Sang's Freedom - The Song Of Ghosts

1:

Sang's Freedom-

Final Edition

Chapter 1:

   I rubbed the scar on my tummy. Two inches long, just off to the right of my bellybutton next to a pair of freckles.

   This morning we had arrived in Charleston, South Carolina. It was our sixth move in the last four years. The movers plodded between their truck and our new two-story home, nearly finished unloading.

   I couldn't say the move surprised me.

   The Sorensons never stayed in one place very long.

   This was mainly due to my father's profession. After all, we'd only been in Indiana a few months before moving to Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Nevada. Out of fifty states, there were only twenty I hadn’t seen.

   Nineteen, now.

   Charleston appeared quiet; a large city with a theater, aquarium, and many scenic stops. Beautiful flowers filled yards and windows. The houses were well-kept. And cobblestone walking paths were everywhere.

   Our new home, 214 Sunnyvale Court, was on the outskirts of the city in a small development with plenty of space between houses.

   That was my mother's doing.

   She valued her privacy.

   From my new bedroom window, I watched as the realtor pulled up the For Sale sign from the front yard. She balanced the sign in one arm before shaking my father's hand.

   Mother stood at his side, arms crossed.

   Movers slipped past them, delivering boxes and furniture to our new home.

   While they worked, my sister Marie and I unpacked. There wasn't much for personal items. I owned a few books, an old radio, and a sketch pad. I was making my bed when the call came.

   "SANG SORENSON!"

   My mother's voice was low and gravelly, as it always was when she took too much pain medication. That was my mother's thing.

   Pain medication.

   Father claimed she was sick...though no one would tell me what exactly she was sick with.

   I finished with my bed before going downstairs to find both Mother and Marie waiting in the kitchen. Father was on his hands and knees in the living room trying to set up the cable.

   "Sang, its time for the talk."

   My green eyes shifted to Mother's worn face. Her mousy brown hair was drawn up into a bun on top of her head, and her dark eyes held no warmth.

   The talk was routine at the beginning of each move. A new house came with a refresher on the house rules.

   "Sang, when school starts on Monday, it's the same rules as always. You go straight to school. You come straight home." Mother looked me up and down. "You don't bring any people to the house. No boys. No stepping out of line. Do you understand?"

   I never step out of line. I kept my nose tucked into my books. In school I made myself next to invisible. Job well done, I thought.

   I talked to no one.

   I sat alone at lunch.

   I didn't even raise my hand in class anymore.

   It was Marie who bent the rules. Marie found a way to keep friends. Marie snuck out. She saw boys, inviting people inside when she thought no one would catch her, and it was me who took the fall more than once.