Chapter One
Sophie Madison sat in the car, ignoring the way the seatbelt was digging into her collarbone. Her forehead was pressed against the window glass, and she was sure that it was going to leave a red mark on her skin. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a braid, and her blue eyes stared out at the farmland that had surrounded the car for hours as her parents drove her far away from the only home she had ever known. When they had first left Calgary, days ago, at least there had been interesting things to look at out the car window. But the novelty of the changing landscape, punctuated by hotel stops and fast food had quickly worn off. Sophie was tired. She was tired of the travel, she was tired of the backseat of the car, and, truth be told, she was tired of her parents being the only people she had to talk to. Her stomach was in knots, and she wasn’t sure if it was due to carsickness, or nerves over the move. She focused on her breathing, willing the feeling to go away.
“Don’t worry,” her mother had said. “It will be an adventure. Think of the opportunity! Think of how lovely it will be.”
“You should be happy about the move,” her father had added. “You’re going to love it there. We’ll have a big house. A real backyard. Just picture it, Sophie! There will be so much space for you to run around and enjoy. This will be so much better for you than our old apartment.”
But Sophie didn’t want space. She wanted her old home. She wanted to stay in her old school. She wanted her old friends. She was sure she was going to miss it all terribly; from the smells in the hallways, the friendly neighbours, the rickety elevator, the kids hanging out in the park after school. For her, moving to a much smaller city, surrounded by farmland in the middle of nowhere was a fate worse than death. She had said as much to her parents, and her father had sighed and told her to stop being so melodramatic. For a guidance counselor, he wasn’t being very understanding.
Sophie gazed out the car window and counted the telephone poles as they whizzed by in a blur. Already, she missed the noise and dirt of being in a big city. Everything she loved felt an insurmountable distance away. Not only had they relocated to another city, but to another province. It was more than she could possibly bear. She resolved herself to despising her new home, and her new city. No matter what, Stratford, Ontario would never compare to the bustle of Calgary, Alberta. Ugh. Even their license plates were pretentious. Yours to Discover, Sophie read on car, after car, after car. She stuck her tongue out at a minivan as they passed it on their way.
She thought back to saying goodbye to her best friend, and how Tina had held her close, her eyes brimmed with tears, begging her to stay. “I’ll keep you in my room!” Tina had wailed. “You can be my sister!”
Sophie wished she had found a way to take her up on the offer. They had been about to start sixth grade together. Now, it wasn’t the same. She’d be stuck talking to her friends over the computer instead of hanging out face to face. She was sure that in time, Tina would replace her in her games, and schemes. She wondered who Tina’s new best friend would be. Probably Cecily, the girl who lived down the hall from her. No. That wasn’t right. She didn’t live down the hall from Cecily anymore. Now Sophie lived in stupid Stratford.
After a while, the farmland began to get broken up by more houses, and shops. Sophie’s monotonous view began to get more interesting as her father drove on. In spite of herself, Sophie smiled at the cutesy names some of the stores and restaurants had, laughing to herself as they drove through the town of Shakespeare. “The Merchant of Tennis” in particular, made her snicker out loud, though she quickly silenced herself, not wanting her parents to hear her amusement. The old-fashioned architecture of the buildings gave Sophie a sense that her parents had driven, not only to another city, but back in time as well. It was like a place out of the books she loved to read so much. She almost felt that
if she pretended that she was on an adventure, it might not be so bad. Almost.
“Sophie!” her mother called. “Look out the window!”
Sophie rolled her eyes, as if to point out that that was exactly what she’d been doing this whole time. “I am,” she muttered.
“I know you’re rolling your eyes at me,” her mother responded in a sing-song voice. “I meant ‘look out the other window.’”
Sophie turned in time to see a sign reading “Welcome to Stratford”.
“Yippee,” Sophie muttered sarcastically under her breath. “We’re finally here,” her father said. “Now, we just need to find our street!”
“Yay,” Sophie said drily. “I can’t wait.”
“Sweetheart,”her mother said. “At least try to be optimistic. We’re doing this for good reasons.”
“Yeah, ‘cause Dad can’t be a guidance counsellor in Calgary.” Stifling a sigh, her father looked at her in the rearview mirror.
“A smaller city will be great for all of us,” he reasoned. “No more hustle and bustle. No more noise, or stress. This’ll be great! I can smell the fresher air already!”
“I don’t even know what those words even mean,” Sophie whined.
“Just wait until you see our new home,” her mother pleaded. “It will charm even you.”
Sophie rolled her eyes again and looked away. She doubted that anything would charm her. Not now, not ever. She slumped down in her seat and felt the twists and turns as her father navigated the small streets of Stratford, refusing to look at whatever they were trying to show her. She heard her parents point out the school, and proudly proclaim how she’d be able to walk there every day, as if that was some amazing selling feature of the place. She’d been able to walk to school back home! And, even better, she’d done it with Tina and Cecily. Here, the truth was that she’d be able to walk there every day with her father, not with her friends, stuck learning in the same building he worked at. She screwed her eyes shut tight, seeing nothing but the blackness behind her eyelids. She feared being both new kid, and pariah all in one fell swoop. They saw bonus points; she only saw social doom.
