The Elysian Valley: Kenna

Life is ugly, at least mine has been. If there is some list about all the bad things that can happen to a child, I’m pretty sure I can check most of those items off. My mom died in childbirth, and my dad was absent even from the beginning, meaning I went into the foster system, and the horror stories are true, in my case anyway.  I was placed in an orphanage in New York with a woman who seems to despise children, so why she chose this career was confusing to me. There were always the typical punishments for small things, like spankings and being grounded to my room when I was younger but as I aged, my punishments became more severe.  Throughout the years the orphanage would get many children in and out; however, four other girls became permanent placement in that hellhole. The bond I share with Brooklynn, Zola, Alma, and Solana is indescribable. They are family to me and gave me a support system when I needed it, which the owner of the orphanage hated.  The closer we became, the harsher she was and not just towards me, but with all of us. When she realized that the punishments weren’t preventing us from bonding, she decided to actively look for homes for us in order to keep us apart. That plan succeeded for small bits of time, but we  always ended up back where we started, and we were together. Eventually, she stopped trying to get us adopted and just abused us, but we survived that.  Now we are going to leave this hellhole for somewhere hopefully better, although I don’t see how anything could be worse than this. Our departure is already scheduled for tomorrow morning, and I am ecstatic to be leaving.  "Come on girls, we need to leave now if we are ever going to make it on time for orientation," Brooklynn shouted at us. She is standing beside the beat-up SUV with her long blonde hair pulled up into a sleek ponytail. Stretching her six foot body and bouncing on her feet as if she is preparing to go inside and force everyone out herself.  Solana, Alma, Zola and I quickly rushed out of the orphanage. Once I got next to Brooklynn, I whispered to her, "Chill Brook, we are two hours ahead of schedule. I changed all the clocks in the house as well as on all electronics to make sure that we get to school when we need to. I know how those three operate and if left in their hands, we wouldn't get there until next week."  I suddenly felt someone smack me on the back of the head and quickly whipped around to see Solana standing there with her hands on her hips, giving me one of her famous glares. Solana was beautiful, her height being slightly above average, with wavy light brown hair down to her mid back and these light blue eyes that seem to capture a person’s soul when she stares at you, not to mention she has curves in all the right places. It's surprising to me that Solana is the one who hit me though, she normally just goes with the flow and follows along with the rest of us.  Jumping into the driver's seat of the SUV, I look out of my window to the orphanage the girls and I grew up in. It was a dreary looking place with three stories and grey siding that was falling off and the paint peeling. At least three of the windows had been broken, and no one bothered to replace them. I am so happy to see this place in the rearview mirror that I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and let my body relax.  We have been on the road for nearly nine hours, and I'm just about ready to lose my mind. "Girls, I have to pull over now. I can't handle this anymore," I said to all the others.  "Oh, thank you Jesus! I thought I was the only one who needed out of this car, so I didn't say anything about it," Zola informed us.  "Of course you wanted out, Zola. You can’t handle being in any type of enclosed space for more than an hour without going haywire. Unless you are outside in the fresh air, you completely lose your mind," Alma stated.  Rolling her eyes, Zola responded, "Don't talk to me about losing my mind when you are the one who believes in the paranormal and that there are people on the other side that want to communicate. If any of us are crazy, Alma, it is you!"  "Take that back right now, Zola. You have no idea what you're talking about!"  Brooklynn stepped in and ended their argument abruptly. "Ladies, that is ENOUGH, we are best friends. We do not fight over petty things such as this. Now everyone get out of the car and take a breather. We all need it."  Looking around at the gas station that I parked in, I watched as my friends all stood in different areas of the parking lot. I had to laugh at Alma doing yoga poses, although she does have the perfect figure for it. Alma is of average height, but she is flat as a board just about everywhere. Seeing her curly red hair blowing in the wind and  her dark brown eyes focused on a point in the distance I can help but smile at the serenity that she exudes. Once I'm finished with Alma, I see Zola opposite, leaning into a tree and taking deep breaths. She is so at one with nature it amazes me. Standing a couple of inches taller than Alma, her black curly hair is floating around her as thought she is in her own world, and her nearly black eyes are scanning her surroundings with an eager look in them, and I know it is because in the city there weren’t many plants for her to enjoy.Zola has a knockout body. It reminds me of the fifties pin-up models and makes me jealous. Looking around, I notice that I cannot see Solana anywhere. "Brook, where is Lana at?"  "I think she went in to get drinks and snacks for all of us, Kenna."  "Alright, thanks. I will go in and check if she needs any help."  Heading into the convenience store, I can’t help but feel like someone is watching me but when I look around, I don’t notice anyone. "That's strange," I mumble to myself.  Once I'm inside, I see that Lana is already finished with the shopping and is in the process of checking out.  "Lana, do you need any help?"  "No, I've got it, Kenna, but thanks for offering," she responds with a bright smile.  "Well I'm going to run to the restroom."  "Alright, I will meet you back at the SUV with everyone else."  I quickly reach the bathroom and noticed that it was disgusting. The wall tiles were stained yellow, the floor tiles were stained brown. The toilet wobbles when I touch it. I can’t go to the bathroom here. It would be more sanitary to just cop a squat on the side of the road, I think to myself. I look around and notice a mirror, so I decide to use this opportunity to make sure that I don’t look horrible after nine hours on the road. I am not a great beauty like the rest of my friends, nor do I have a great body. I'm a very petite woman barely over five feet tall. I'm skinny but have size D breasts and a rather large a*s. I have long slightly wavy midnight black hair and silver eyes that always seems to creep others out. Deciding that I still look presentable, I leave the bathroom and meet the girls back at the SUV.  It was rather early in the morning the day after we left the orphanage when we finally make it into the Elysian Valley, and I have to say that it is beautiful.  Large trees cover nearly every inch of space that is not inside the town. Amazed by the  rolling hills that I can see plenty of children sledding down, and a lake with water so clear it is perfect. I cannot believe that my friends and I get to live in this amazing part of the country.  Upon entering the town, I see that there are a lot of people walking around and moving from shop to shop and chatting with each other.  It seems very friendly here, and I cannot imagine it.  When you grow up the way I did, the rule was to look out for number one and being kind and nice got you nowhere. Fighting for what I wanted was a way of life for me, and it seemed that I would be extremely out of place here.  We eventually got to our house, and it was perfect. It looked like one of those sorority houses; it was a brick home with three levels and colonnades around the porch. There was a small fountain out front with an angel as the spout, which seemed a little cliché to me.  I didn’t understand why the girls and I had a house instead of dorm rooms either. The paperwork said it was a perk of the scholarship. How all five of us got the scholarship was a mystery as well considering not one of us applied to college, much less one that was in a different country than the one we had been raised in.  However, when given an opportunity like this, it was  best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I was now able to get a college education for free and better my life, whereas most people who grew up in an orphanage would most likely work minimum wage for the rest of their lives was a good thing, and those that went the bad way would in up in prison or dead from drugs. I was lucky to be able to have this experience, no matter how strangely it came about.  Walking into the house, I notice that the walls in the living room are a neutral beige color and that all the furniture in the room is  black, sleek looking leather. There are two couches, a love seat and a couple recliners. There is also a large television, which I imagine will be awesome to have when movie night comes around.  Walking into the kitchen, I am in heaven. The countertops are a black granite with gold flakes inside, all the appliances are stainless steel, there is a large island with an attached bar that seats six people. This is the room that will be like a home to me.  I love to cook and am always trying new recipes. There was never a lot of chance for that in the orphanage but with this kitchen, I will be able to do what I want, and that brings a bright smile to my face.  While standing in the kitchen, I hear Brook. "This room is mine!"  I giggle as I quickly hear everyone else claiming their own bedrooms and dash out of the kitchen so that I can claim one as well.  