The Veil of the Faeries

Julia Campton sat at her kitchen table trying to read the classifieds but her mind kept drifting between past memories and future dreams.  Anything to avoid the present.  At the end of the week she and Caitlyn, her sixteen year old daughter, were going to loose the only home they had known since her divorce five years ago.

Life after the seperation had been a struggle and Just when things were becoming comfortable again the owner of their building sold out.  Julia wasn't the only one to receive the thirty day notice.  All the tenants had received one and most were as upset as she was.  A corporation bought the place and intended to tear it down.  She and the other tenants had gathered to discuss their options, and assigned tasks to defend their rights.  The problem was they had no rights.  After three weeks of digging through every archive, library, and city ordinance they could find, they finally conceded to defeat.  The building wasn't old enough to be considered a landmark. There was no pre-contracted laws protecting them, and the previous owner had insisted on month to month leases.  That left them with no legal recourse to defend their position.  In the end they could do nothing but beg and that got them nowhere.   

 Sighing Julia turned her attention back to the paper.  Article after article advertised the same deals.  Limited space, un-affordable rent, or unacceptable living conditions.  Three pages of rental classifieds and only four adds were worth investigating.  It was hard to find apartments in New York but having only a week made it impossible.  She was just about to put down the paper when an article caught her attention.

Looking for an Estate property manager

Housing provided, salary and benefits negotiable.

Call David at  555-384-1845

There was a picture of the place under the article but it was so small she couldn't make out what it really looked like.  All she could tell is that it was covered in an overgrowth of vegetation.  Still it intrigued her.  What she wouldn't give to manage a wealthy estate.  Shaking her head she realized that she was doing it again.  She was letting herself slip into fantasy to avoid dealing with her current situation.

Rising for another cup of coffee she found her daughter in the kitchen.  Caitlyn was beautiful in her early morning state of undress with her slippered feet sliding across the floor. She dragged herself in and through half closed lids looked through the cabinet for her favorite cereal. When she had located it she grabbed the box and a bowl and came to sit at the table with her mother. They didn't speak at first. It was never a good idea to talk with Caitlyn until she had a chance to wake up. Anything that took more concentration then good morning sent the teenager into a whining fit. Instead, Julia sat with her coffee and concentrated on her search until Caitlyn finally looked up and asked what she was doing.

Julia answered her question and was not surprised when Caitlyn said very forcefully.

 "I don t want to move!"

Patiently she responded, "We've been over this Caitlyn.  I don't want to move either but we have no choice."

Her daughter wasn't satisfied and began to whine, "We still have a week, isn't there something you can do? I have a life here, and if we move I'll miss everything!"

Julia felt the same way so she couldn't blame Caitlyn but she had tried everything she knew to save their home and nothing had worked. Now she had to hurry and find them another place to live before they ran out of time.

Frustration crept into her voice giving her response more force then she intended.

"I have a life here too Caitlyn, and I don t want to move any more then you do but we have to. There is nothing more I can do and we can't wait until the last minute. Hell If I don t find something soon we aren't going to have a home at all!"