Questmyre

by HaaJar Johnson

  QuestMyre

  Book One

  “Robin’s Awakening”

  By

  HaaJar Johnson

  Copyright © 2007 HaaJar Johnson

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  ISBN-13:

  DEDICATION

  To my father; O’Dell Lea Johnson, Jr.

  You were and will forever be my biggest supporter, my greatest fan and a star that shall forever shine in my soul.

  AND

  For all those who feel like they are on the outside looking in…

  CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following people who made the completion of Questmyre, Book One, possible:

  To my sister, Aisha Johnson, for helping me make Questmyre into something the whole world will come to love. Her tireless attention to detail and enthusiastic love for the saga kept me moving in the right direction.

  My nephew, Jamil Gambari, who let me read the first drafts of Questmyre to him. He gave great feedback and encouraged me to bring the story to a global audience. And my little sister, Katrina Reavis, who helped market both, Questmyre and Tweedopplin with energy and passion.

  A great big thanks to my friends, Karina Marino and Craig Groshans, for helping me during my darkest hours. For their critiques, helpful edits and inspiration; I am eternally thankful!

  CHAPTER 1

  “Always on the outside...” Robin muttered to herself as she walked along the edge of the dirty street curb. Her skinny brown arms were spread at her sides for balance. Thanks to her above average height, her silly antics had begun to annoy a few grim faced pedestrians as she was taking up a substantial amount of the sidewalk. She, however, had no care for anything or anyone around her. If someone wanted to get past her they would have to find their own way, just as she had always done.

  The old cobbled stone sidewalk and cement streets were littered with gold and bright red leaves that swirled like fire around her and crunched under her worn gray sneakers. Somehow the idea of her walking through fire seemed to fit perfectly as that was exactly how she felt. It was an odd idea, yet Robin could not help but think her entire life had strategically led up to this moment in time.

  Her old blue skinny legged jeans had a few holes at the seams and fringes at the bottom where the material had rubbed against the ground far too many times. Her small thin cotton jacket had once been a bright, cheery green but was now darkened with soot as was her plain thin lavender t-shirt beneath it.

  Robin had never been a slave to fashion so she did not mind the looks of ridicule she received from the more fashionable young girls she passed on the streets. As they held their noses up, giggled maliciously and flung their long silky tresses in the autumn wind she ignored it all. With a deep indrawn breath she continued to trek forward despite the feeling that she always seemed to be struggling against the tide in the stormy sea of life.

  “Never on the inside looking out, but always on the outside looking in…” She whispered sadly. She did not mind talking to herself in public since no one ever paid her much mind, anyway. As she took each step forward she felt her spirits sink deeper and deeper into a black abyss. Robin had never felt as low as she did at this very moment. “Help me…” she whispered into the cold air, knowing she would receive no answer or aid.

  She could remember too many times she had asked that very same question in the deep of night; tears streaming down her cheeks and not once was she answered. Without realizing it, Robin’s thoughts were transported back in time. The dead orange leaves at her feet, the yellow taxis, the stone-faced New Yorker’s all meshed into a swirl of color then vanished altogether as she relived a moment in her past.

  Robin found herself standing in the dirty yellow and orange colored kitchen of a tiny apartment in Brooklyn.

  “You lazy, good for nothing little n-” Her foster mother’s cruel words were stopped short when her live-in boyfriend yelled from somewhere in the next room.

  “For christ sakes, leave her alone Vicky! Just tell her to clean the bathroom and leave off all the hitting. Last thing we need is that Social Worker getting on our case again for crying out loud!” His loud baritone nearly shook the apartment and made Robin tremble inside. She was relieved he was taking her side for once. Thankfully he seemed to be more passive than Mother Vicky. Robin could not imagine him being the one hitting her. She would be in a hospital for sure the day he decided to take his girlfriend’s place as her tormentor.

  Vicky was short; no more than five-foot four inches. However, if she wanted to, Vicky could do some serious damage as she was heavyset with hands that looked like meaty mallets. Mother Vicky hardly ever left the run-down apartment so saw no need to wash or dress up. She wore only two types of outfits; muumuus and large sweatshirts with sweatpants. Her double chin sported tons of errant hairs and her greasy light brown skin left oil marks wherever she went. She always wore flip-flops no matter what the season and never cared to get a pedicure to make the sight of her bare feet less upsetting. Vicky had made it clear to Robin, in her nasal voice, that she took her in solely for the money and free labor. Nothing more.

  “Don’t tell me what to freaking do, Dwaine! You’re the one that makes this place into a nasty pigsty in the first place! And what the heck do you think you’re doing taking her side, huh? What’s that about? You like her or something? I swear I’ll kill you both if I find out anything is-” Before Vicky could even finish her sentence, Dwaine stormed into the room with a fearsome look contorting his face. She finally quieted; her eyes wide in fear. It was plain to see that she was thinking that perhaps she had gone too far this time.

