From Within Trilogy: Book of Perdition

Chapter Three: Welcome New Students

A three-hour drive alone is plenty of time to think. I was heading towards an unknown future. I was on my own for the first time in my life. No father to parent me. No friends were joining me on this journey. I was genuinely doing this alone. It was a fresh start in my 18-year-old life. I would have to make new friends in a strange, unfamiliar place. I was now considered an adult, which seemed crazy. The mixed emotions I was feeling felt like I could explode or vomit. Even so, I was ready for it all, to let my adventure begin.

I was going to NYU for journalism, something I enjoyed doing. I had some training working with the local TV station in Groton and wrote articles for the town paper. I was not in it for the glitz or glamour. I loved the writing and piecing the stories together part mostly. My goal would be to work for the New York Times. Like most my age, I had big dreams, and reaching for the stars did not seem impossible.

Maybe...over time, I could even solve my heredity mystery. I had told myself long ago that one day I would find some answers to where I came from even though Ron filled every part of the parenting gap, yet something inside me needed to know. I hardly knew anything about my mother and nothing at all about my biological father. All I knew of my mother was I had her eyes. Ron told me that was the one thing he remembered about the young woman handing me over. Her green eyes. Oddly, he could not remember anything else about her. The only physical link I to her was a necklace. She made Ron promise to give it to me when I turned eighteen.

The unique necklace was an antique silver cross. It had diamonds that lined the pattern of the cross and five green emeralds. Four sat beautifully at each end, and the last emerald laid in its center. On the back were some worn carvings that no one could decipher. It looked like a priceless artifact from a Celtic era. I wore it as a reminder to one day find her.

The sun made an appearance through a partially cloudy sky glaring from above, and I put my visor down. The small vanity mirror popped open. The lights surrounding the mirror caught my attention. I stared for a few moments taking my eyes from the road seeing my reflection. I studied my image, imagining what I would look like older. Is that what my mother looked like now? I put a finger to my face tracing it like I was drawing age lines. I modeled a fake smile in the mirror, wondering which bio parent's smile I had. What part of me was her, and what part of me was my father? Who was I genetically? A shiver crawled up my spine to my neck. Strange not knowing exactly where I came from. For all, I know my biological father was an extraterrestrial. I let out a tiny laugh to myself.

As I studied my features further, frustration took over. I made an annoyed, grunting sound. Sometimes it is not good to let your mind wander. I directed my attention back on the empty highway. However, it was a long drive, so my thoughts were the only company I had, along with the songs playing on the stereo.

I knew deep down I may never find the answers regarding my parents. Ron spent years looking for something. The only thing we had was a false name and address from the adoption agency. It was evident they did not want to be found. Not knowing the reason was maddening, even if it was as simple as not wanting a child.

My green eyes gazed back into the mirror. I grabbed my sunglasses from the center console, placed them over the stranger's face looking back at me then snapped the mirror closed. I partially rolled up my car windows, trying to hold back the tunnel of wind gushing in from the highway driving. My long hair wiggled wildly in the leftover breeze, tickling my neck and face. It would be a long drive alone, so I turned up the stereo louder to distract my thoughts. I belted out songs the rest of the way there, entertaining myself and possibly those driving around me. It was the perfect distraction because time passed quickly, and I soon found myself entering New York.