No one could ever forget Alicia Madden and it wasn't that they hadn't tried. She was unforgettable from her life to her horrendous death. Alicia had been that perfect sixteen year old, the star of her village. She was pretty, light blond wavy hair, tanned and had that perfectly balanced figure so many girls wanted. Her eyes were the colour of forget-me-nots and the small scattering of freckles over her nose made her simply adorable. Everyone loved her and though many tried to hate her because she was so perfect it just wasn't possible. She was called Little Miss Perfect at her school but fondly. She aced all her subjects apart from dreaded maths and Design and technology. She was desired by every boy at school and had turned down most of them. Whenever anyone looked back at her short life all they could see was a perfect blond village girl. If it was just the matter of her life then the village of Carmicheal would never have wanted to forget the girl but her death made her a sour hangover on their beautiful villages history. The police had never solved her death. All that was known that on the 12th April 2004 Alicia disappeared for no reason. The search for her ended three days later when her body was found by her best friend in their secret hide out. She had been stabbed five times and the killer had made cuts along her legs and arms and had sexually assaulted her before he finally killed her. The murderer having never been found made the whole horrific story even worse and that was why all the village could do is try and forget such an event ever happened in their picturesque village especially now the family had moved away.
April 12th 2006
Melissa leaned over her A level work. Her tongue poked out between her dark pink lips as she concentrated on writing an essay on Freud's interpretation of dreams. Sighing with frustration as a whimper came from the other room she closed her psychology book. The reason that Melissa studied from home lay in the next room in the form of six month old baby girl. Rising from her desk she went next door into the nursery and picked up Elsie before she started crying. The tell tale look was on her face but as Melissa scooped her up the little screwed up face relaxed and paled from red.
"Afternoon Honey got fed up of being quiet did we?"
Melissa smiled in fondness at her daughter and carried her over to the play rug in the nursery. Sitting down on the floor cross legged she held Elsie up on her feet so the baby bounced with gleeful giggles. Sitting Elsie down on the floor she smiled as her little girl sat with no support. It was something that Elsie had only recently achieved so Melissa nervously placed a cushion behind her and offered some of the toys to Elsie. Leaning back on the wall she watched her daughter with fondness. Elsie was a mistake. She happened inadvertently because of Melissa's best friend being murdered. After discovering the wreck of the body of Alicia's Melissa had gone off the rails. She didn't know why going to parties, getting drunk and sleeping round helped but it did. She supposed it was because Alicia and her and always been so good. Yeah they had gone to parties but they hardly ever got wasted and they never slept around. But after ten months of rebelling against the memory of Alicia Melissa had discovered she was two months pregnant and her life was ruined a little bit more. But now with Elsie Melissa had finally found peace again. It was good in a way that it had been because of grief she went off the rails because it meant that no one ever looked down on her. Everyone just felt sorry for and had all been supportive. There had been a small minority of meanness at school but apart from that she had managed to not be seen as a fallen teenage mum. What was bad was that Melissa did not have a clue of who the father was. So many boys seemed to open their arms to a wounded grieving sixteen year old that she couldn't guess. She had narrowed it down to a possible six but beyond that couldn't be bothered to find out. As far as she was concerned Elsie had no Father.
The front door clicked shut.
"I'm in the nursery"
Melissa shouted to her mum whilst she helped Elsie play with the little soft toy car.
"No, no let go"
Melissa tried to loosen her daughters grip from her silver necklace which had just swung into the baby's reach.
"I told you, you shouldn't wear that!"
Melissa smiled at her mum as she picked Elsie up and settled her on her lap with a rattle.
"I know but I feel naked when I don't wear it"
"Did she behave well?"
"Yep she actually slept most of the afternoon she's only just woken up so I managed to do quite a bit of work"
Melissa's mum smiled walking in and crouching down next to her daughter.
"Lets hope that means we're still going to get quite a bit of sleep tonight"
Melissa laughed cuddling Elsie.
