Black Pearl From Prince

Boston, Spring 85.

The neighborhood of Prince Street, Boston, is no friendly to anybody from higher bourgeoisie class than there was there. She just hoped that one day she could strike the fact right on the noses of those bragging lads in her office. She did not mean it to be racist.

People called her Maple around here. Everyday she woke up early at about 5, facing the feature of Friday Foster, her--although imaginary--true, idol. Everyday since she was four, she always dreamt of becoming like her... smart and determined no matter how people prejudice her appearence,still be able to humming happily about what today would bring her, and each new day was an opportunity before her. Carpe diem, she was always going to seize the day!

Now that she was 24, she actually could have her her own place somewhere cozier, somewhere with more prestige... with her current salary. But she just couldn't do it. Aunt Kelly was so stiff she could not let her face each day alone, just like the way she once allocate her time and love to adopt her from the orphanage.

She could have already her master degree in computer science, making her the first and only person, woman, and the Afro-American to handle and use the internet among colleagues from different races in her office. But no matter how busy she was, in the morning, as usual, since she was in the fourth grade, she would prepare Aunt Kelly breakfast with their routine favourites: sunny-side egg and coffee on Monday and Tuesday, waffle and mapple syrup and orange juice in Thursday, fried potatoes and sausages on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday Aunt Kelly loved to cook her sweet porridge or tomato soup.

All in all, life so far was perfect for both of them. Especially for Maple, who had been really pleased with herself for being able to give back to Aunt Kelly, her saviour for at least the last ten years.

***

Maple, you get going now? Aunt Kelly stiffly stepped down the stairs with some little cough. Maple deftly gave her a hand and had her seated. She poured her a cup of her de-caff coffee while biting her first toast. Alan will fetch you again, no?

Maple smiled. Aunt Kelly had always been supportive no matter who she went out with. As this was her first time to be engaged in a relationship with another grown-up, Aunt Kelly seemed fine even though Alan was rarely being mentioned by her in front of Aunt Kelly. The only encounter that Alan would meet her was the brief 15 minutes when she was getting her make-up ready in her bedroom while Alan waited in the lounge. Aunt Kelly would always friendly started a conversation with him. And she thanked God that no matter how sometimes Alan was such a bragging lad either, he seemed to respect Aunt Kelly as she wished.

But today she had been ready earlier and Alan would not have to wait, as she would be attending the welcoming of Spring apprentices in her office in Tremmont Street.

The door bell rang. That's Alan, Aunt Kell... I'd better get going! She kissed the white old lady on the cheek.

She grabbed her beret and put on her shoes. Outside, a tall, shaven dark-skinned man had waited in his car. Many other guys around the neighborhood had actually envied the man. He had been the one who was able to go out with The Black Pearl from Prince.

A Fall Break in Frost Street 13

Two weeks before the Fall Semester started, the Faboulous Five (they called themselves)stayed together in Charlotte's residence. Miranda slept in the same room as Anthony, Carrie stayed together in the guest room across the stairs with Samantha, and Charlotte stayed in her own bedroom. The Mashburns have owned the house since 1974 and since they befriend each other, it has become one of their favourite place to spend semester breaks. While it actually less in size compared to Samantha's or Anthony's(the richest two among them), there was something so homy there Miranda tried to rationalize it at present.

'Well, so... Carrie, now it's your turn...' as she measured one by one of her friend's temperature body and 'state of mind'(don't really know how she determine it)to survey the girls' responses of coming again to the house.

Oh come on, Miranda... you can't quantize something so peculiar like this... for example, protested Carrie, I just broke up with Ashton, so how could you take the conclusion that everybody is happy when they come here? Not to mention that this is our first day here!Of course, I'm happy to be here, Charlotte...

Charlotte and Anthony giggled, Samantha said nothing as she was busy with her eye lashes. Ann helped Charlotte served the tea, and she admired the order of Charlotte's kitchen, the choice of cookies in the pantry, and the classic Julia Child's cookbook laid inside the first row of the buffet.

Mr. and Mrs. Mashburn were shopping downtown, and she promised to welcome them with the family's secret recipes of stuffed luncheon and tre leche. The agenda at present as Miranda planned was tea and schedule planning. Samantha had to fulfill her promise to bath in the lake nearby as she lost her bet to Carrie, Carrie needed to be accompanied to buy some consolation shawl to forget her break up with Ashton temporarily, and all of them wanted to go around Syracuse University to meet some cool guys. They were all needed to be scheduled carefully.

I bet it's the family, Samantha sipped her tea. You know... the house is full of your parents' love, Charl... something barely I get backhome.

All four of her friends went asilenced. They knew that Sam's parents divorced when she was eleven and that she had faced it roughly. Sam was once rehabilitated for using light-level metamphetamine for her frustration and more on that, maybe later.

Ha ha ha... I know you'll be speechless! she laughed so hard that Charlotte, Carrie, and Miranda giggled awkwardly.

Nope... I just knew it that it was your silly tactics, Ann responded casually, once again establishing her reputation as the cold-blooded one in the clowder. Samantha jumped at her and randomized her hair. You cold blooded twat! She giggled.

