in me and if I did in fact still want the job they would give it to me and would include extra pay and benefits. I was ecstatic and got to work just about a week later. It wasn't just the pay that was enough to allow me to move out of my college dorm and into a gorgeous apartment, or the benefits like taking one of their many cars when I took Melody somewhere, getting to soak up the entirety of the manor, its surroundings, or the grandness of it, and it wasn't how perfect my life felt once I took this job that truly convinced me to stay. Rather, it was this child and her family. At just two years old I felt she had more wisdom than I ever will, a kinder heart than I ever could possess, and a  gentleness that I could never try for. Her family treated me like I was their own, inviting me to stay for dinner, sleep in one of their many guest rooms, go on vacations with them, go to parties and family events with them, and treat me like a sister or a daughter rather than just their child's nanny. I was attached, quicker than I had ever been attached to something before, and since then I have given my job my all, my time, my effort, my sacrifices, my priority, all of it has gone to this job. Someday I know I'll have to move away from it and find a new job once I earn my degree and I know I'll have to leave the Channing family behind in a way but that way will only be physical, I plan on forever holding on to this family, visiting, calling, and growing up with Melody and watching her grow through her childhood, something that was ripped from my arms. While I love the job and it feels like I am being dragged into a movie waiting for someone to pinch me and tell me it's not real half the time, I really have been desiring a day off. There is a beautiful art gallery not far from Oxford, maybe a forty-five minute drive from my apartment. I have been eyeing it since I got here but I never had the chance to go to it. It houses some of the most famous music, art, and culture relics that anyone could ever want to see. I left the car in the driveway and decided to walk to class today, first stop the small bakery down the road for coffee and a scone. As I walked a distinct silence came over me,  the smell of freshly blooming daffodils and dandelions, the sunshine slowly heating up my skin, my shoes against the cobblestone sidewalks, it all felt like home, like my place, for once I had felt at peace. I had bottled up so much excitement about this gallery for weeks on end and I was not going to let  anyone ruin that but as they say, you can't always control things. I picked up the phone that was causing an earthquake in my purse to find no other than THE Annalise Channing calling me. I wonder what she needs.