the Summary

The edge of small town Briespeare leads off in to Oblivion - nearly a full thousand acres of land, trees, wild animals, a hill that overlooks the town...and a man.

This one man is rarely spotted by the town, which elites rumors, ghost tales and city legends, all devoted about him.

Yet every legendary "monster" needs to be loved by someone.

But Rose Sunney, the woman he once loved dearly, left him for bigger skies, bigger places and bigger dreams.

The death of a close friend brings her back to the small town, her friend's baby in tow, after being five years gone. She's bound to leave the past behind her, but yearns for help and a familiar face.

Yet, if she can't ignore Oblivion, what will happen to her wild, starry-eyed fully planned future?

And her heart?

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the Main Idea

After a dry summer, followed by an Indian Summer, winter was bound to be harsh on the little town of Briespeare, and weather yields for no one. But sometimes, the weather is more than obliged to lend a helping hand...

After meeting each other again and finding it very uncomfortable, Rose Sunney goes to flee back to the safety of Briespeare. That's when she opens the door to find...it's snowing. Badly. She can't leave with her baby in to the storm, so the uncomfortable meeting is now to turn in to a frigid sleepover. And then, when they wake the next morning - a nightmare.

An Indian summer had come to grace them for a while, but now it was long gone within a single night. The snow storm of the decade, the radio calls it. This does not settle well with either of the grown occupants of Oblivion, but the baby has finally found a place she likes...

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Introduction:

Slowing on lonely highway 81, she pulled off to the side of the road. There were no cars coming or leaving, no stranger wanting to venture in to the small town below. Once you go in, you never leave. With the exception of one: her.

Rose Sunney had lived in the town below for three years of bliss. Briespeare was a town that likened to the phrase 'where everybody knows your name'. It's a happy place to live, if you could spot it on a West Virgina map. Happy, until something goes wrong that forces you to flee.

The bad memories of when she indeed did flee floaded her brain, but she pushed them aside. This wasn't the time to get sentimental or wounded from the past. No second thoughts - she had come back, after five years gone, from desperation. No matter what memories came to mind to try and force her to turn around, she knew she couldn't.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel as her teeth ripped in to her tender lower lip. She was nervous, all right.

A sound from the back of the car brought her back to the present. A frustrated whine.

Rose looked back with a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, baby. I promised you food and here I am, daydreaming."

She travelled down a block or two until she pulled in to a familiar fifty's diner that happened to be opened twenty four hours a day, seated a mile or so right outside of the town line.

After she stepped through those restaurant doors, all of Briespeare will know that she'd come back. The urge to run away grew stronger, but she fought it away as she unbuckled the cranky six month old from the car seat and took her restless body from the car.

"Well, here goes nothing, Em."

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Chapter One:

As Rose pushed the door open, she listened as the usual commotion of the morning crowd slowly hushed, then the wave of whispers began. Straightening her frame, she walked to the counter with a smile.

A young waitress, one that she didn't know, came up to her with a smile. "What can I help you with today?"

"Two platters of scrambled eggs and two medium orange juices."

She barely got the words out before a high pitched squeal pierced the air.

"Sunny! How great it is to have you here. I'll seat you in the back, away from these gossip mongrels," said Rose's old friend Alivia, a head waitress here.

As they walked back, Rose felt the eerie feeling like she was attempting the walk of shame.

"Sunny has a baby!" a woman harshly whispered, loud in her excitement. Alivia walked faster.

Another waitress brought them a high chair and soon the three were seated at a private booth.

"So what's new?" Alivia asked, the same way she always did when Rose used to walk through the door every day. What's new - like they had just seen each other yesterday. "Who's the lucky guy? Do I get to meet him?"

Rose smiled sheepishly. "There is no guy."

Alivia looked taken aback. "You broke up? Oh sweetie, I'm sorry-"

"No, I mean there's no guy. As in never. The baby isn't mine. Well actually..." she stopped, taking a breath. "She's my baby now. But I didn't have her."

The waitress friend looked a little lost. "Did you adopt her?"

"A very close friend of mine passed away. It was her will that I have the baby, so yes, I did."

Alivia leaned over and brushed baby Emma's curly hair from her face. "So what brought the two of you here? Honestly, I never thought I'd see you again."

"Well, I ran in to a few money problems. I had to quit my job for a little while to care for Emma. Obviously, she took not having her mother around anymore very harshly. She was up at all hours, awaiting angrily for her mother to pick her up. I couldn't just leave her with some stranger when she was already so lost. Of course, not having a job meant no income and my savings were dwindling. I had two eviction notices, when my rent history wasn't great to start with. So I left my apartment to come here. Mom and Dad still have that summer cottage that I can use. They're somewhere in China right now, so they won't care anyway."