I go up to the third floor and open the door on the left-hand side of the hallway, and what I find inside takes my breath away. It is a library filled with books from floor to ceiling on all the walls except for one that has a large fireplace with a few chaise lounges in front of it.  The library smells musky, and there is dust everywhere, so I know it has not  been used in a long while and that whomever prepared the house completely forgot about it. I spend about ten more minutes in the library before I remember that I was looking for a bedroom when I stumbled into the one I am currently in.  Leaving the library, I go to the right-hand side of the staircase and open that door. Inside, I find the room I am going to call my own; there is a queen size platform bed in the middle of the room with gauzy silver curtains surrounding it. The wall is painted a deep royal purple with splashes of black lace looking embroidery around the roof and floorboards. There is also a small sitting area with a few silver chairs and a silver coffee table all placed upon a deep purple rug to tie the room together. Noticing doors on the other side of the room, I open them to find a large bathroom with the same granite counters from the kitchen up here. There is a standing shower encased in glass as well as a black whirlpool bathtub that looks like it could fit at least five different people. I am very pleased with the room I found, and now it is time to go and get my bags out of the car and begin unpacking, which is going to suck.  Racing down the stairs, I slip and fall down the last five. "Watch out," I call in warning as I see Zola coming in carrying a box.  She doesn't hear me, and we collide, leaving both of us in a tangled mess and groaning in pain. "Really Kenna, must you always be so clumsy?" Zola states while trying to get her feet under her.  "Well I'm not a picture of grace and perfection like you, Zola. Just be happy I only fell down five of the stairs and not the whole staircase. Could you imagine what would have happened if that had been the case?" I question jokingly while Zola stared at me trying to hide her smile.  Alma walked in and look at Zola and me on the floor. "Let me guess, Kenna somehow managed to trip on something invisible and cause this wreck?"  "I did not trip on something invisible, I tripped on the air, Alma."  "Um Hun, I don't know if you realize this, but the air is invisible," stated Solana as she walked in to our conversation. "Will someone please just help us up so that we can get everything out of the car and unpack?"  Brook quickly reached down and grabbed my arm, pulling me up as if I was the size of a feather. "Woah girl, are you on steroids?" I questioned her. While rolling her eyes, Brook stated, "It is not my fault that you are the size of a ten-year-old even though you are an adult, Kenna. Maybe now that we are here, you will put some meat on those birdlike bones." Now that we were all standing, we laughed as we walked out to the car and began unloading our belongings. It's sad when I think that everything the girls and I own or find value in managed to fit inside of one SUV but dwelling on the hardships of our life will get me nowhere. It is so much better to look toward our future now full of possibilities.  Finally, the unloading and unpacking is done! I am so glad that my room turned out to be perfect. I think it is time to have a small celebration dinner with the girls.  Going down to the kitchen, I see that it is already filled with groceries. I decide to make something simple since I am so exhausted and get to work on making hamburger steaks, grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes and gravy. Once it's done, I plate the food and set it on the bar hollering, "Dinner is ready, ladies!" "OMG, I love you so much, Kenna. I feel like I could eat a cow," Zola states while running into the kitchen while dragging Alma with her. Solana walks in and gives me a small smile with a quiet thank you and then takes her seat at the bar. We all sat there for a few minutes waiting on Brook to show up. "I'm going to go check on her, you guys," I say while getting up. Brook chose to have the only room on ground level. Walking to her door, I knock, but she doesn't respond. Walking into her room to check if she is ok, I see her sitting in the middle of the floor completely still as if she were meditating. Standing in front of her, she still hasn't noticed me. I bend down waving my hand in her face. "Brook, snap out of it!"  Upon hearing my voice, her head looks up at me, and her eyes have changed into a clouded mist, which freaks me the hell out. "The waters are moving now that the five have arrived! The flow is getting faster and if they don't find their souls, all shall end in disaster! They must be wary because their adversary is legendary! They must choose the right one to lead if they hope to succeed! Otherwise, his five daughters shall be led to the s*******r!" she screamed out and then fell to the ground with her eyes shut and her body not moving.