The Curse of Summer (BOOK ONE OF THE SEASONS TRILOGY)

14 Years Ago The doll in my hands is tattered and worn, but I love it beyond anything else. It is the only thing that gives me comfort in this world, devoid of true love and affection. I hide under the cot-bed that has been assigned to me by the-fat-woman-who-wears-black, brushing the doll's hair carefully so that none of it is pulled off of its already balding head. Ding! Ding! Ding! I ignore the bell, hoping to remain unnoticed as other children rush downstairs to form an orderly line for inspection. Soon, I am left alone with my doll and the three others my age who are all fast asleep, their snores the only sound which breaks through the silence. I've never played with them. They're always sleeping and I don't even know their names. A cold, damp hand wraps itself around my leg tightly and I am dragged out from under my bed. I scream in frustration, trying to kick my way out of my attackers grasp and leaving my doll behind in payment for my efforts. "Now, now, child. Don't give me that look. Miss Olivia would be very cross if you weren't downstairs for the inspection." the yellow haired woman says to me in a calm voice. I'm glad it's the-yellow-haired-lady instead of the-fat-woman-who-wears-black. At least the-yellow-haired-lady doesn't smack me whenever I try to play where I'm not meant to. Instead, the-yellow-haired-lady sneaks me treats and gives me one every time I'm good. I guess I wasn't going to get one today. The-yellow-haired-lady knelt beside me and dusted off the pale yellow dress which I had been placed in that morning. I fidget, uneasy with the attention she was lavishing on me, but she doesn't take any notice. She grabs a brush from the dresser and quickly pulls it through my hair roughly, trying to rid it of the ever-present knots. It hurt and the brush just ends up getting tangled in my riotous mess of curls. The-yellow-haired-lady sighs and works quickly to detach the entrapped implement from my hair before she grabs hold of my hand and drags me down the stairs to the entrance hall. The entrance hall is packed with children of all ages lining up on both sides of the long room - on one side stand the boys and on the other stand the girls. Their backs are straight, hands folded in front of them, heads facing forward and lips sealed tightly. Everyone is afraid. "I'm sorry Miss Olivia. The little one needed some help." the-yellow-haired-lady tells the-fat-woman-who-wears-black before she guides me to my place at the end of the line. The-fat-woman-who-wears-black doesn't seem to be too happy and I'm sure to get a smack later on... but not if she can't find me. I look up at the older girl beside me and see that she's standing like all the rest of the children. "Perfect little soldiers" is what the-fat-woman-who-wears-black calls them. I, on the other hand, am known simply as "the brat". The doorbell rings loudly and the-fat-woman-who-wears-black does a quick sweep of the line with her beady little eyes before she turns and answers the door. "Oh! Dr. and Mrs. Summers, I'm so glad you've arrived safely!" she says brightly, plastering a rare smile on her sour face. I'm sure that it hurts her to smile – that's why she only smiled on special occasions. "Miss Olivia, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." I heard, but I couldn't see who was speaking. In fact, the bigger girl next to me was blocking my view completely. I was about to lean forward to see if I could get a better view but a single look from the-yellow-haired-lady dissuades me. I push my bottom lip out in a pout and cross my arms in frustration. If only I was bigger! "All of the children are lined up in the hall, so just choose one and we put the process into motion." I hear the-fat-woman-who-wears-black say curtly. I look at the-yellow-haired-lady to see if she's still watching me, hoping to be able to sneak a peek. I wasn't in luck – she was watching me like the kitchen cat watches a mouse. "You have many children here." a man said, his gruff voice contrasting sharply with the other woman. "Indeed we do, Dr. Summers. We try to take care of them the best that we can, but it's a daily struggle." I saw the-yellow-haired-lady roll her eyes. Clearly she didn't agree with something that the-fat-woman-who-wears-black said. "Well, we are looking for a little girl. We have three boys of our own, you see. My wife always wanted a little girl but we were blessed with our boys instead." The man's gruff voice took on a tender edge to it, even as I watch some of the boys' faces fall with disappointment. Clearly they wanted to get chosen. Without a word, the boys turned and walked in single file back to their dormitory, leaving the girls behind. I could hear the couple go from girl to girl, asking her name and age and what she enjoyed doing. Meaningless chit-chat for a few seconds later they would no doubt forget everything about the child they had spoken to in favour of another. The-yellow-haired-lady's eyes were fixed on the couple, her eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't read. 