True Beauty

Prologue: Gotham

A girl with dark blonde hair and brown eyes stood outside of the Manhattan Police Station. She clutched a small notebook to her chest tightly. She stood staring at the rain gutter.

It was the beginning of the end of summer. A few early leaves had found their way off their trees and into the storm gutter.

The girl smirked to herself. "That's an analogy to my own life if I've ever seen one," she muttered to herself.

Cars passed by the girl, the people inside them not even giving her a second glance. The girl wondered if anyone would stop if they knew what had just happened to her. She would have to call up the two friends she has at school later, right now she just wanted to get home.

The girl had lived her whole life in Manhattan and she knew the exact types of days there were, sunny or depressing clouded days. And today it was a depressing cloud day.

Her day had started off nice, cooking eggs and toast for herself in her pink striped pajamas and hair in a messy bun. She had received a call as she was cleaning off her plates from the police station. They had asked if she could come in later today. At first she was confused but agreed anyway. She couldn't really say no.

Once she had arrived there after a surprisingly quick taxi ride, she was escorted into the captain's office. The captain was a tall muscular - or was it fat? - man with no hair except for barely-there eyebrows. He had closed the door and looked at her with a look of what looked like he was begging for food. He started speaking about how he was so sorry and if there was anything he could do. She grew even more confused. The police captain then explained how early this morning they found a red Toyota Corolla wrapped around a telephone pole. The passengers inside we both dead. The IDs said they were Fabian and Hailey Vindai .

The girl had cringed because he had pronounced her last name Vin-day when it was pronounced Vin-die. She corrected him, of course, but he said again that the Corolla was found wrapped around a telephone pole with her parents dead inside.

She of course was stunned, no words came out of her gaped open mouth. When she regained her composure she spoke.

"That's not true. My parents went on vacation to see my grandparents, in Gotham. They were supposed to get there late last night and call me when they woke up. My parents aren't dead. This is not funny. It's my parents you are talking about."

"Sweetie are your parents Fabian and Hailey Vinday? And are you Lindsey Marie Vinday?"

"It's Vandai and yes."

"Then I'm afraid it's true."

"It can't have been them," Lindsey started speaking again. Tears were welling up in her eyes. 

"Nothing like that could ever have happened! It had to be a hit and run, or something like that."

"There was no evidence that anyone had even been on the road until the person who called it in. I'm sorry, sweetie."

She then broke down in tears. She remembered what she said as they left, "And I promise there won't be alcohol at the party I'm throwing!" They had laughed and called out their love for her. She hadn't even said she loved them back.

The police captain continued to talk over her crying about a notebook they found in the glovebox and another in her mother's purse. It was their last will and testament. Why she carried it around was a mystery and when he asked why they were in such open places, Lindsey couldn't even give an answer. It laid out everything. And right now Lindsey was holding the one that was in her mother's purse against her body.

Lindsey quickly hailed a taxi and gave the driver her address and if he wouldn't mind her sobbing in the backseat.

"Princess, I've had a lot worse in that backseat. You go ahead and cry."