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Valarie called out again and before she had finished her sentence Sophia ran to the door. A young woman of sixteen years, sweet and fresh in the innocence of time, this was going to be her last summer of what she had known.

She was not to know that the knock on the door would be the beginning of the shattering of her world and stripping her of all she knew and believed in, at a time when life was just beginning and the challenges of who you will become and what you want is exposed to the elements.

Sophia was the only child of Valarie and Samuel, because nature had not shown them favour, and she had become precious in their sight.

The heart of Valarie’s womb had been so traumatised that it did not bear any further fruits. Her pain had sealed up her womb. It was not prepared to face that pain again and so it allowed the ground of her womb to stay barren.

Sophia stumbled as she ran to the door; it was her laughter and screams that summoned Samuel from his sleep, rubbing his eyes and chin. The paper fell to the floor as he stretched the sleep from his body.

‘Sophia!’ Sophia!’ he called out. She could always get his attention and his immediate response. Their relationship was an unusual one. She brought a smile to his face but his eyes told another story, a fearful aching.

She brought out softness in him, the tender part of his heart that Valarie had refused to touch, or go near.

How they loved Sophia, she was the essence that kept them together. Without her their life would have been so different, and yet there were elements of her that kept them apart, kept them trapped in the wretchedness of time’s passing.

Sophia had a strong resemblance to Valarie. She was truly beautiful and energetic. A child that thrived ...

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... the next morning. Valarie again shrugged her shoulders dismissing her thoughts of whom and what the unexpected presence could be.

It is strange how little things can disturb a soul; things that to other folks would mean nothing, but when your life is governed by the past, deception and lies, well, it has a way of meaning much more than just a knock on a door. It has a way of stirring things up, causing fear to surface, troubling souls.

When Sophia came down stairs her first response was to ask if Mr Pepper had returned. Samuel showed sophisticated restraint, not wanting to seem bothered in the slightest. He did not respond. Sophia asked again.

‘Did Mr Pepper return?’ She waited for a response, looking towards her father. Samuel muttered something under his breath. Sophia did not bother to question him further because it was clear he was not interested.