'Now is my chance to see the man and woman!' I thought to myself, leaning ever so slowly forward. I see the bottom of a pale pink dress and the tip of a man's shoe but the rest is hidden from view behind the-fat-woman-who-wears-black. I stomp my foot in frustration. The-fat-woman-who-wears-black always ruins everything. The doorbell rings again and the-fat-woman-who-wears-black excuses herself before moving to answer the door. I wasn't going to get a better chance than this! Slowly, I lean forward, craning my small neck until I can see them. They are beautiful. The woman looks exactly like an angel and the man looks... kind - something I didn't expect from the sound of his gruff voice. I can't wait for them to come to me. I could show them my doll! But I had left my doll under my bed... and the-yellow-haired-lady wasn't going to let me fetch her. Maybe I could run upstairs quickly and fetch her, before the couple get to me. If I'm quick enough then the-yellow-haired-lady won't even know I'm gone! I lean forward once more, just to see how far along the couple are. They're only a few girls away. I feel a warm hand on my back and I'm pushed to the floor, landing hard on the carpet. My arm stings and I start to cry, unable to control myself. I look back and see the bigger girl I had stood next to smiling with evil pleasure at my pain – she had pushed me. "Oh my darling!" cooed the angel-woman, rushing to me and pulling me up to face her as tears still streamed down my face. The kind man pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face, inspecting my arm for any serious damage and finding nothing but carpet burn. He raised my arm to his lips and gave it a quick kiss, smiling gently at me. "All better." he declares, winking at me. The angel kneels beside me and wraps an arm around me and draws me to her, smiling in a way which makes the corners of her eyes crinkle. "What's your name, sweetheart?" she asks. "Brat." I reply without hesitation, an honest answer from a child of three years. The-yellow-haired-lady chokes and starts coughing hysterically while the-fat-woman-who-wears-black (who had just re-entered the room) rushes to the kind-man's side. "She doesn't have a name, Dr. Summers. She hasn't been with us all that long and she didn't know her name when she arrived with us." The kind-man looks at that the-fat-woman-who-wears-black as if he wanted to throttle her, and without even consulting his wife, he declares "we want her". The -fat-woman-who-wears-black's eyebrow shoots up in surprise – or horror – and she looks from the kind-man to the angel-lady. "Are you sure?" "Positive." the angel-lady clarifies before she turns back to me. "Would you like me to be your Mama?" I nod, unsure of what is truly expected of me. "We'll take her now as soon as the paperwork is filled in. She has been cleared for adoption, hasn't she?" the kind-man asks. The-fat-woman-who-wears-black merely nods, clearly sharing my loss for words. "Run upstairs and fetch your belongings, child. Everyone else is dismissed." she finally says, leading the couple into her office. The-yellow-haired-lady takes my hand and leads me back to my shared bedroom where she helps me pack up my meagre belongings into a packet. I grab my doll from under the bed and clutch her to my chest, not completely aware of what was happening. I find myself following the-yellow-haired-lady back downstairs, running my hands over the support poles of the balustrade, to join the couple in the office. "Oh John, take a picture of us." the angel-woman urges, pulling me onto her lap. I place my doll on my lap – a mirror of myself and the angel-woman – as the kind-man digs in his wife's bag for their camera. A few seconds later there is a flash of light from the camera and the kind-man smiles at us. "Perfect." "Oh, you're all going to be so happy together." the-fat-woman-who-wears-black gushes as she signs the last piece of paper in her hand. "And it's done. Congratulations, you now have a daughter." The couple smiled and the angel-woman kissed me on the temple before shaking the-fat-woman-who-wears-black's hand. "Thank you MissOlivia." she said solemnly. The angel-woman slipped me off of her lap and guided me outside of the sombre house and toward the pale blue car which waited in the mangled driveway. I looked back and saw children watching me from their dorm windows and tears shining in the-yellow-haired-lady's eyes. I broke free of angel-lady's grasp and launched myself at the-yellow-haired-lady, handing her my doll. She needed it more than I did – I was sure of it. "Farewell, my sweet child. Don't forget who you are and where you have come from." she whispers in my ear. "Don't forget them." I find myself sitting in the back seat of the car a few moments later, listening to soft classical music playing in the background as the kind-man and angel-lady turn to me. "I'm your new Mama and this is your Papa." the angel-lady says to me in a soft voice as if not to startle me. The kind-man smiled lovingly at me and touched my hair briefly before gazing into his wife's eyes and giving her a quick wink. He turned back to me and smiled again. "Your name is now Alana Summers, and you are our daughter."