  Dwaine stood at least two feet taller than his girlfriend. He was black where she was yellow in complexion and generally did not show much emotion until she pushed him to his limit with her whining.

  In Robin’s mind they appeared to be complete opposites. He was skinny, tall and completely bald whereas she seemed to be covered in hair. The only thing the couple seemed to have in common was their shared laziness, perpetually unemployed status and inability to wash themselves more than once a month. Robin closed her nose against the plethora of smells coming from the angry duo. She was starting to wish she had cleaned the bathroom this morning before going to school like she had been told. That way instead of standing between these two elephants she could have been sitting in the small closet, they called the “children’s room”, blissfully curled up with a book.

  “What the heck is wrong with you woman?! See how you nitpick and push me to my limit?! I swear to God, I should leave you right now! How could you dare even think something like that? And to say it right in front of her… what if she tells her case worker that nonsense? Especially after she already had a situation like that in her last home…” He looked angry enough to hit Vicky. Seeing this, Robin slinked even further into the shadows near the dingy yellow refrigerator hoping they would forget she was even there.

  “Oh please, you know that was a freaking lie, who would even want to touch that scrawny child? She was just lying and trying to get attention!” Vicky yelled back at Dwaine then turned towards Robin with a glare. “You go right ahead and try to make up some stupid lies about us like that and just see what I’ll do to you, you little stupid-” She grabbed Robin’s arm and pinched as hard a
s she could, “little nothing! Here take the mop and this sponge and get the bathroom cleaned now or else!” she shoved the materials at Robin then slapped her on her back to get her moving.

  Robin did not let Vicky’s actions hurt her or make her cry. Dry eyed she made her way into the decrepit bathroom and began to clean. The tears only began as she heard their continued conversation in the kitchen. “She’s a little liar. Nobody would touch her.” She heard Vicky say loudly.

  Oh, but they would and they did… Robin thought as the memories flooded and the tears fell unbidden.

  “They did…” she mumbled to herself.

  She was back in the present and her muttering was cut short by a passersby’s abrupt words, “Watch where you’re going kid!” a man in a crisp blue business suit screamed. He shoved roughly past her outstretched arms. Robin stumbled slightly from his forceful push and her tiny shoulder length braids fell over her forehead in disarray.

  Yes, she was definitely back in New York and back from her trip down memory lane. Her face remained stoic, nothing and no one had the power to hurt Robin anymore. She had seen and heard it all. She simply smoothed back her braids and continued on. Unperturbed by the strangers animosity Robin did not slow her stride or exhibit any guilt over her own selfish actions.

  The smell of New York City cart pretzels and hotdogs wafted past her and the bustling sound of car horns, thousands of conversations, laughter, footsteps… it all seemed so much louder than usual. These everyday sounds all but attacked her now, whereas they were normally overlooked.

  What was it about this day that made the past come alive in her head and the present seem extra colorful and clear? She could not put her finger on it, but she just knew that something out of the ordinary would happen; and soon. She decided to prepare for the worse for that was all she ever seemed to get.

  Ignoring these odd feelings, the skinny young girl focused on annoying all the city people as they brushed past her without a care for either her or her sorrows.

  A small child with a beautiful sky blue dress with a pink hemline and dirty-blonde curls held back with a sapphire colored bow was making her way towards Robin. She skipped ahead of what appeared to be a stern-faced nanny pushing an infant in an expensive looking stroller. The little girl gleefully ignored the nanny’s pleas spoken in a thick patois which clearly showed she was a foreigner.

  When the girl came within a few feet of Robin and took in the dark image she made with her dirty unkempt clothes, beat up sneakers and old frizzy braids; the poor child stopped short in fear. Mouth agape she turned and ran back to her caregiver and hid behind her long jean skirt. “I’m scared.” She said while peeking at Robin fearfully.

  Robin was not sure if she felt hurt or humor at that very moment. Staring at the child who had all the benefits and opportunities Robin had never had and never would; Robin became angry and wanted nothing more than to torment the little girl. Walking towards the trio she screamed, “Boo!”

  The girl screeched and raced around her nanny and hid behind the stroller. The nanny looked at Robin with a grimace, although part of her was happy to see someone could put the child to task. With a sharp eyed glance, the nanny shooed Robin away. “Get away child! Just keep moving you!” She said before taking the little girls’ hand and pushing both her and the stroller in the opposite direction.

  Robin laughed aloud. She could hear the little girls’ cries echo as they disappeared from view and made their way to whatever rich and immaculate condo her parents owned.

