Flight Risk

Episode One: Prologue

May 9th, 2012.

I watched as she made remarks on her leather bound notebook, sitting across from me on her chaise lounge. I had barely spoken to this woman that my agent Myra deemed ‘mandatory.’ I didn’t particularly like talking to anyone these days, but more than anything, I didn’t like talking to HER. She dug at me like a rake etches the ground, dragging leaves and sticks, rearranging the earth. She made a big show of her sessions with me, telling Myra that we had made ‘great progress’ together.

They were dead. There wasn’t anything anyone could tell me that would better the situation or make me feel better. It hurt. Every single day. My heart has ached for the last seven months, and I had no doubt that it would continue.

“How has it been for you living with your Aunt Linda and Uncle Steve?” Doctor Melody asked as she twirled her ball point pen in her fingers.

“Fine, I guess.” I answered simply. It wasn’t that they were bad people, they made sure I had what I needed. But I just wanted the one thing they couldn’t give me, I wanted to turn back time and go back to when my parents were still alive.

“Do they treat you well?”

“They treat me just fine.” I replied to her in a rather annoyed tone. I had to see Melody every week, and she asked a lot of the same questions in each session.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it’s been working out for you there. You know, I do have something I’d like to share with you though, if you don’t mind?”

I didn’t even speak, just made a hand gesture that suggested she could go on. She lent a small upturn of her lips before she began again.

“Children in your type of circumstance, generally don’t do as well trying to succeed in the same environment. I think your best chance at growing up to live a happy, healthy life where this tragedy doesn’t plague you, is to do what I like to call, a ‘reinvention’ of yourself.”

“My parents weren’t a plague.” I spat at her, crossing my arms in a huff. I glanced up at the clock, I still had fifteen minutes of this session to get through.

“Of course. That’s not at all what I meant.” She took in a breath before continuing on. “What I mean is, reinvent yourself as a method of shedding the loss and guilt, and moving forward so that you can once again experience joy and happiness.”

“Okay. So what do I have to do?” I didn’t particularly like the sounds of what she was saying.

“Myra and I have decided that the best thing for you, is to commit to the witness protection program and the case plan they have set up for you.”

“But, my Uncle Steve is a cop, I think I’m safe enough living with them.” I argued.

“Unfortunately the progress of the investigation indicates you are not as safe as we would like for you to be. And the progress I’ve noted for your emotional health is not enough to argue that you stay here.”

“Do I get a choice?” I asked. I knew better. Due to my age, my decisions on how to live my life were hardly mine to make.

She lent me a look of pity, her eyebrows turning slightly upward in the middle, and her eyes softening.

“Your safety is not something we can neglect to prioritize, my dear. We have found a placement in Georgia, and intend to make the transition sooner than later.”

“What?! Where am I going?!” I exclaimed.

“We have made arrangements for your Aunt and Uncle to move, where your Uncle will have a new job placement with the police department there. Your Aunt and Uncle have agreed to make the move, they will take care of you until you are eighteen.”

“But, they didn’t ask for this. They will resent me.” Even as a pre-teen, I knew that moving several states away was not in my Aunt Linda’s plan. She already didn’t seem to adore the fact that I now lived with them. But uprooting her life? I can’t think of a lonelier place than to live with my workaholic uncle and an aunt who felt I displaced the life she had established over the last forty years. Great. What a train wreck.

“They are being well compensated for their move. I assure you they will not resent you. It’s what needs to be done. Did Myra fill you in on your responsibility in the witness protection program?”

“Not entirely.” I shrugged.

Melody sighed. “This is really better coming from Myra. And I’m sure she will go over the more intricate details of your case plan. But understand that you will from now on be known as your newly assigned name, Violet Reese Smith. You and Myra will work together to come up with your backstory, and that will be how you address any questions from new acquaintances. I understand you were quite gifted at ice skating. I’m sorry to say it is recommended that you do not pursue that sport any longer. In fact, it’s best to establish completely new hobbies and interests. I understand this may not make any sense right now, but we have to make the best effort possible to keep you safe moving forward.”

“I don’t understand. Are the people who murdered Mom and Dad coming after me?” I asked her point blank. This just seemed entirely too much. A lump slid up into my throat at the thought of doing what she was asking me to. Completely start over? Go to a new place, and abstain from participating in any of the hobbies I had grown to enjoy and be good at? I felt like I had already had to ‘start over’ during the last several weeks, but it was like they wanted me to take it to the extreme.

She looked down at her clipboard, almost ashamed. “It’s really unsure at the moment. But that possibility is always there. So it’s crucial you do as we ask. I’m sorry, Violet. As for your mental and emotional health as you grow up, becoming a ‘new you’, may also help you get past all you have had to endure. The new start is not solely about the murder investigation.”

“Right. Sure.” I could feel a flush taking over my body. Rage. They wanted me to toss aside everything that made me, me. For what? I looked ahead in my mind and saw a garbage of a future awaiting me. But, I’d do it. What choice did I really have?