Beauty and the Beast

Streets of Paris

Dr. Erskine was indeed a well traveled man. He had gone from various cities all across Europe giving lectures on his discoveries in science and medicine. From Moscow to Rome to London, he taught dozens of aspiring doctors and chemists, leaving professors  begging him to stay with their universities. However, none of these achievements were as fulfilling as the discovery he had made that cold, rainy night on the streets of Paris. The doctor had ventured out from the inn to grab some coffee and a small meal one evening; he was leaving a corner bistro when he saw a little girl, rummaging around the trash bins in the alley. Her clothes were ragged and damp, yet, she was quite a pretty little thing, with brown skin and deep brown eyes, and bushy dark hair. She was struggling to pull out an old stained linen cloth to shield herself from the chilly, damp air. Upon closer inspection, the man noticed that the child was shivering, probably from fever. He invited her to stay with him, and after asking around, he learned that she was one of the many orphans who had been left homeless due to the orphanage being shut down. So, the kind old gentleman decided to take the little girl, who was named Tara, in as his own. Not long after adopting her, Erskine brought her to a small village in Norway where they lived together quietly and happily. As the years went by, Tara grew up to be a beautiful, thoughtful, inquisitive young woman under his care. Little did they know that their simple village life was about to be changed forever.