Chapter Text
It was a warm summer day in, the town of Biloxi Mississippi. One that was filled with sunshine; not a cloud in the sky. There was one person however, one girl that knew differently. She was sure that it was going to rain today. She had foreseen it. Even though she had been a teen, the child in her loved the rain. She loved jumping in the puddles, the sound it made when it hit the window in her bedroom, and she especially loved how it washed everything away; the rain washed the world clean.
Mary Alice Brandon remembered how she would hand her mother, Lillian, her umbrella everyday that she had a vision of clouds. She smiled thinking about how her mother always believed in her visions. Her mother would look at her with the kindest bright blue eyes and always tell her, "You're always right Mary Alice." Then she would kiss her atop her head.
The girl remembered the day that she told her mother that she was going to have a baby sister. Mary Alice was making a flower crown for the woman laying with her feet elevated, her swollen stomach ready to burst with the life it carried. She laid the last flower on her mother's stomach.
"And one for you, Little Sister."
Lillian was ecstatic that she was having another girl. She squealed with joy and held Mary Alice close. Both of them smiled and the daughter rested her head in the crook of her mother's neck. Her mother was the only one that understood her, the only one that didn’t call her a freak, a monster.
Mary Alice would always warn people about the unfortunate consequences in her visions. Even though her visions were subjective, no one listened to her; no one believed her. So when that person was set upon by ill fortune, they would always blame Mary Alice. It was hard for the little Brandon girl, but it was in her nature to help other people. It was the good deed and gentle nature that Lillian had instilled into her daughter. Sure, Mary Alice had the dark eyes and hair of her father, but that was where the similarities ended.
Edgar John Brandon was a man of certain quality. A jeweler and a pearl trader, the man never really believed in anything except for the almighty dollar. A tall, lanky man with a gaunt face and mustache above his upper lip, it was hard not to dislike the 'gentleman'. Mary Alice always remembered her father as one that held no sense of imagination, no sense of adventure.
One awful day, Mary Alice had been set upon by a horrible vision. One that would change the course of her life forever. That night, as if in a nightmare, she had a vision of her mother being run off of the road by a haggard looking man with a large beard. He had murderous intent in his eyes and Mary Alice had awoke in a cold sweat. Cynthia was only a tiny child at the time, 5 or 6 to be exact, so when the teen woke, she had laid back down in bed.
Tossing and turning all night, Mary Alice couldn’t find it in her to fall back asleep. She couldn’t go to her mother, not when her father was in the bed. She knew she had to wait until morning to tell Lillian about her vision. The brunette opened her window and crawled out of it, onto the balcony and upward toward her roof. She sat there on the red tiles and watched as the sun begin to rise in the distance.
She wiped her hand over her face. She always had these horrible visions; people getting hurt, sickness, death. There wasn’t a single one she could think of that was happy. That was except for the visions she would have of the rainy days. Mary Alice covered her eyes as the sun rose higher and higher. The day was about to begin.
Mary Alice heard the alarm clock in her parents room, signaling for the start of the day. The girl smiled and made her way back down to her room to get dressed. She took a hairbrush by on the vanity and brushed out her long, unruly brown hair. Then she went to the closet and got out a suitable outfit. Mary Alice was never one to wear dresses unless it was for a special occasion. She got out some long riding pants and a nice bright blue shirt.
After she deemed it suitable on her she ran down the stairs to get things ready for breakfast. It wasn’t a hard task; toast and eggs on the stove, fresh squeezed orange juice from the trees in the yard in each of their favorite glasses. Four plates and four glasses littered the table in no time. Mary Alice heard footsteps coming down the stairs and instantly her heart beat sped up. She held her breath waiting for one of her other family members to show their face in the hallway.
When she saw the familiar long brown and fair skin of her mother, she breathed a sigh of relief. Lillian smiled at her daughter and went to hug her. Mary Alice breathed in her mothers scent and relaxed even further into her.
"This all looks so wonderful darling." Lillian spoke kindly to the girl.
Mary Alice smiled and urged her mother to eat. She sat opposite her and the two ate in silence before Cynthia came down. Each woman looked at the tiny child with love and devotion. Surely in this family, no harm would ever come to her. Cynthia climbed her way up into the chair next to her mother and Lillian kissed her cheek. Mary Alice looked at her mother and sister with tears in her eyes, remembering the vision from the night before. She had to make sure that she went with Lillian that day during her errands. She could be a big help, she promised internally.
"Mother, can Cynthia and I go with you during your errands today?" Mary Alice asked simply.
Just then, the three women jumped at the sound of Edgar's booming voice.
"Certainly not, Mary Alice. There are studies you need to catch up on today." He looked at the girl defiantly and shook his head. He was all dressed in his three piece suit, freshly shaven (all but his signature mustache) and looking awfully grumpy. Lillian looked from her husband to her daughter. Mary Alice had wide, pleading eyes as she silently begged her mother to let her go. The mother looked once more to Edgar and saw that the man was having trouble tying his necktie. She took this moment to go and help the man. He was honestly hopeless with the garment, always had been.
Lillian looked up at him with those large, bright blue, doe eyes and asked him very politely.
"Now Edgar, darling, Mary Alice can go with me and we'd get the errands done in half the time. Cynthia can go to work with you and help out at the store. You know how your customers love our little girl."
The man seemed to think it over for a moment before an imaginary lightbulb went off in his mind.
"Alright dear, you and Mary Alice can go and get the chores done; the two of you can even go down by the bakery and pick up something for desert on the way back."
He smiled but Mary Alice saw that the grin never reached his eyes. Edgar ate his breakfast in silence while reading the paper, and then it was time for Cynthia to go and get ready for the day with her father. The tiny girl ran upstairs with Mary Alice and the latter picked out a nice baby pink dress for her to wear. She helped her sister get dressed and then she put a white bow clip in her hair. They looked in the large mirror over by the closet to see the entire ensemble and when Cynthia smiled and turned to hug her sister around the legs, they deemed the outfit worthy of today's events.
Mary Alice for her part, got a long strand of ribbon and tied her long brown hair back and off of her neck. It would surely be cooler for her this way. She looked to the bedroom doorway and saw that her sister had forgotten her white shoes. She picked them up and raced down the stairs.
Just before Edgar and Cynthia were out the door, Mary Alice called out. "Cynthia, don’t forget your shoes." She chuckled as she spoke. The little sister ran over to her and grabbed them before yelling her thanks and went out the door with their father.
A few moments pass before Lillian and Mary Alice hear Edgar's car start and drive away toward the jewelry store. Both women breathed a sigh of relief and laughed when they regained their composure.
"Is that what you're wearing out, Mary Alice?" Lillian asked her daughter. The girl had always been adventurous but always with a stylish side. Mary Alice nodded and explained that she didn’t want to get her dresses dirty. There was another reason for her wardrobe but for the moment she would be silent about her vision. Lillian stood a few inches taller than the 18 year old, so she looked down and put a hand on her fair cheek.
"Alright you silly girl. Let's go."
Mary Alice grabbed her mother's umbrella and handed it to her, before exiting the house. Lillian closed the door with a firm click and then the two were off to explore their city.