The Devil's Trap

The Beginning

Ever since she was born Lalley has been different. Her physical features were different, her mom and brother shared the same lovely blue eyes and elegant face, however, Lalley had luminescent hazel eyes and freckles that brightened up her face. Even their hair was different, her mom and brother sharing the same golden locks, whereas Lalley, in the spotlight of the sun, could be seen with shades of red to complement the blond locks on her head. She didn't share the same interests has her family. Having an athletic brother was something the clumsy girl looked up-to, for she didn't have the same ability to pick up any sport she wanted. Lalley would often get hurt or embarrassed when trying out any athletic activities. Lalley preferred to sing and dance and immerse herself in music. It was something she was good at and enjoyed sharing with her family. She would practice her routines in her room and at family get-together's she would perform them for anyone who would watch. Often Lalley would feel left out when playing with her brother and cousins because she didn't enjoy the same games and she often felt like a burden to them. This was the reason Lalley preferred to play alone. She could make up the rules and do all the things she enjoyed, such as pretending to be a famous singer, which was really the only thing that made her happy. And because music brought her so much joy, she wanted to be able to bring joy to others through music by becoming a famous singer in real life. Even though her mom was supportive of this decision, Lalley was still quite young and her mom thought that Lalley should have a back-up plan. Lalley felt misunderstood. Nobody knew how out of place she felt. She didn't fit in with her family, her biological father never wanted her, so she didn't know him, and her brother always fought with her. 

                So, to feel a sense of belonging, Lalley started to live in her daydreams more than living in the real world. She produced a dreamland where no one could make her feel out of place, where she could live her dreams of singing to lovely people. Being in this dreamworld helped Lalley find some peace. She could take the moments of feeling like an outcast because she now had an escape. However, Lalley was still lonely. Although she learned how to play on her own, Lalley still longed to have friends. See, she didn't have many, she was too shy to make many friends and the constant moving her family did didn't help the situation. So, instead of meeting new friends, Lalley found a friend in her own reality, Riley. Riley became Lalley's companion in a time when the world was still incomprehensible to Lalley. Lalley was only four years old when she met Riley. While Lalley enjoyed her life with her mom and brother, she always felt something was missing and she always thought that she was missing a father figure in her life. Riley showed her that her life was great as it was for Lalley's imagination held so many wonders waiting to be discovered. And so with Riley's guidance, Lalley found a way to make friends at school and still her time alone or time spent with Riley.           

Lalley struggled with social interaction. People took a lot of energy out of her and she always felt uncomfortable being around new people. Not only was she a shy girl, she was socially anxious. So in a way living in daydreams was a way to cope with people. Riley would be there for positive reinforcement, which would aid Lalley in social interactions. Lalley had found her knight in shining armor. What Lalley didn't expect was the cloud that came with her silver lining, that cloud being Gene. Gene was Lalley's own personal bully. He would point out why Lalley should be anxious when talking to others. They would think she's stupid or ugly or talking nonsense. Or he would point out how Lalley didn't fit in with her family, she looked different, had different interests and was a lefty whilst the rest of her family were right-handed. Maybe she was dumped with this family, she didn't belong here, she couldn't. 

It never helped Lalley in her journey of belonging to be greeted by jokes from her mom and brother on why she was different. Her mom would joke about how Lalley's real mom left her on momma's doorstep and how momma was still waiting for the day when Lalley would be picked up. But with Lalley's wild imagination many questions were asked, such as the time when Lalley asked momma: "What if we were aliens?" "Well, we are." Momma said "That's the Armstrong family secret. We are aliens, but you weren't supposed to know until you were older." Lalley wasn't sure if momma was speaking the truth and asked her brother "Luke, is it true? Are we aliens?" Luke responded: "Yes, of course it's true. How else do you think we became so weird?" Lalley was still skeptical, so momma decided to take the kids to their aunt's house where young Lalley was afraid to ask her aunt the question she needed an answer to, she was also scared of the fact that her aunt might be an alien. So, momma asked aunt Nee to tell Lalley the truth. Aunt Nee told Lalley that yes, they are aliens. Lalley still wasn't sure she believed them. However, when Lalley's cousin Jay exited his room aunt Nee saw the perfect opportunity to prove her point. "Look" aunt Nee said "Jay's face looks weird, right?" Lalley nodded her head. "That's because his mask isn't on correctly. It shifted while he was sleeping and he has to straighten it out. Jay, fix your mask!" Jay then started to tug at his face in a way that suggested he was fixing his mask. Lalley continued to ask questions about the family secret that were answered b her mom and aunt, until Lalley decided she wanted to go play. It took Lalley a little while to figure out that her family were not aliens, but that her family was trying their best to show her that she is a part of the weird family they have. Riley made sure that Lalley saw how she fit in with her family, whereas Gene had the perfect timing to place doubt in the young mind of Lalley. 

When Lalley was five, her mom had found love. Momma had met a businessman. Alistair was in town for his company and had taken a liking to momma. After dating for a while, which was quite short, the two love birds decided to get married. This was a major change in Lalley's life. Someone wanted to marry her mom and had thought she was good enough to belong to their family. Someone wanted Lalley, and that could not have made her happier. Alistair made sure Luke and Lalley felt comfortable around him and wanted him to join their weird and happy family. So, both kids were finally happy to have a father figure in their lives, someone who wanted them, who could teach them things that momma couldn't. After the wedding, the family moved to Alistair's homeland, Neverland. The change was scary, but in Lalley's mind it was a good thing. She was finally going to have the happy family she always dreamed of and Riley agreed. Gene wasn't around that much during this change and Lalley thought he had gone away, which made her happy. Everything was falling into place.