The Smallest Parallel

Prologue

Some of us dance toward the grave, creeping across the earth in a way that's almost poetic. Others fall toward it, be it with great speed or in what seems to be slow motion. Some of us imagine how we will die, and we scare ourselves with that limitless store of possibilities. Death is a creative force. Most of us dread it. Marguerite was... different. She'd never thought much of death, or life, until she found herself faced with both, standing on a bridge built between the two. Her story is one of great complexity, but it begins quite simply, in a small town at the edge of existence.

In this particular town, the sun still rose in the east and set in the west, but that never seemed to factor into the town's behavior. It was a strange town, filled with characters of vast and interesting motivations. The inhabitants all seemed to be born to a different fate, though most people wouldn't believe it. There were those who accepted their futures as written in stone and those who would stop at nothing trying to make changes to their lives in order to escape being pigeonholed into the destinies of their ancestors. Marguerite had never much considered her "destiny". She'd never thought about what it was she desired from life. She'd never considered the future; she only thought of a moment when she was in it.

Marguerite was a simple girl. She lacked patience and spent too much time making decisions. Marguerite was NOT a simple girl. When she was born, it took her twenty long hours to decide if she was ready to leave the womb, leaving her mother in great pain for all twenty hours. Her mother had never planned for the future either. Things simply happened to her. Marguerite was one of those things. Marguerite was born selfishly, and she took no consideration of her mother's pain. At least, that was how her mother saw it. This led to a painful childhood for young Marguerite.

Marguerite's mother was a poor and single woman by the name of Gwyneth, but her friends called her "Chips". It was a colorful nickname that perfectly fit the character of she who took it. In a town of complex characters, Gwyneth was certainly the most interesting. Marguerite grew up on the edge of the water and at the hands of fate. It was predestined for this girl to be born of a failure and of a nonexistent father. We evolve from the place that we come from, and Marguerite knew this better than most. She was a small and inquisitive girl with bright eyes and a future that seemed to stretch into the distance and out of sight.

Gwyneth was often absent because she constantly felt the desire to go out and mingle. Mingle is a word that would otherwise imply socializing but is used here as a euphemism for gambling. Gwyneth was a natural talent when it came to gambling. She'd come from a long line of crooks, most of which had been male. However, fate doesn't discriminate. Gwyneth was called by the table, the laughter, and the lights. She knew her place in the town, and she didn't dare question that. This was the legacy she was born to, and Marguerite wasn't of utmost importance. In fact, Gwyneth rarely acknowledged her daughter's existence.

Marguerite didn't mind. She left as soon as she heard her mother's car pull away and went off towards the playground. The playground was where Marguerite formed most of her earliest memories. It was near the playground where Marguerite met her best friend, who was called Geoffrey. Every day, Geoffrey would ask her a simple question.

"What is it today Marguerite?"

"Today," she said, "It is painting."

Marguerite acquired a new passion every day. One day it was knitting, and the next it was sculpting. Marguerite was driven by subtle changes, such as a change in mood or atmosphere. She felt most inspired in a place that was knew. Geoffrey knew this as well as I do. Yet, he still found himself following her to each knew place she ventured. These places were usually made up, created in her mind. Though Geoffrey could still see them when he closed his eyes. All she had to do was describe what she saw, and he would follow her anywhere.