Where It All Began

Four

Dear Mr. Jones,

I want to thank you and Mr. Smith for helping me in London. It really means so much that you two were willing to help. You had no idea what I was, and still am, going through and you had no idea who I was, yet you two were willing to help. You and Mr. Smith are truly good. I do not know how I could ever repay you. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Athena.

I do not know where Kaden or Thomas live, or work, so I asked Charlie to find out for me. He had made sure the letter got to them safely. I really needed to thank them again. Without Kaden and Thomas, getting to New York would have taken me much longer, especially since this is my first time ever in the modern world.

Working for Charlie has been amazing. The pay is not much and the hours are long, but Charlie was the sweetest. He has become like a father to me. A good one, not one like my biological father was. He gave me time off when I really needed it, when the pain of losing my family became too much. He let me take something from the store home with me once a week, as long as it was under a thousand dollars. I have only taken one thing home with me so far. It was a small Victorian hair comb with tiny amethysts embedded in it. He also allowed me to bring stuff in. I brought in the rest of the jewelry my father thought he needed to give me in order to keep my mother thinking he was a good father. I have no idea how he kept up the act all those years. Just thinking about it makes me sick.

After two weeks of working for Charlie, I found a small apartment near the shop. It is less than a mile from Charlie's shop. The neighborhood was not the nicest or the cleanest, but for now, it was home. I could not afford much after rent, so I only had a bed and a few bookcases. So far, I have filled only two of them with books and I made sure to buy some of Harper's favorites, so I can finally understand why my sister liked them so much. I never read much back home. I was too busy annoying Harper. I miss her.

Today was a Friday, so, if I wanted to, I could take something home with me. I usually do not though. Maybe someone will bring something interesting today, and I want to bring it home.

"Good morning Charlie," I yelled out to him as soon as I walked into the shop. Something is slightly off, like someone just walked through the entrance not long before me.

"Good morning Athena." He is usually in the back, doing some other work that business owners do, but today he was at the counter with a new item.

"Oh wow! What is this?" I asked, curious about the new item. It looked like a storage chest, but there is usually more to an item than simply what it looks like.

"That, my friend, is a 17th century wrought iron chest," Charlie informed me with a large smile on his slightly wrinkled face, like he had won the lottery. He had a passion for old and used items like these.

"Who brought it in?" I asked. We have regulars, who regularly come in to sell their things, and sometimes we have people who have never been here before. I like to guess what their lives might be like based on what they brought in. I find the more interesting the item, the more interesting the person is likely to be.

"I did," a familiar strong voice answered.

"Kaden!" Turning around, I saw the beautiful face of Kaden Jones. I noticed he is more muscular than when we first met a few months ago. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. I know I only met him once and spent less than a day with him, but he was the closest thing I have ever had to a friend. "What are you doing here? Did you get my letter?"

"Getting rid of that old thing, obviously," he said, smiling down at me. "And Tommy is here, trying to find a gift for his mother."

"Stop calling me Tommy," I wanted to hug Thomas too, but he seemed to be in a bad mood, so I decided against it. Reading people is my specialty. I can always tell what someone is feeling, just by looking into their eyes. "And yes, we got your letter. Why send a letter though? Couldn't you just have sent an email?"

"I don't have a phone or anything like that. So, can I recommend something?," I asked Thomas if he needed any help looking for a gift for his mother. "I know all the best items in the shop, just let me know how much you are willing to spend."

"No price is too high for my mother," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I smiled at him and looked around, looking for the exact thing I had in mind. "Maybe this?" I held up a necklace with a giant emerald attached to it. "Would your mother like this?"

"She would. Thank you," He took the necklace from my outstretched hand, and took it to the counter where Charlie still stood and paid for it.

"Goodbye Athena."

"Goodbye Thomas." We stared into each other's eyes for a moment, then he turned around and I watched him walk out the door and sighed. I turned back to Charlie and saw him smiling back at me.

"What?"

"You like him," he said in a teasing tone.

"I hardly know him, how could I possibly like him already?" I asked, more to myself. Could I like him? I admit, he is very handsome, but I doubt he would even consider me. I am okay looking, but compared to any other woman, I am nothing. It would be a downgrade from any woman he might have been with in the past. Besides, I doubt he is single, so no point in trying.

"Athena. Do you want this chest? I really like it, but I have no space for it in my house, so I want it to go to someone I trust and I really don't want to sell it," Charlie looked at me with hopeful eyes. Damn. I could never refuse anything when he does that and he knows it.

"Yeah. I'll take it Charlie." I could use it to store all my clothes. I do not have a lot of clothes and currently they are all scattered on my floor since I do not have a closet. Having someplace to put my things would definitely make my apartment feel cleaner and more like home.

The day was long after Thomas and Kaden left. Nobody else came in to buy anything, but a few people came in to sell a few things. None were worth that much, but they were all interesting. I like things. I like that everything has a story behind it. I enjoy learning about those stories.

Charlie allowed me to take one of the store carts in order to get the chest to my apartment. When I took it up, I placed it next to my bed, so it could also be used as a night stand. I picked up my clothes off the floor and folded them neatly in the chest.

Falling asleep was harder than usual. I could not stop thinking about the fire. I was not there, but I could hear the screams of my family being burned alive. I wanted to make it stop, but I did not know how. I was stuck in an endless cycle of screams and pain, so I grabbed one of my sister's favorite books, hoping reading them would ease the pain, which, thankfully, it did. After some time, I fell into a peaceful sleep with the book still in my hands.