Chapter 4-1
388 Words
Chapter 4
Home, Strange Home
Penny awoke Sunday morning with a jerk, arms thrown up and shielding her eyes against dawn’s bright light. The morning sun streamed through the window across from her, and in its glow, even the dust motes were golden. Yet, even amid the morning’s bright blue and gold, a single image from her dream lingered.
She pulled her blanket over her face, closing her eyes and grasping at the dream image–the red-haired man with the scarred face–and a few moments later when the rest of her dream had faded as it always did, the redheaded man remained.
Penny threw off her blanket and scrambled to the edge of her bed, reaching blindly for her bag. She seized it, yanked the zipper open, and dug through her clothes until she had what she wanted.
The photograph of her mother and father bore signs of travel, creased through the middle and bent at the corners, but the faces smiling up at her were unmistakable. It showed a much younger version of her mom standing next to a tall man with wild red hair.
Penny’s hair.
Penny’s father, she had no doubt.
They stood close, his arm draped affectionately over her shoulder. They were a picture of perfect happiness, appearing to be very much in love. There was nothing in that timeless pose to suggest the heartache and abandonment to come.
She studied the man’s face, comparing it to her remembered image of the dream man. It took only a few moments to decide they were not the same person. Close, the hair in particular was almost identical, but the man from her dream was older, with a wider jaw and an intimidating gaze.
Then there was the scar. Her father’s face was smooth and unmarked.
It occurred to Penny that the dream man could be an older version of her father, but she banished the thought with a chuckle.
It was a dream, she reminded herself. Just a stupid dream.
She walked across the room to put the snapshot on the dresser next to the framed pictures, and froze. It slipped from her fingers, seesawing to the floor at her feet.
Standing amid the clutter was a picture of a girl Penny recognized at once. It looked a lot like her, though taller, and with dark hair instead of red.
She lifted the framed picture with trembling fingers.
Her mother.
- Writer
