Benedict Jones K-12 school was set to start in only a few days time, and Brooke was drinking in as much of her freedom as she possibly could before the confines of the cinder blocked building took away her liberty for the next 10 months. Everyday for the past two weeks she exited Apartment 424, walked down the hall, took the stairs 2 at a time and attempted to explore a new part of the city. But Brooke's feet always found their way back to what she discovered was named Sherwood Park. She had yet to discover the name of the lake, though the mystery made it more alluring in her mind.
Why is there always some creepy homeless man outside my front door in EVERY place I've lived since Dad left? Its like they know I have no protection, thought Brooke as she slowed her pace down the sidewalk on her route home. The afternoon was slipping away as the sun became a brilliant orange-mango and slipped away to grace the other side of the world with its life-giving presence. Her heart rate picked up slightly as he slowly turned his head towards her away from the fading sunlight and stared at her with what she now realized were sightless eyes. She had seen him sitting in front of the clinic facing Poplar Street since she moved in but had always averted her eyes. Now she realized that he had never actually seen her, and her fear subsided. Brooke kept walking towards him and dug around her pockets for some spare change to throw in the copper bowl placed beside him. The sound of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland was comforting coming from his CD player, and she had a flashback of watching "The Wizard of Oz" in her childhood home on her favorite soft green couch sitting between her Mom and Dad, all 3 of them snuggled up with the worn knitted blanket that her Mom's ancestors brought when they immigrated from Poland in the early 1900's. They were drinking hot chocolate provided by Silvia, the maid that was like her older sister and Mom rolled into one person, and suddenly Brooke missed her Dad and Silvia, too. She tossed in her coins as this momentary wave of sadness washed over her. The blind man registered this sound, then croaked out "Riddles -- all you can say are riddles, murk, and darkness," and her fear returned. CREEP CREEP, she thought, and hurried inside Castle Apartments to make her microwave meatloaf dinner and wait on her Mom to come home from work.
Usually Brooke just went to sleep when she was tired, no matter if her Mom was home or not, but the event with the slightly ominous homeless man made her feel lonely. She began whistling the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and took the time to look through moving boxes to dig out the only copy of the movie she had ever owned, an old VHS tape that made the screen go black during portions of the beginning, but never during Dorothy's song, of course. This never mattered to Brooke because her Dad always said "Who cares about the beginning? All that matter is that she goes to Oz, realizes what is important to her, and overcomes all odds to come home. Home is the only thing that matters, right Bubblebutt?" And she would giggle yes and then they would play wrestle until Brooke "won." This movie had been part of her family's bonding time rituals for as long as she could remember, and was one of the last things they had done with all 4 of them, Brooke, Mom, Dad and Silvia, before her Dad left and they had to "let Silvia go." She placed the movie into the battered VCR player that had been left in the apartment by the previous tenant, wrapped up in the blanket of her forefathers, and just as Judy Garland began her optimistic solo, Veronica Adams clattered in the front door.
"Hey swee--" said Brooke's Mom, then stopped. Memories flooded her mind as a pure voice sang out into the apartment "Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." The last time she heard this song and watched this movie was the night that she began to suspect the affair between her husband and the faithful maid Silvia. Dan Adams was a character, usually pleasant but sometimes he settled into deep funks where he took days to wallow in self-pity until their bright-eyed daughter would raise his spirits. They had watched the movie wrapped up in the old blanket, both parents on either side of Brooke and Silvia in the squishy armchair beside the couch next to Dan. About halfway through the movie, Veronica leaned forward to grab the popcorn bucket, and glanced at her husband's face when leaning back, when she noticed Silvia and Dan holding hands. Strange, she thought, and spent the rest of the movie processing what she saw. Silvia had been with them since Brooke was about 3 months old, when it became apparent that Veronica was too exhausted to continue with the upkeep of their expansive home. Silvia was wonderful, about 10 years younger than the couple, and pretty in a way that was attractive if you liked curvy, almost thick, Hispanic women. But Dan had never shown any signs of being interested in anyone but Veronica, even in college when there were many tempting women around everyday. They had the perfect relationship, she had thought. Later that night, she crept downstairs to see what she could spy after she tucked in Brooke for the night, who complained the whole time that "An 9-year old doesn't need to be tucked in!" She saw them locked in a heated embrace, a hug like none she had received in years. 3 days later, Dan left with Silvia, never suspecting that Veronica knew why he left or why Silvia "had to return to Costa Rica to attend to family issues," a complete and utter bullshit lie. "Mom? Come watch this movie. We haven't watched it since we left the old house," called Brooke from the couch.
Veronica wiped away her angry tears, set her things down, and joined her only daughter in the living room to watch the movie that had seemingly ruined her relationship with her husband. Brooke saw her tears and said worriedly "Mom, why are you crying? What happened? You know this is my favorite movie." Eerily the blind man's words echoed in her head: "...Riddles, murk and darkness." She shuddered at the memory. Veronica gulped down the rest of her emotions and said weakly, "It's nothing, just fall allergies. Let's watch the movie. Look, she's in Oz now. Soon she'll be home. Home is the only thing that matters, right Bubblebutt?"
