Prologue Two

As a child, I was terribly lonely. I grew up in a small farm town, and there were only two other children my own age. One was Adam Durry, the vicar's son. He was a quiet boy, often just as lonely as I was.
The other was Thomas Kern, a downright mean bully. His father owned a big farm, and when someone had annoyed Thom, he would often escort them there and either set the hounds on them, or push them over in the dunghill. Or both. We learned quick enough not to cross Thom and tried our best to just stay out of his way.
My sister had many friends, but being four years older than me she saw me as a nuisance and asked me to let her be. Said she didn't want me to embarrass her in front of her friends.
So, I kept to myself and hoped better days would come. Sometimes, I would go for long walks with Adam, and he would tell me about God and Jesus and all the things his dad would preach on Sundays. It was interesting, but a little loony in my opinion. I was never a woman of faith. Or, at least not a woman of the Church.

The summer after I had turned 10 years old my family moved. My father said it would be easier to live closer to a bigger town, better for us children.
I remember it was a very hot summers day. We had packed up every little thing and packed them onto a truck my uncle had lent from a neighbour. Uncle Rob was going to drive the truck, and we left ahead of him in our car.
Still today, I get the same feeling when I walk up the path to the front door as I did that first time. It's a mix of excitement and fear, but I do not know why.
It was a big, yellow brick house, the curtain-less windows gaped like big shadowy eyes in it's facade. Dad opened the front door and swept us inside.
"Have a look around, girls," he said. "Find a room each, for your own."
Mary dashed forward, excited, but I couldn't shake the slightly uneasy feeling the house gave me. Sweat pearls trickled down my neck as I stood there, looking around at this new strange house which would become my home. I could head my sisters triumphant yell from upstairs, as she'd for certain found herself a room she liked. A little hesitant, I started to climb the stairs to the second floor. The first door on the right was wide open and I could hear Mary humming happily from inside. I caught a glimpse of yellow wallpaper and a lush peach-coloured carpet before moving forward. There was no use in looking, the room was already off-limits.
At the end of the landing, a small door with pealing paint caught my eye. There was a small scratch above the handle, and when looking closer, I realised it was the letter J, carved into the wood.
A little surprised, I slowly opened the door and peered inside. Sunshine filtered in through the dirty window, and danced over the fine rose-printed walls. Unlike in the other rooms, the floor here was dark wood boards, polished and varnished. Though the room was small, it was perfect to me. And pleasantly cool, compared to the rest of the house.
Then I heard Mary gasp from behind me.
"Ooh, I want this room!" she called. "It's lovely!"
I turned around and looked at her, and I could feel my mouth curve slightly .
"Too bad you already chose one then," I said.