"So you're going to stay here until you get back on your feet?"

"That's the plan. I already have a few things in the works that I'll make some good money off of, but they won't come to fruit for near a year. Which is why I emptied my savings and-"

"Don't tell me...you got a book published," Alivia asked with excitement. Rose waited as the ordered food was placed on the table and thanked the waitress. Emma quieted down as she tasted the scrambled eggs, always her favorite.

"I did. But with all the editing and prep work, it won't be out until about this time next year. I just found out two weeks ago...it's so amazing. So I just have to hang on until then. When the book sale money comes in, I'll be able to pay off my debts and move on."

"That's great that you still have a plan. I've been waitressing here since I was eighteen and I still haven't a clue where I'm going. Eight long years...no plans."

"You'll figure it out. You always were the brains of this duo. But Liv, uh...how's...how's Jamie?"

Jamie. The man that was once her whole world. In many ways, he still was. She handed the baby a piece of lightly done toast.

"Hah, your guess is as good as any of ours." This came from the late arriving Dan. He took a seat next to Alivia, his long time girlfriend.

"What do you mean?" Rose tried not to look alarmed, but she sure did feel it inside. Perhaps that's what losing a close friend did to a person.

"I mean, no one sees him. Ever since his Granddad died, he's been MIA to the town. Stays up in that damn farm all year round, never shows his face."

Rose's heart thudded. "You mean no one sees him? He could be up there rotting and no one would know?"

"Calm down, hon," Alivia replied, glaring at her boyfriend. "Milo still sees him every once in a while. They have a nice business deal going on between them. Milo now runs Brock's Bar, which he splits the profits with Jamie. Jamie grows produce to sell at the store in Brock's, which he splits with Milo. It's a full time job for both, but neither seem to mind. Jamie set it all up, but if you ask me, he got the worse end of the deal. His only real human contact apparently is seeing Milo four times a year or so."

"Why? Why is he secluded? He used to be the town's proud son. He loved being around everyone, especially at Brock's. He'd never sell it. What...what happened?"

"A lot, apparently," Dan answered with a grim look. "You know about his parents' death, of course. Luke, in his grief, blamed Jamie." Luke was Jamie's older but never very close brother. "He always was really close to his parents, though Jamie was always the one they fawned over. Jamie took that real hard. And then you broke the engagement and left, which killed-" Alivia jabbed Dan in the ribs hard, making him end his sentence. "Anyway...about a year after that, his granddad died. You know how close they were. When Luke found out that his Granddad went and gave every last thing, even that damn dog, to Jamie, it was like the last nail in the coffin. I don't think the two brothers have talked since. Poor Jamie has that weighing on him too."

"What about Michael?" Michael was the sweet tempered baby brother of the Brock family.

"Well, he used to try and make it all better for the family. About three years ago he gave up. Most likely lives a better life for it, too. He's involved with the Navy so much, being a SEAL and all that, he doesn't have much time to interfer with family fueds anymore."

"So you're telling me Jamie's life fell apart and now he's basically a hermit?" Rose didn't know the exact name of the emotion she was feeling right now, but it sure did hurt somewhere deep down.

"Not basically, sweetheart. He's a bonafide, full out secluse."

Rose scraped the rest of the eggs from the plate and put them in Emma's awaiting mouth. Rose hadn't eaten a single bite, the conversation turning her stomach sour, but the baby was more than willing to take advantage of this.

The silence grew too thick to bear, so Alivia ended it. "So, I'm sure you miss Jamie an awful lot. When are you planning to see him?"

Rose stood up, taking the baby from the high chair and brushing crumbs off of the little outfit. She settled Emma on to her hip, then painfully turned back to her old friends. "...I'm not."

With that unsettling statement, she placed enough money on the table to cover the bill, then walked back to her car. She was running from one uncomfortable meeting to the next, feeling like she was stuck in some alternate universe that showed no sign of switching back.

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It looked slightly more worn than the last time she had laid eyes on it, almost a full five years ago, but it still made her feel warm inside, remembering so much that had went on beyond these outer walls.

Her three year relationship with Jamie Brock had affected everyone. The town, Jamie's family, her parents. In fact, after Rose had been living in Briespeare for a year and a half, her parents had decided to buy a little cottage here, to be close to their daughter when they weren't off traveling. In turn, they had become best friends with Jamie's parents, which eventually lead to the older Brocks' deaths. It was to her knowledge that her parents had never visited here again, but could never bring themselves to sell the place. Lucky for her, as it turned out.

The front door stuck a little from the warping wood. She gave it a hearty shove with her shoulder, making it give way. Picking up the car seat that contained little Emma, sound asleep, she stepped inside the house of her past.

