Before the Beginning // Avary

She didn't know her mother, and she desperately wished she did. A few memories would surface, like stagnant dirt being stirred up in the middle of a lake. A yellow dress. A primrose. Tea. A faded photograph. Red curls. Ducks. The last one was completely random and still remained a mystery to her, and yet she knew it had some significance in the mysterious history of her maternal unit.

Her father rarely spoke of it. Young children often perceive deep things, and such was the case with Avary -- she knew it was painful to speak of. Somehow, somewhere, a deep secret was buried deep beneath layers and layers of sand. She knew the old fables and sayings: "X" marks the spot. But no matter how hard she tried to look, X was nowhere to be found. She knew someday she'd find the button that would unravel her father's tragic history. She only hoped it wouldn't unravel his life as well.

Despite the fact that her father was reluctant to speak of his true love, he and Avary had an extremely close relationship. She called him Daddy, and he called her Ava Bean. He worked assorted hours -- long days and long nights, flying among the stars. Avary couldn't wait to fly with him; until then, she was content to greet him when he came home. Her strawberry blonde ringlets would bounce through the air as she ran through the dusty sunlight, feet pounding on weathered wood as they ran: straight into his arms.

The days were long then. Summer days, stretching on and on. Twilight blended into midnight and midnight blended into dawn. Day by day flew by, turning into red check marks on a calendar. In that idyllic place just outside of reality, time decided to stand still. The sunlight filtered through the trees, and that was when Avary discovered the forest.

Her house, with clapboard shutters and a magnificent front porch, had many assets, the most remarkable being the one that it stood in the center of a giant forest. She hid in the woods more often than not. The trees guarded her with a strange solemnity, whimsical and resolute all at the same time. She felt comforted there. Safe. It was the only refuge for a dreamer in a world that was set to destroy everything pure.