"lets hope indeed"
Melissa's mood quickly changed her face becoming serious.
"Hey Mum would you be able to look after Elsie for a few hours I wanted to go and visit Alicia's grave. Its two years today that she was killed"
Her Mum nodded lifting Elsie from her daughter.
"Of course thats fine you deserve a rest you've been doing so well at the moment Melissa I'm really proud of you"
Melissa smiled and rose kissing Elsie on the forehead and then her Mum on the cheek.
"Thanks I don't know how long I'll be an hour or two at the most"
Alicia's grave lay quite far back in the graveyard in a patch they had obviously forgotten to use in the Victorian times. Even her grave showed how the village were trying to forget her existence. Her shiny marble gravestone was surrounded by old crumbling gravestones dating from 1870's, graves people no longer cared about. Melissa weaved through the broken old gravestones knowing the path through like the back of her hand. Settling herself down in front of Alicia's gravestone she sighed.
Alicia Carly Madden
Loving Daughter and friend
Born December 8th 1988
Died April 12th 2004
'Take my hand and
lead me through
paradise'
With a trembling hand Melissa changed the flowers refilling the vase with beautiful red roses that shone with beauty against the white marble headstone. A tear slipped down her cheek which she quickly wiped away.
"I'd have thought that two years after you'd died I'd be able to sit by your grave without crying but apparently not so. See even though the rest of the village tries to forget you because you're a stain on the precious villages history I can't forget you and I wouldn't even try to. I still need you so much. When I have a problem I try to pretend what your answer would be but obviously its not you but just to let you know you still shape my world. So even though everyone tries to forget you I remember you because...."
"you're still here"
Melissa turned shocked at the interruption of another voice. She stared blankly at the pretty Asian girl who stood behind Melissa her hand on her heart showing where Alicia was.
"Hi"
The girl said it weakly as if she was waiting for Melissa to reject her.
"I'm sorry I'll come back later I should have guessed you'd been here I know that you still visit her, I always notice the fresh flowers"
Melissa shook her head rising slightly.
"Talia don't leave on account of me. We were both her friends"
Talia walked forward looking guilty as she sat down next to Melissa. She lay down her own bouquet of red roses on the step of the gravestone.
"You remembered it was her favorite too"
Talia nodded glancing down at her hands and ever so often shooting a look at Melissa.
"You know Melissa I'm really sorry"
Melissa looked at Talia, her hazel eyes wide.
"For what?"
Talia chuckled running her hand through her shiny black hair.
"Being a total and utter bitch when you got pregnant. I feel so guilty about it. I shouldn't have made you suffer to make me feel better"
Melissa frowned her forehead creasing.
"How did it make you feel better. You were so mean to me. You as my closest friend after Alicia were the one who condemned me the most for it. I could of coped with anyone but you calling me a whore and a slut. I thought you'd understand!"
Talia sighed guilt still etched all over her face.
"OK OK I know I was truly dreadful but try and understand it from my point of view. First of all I was mad at you and felt guilty. I'd been telling you all year that you needed to stop partying and sleeping around. Surely you remember that massive argument at Robs party where I tried to drag you out his room and I told you everyone was starting to think you were a slut and that grief can be only used as an excuse for so long before people get fed up"
Melissa nodded her cheeks turning pink at the memory.
"Well there we countless arguments like that and you never listened to me and I tried all sorts of ways to make you stop but it never worked. When you got pregnant I was mad at you because you'd ignored me and my help and now you'd ruined your life as you knew it. I was felt so guilty that I'd let you ruin yourself and I felt guilty because I knew that Alicia would have been able to make you stop and I felt like it should have been me dead because Alicia was a better person and your best friend"
Melissa opened her mouth to interrupt but Talia shook her head and carried on.