The car tuned down a bumpy street, and her father counted out three houses before pulling into a gravel driveway. Sophie felt the car lurch to a stop, and she looked up to catch the first glimpse of her new home. She looked up at where she was now going to be living and cursed under her breath. Her mother was right. No matter how much she wanted to hate it, she was charmed. The house was built out of wooden slats and painted a light grey. Its dark grey shingled roof gave way to white painted trim, and rounded windows. Her eyes widened as she saw the turret, tall and proud, jutting up past the roof in back of the house. She turned to her mother, eyes wide and questioning.
“Of course,” her mother said with a fond smile, seeing exactly what her daughter wanted to know. “Your bedroom can be in the turret. My little Princess in her tower.”
For the first time since they had driven away from Calgary, Sophie saw what her parents were talking about. She finally felt a twinge of hope that things would be alright here. If the rest of Stratford was as charming as this house, then just maybe she might be able to see the upside of living here. Hopefully the people matched the atmosphere. She opened the door to the car and walked up to her new home. A large wrap around porch greeted her, painted white and inviting. A smile crept over her lips as she saw the porch swing swaying lightly in the breeze. She turned and took in the front yard, the gnarled crab apple tree growing near the front gate, and the hawthorn bushes threatening to take over the patchy grass. It looked just decrepit enough to be a charming little garden. Sophie hoped that her parents wouldn’t try to fix it. Its wildness called to her. She could almost picture little fairy wings flitting through the brambles. She didn’t know if she should run around back or start exploring inside the house. She saw her parents start to unload the car, her mother engrossed in her phone, trying to find out how far behind the moving truck was, and she decided that she would be less underfoot if she checked out the backyard first.
Sophie walked over to a white wooden archway overgrown with ivy. She trailed her fingers lightly over the small green leaves and walked through. She looked around the backyard at the white picket fence, the massive honeysuckle bushes, and the ancient looking stone bird bath. Everything here was like nothing she had known growing up in Calgary. It was like stepping through time. She heard birds chirping in the trees, the wind rustling the leaves. Gone were the sounds of heavy traffic, and people chattering in the streets below their old apartment. She was starting to see what her parents meant when they spoke about space, and a slower way of living. She mentally cursed them for being right. If the kids at school were as charming as her new home, she might just be okay.
Sophie saw a low stone bench sitting beneath a willow tree and she walked over to sit down. The sun shone over the roof of her turret, and she felt the heat of it on her face. Sophie leaned back and smiled, drinking it in. She wondered if there was a playground nearby, and if the other children in town were friendly or not. As she sat there, a chill crept up over her, starting low, at the base of her spine. She felt the goose pimples crawl up over her skin and she shivered. Her eyes opened as she looked around. She saw nothing and no one that could have made her feel so nervous. The sun was still shining strong over the backyard, and there was no reason to be cold. But she was filled with the sense that she should not be there, that she wasn’t welcome. Sophie shook her head, trying to rid it of such thoughts, stood, and walked over to the back door of her house and yanked it open to find herself standing in the kitchen, face to face with her mother.
“Sophie!” her mother exclaimed. She saw the odd look on her daughter’s face and frowned. “Are you alright?”
Sophie nodded, pushing down the irrational fear. She smiled at her mother, showing her that she was trying. “When’s the truck coming?” she asked.
“We have a few hours. Why don’t you go and check out your room?” Her mother stepped aside and pointed to where the stairs were. Like her daughter, she had also pulled her long brown hair into a braid, perfect for keeping out of the way while making the house livable.
Sophie turned and walked away, hearing her mother com- plaining that the entire house smelled old, and would have to be aired out. She turned back to see her father running a hand through his thinning black hair, and walk to a window, trying to figure out how the ancient mechanism worked for opening it.
Sophie walked up the long and winding staircase, running her fingertips along its carved oak banister. She hummed to herself, opening door after door, investigating the space. Here was where her parents were planning to put their office. Evidenced by the fact that her father had already dumped the bag carrying his laptop, and a couple boxes of files. The next door led to what was clearly the master bedroom. She found a bathroom, a linen closet, and kept exploring until she found her room. She pulled the door open and walked in. Instantly she was charmed by what she found. The space was perfectly round, with tall windows topped by brightly coloured stained glass panes. Standing in front of her was a tall brass fourposter bed. She went over and sat down on the old mattress. She saw nothing wrong with it, and instantly resolved to make it hers. Her parents would definitely want to change the mattress. It smelled musty and was a little lumpy in places. But the bed-frame was lovely. Near the door into the room was a second door that opened into a small walk-in closet. Sophie walked around, mentally planning where she would put the rest of her furniture. It was the perfect place for her. Everything was exactly as she had always pictured her dream room. She felt like Rapunzel in her tower. She thought it odd that the previous owners had left the bed, but she didn’t care. It was beautiful; the brass shining like gold in the sunlight.
Sophie walked over to one of the windows. If she turned her head to the right, she could see into the backyard. She looked out over the gardens, to see the bench beneath the willow tree and frowned. She could just make out a small figure sitting there. To her, it looked like a young girl sitting on the bench, hands folded over a long-skirted dress, white-blonde hair shining in the light. Sophie blinked, and the figure disappeared. She shook her head, convinced that she had been imagining it. Hearing her parents call, Sophie turned and headed back to join them.
