Hypnotized by Drums

1. New World

Prologue

Clouds billowed above me and I could hear spring birds singing their song. It was May, my favorite month, mostly because it was the month of my birthday. I was turning the big twenty-one in just two days and starting tomorrow I was going to be in England visiting my Aunt and Uncle. If you had asked me a month ago if I was excited about this trip I would have answered, "HELL YEA!" but that was before my best friend decided to tell me she could not afford the one trip I had planned for the past two years. She apologized and I forgave her, but it still wasn't going to be the same. Here I was, going to a foreign country, where I knew no one besides my relatives. Luckily my cousin Lucy was going to be home for the summer so I had at least one person I could go out with. She was twenty-two and since the legal drinking age in England was eighteen she promised me she knew all the hot spots to go for clubbing and bar hopping. Don't get me wrong, I was still excited, I was just a little bummed that things hadn't gone according to plan.

I watched the sky change from sunny to dark in what seemed like a matter of minutes. I looked at my watch, and saw that I had been here for five hours. Five hours?! "Holy fuck!" I was supposed to be packing my things for my red-eye flight! "Mom is gonna kill me!" I exclaimed as I ran down the hill, away from the park I had been going to my whole life, away from the normal life that I would be leaving, and never coming back to.

1

"Do you have everything? And I mean everything?! There is no turning back now!" My mom was currently fussing over me and making sure I had everything just as I was about to board the plane. "You're a little late for that one now mom. Plus, I'll just buy whatever I need in England! Aunt and Uncle Campbell aren't going to let me go without the essentials." I looked her in the eyes so that I could get across the fact that I was going to be fine but I saw the tears starting to fill her crystal blue eyes. "Oh ma...don't start that now! I'll be gone for three months and then I'll be back! You're the one who agreed on this for my birthday!" I dropped my carry-on luggage and embraced her one last time. She was trembling and I knew it was because she hated that I was growing up. This was, after all, my first flight alone, at midnight, going to a strange place, and on top of that I was turning twenty-one. I was growing up...not a shocker, but devastating to my mother. "I know you'll be fine babe, I'm just worried...but excited at the same time!" I pushed myself away from her keeping my hands on her shoulders as I looked to see if she was telling the truth. "Now don't go getting married while you're away...I know how those boys and their accents can get! That's why I married your father...beautiful man he is. They will sweep you off your feet and you are too young!" I rolled my eyes and laughed. My father and my mom were ridiculously and happily in love. They were going on twenty-three years of marital bliss. "And what's wrong with falling in love ma?" It was her turn to roll her eyes. We both laughed and she sighed. "All I'm saying is just be careful. They can sniff us Americans out like it's nothing!"I gave her one last hug, a kiss goodbye, and told her to send my love to my dad when he got back from his trip.

Nine hours later...

I woke up to the sound of seatbelts being unclicked. The elderly man next to me was heavy sighing as I was waking myself up. "Could you please let me pass? I'm tryin to not be on this plane any longer than I have to!" I gave him a groggy evil eye and stood up to stretch. He gave another huff and mumbled, "Take yur time why don't cha..." I smiled at him as I grabbed my carry-on bags and said,"You know, you're lucky you have a cool accent because otherwise I would have taken longer to get up." His annoyed expression faded into a smile and mentioned something about me being a "sweet young lass."

As soon as I stepped off the plane I was hit with anxiety. What if I couldn't find my Aunt and Uncle...? I started to panic because they were nowhere in sight. I hadn't thought this part through! My eyes were scanning every inch of the place, high and low, far and near...I couldn't find them anywhere. "Awesome...just great!" i mumbled to myself.