Chapter 1 behind the cut.
Chapter 1
The Chain Link Fence
Jackie had never been on the other side of the chain link fence, but she always dreamed of it. The other side always looked so beautiful; the grass was thick and green, the trees were healthy and alive, and there were animals wandering about in plain sight.
She turned her head slightly, allowing herself a brief glance in the direction she came from. Dusty, almost grey dirt covered everything behind her. Concrete covered other surfaces, and all of the buildings behind her were made of the same material. Flowers in muted colours of three sorts dotted the walls, in some almost pathetic attempt to bring life to the otherwise desolate place.
Others tried to scale the fence before – and failed. Atop every single inch of the fence sat fierce-looking barbed wire, jutting in every direction like the jagged needles of a cactus. Any who dared to cross the fence quickly learned their mistake. Every day in the newspaper and on the television, there were stories of curious folks getting badly injured while trying to cross over the fence.
Jackie put it all out of her mind. Sure, she was only 11, but she was smart enough to know not to attempt such a silly thing. Sighing again, she pulled her chin-length chocolate-coloured hair behind her ear and slowly turned back towards the bleak place she knew as home.
As she entered the back entrance of her house, a pair of tired silver eyes gazed at the young girl from the kitchen. The eyes were those of her mother, who seemed to be preparing supper. Her gnarled hands mashed ground meat and bread crumbs together while loud cracks and pops escaped from her knuckles.
“Ma... What’s for supper?” Jackie asked while she hung her jacket on the wall.
“Meatloaf, Jacqueline,” her mother replied in a rough voice that sounded similar to a beast’s grunt.
“But Ma... We had meatloaf last night, and the night before...” Jackie whined, situating herself on a stool near the kitchen counter. Ma kneaded the meat a little longer, and then smashed it onto the surface with both hands.
“Meatloaf is good for you, Jacqueline. We have it so often because it is full of good vitamins and makes us healthy and happy.”
She watched the meat ooze between Ma’s knuckles and tried to hold back a grimace. She knew better than to continue the argument. When Ma’s bones stopped cracking, it was time to move on.
After what seemed an eternity, the bones started crackling once more.
Jackie frowned. “Ma.”
“Yes, Jacqueline?” Ma replied.
“Ma, why do we have to live here?”
Ma gave Jackie a quick look of exhaustion, her tangled brown hair swinging before her pale, round face. She sniffed once, and then plopped the meat into the pan on the oven.
“We’ve gone over this before, Jackie,” she finally said, “Your father and I like it here, and that’s that.”
“But what about me?” Jackie asked quickly.
Ma looked into Jackie’s grey eyes sternly, and then shook her head.
“You’ve been looking out at the fence again, haven’t you?” Ma asked, glancing at the counter before her.
Jackie bit her lip and nodded slowly.
“Listen,” Ma sighed again, “You must stop looking out there. It’s filling your head with nonsense. We live here, Jacqueline Jones, not out in that... that wild place. It’s unsafe, it’s filthy,” she paused to jut her sausage-like index finger at Jackie, “and if I hear one more word of the fence come from your lips, I’ll swat you.”
Jackie could say nothing more. Ma was right. Just looking through the fence was making her forget her manners.
Her eyes drifted to the window. The grassy land across the fence was perfectly outlined by the metal frame holding the glass. If it were a painting, it would have been the most colourful one Jackie had ever seen.
But it wasn’t a painting. It was just glass, surrounded by cold metal. Even the beautiful terrain ahead was cut off by metal. The fence.
The chain link fence.
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