Well, if only her friends knew that indeed, Ann did not really interested in being sympathetic towards any of such feeling of Sam, or Carrie, or Miranda, or Charlotte's about their personal problems. At this level, when she was only 16, all that she cared about of maintaining the friendship was so that she could observe how did her fellow teenagers cope up, interact with their environment and problems. She wanted to become a neurobiologist someday... she thought she needed to train herself from now on to get used to social problems.

So Anthony... how is Dave doing? Charlotte shyly asked. Carrie and Miranda booed and Samantha hugged her. Yes, if there was any, then the only reason that Charlotte would befriend someone so weird as Anthony was because she had such a lovveeely brother! And Charlotte meant it; no matter how Anny told her that he was one of the greatest playboy on Earth Ann knew, Charlotte had been ready to endure all the consequences. She got to be the last one for David!

Anthony laughed. She glanced a bit towards the window, at the reddening maple leaves across the street in front of the house.

She thanked God once more, before starting to spill her report out to Charlotte about her brother, Davidovich. As these two weeks would be another fun Summer Break...

The Shiny Pathway

Anthony could still remember the shiny pathway that led one following it to the Grand Citadel of Stanislav-Andrei Markov on the bank of the River of Ob, West Siberian Plain. It was spring 1977. She, Jo, Dave, and Mom, and Papa were taking a short trip to the land of their Ancestors, The Soviet Union.

Even the 5-years old Ann could understand the tension happening during their visit. Papa said that she couldn't cry there or hug Mommy too tightly as usual... she should not trouble everybody else. It was a very strange trip, since after they dropped themselves out of Helsinki, Papa drove all of them inside a rotten-looking jeep for six days in a row, and suddenly they arrived in a freezing, serene pine- wood where there shaped a five hundred yards flat snowy space. A helicopter picked them up, and a military-dressed stewardess,Anthony felt she would poison them no matter how beautiful she might seemed, offered she who curled anxiously on her brother's lap a cup of hot chocolate. She reluctantly gave it a little sip now that Jo sipped it first.

When they arrived, eventually she felt a little better. It turned out to be quite a spring down the town they supposed to head. They stayed for one and a half month in a building(she later knew it to be the Novosibirsk Legislative Provincial Building) where she, Jo, and Dave played cricket every morning in its backyard. Papa and Mommy always tried to smile but Ann, as well as her two brothers, knew how worried they really were.

And it was so strange that during the last three nights, Anthony kept on dreaming of this heavy voice, calling her name down a foggy alley. Anthony, in this dream, followed the voice and suddenly she arrived to a fog-shaded tall, big figure she could not see his face.

But she knew the figure was smiling at her.

On the forty-seventh day, another military-uniformed one, this time a blonde, cold-eyed man guided them heading towards this place... where the gate towards the main building was shining beneath the spring sun. Jo was the one standing next to her little steps, holding her left hand tightly. The guiding man, turned out to be leading them towards a mighty citadel she always dreamed of to be castles Mom told her in stories some nights before she slept when she was 3 years old. The story was portraying Vassilisa The Brave, a name of a girl whose legend so famous her uncle, Fadev, made it his daughter's name.

More military-guys emerged and the five of them was guided to a high-ceiled, medium-sized chamber where Papa and Mom busily signed some papers and documents. The bored little Ann silently slipped her legs away and strolled around the surrounding alley near the chamber. Luckily Jo saw her, and quickly followed her.

What's up Ann? You can't trouble us, you see... Jo whispered in her ear. He raised her in his arms.

Jo... I heard a voice! Ann whispered back.

That moment, they arrived in a deserted alley with a wide, empty semi-dark creak with a broad window importing a ray of sun light to the room. Jo smiled, shaking his head. Oh, it must be Ann's another imaginary friend...

It's calling me, Jo, from here!

Ann, we'd better get back...

But as he turned his body around, Ann frantically pulling his ear, Look Jo!

Jo turned back to the wide empty creak. He was stunned.

A transparent figure of an old, bearded man with an early 1900 Russian-style tux was beaming peacefully towards... Ann. He waved his hand, and slowly melted within the morning ray of sun-light.

For a moment neither he or Ann spoke. Then slowly Jo turned his head upon his sister, who yawned. I miss Mommy, Ann said while curling her head on his shoulder.

Silently the still-shocked Jo walked with Ann in his arm, back to the chamber where Mom, Dad, and Dave were still struggling with papers. Seemed that nobody noticed that both of them were missing for a moment.

The family eagerly packed their bags and headed home. To Nantucket.

In the airport in Helsinki, Jo told Mom that Ann and he saw the mysterious old, transparent figure. Mom told Dad, and he was beaming. So strange that the smile reminded Jo of the old figure's .

That was your Great Grandpa Dmitri, he patted his head. You know what, Jo... he finally accepted us.

Jo casted his gaze upon the bright blue sky that also shared by the Baltic Sea. He remembered all the six days cruise in the jeep, the tension for one and a half months in the building where they lived, the papers signed, their taken photograph in order to validate their family's ownership to the tourism of the citadel.

So that was his Great GrandDad Dmitri, the one who was notoriously known in their circle to be the man who was disgraced by the marrying of Grandpa Ricardovich and their beloved Grandma, Brendamilikan.