The Shadow Anthology

Alicia & Clarice

Billy Blakemont was a wealthy man. After both of his parents succumbed to death in a tragic tsunami, while on their anniversary trip to India some years ago, the young man and his sister both inherited a substantial sum of money. This came with numerous other family heirlooms which the pair had grown up with, though neither was disposed to arrange who kept what, so William received a far greater portion of wealth while Alicia kept hold of the relics.

After his brother’s death when he was but a boy, Billy had begun to grab life by the neck; wringing and throttling every fleeting moment of happiness and pleasure that he could out of it. That is not to imply that the man was ever wasteful as he was far from being so. He was always careful with his money, though never protective and miserly.

As he grew, Billy became a man with which few could quarrel as he often brought joy to so many. He was a rather charitable person as he had founded a small variety of organisations that aided year-round causes. He detested the farcical nature of seasonal charity, and so took it upon himself to out-do it. On the contrary, this also didn’t mean that he spent little on himself. If something would promise Billy Blakemont pleasure, then he would have it and consequences be damned.

Alicia Blakemont was, at this time, a woman of content. She lectured at a university, speaking on different areas of mathematics. She had a husband called George whom she loved devoutly. He had had little care for her wanting to remain a Blakemont so long as he could bestow the Farthing name upon their children. Together they had five beautiful babies named Clara, Layla, Roman, Simon and Clark. When the last child was one year old their ages were as follows: five, three, three, one and one, respectively.

It hadn’t always been this way, however. Alicia Blakemont hadn’t always been a happy woman. She was only six years old when her brother died, and her cat ran away. She may have had the ability to excel in school, but she didn’t always want to and often found it difficult to socialise with others. She could neither control nor accurately define her emotions as she wavered through puberty. By the time she was sitting her exams she was self-harming while thoughts of suicide raced around her head like harrowing hurricanes.

This was when her brother finally realised that no one else could help her. Their parents were concerned but utterly clueless as to the grandeur of her turmoil. He became her friend when nobody else could.

For months she became the sole focus of his life. His waking thoughts would always differ to her. They would lift him to her room and sit him at her side. He stayed by her in the broiling summer nights when she could never sleep, only sweat. He ran to her on the frigid winter mornings when she awoke screaming and crying.

Though all his caring started to fade away when he moved out. The warmth gradually receded as the cold seeped back in through her walls. Eventually he forgot about Alicia when an attractive young woman moved into the house next door to his. He stopped calling. He stopped caring. Though she would always love her brother, she would never like him or forgive him for what he had done.

Alicia was left alone against her paralysing thoughts and fears once more. However, she was no longer a defenceless little girl. Alicia Blakemont was a woman. Alicia Blakemont was stronger. While the weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she forged armour to defend herself. As her brother held the door closed, pushing her emotions back, she made weapons to stave them off herself. She hoped the day wouldn’t come when she was abandoned, but she was ready for it when it did. Later, help came by in the form of friends, workers, mentors and eventually a husband. George was always kind, but more often he was confused and could help little. Alicia finally had someone who really cared, however, which was all she needed.

Some six years after he originally left his sister, following an uncomfortable number of wild parties, drunken night and roaring days, Billy Blakemont decided to settle down and start building himself a blissful domestic family. Though it wasn’t always what he had thought he would want, he witnessed his sister being immersed in selfless marital bliss, pondered on his parents' relationship, and deduced that this was the best course of action. He would find himself a mate.