What would happen if Polly's daughter had survived rather than her son?
What would happen if Michael wasn't a Shelby but instead fell for one?
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Michael and Anna hated each other from the moment they met. But it wasn't long before their proximity an...
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zero magic tree and I let myself go 1921
Charlotte Johnson had always had an element of rebellion about her. In her earliest years this would simply be doing the things her mother warned her against: going past the garden fence, picking up the snails on the path and climbing on the countertops to reach the biscuits.
In her school years this turned into breaking hearts, telling each boy in her class she wanted to marry them before running away and ignoring them for days until they would beg for her attention. Eventually she ran out of boys. The only one to give her a second chance was Ronald North, who stuck by her through her teenage years. He was the only boy in the village willing to meet her after hours when they would kiss on the village green and fuck in the farmers' fields.
When he left, she ran out of ways to rebel. Each rule had been broken, there was no one else to prove herself to.
As her eighteenth birthday approached, Charlotte knew she wanted to escape the village and explore. When the soldiers told their stories she hated the tales of tragedy but loved the ones of adventure. The ones of community and belonging. She wanted to feel like she belonged.
It wasn't until she stumbled upon a discarded file from the council that it occurred to her how she could find her sense of belonging. The document explained her first five years of life before coming to live where she remained today. It described her birth mother in a terrible way but Charlotte could only see the positives, as she did with most people.
She pushed all thoughts of finding her birth mother to the back of her mind as she knew there was no way she could go find her until she was eighteen. The thought only re-entered her head when a mysterious man appeared on her doorstep.
***
Charlotte watched as her two younger brothers passed a ball around in their front garden. She was used to appreciating the small things as nothing big ever really happened.
Her attention was diverted as she heard the screech of car breaks. Only people who worked outside the village had cars and so they weren't a regular sight.
The black car undeniably stood out against the bright colours of the path he had stopped on. Charlotte found herself unable to rip her eyes from the man who exited this unusual car and began walking up her garden path.
Despite the definite signs of spring, he wore a heavy, black coat. His entire demeanour was unlike any man's she had seen before, although that wasn't many.
Despite being unable to hear what the man was discussing with Charlotte's mother, she could tell his voice was rough and he spoke with an accent she was unfamiliar with.
Her mother appeared to become more and more agitated but the man remained calm. Either her mother was overreacting or he was used to delivering bad news.
The man attempted to hand her mother something but she simply started hitting him, making attempts to push him back down the garden path. Before he walked away, he turned to look up to the window where Charlotte was sat.
It was as if his eyes bore into her soul, giving her clear instructions. As he turned to walk back to his car, Charlotte darted down the stairs and out the back door before her mother would return to the house and stop her.
Without a plan of what to say when she reached him, Charlotte ran to the black car just before the man was going to start the engine.
They locked eyes for a brief moment before he gestured for her to get in the car. She didn't even pause to evaluate why he might want her to get in the car before she did so. In hindsight, that showed her how much she did want to escape, wherever this man may want to take her is better than this. But he didn't take her anywhere.
"What do they call you?" The man asked, removing his flat cap to reveal an unusual haircut which only added to her intrigue.
"Johnson, Charlotte Johnson." The man simply nodded in response. "What did you want with my mother?"
"I didn't come here for your mother, I came here for you. But until the 15th May, I have to go through her."
"How do you know my birthday?"
"I know more about you than you know about yourself." This was the first time in their interaction that Charlotte felt uneasy, but the intrigue remained nonetheless.
"Like what?"
"Well firstly, your name is Anna Gray and up until I found you, your mother feared you were dead. Her name is Elizabeth Gray and she wishes to speak with you. She doesn't know I've come here today so there's no pressure on you to make any decisions yet, you won't be letting anyone down." He reached his hand into his coat pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper. "This is her address. If you ever choose to find her, that's where she'll be."
Charlotte stared at the paper, trying to take in what she had just been told. The man exited the car, walking around to the other side to let Charlotte out. She stood in the driveway as he got back in the car and drove off without saying another word.
***
Charlotte spent two days fleeting back and forth between staying and going. She would decide to go, begin to make a plan of how she was going to get there and then change her mind mid way through.
It was close to midnight, exactly three weeks before she was to turn eighteen that she decided for definite that she was going to leave and there was only one man she knew would be willing to take her.
Mervin Bright was a soldier who's stories Charlotte enjoyed. He had always encouraged her to strive for better things and so she was confident he would help her find her family. He also had a car as he worked out of town.
Without considering anything that could go wrong, Charlotte packed a small bag and walked the short distance to where Mervin lived. Rebellion had felt a lot safer when it was confined to the village.
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a light coming from one of Mervin's windows, indicating he was still up.
It was now or never.
***
Small Heath was the polar opposite of any town Charlotte had ever seen. It left an uneasy feeling in her stomach until she remembered this is where she was born, where her entire blood family lived.
She had chosen to wear the black dress she kept for funerals as she didn't feel her colourful garments would suit the place where the dark man had come from. That was Charlotte, she was now Anna Gray.
Her eyes must've fallen upon ten women she thought could be her mother before she first saw Polly, dishevelled and dressed in last night's attire. Polly must've been embarrassed that this is the first impression she was giving her grown up daughter. However, to Anna, this was the most exciting woman she had ever laid eyes upon.
"Excuse me." Anna called out. "I'm looking for Elizabeth Gray, I was told she lived here."
"What do you want with Elizabeth Gray?" Her accent was the same as the man from before's.
"I believe she may be my mother." Anna looked down, not wanting to see the reaction on the woman's face. All she heard was the keys the woman had been holding fall to the floor.
"You better come inside." The woman's voice remained emotionless as she unlocked the door and allowed Anna into her new life.