Five years had made it dusty and worn, but it was definitely still manageable. Quickly finding the guest room that she'd often slept in after a family dinner, she set the baby down. "Well, we're home. Maybe we can make some good out of this place. Right after I invest in finding you a new crib."

It was calming, somehow. Always having someone to talk to, even if they didn't have a clue in what you meant or even if they were conscious at the time. The baby had made big changes in her life lately, but she was glad to have the company in such an uncomfortable time.

First things first, she grabbed a baby moniter out of the backpack she had already brought in and plugged it in. Thank God she had thought to call ahead to get the eletricity and water on.

Heading downstairs, she plugged in the other. Anywhere she was in the little house, she'd be able to hear if Emma awoke. Which hopefully she wouldn't for a good long time, seeing that she had been awake through the whole car trip from Manhattan to here, in Briespeare. Emma was a fussy baby, but Rose was sure that if she had lost her only parent, she'd be pretty worked up too.

She finished taking out the lighter, needed boxes from the car, then grabbed out one of the new packs of kitchen rags she had thought to bring along. Taking one out, she started to dust around each room, until she reached the kitchen.

Her eyes glued on to the table. Each chair, four of them all together. Her brain projected the image as clear as if she was really seeing it. Her father at one head of the table, Jamie at the other, her mother and herself in between on either side. Laughing. Eating the most amazing foods cooked up by her mother and Jamie himself. The smell of the whole house throughout the night, the scent of dinner lingering around to help drift you off in to sweet dreams. No, it wasn't a perfect time with no troubles, but it was quite close to it.

She missed those years. She missed her parents. She missed Jamie. Oh God, she missed him.

She knew it was a mistake to come here. So close to him, knowing he was in the same town. All by himself.

But it would be an even bigger mistake to see him. She knew that. It would create more pain and hurtful memories. Nothing good could possible come from it and it wasn't fair to put him through me than he already had. She'd stay here because she had to. She'd stay away from Jamie Brock because it was a necessity.

She shook her head clear of the images and moved on. If she kept up this way, they'd die of inhaling multiplying dust bunnies before she ever made it close to cleaning the next room.

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Night fell soon enough and as the moon awoke, so did Emma.

Body tired but brain fully awake, Rose carried the six month old in her arms, rocking back and forth in the guest room. The curtains to the lone window were still open, allowing silver beams to peek through. It was a full moon, bright against the visable patch of pure black sky, stars littered around to accompany it.

She remembered these nights. Cold outside, warm on the inside. A wind that howled against the four walls and made the windows shudder. But this year was different. It felt like August in October. Maybe it was just another sign that proved this return would prove to be far different from the memories she had clung to.

How was Jamie fairing, in the middle of his land plot? One man, lost within himself with only a dog and a thousand or so acres of land for company. Did he enjoy this late blessing of warmth? Or did he curse it, as often farmers will do with unexpected weather changes?

She shouldn't allow her thoughts to wander to him, but she couldn't help it. She was in a house full of ghosts that wouldn't rest, that teased her memory and tortured her heart with reality.

The baby whimpered in her arms, restless. Another night with Emma being fussy, not wanting food nor bottle, toys or kid videos. She knew what she wanted, but it wasn't something Rose could offer or fetch. Emma simply wouldn't settle for any less than her desires and she was proving that she'd hold out until her wish came true.

She shushed the baby in rhythmic tones, placing a kiss on the smooth forehead. "It'll be alright," she whispered, the words echoing in her head until she wasn't sure who she was trying to comfort.

She looked down at the innocent face staring back at her and started to worry, as she so often did. She knew nothing about caring for children. She had never thought she'd make it this far, to being a parent. She was only twenty-eight, for heaven's sake. What did she know about this tiny bundle in her arms? Sure, a lot of people had kids at this age. But she had been an only child, with no experience in helping raise a sibling. There was no one to tell her what to expect or to know, what was normal or not. Her mother wasn't even aware yet that she had full custody of a baby. Rose had no friends with children either - every where she turned, it seemed to be a dead end.

Alivia had said that Rose had a plan. It wasn't true. She had no plan to speak of, outside of this. Standing in a lonely room, helping to aide a hurting baby while being in the only place she could be. Staying here until she was able to leave. Outside of that, she was lost. She had no one to turn to, no one to give her any advice. She was staying afloat the best she could, but she could feel herself already struggling as the riptide set in. Each day since the baby had come to her, she'd been winging it. Just trying to get through the day and always mildly surprised when a new day dawned.

But it was dark now. Very dark. Her mind was forgetting the light and left her wondering if she'd ever see the end of the tunnel again.

Emma softly snored, finally asleep. Rose put her back in the baby carseat, covering her with a knit blanket with a sigh. The baby's warmth quickly left Rose's body, leaving her feeling oddly cold inside.

She sat in the reclining chair in the corner and waited for a sign of morning.

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