"The second reason is I just couldn't cope. I wanted everything to be the same I wanted to Alicia to be alive again but I knew that was impossible. I had been wanting all year for you to return to the Melissa I loved. The one who didn't scream at me drunkenly and desert me constantly to go with guys who were using you, and then you got yourself pregnant and I knew that me and you were never going to be the same again. Everything had been ruined and in my eyes at that point it was your fault because you'd got pregnant and stopped my last chance of getting my life remotely back to normal and hated you for that. I hated you for getting pregnant. I'm not proud of how mean I was to you Melissa but I was so twisted in hatred and disappointment at my world falling down around me that I just took it out on you"
Melissa was the one who looked guilty now. Her auburn hair fluttering around her pale freckled face.
"Talia I'm sorry I was so self absorbed back then I never even thought of how me getting pregnant could of hurt you but now I do understand. I hardly even comforted you over Alicia it was you always comforting me and I'm sorry. I was so selfish, I was just wrapped up in my own pity"
Talia reached over and hugged Melissa pulling her old friend close. Sighing with relief as she felt her beneath her fingertips something she'd been longing too since the fight.
"Lets not worry lets both accept we behaved badly in the past. I forgive you and if you forgive me we could be friends again"
Melissa pulled back from Talia and smiled her perfected mother smile.
"I forgive you plus I don't think Alicia would have wanted us not to be friends"
Talia nodded her dark eyes glittering with tears.
"Now her family has moved away I worry whether the village will succeed in forgetting her and she'll become that nameless girl the one that was stabbed within ten years"
Melissa nodded.
"Its already started hasn't it?"
Talia smiled and grabbed Melissa's pale hand with her own tanned tiny hand.
"They're trying but they haven't succeeded and though I worry I don't actually think they'll be able to forget. She was too special to forget and my family will probably stay here forever so I'll keep her memory alive"
"Me too"
Talia smiled again.
"Exactly"
Melissa rose and kissed the smooth headstone.
"Where are you going?"
"The Den"
Talia's jaw dropped.
"Have you been back since you found her?"
Melissa nodded.
"Well I went to the entrance last year to place flowers there. I've got flowers this year again I plan to go in"
Talia gulped slightly her dark eyes wide with worry.
"Are you sure you'll be able to do that?"
"Well we'll see won't we!"
Melissa smiled offering her hand too Talia.
"Coming?"
Nodding Talia took the offered hand and accompanied Melissa out the graveyard.
The Den lay down past the village school field. In the middle of a mass of trees lay a little pokey hut made by the hands of the 3 children. The wood was half rotten and it was perfumed by a strong smell of damp earth. Melissa made her way down through the trees gripping tightly onto Talia's hand. She remembered making this journey two years back.
It was a rare hot sunny day of April and Melissa fanned herself with her school book as she walked. She had just got off the bus from school and had decided to come down to the Den before going back home. She'd stripped off her blazer, tie, tights and shoes so was left in just the grey skirt and white shirt her hair tied loosely off her neck so she stayed cool. Her face was frowned with worry Alicia had now been missing for three days and no one had any idea where she was. They had looked everywhere and then it had come to her in RE today that maybe Alicia was hiding out in the Den. It wouldn't be the first time one of them used the Den as an escape though none of them had used longer than an afternoon before. Wandering down though trees Melissa suddenly felt something uncomfortable around her. Something wasn't right! Wandering what the hell was up with her she pushed herself to keep on walking. Reaching the Den she knocked on the door.
"Alicia, Alicia are you in there?"
The rope handle was rough under her hands as she pulled open the door and stepped into the Den letting her eyes adjust to the dimness. Thats when she screamed. Lying on the table they'd bought down from Talia's house was Alicia. Her stunning blue eyes were wide and open, it was obvious she was dead from the large amount of blood on her body. Feeling bile rise in her throat Melissa ran outside and vomited against a tree tears streaming down her cheeks. Slumping to the ground she screamed again and this time she was answered by running footsteps.
