A Colletion of Short Stories And Poetry

Lost at Sea and Time

It was a peaceful day. The sun was up, sky blue and cloudless. The horn of a boat rang out, disrupting the silence. It was time for the boat's passengers to start boarding.
There was one person who stood out in the crowd. It was for very good reasons too. After all it's not everyday you see a jumping 7 year old board a boat all alone. She had only a backpack and small duffel bag for a 7 day trip across the ocean. 

This little girl was Mackenzie Williams. Everyone called her Kenzie because she would throw a fit if someone called her Mackenzie. She was on her way to America aboard the S.S Atlanta.
 Her adoptive parents had died in a car crash. The car had also exploded into flames so there was no body. Kenzie had to stay at the orphanage for a few years while they were trying to find a relative. So here is Kenzie now, leaving her home of England to America. She would be living with her distant aunt and uncle from her mother's family.

Linda Matthews who was Kenzie's aunt was overjoyed to be getting a child to take care of. No, it wasn't her first time. It was actually her 15th time. Linda adored children. She filled her house to the brim with children. She married a wealthy business man which only further allowed Linda to carry out her dream. Her husband was Paul Matthews. He was the CEO of a car company. In his company they built, sold, repaired, checked, washed, anything related to car really, his company had it all. He was a kind, loving husband but the need for more than 5 children was beyond him. Paul was the opposite of ecstatic at the idea of having another child to put through college. He had used his money and put 5 out of the 14 kids his wife had given birth to or adopted.

Back on the boat little Kenzie was skipping around on deck. She was exploring each and every nook and cranny on the ship. She didn't know where her cabin was, someone was supposed to find her and take care of her through the trip. "Ma'am, Ma'am" a steward called. It was a peculiar sight actually, calling a 7 year old ma'am. A hand was on Kenzie's shoulder as the steward finally caught up to the little girl. "You were calling me," Kenzie pointed to herself, "Ma'am?" Kenzie was bewildered at this. As the steward nodded a yes Kenzie burst out laughing. The flustered steward started to explain that they had to call all females ma'am. He was cut off by a women saying, "Theodore, have you found the girl?" To this the steward nodded another yes. 

The woman was wearing an expensive looking dress with very tall knee-length, high heeled boots. She had scarf around her neck and a designer purse. Her waist length blonde hair brought out her forest green eyes. She had lots of makeup caking her face. This lady was the captain's wife. She was also supposed to take care of Kenzie. 

Kenzie personally thought that this woman was very beautiful but wore too much makeup. She was thought she would be the type to expect her to follow all her orders and wear expensive restraining clothes. She would probably want her to act like a proper lady. The woman spoke breaking her train of thought.

"Hello, my name is Ms. Ryder. Are you Mackenzie Williams?" Kenzie was about to throw a fit since the woman,  Ms. Ryder called her 'Mackenzie' but she stopped herself. She was talking to someone who was probably rich and important so she decided to play with her mind. "No" Kenzie stiffly answered. "Oh alright then, you should probably go find your mother." Ms. Ryder said. Kenzie knew that this was who was supposed to take care of her and had to find a way to go with her without telling her her name was Mackenzie. "My mother's not here, I'm here alone." was Kenzie's reply. She was hoping that Ms. Ryder was kind enough to care about a child all alone. Her idea was right because Ms. Ryder said "You can come with me. What is your name?" Kenzie happily replied "Kenzie. Thank you very much." 

As it turned out Ms.Ryder was very kind. She didn't expect Kenzie to do anything but be herself. She also immediately noticed that Kenzie was acting to be proper lady. She had told her that she didn't have to act like that at all. Kenzie was delighted at this. He least favorite facade was acting like a proper lady. She started skipping and exploring the boat. Ms.Ryder just watched, fascinated. She had no idea that a child could go from acting like a proper lady to being a jumpy child. She would have never known unless Theodore hadn't told her how he found her.