• Liana smoothed out the rags she was folding, and frowned at me, disapprovingly. I stared back at her, cold eyed. She rolled hers and she gritted her teeth, though I'm sure that was not meant for me to see.
    She angrily beat a rug and a flurry of dust scattered in the air, golden in the early morning sun. I
    smirked at her attitude. She was such a worry-wart. I was pretending she really did want me to go, because the reality was she was in frantics about me heading out, and that was plain nightmarish.
    My idea sounded way more realistic. Funny how fantasy sometimes overrules reality...
    My thoughts were interrupted by someone hoarsely clearing their throat. Father stood in the door way looking very sinister, but there was a familiar softness in his eyes. He was proud to see his girl going out in the world to pursue her dreams...
    Mother smiled weakly behind him. She held his arm nervously, as if restraining him for some unknown reason. But there was no need to stress about their parental controversies. I was about to enter a whole new world, and another fleck of dust on my shoulders would hold me back, greatly. No wonder Liana was being fussy about finishing my laundry.
    "Esther", Father said in his loud, rough voice. A flicker of a smile crossed his face for a moment as I turned to him.
    "You be good, now. Esther-" he was cut off by Mother's hurried voice:
    "And eat your vegetables every day", she interrupted. Her tiny voice didn't echo in the light-forbidden room as Father's did.
    "Lou, she's a big girl now", Father patted his wife's arm, which had clenched into a fist around his large muscles, "Esther can take care of herself, now", he turned back to me, "If anything goes wrong, you just come right on home. Understand?"
    "Yes, Father. But I don't expect anything to go unplanned", I reminded him. He had been preparing for this day for two years - and who knows how long before that. I was equipped with at least eight maps - in different languages (I had to roll my eyes to that one). I also carried in my luggage an antique jewelry box stuffed with precious stones, if it happened that I didn't have enough money to make it out in the "big world".
    "Well, Esther. You aren't planning for anything unexpected to come about but if you did knew, you'd have a plan. Unfortunately, this world hasn't mastered fortune telling so you just listen to your old paps", he ordered, but his voice was too excited to be forceful.
    "Yes, be very very very very very -" Mother warned, but Father was already pulling her away from the door so I could pass.
    "Don't mind your mama", he whispered to me as I hulled my baggage through the narrow door, "She's gettin' old".
    The carriage was already loaded up for the journey, and Mario - the caretaker of the house - was positioned atop the wagon. Two brilliant chestnut-colored horses were up and harnessed. All the picture needed was a beautiful maiden to ride away into the sunset. Well, I wasn't good at lying so I'm not going to pretend I'm pretty.
    Mother had braided my long brown hair and tied it with two forest-green ribbons. I wore a matching dress with silver flowers knit in the fine fabric. I looked better than usual, of course for the occasional hand-me-down.
    Mario ushered me into the carriage and pulled my heavy luggage in the back. Mother was weeping into Father, but he was wearing a smile that went ear-to-ear. He waved proudly as the carriage took off down the cobblestone road. There was a great deal of waving and many rounds of "good-bye"s until we rounded the bend and were out of ear shot.
    And then I was off on my adventure.