Reaching the Den Melissa tugged on the rope handle feeling the door shift stiffly and open. Talia watched her with interest wandering whether she really could re-enter the Den. Melissa paused for a second before stepping in. The horror of the place seemed to have faded over the years. With no body inside it held more memories of the three of them laughing over boy troubles or such.
"I can see past it"
Melissa exclaimed. Talia lunged forward and hugged Melissa.
"I know it holds so many happy memories too"
Melissa nodded and started moving around the room. The table had been removed long ago and some of the other little things had been taken as evidence to incriminate the murderer they never found. Wandering over a thought Melissa knelt down and pulled at one of the little doors in the walls. Pulling it open she glanced inside and sadly noted that the police had taken the notes they'd stored here from when they were bored in lessons. As she closed the door thats when she noticed the dark red stain down the wood. Feeling bile rise in her throat Melissa ran out of the Den and vomited against the same tree she had been sick on before.
"I can't see past it!"
She whispered blinking back the tears that were ready to fall. Talia came running out excited her black hair flying behind her. She stood next to Melissa in the school uniform Melissa had stood in two years back. Covering her excitement she looked concerned at Melissa.
"Melissa are you OK?"
Melissa nodded leaning tiredly on the tree. After confirmation that Melissa was OK Talia returned to being excited.
"Melissa I just remembered something remember we all buried our diaries there under the floor about a week before Alicia was killed for some reason. I don't think the police ever found them and I was so upset at the time I never thought about it and only remembered just now but what if there was something in that diary"
Melissa eyes widened and she thought for a second. They had never found Alicia's killer and what if Alicia hadn't told her something that could lead to him or her and what if it was in the diary? Shook away that thought for a second but then just thought about reading Alicia's opinions again would be magical.
"I'd do anything just to read something that she's written I miss her so much"
Talia nodded almost jumping on the spot with excitement.
"I'll go up and borrow a trowel from the school"
She ran off leaving Melissa fighting away her nightmares.
The earth shifted, crumbling as Talia worked at it with the trowel. They'd pulled off the chipboard which had served as the floor and knelt on the dirt digging in the spot they remembered vaguely. As the hole deepened Talia yelped with excitement as the spade hit something hard. Digging faster Talia worked until the surface of a large biscuit tin could be seen. Digging round the tin Talia pulled it out her hands covered with earth. With great difficulty she prised off the rusted lid of the tin.
"Yes!"
She explained as she finally wiggled the lid off. Inside lay three diaries. One a pink fluffy one with a lock, one a simple hard back book and the third a pink hard back notebook covered with swirls drawn on with glitter pens. Talia held the decorated pink notebook in her hands.
"It smells like damp earth"
Talia exclaimed Melissa looked up from brooding in the corner.
"Its been in the earth too long like her!"
Talia nodded sadly and opened the front cover.
Diary 2004
Alicia Carly Madden aged 16
New years resolution: To become more than Little Miss Perfect!
January 1st 2004
So its the New Year and I have a whole new year ahead of me. A year which holds much excitement and mystery for me no doubt so come on lets go and explore it!
Talia sighed as she read her late friends writing longing for her to be alive again and with them. In the corner Melissa rose and walked over picking up her own diary.
"I better get home my Mums looking after Elsie. You read through it and see if you find anything first I've got enough to keep me busy at the moment"
Talia nodded and hugged the diary to her. Melissa placed the bouquet of roses where the table had lain and walked out the door into the evening air. Watching Melissa leave Talia picked up her own purple diary with disinterest and rose shutting the Dens door behind her. As she started walking away from the Den she whispered under her breath.
"Its still not the same without you"
Right I know I'm bad another new story but in my defence I'm working on the final chapter of Can this be me? so its OK for me to start another one. This hopefully going to be a more novelly type story with twists and mysterys and so forth in it. Hopefully it will be good. I also haven't given up on No fairy trying to write the next chapter to that too but yep not working very well so thought I'd have a break and write something else. Please review as this is a different sort of story for me too write
Opal Fairy