  The residual echo of her cries took Robin back…far away in the past… but not another apartment…she was in a house this time. A green house with wood shingles and a basement that was chilly year round. It was in that basement she and two other foster children slept.

  Besides the small three metal cots, there was an old wooden crib right besides Robin’s bed. There would apparently be a new addition to the “family” today. For the life of her, Robin could not imagine what sane adults would allow yet another child, let alone an infant, into the care of her current foster parents. She was no more than eight years old but was well aware that this place was not fit for kids.

  “Robin, get up here!” Sue screamed from the basement door at the top of a short flight of wooden steps.

  Robin wore plain black stretch pants and a dirty white t-shirt with a picture of a cartoon bird on it. She started searching frantically but could not find her white flip-flops. With an exasperated sigh she gave up and ran up the wooden stairs barefoot.

  Her foster mother, Sue, grabbed Robin’s arm when she got to the top of the stairs and dragged her into the kitchen. Sue was very dark skinned with piercing black eyes and a large mole on her chin. She was of medium build but was somewhat tall for a woman although she still was shorter than her husband who stood at six foot three inches. She always wore white and would cover her hair with a white scarf while at home. Robin was sure she was some sort of witch but kept that idea to herself so as not to feel Sue’s wrath. Sue was extremely concerned about her public appearance and reputation was everything to her. She ensured she made it to church every Sunday and would have killed anyone who called her a witch. In an effort to seem above reproach she always dressed in the finest clothes and kept her house clean and tidy. The decision to move the children to the basement had been made in an effort to keep the rest of her home spotless. Robin had often dreamt of the day she would leave that house. Her dreams always included gallons of red paint and hours of breaking everything in sight.

  “The baby is coming in today. Now, you’re the oldest girl here so you’ll take care of it for the rest of the summer. It’ll probably be gone by the time school starts… but then… for that matter you’re behind will probably be gone by then as well…” Sue let her gold manicured nails dig into Robin’s skin and stared at her painfully. The old woman’s brown eyes shown with pain as she looked at the little girl before she whispered, “You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing… I promise you, you’ll pay. Every day until I can get you off my hands, you’ll pay you little hussy!” She shoved Robin to the floor forcefully. Tears began to fall from Sue’s eyes; giving away the true depth of her feelings.

  Breathing in deeply, Sue wiped at her face to brush the tears away and pushed back her long mane of hair. Most of her heritage was from the Caribbean islands and as a token she sported a beautiful head of wavy hair. “I gave you a home and this is how you-" Before Sue could finish, the doorbell rang. She looked up in surprise.

  “They’re early… Go back downstairs. When they leave I’ll give you the baby. Go now!” She yelled again. Robin walked off with a sigh and could hear Sue answering the front door with a fake smile and a “Hi, how are you?!”

  “What did she want?” Before Robin could fully make it downstairs she heard Vick’s urgent question come from under his cot. This was their secret hiding place so it did not seem at all odd to her that he was there. Vick had a light brown complexion and was obviously of mixed race. No one was entirely sure what he was mixed with exactly but his light brown eyes, yellowish brown complexion and almost dirty blonde hair told a story all itself. He had quickly become her best friend in the house and somewhat like a brother. They were from the same agency and she had seen him there in passing however this was the first home they shared together. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and a green tank top. His hair was a small curly afro since it had not been cut in months.

  Smirking a little she made her way across the red painted cement floor and slid under Vick’s cot against the wall. Since the ground was very cold they had placed an old blue rug under the bed to keep them from catching a chill. “She wants me to take care of the new baby. I guess it’s here now.” Robin said without any real emotion.

  “A baby? You don’t even know nothin' about babies.” Vick looked at her in question.

  “Nope. Not really. But I guess I’ll figure somethin’ out.” Robin said without much concern.

  Vick grew quiet while staring at Robi
n. “What?” She finally blew up and glared at him.

  “What happened… last night?” He asked with a small quiver to his voice.

  Robin stared at him with pain etched across her face. She saw it in his eyes. He already knew what had happened. Vick just wanted her to say it aloud so he could go and do something stupid to avenge her. He would get them both thrown out on the streets. She could not let him get hurt over her.

  “Nothing. Nothing happened so just stop asking!” She yelled vehemently. She began to push herself out from under the bed. Vick grabbed her hands to stop her.

  “Just tell me… Please! We can leave here you know. I’d go with you. We could go anywhere we don’t need them!” He said with a tear slowly peeking its way from his eyelid.

  “No, just please stop. We’re too young to go on our own. We’d never make it. So just leave me alone Vick! It’s none of your business anyway!” Robin tried again to pull away from him but he held on.