Day 5. I may be done with the first draft of Reflections. Or maybe not. I thought I was done earlier, but just as I wrote The End, I thought of a couple pieces that I had not followed through on, so I wrote those and added about 3k more words. I think I'm going to go to bed and think about it, and worry about what to write next after I'm sure I've finished this one. I'm drawn to writing the third book to the Silky set, but I can't seem to get a handle on how to write it. Very odd. I keep jotting down notes, but it's not coming together as a story.
Which may mean it's one of those that I need to just sit down and write, and never mind any kind of outline. I know that probably sounds odd, but some books are like that. This just might not be the best time to do it, though. I do have a couple other outlines anyway.
So here's my snippet from today. And then, I'm going to go crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours!
Maybe I'll dream up a whole new novel while I sleep.
*****
Cherry was on the sofa when we came back in. She looked up and nodded, and I thought her eyes looked red, as though she had been crying. Darion saw it too and hurried over to her while I took off my coat and hung it on the rack.
"What's wrong?" Darion asked, sitting down by her.
"I've been reading her journal," she said. "It felt wrong at first, you know. But it was mostly girl stuff -- the new dress she really, really wants. The concert she wanted to go to, but her mother wouldn't let her. There were a couple times she talked about her mother reading weird books, and once where her mother acted very odd -- she thought it was drugs. But then -- but then I found this page."
She held the journal up and gave it to me, instead of Darion. I took it and went over to the chair, sitting down and hoping to get warm again.
And I read it --
Today is Skye's birthday.
I always remember her birthday. I used to buy her cards, but mom found them and screamed and yelled how I was never to even think of Skye again, that Skye was evil and Skye is gone.
I remember her, though. I remember how she used to help me with my homework -- I don't know how she got so smart since mom wouldn't let her go to school and didn't really try to teach her anything. Skye was special, though. Skye was kind and gentle and helped me with any problem I had. I won't forget her, no matter what mom says.
Mom used to make me promise never to mention Skye to anyone. She said that if I did, people would come and take her away, and then they would take the rest of us, and we'd never see each other again. I used to cry at night, for fear that someone would take her. And I never said anything at all, not even to my best friends. I don't even talk about her now, but it's for a different reason. For a long time, I feared she was dead. But I heard my mother and Aunt Mei talking about her, and knew they'd seen her. She's all right! I was so glad! After all these years, to hear anything at all!
They were mad, though. I didn't dare ask anything.
Happy birthday, Skye. I hope that I get to see you again some day. I miss you.
I put the journal down, stunned. I think Cherry must have told Darion what it said while I read it. I hadn't heard her speaking, lost in the words there on the page.
Kelly remembered me. Kelly had missed me.
And now Kelly was in danger because of me. I looked at Cherry, and she just shook her head in return.
"She didn't forget me," I said softly. "I thought -- I didn't expect her to remember me."
"Of course she remembered you. We all remembered you," Cherry said. "Did you really think that after your mother sent you away that we'd all forget?"
"Yes."
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