Eighteen years ago, St. Joseph Island
Little Sakura woke herself up with a soul-piercing scream that shook her wee body with the force of fright. She flashed her eyes open, praying the monster Mrs. Byrd wasn’t there in her room, about to whip her with a belt. Her eyes were dark and wild as she scanned around the cold, bare surroundings. Once she was convinced the woman wasn’t present, she clutched the thin blanket against her person and began to whimper.
“I wish I had a mama to hug me,” she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. Instead, she hugged herself into a small ball to ease the icy coldness in the room and tried to go back to sleep.
The thought of that ruthless, mean Mrs. Byrd and her daughter, Tara, however, kept her awake. They were no doubt very comfortable in their warm beds right now. She had only wanted another blanket to top this thin one to keep her warm at night. When she’d asked that morning, however, what she received in turn was a slap on the face and then ten whips on her backside. She was still sore from the punishment but tried not to think about it. Instead, she thought about the Princeton brothers, of the boy named Darce with jet-black hair and beautiful lavender-gray eyes. It was only then she felt a sense of calmness settling within her as a smile formed on her lips.
“Darce,” she whispered softly between her lips. “Darce.”
He’d stroked her hair and suggested they call her Snow. She liked the name very much. It was a beautiful name. Better than Sally, of course. Sakura wasn’t a Silly Sally. She was Sakura, and to Darce, she was Snow.
Then she thought about the beautiful boy named Sebastian. The one with golden-blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He’d been curious about her, smiled at her, and talked to her. He was nice and kind. Oddly enough, he made her happy. Oh, how she wished they were her siblings. How she wished they’d play with her like they’d played with Alaina and Tara.
She turned on her side, wiping tears from her cheeks. Then she cupped her hands together and began her prayer, her wee heart aching with loneliness.
“Dear God, please hear my prayer. If you are out there, please listen to me. I’ve been a good girl, haven’t I? I mean, I’ve studied really hard and I did all my chores. I didn’t complain when Mrs. Byrd whipped me. That ought to count for something, right? So please hear my prayer. I want a nice family to adopt me. I want them to love me. I want a mama and a papa who love me and hug me when I have nightmares. Most of all, I don’t want them to be angry at me all the time and whip me. I mean, they can be angry at me sometimes when I’m being silly or stupid. But I’m not stupid or silly. That name, Sally, is a silly name and it just doesn’t suit me, you know. Anyway, please, please, please do something soon because I’m beginning to think you don’t exist anymore. You’re so slow at working this out. Anyway, please help me find a nice family. The Princetons would be nice. No, not just nice. They’d be perfect. Please? Okay, that’s all. I’m going to stop bothering you now. You can go back and make people’s wishes come true, but just don’t forget mine.”
She sighed after having expressed her wishes to the Almighty and then closed her eyes.
Ten minutes later, she still couldn’t sleep and felt awfully thirsty. She sat up and got out of bed, praying very hard it was still too early for anyone to be up.
She quietly opened the door, slipped out, and silently made her way across the dark corridor, down the stairs, and then toward the kitchen.
There, she reached for the knob and turned. Slowly and quietly, she cracked the door open while she glanced over her shoulder in case anyone saw her. All she wanted was a glass of milk, but Mrs. Byrd would slap her again if she were to take milk without permission.
Sakura thought she was safe and let her guard down. She stepped into the kitchen and didn’t look at where she was going. She came to a complete stop and gasped in fright the moment she saw Mrs. Byrd. The woman had her back to Sakura. She was busy pouring a big can of liquid around the room.
Sakura frowned, her nose twitching at the odd scent. “What’s that smell?” she said softly without thinking.
Margaret Byrd jumped and twisted around, her eyes large in horror. Then she gritted her teeth and snapped, “What are you doing here at this time of night?”
Sakura shrugged back. “I want a glass of milk. I’m thirsty.”
Margaret dumped the large can of gasoline and marched to Sakura. Heaving with frustration and anger, the woman raised her hand high and then swung across, smacking her plump, hard fist against the little girl’s face, throwing her small body back and landing her backside against the cold floor and her head against the cupboard.
Sakura became limp and whimpered as the pain screamed in her body. She was shaking from head to toe as she stared at the large woman heading toward her. She was so afraid that tears burned in her eyes, and she automatically protected herself by hugging her body into a small ball.
Margaret wouldn’t have any of it and roughly grabbed the girl by her long hair, yanking her up as she said, “You didn’t see anything of this, you hear? You didn’t see me here. I’m dead. Do you understand?”
Sakura recoiled, tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn’t really understand anything. All she wanted was for the woman to let her go and leave her alone.
Margaret, however, did none of those things and shook Sakura hard. “Listen here, you little brat, I’m dead. You understand. Margaret Byrd is dead. If anyone asks, say I died in the fire.”
Sakura shook her head. “Please,” she begged. “Let me go. Please.”
Margaret tightened her hands on the little girl, her eyes large with madness. “Look, Sakura, I promise I won’t ever hurt you again if you just tell everyone I died in the fire, all right?”
Sakura blinked and, tentatively, she nodded. She wanted the woman to stop hurting her.
Margaret smiled. “Good girl.” Slowly, she let Sakura go and took a few steps back. She fumbled her hands into the pocket of her dress and took out a lighter.
Sakura watched, her eyes large as the woman started flicking the thing, again and again, her hand shaking, until a small flame was born. Then she threw the light onto the countertop, and instantly, it was engulfed with fire.
Sakura gasped in fright and shouted, “Fire!”
Margaret opened a drawer as the fire spread faster, devouring everything in its sight across the kitchen. The woman took out a rolling pin. With the thing in hand, she turned her attention to Sakura.
“Sakura?” She smiled at the little girl. “Remember what I said, yes? Tell everyone I died in this fire.”
Sakura, her body stiff in shock at the sight of the burning fire surrounding her, nodded.
“Good girl,” Margaret said. Then she raised the roller high and sent it down toward Sakura’s head.
Little Sakura watched in horror as the pin flew toward her in one forceful blow, smashing against her face. She landed on the floor, her small body in a mangled position. She felt numb all over and all she could see was darkness. Her instincts, however, told her she was in danger, and she tried to open her eyes. Her whole body shook as she reached her hand out for the woman who’d just hit her. She was crying and knew she was going to die here in the fire if she didn’t get help soon.
Through the haze of her vision, she watched as Mrs. Byrd opened the door, a heavy bag in her hand. With a smile on her face, she walked out.
Alone and surrounded by fire, Sakura closed her eyes and blackness eventually took her.