The VortexX

838361

  Chapter One

Lost in Free~Fall

  The colors of the sky were fading, melding together deep blues and rich golden oranges,as the light reflected on the clouds above the Pacific Ocean. Huge waves crashed and echoed over the rocks pushing the mighty sea to spill on the sandy beach. Jah-Lee enjoyed the dimming rays of light on her way home. Salty sea-spray misting everywhere-including her tongue,wrapping her cloak tighter against the increasing winds.Glancing to the ocean behind her where the sky widened at the horizon ahead,overlooking the edge of the steep cliff,the old grey lighthouse stood. A few lone seagulls swooped down,beaks hitting the cold water in search of prey. In a moment one crashed headfirst into a lighthouse window,cracking the thin weather-beaten glass. Then it shattered with a loud tinkling sound as shards fell against the stone walls.
" May it's poor soul find peace"
She whispered softly as a tear fell down her cheek. Walking further down the path Jah-Lee's footfalls on brown brittle leaves dotted the near silence. She looked around at the colorful foliage deep in thought.

A healing balm yet also like a thorn in my heart. Recalling the maple trees of my youth. falling leaves so graceful as they danced in hues of bright gold, orange and that fire red, that I loved so long ago, Surrounding the hills where I did play. That last Autumn we spent in China-my lost home...My mind flooded with memories of the maple trees  To me it was as if the whole world was full of brightness and hope. It warmed my soul to think the creator could be so kind as to send such beauty our way.
Life was so difficult for us all,yet on a afternoon such as this,one could feel as an Empress! That last Autumn was to be our last one in China. Mother,sister and I would be boarding a ship in the spring,one that would take us to join my Father,Uncle and Brother in the place they wrote about---Oregon America. They toiled helping Gold-miners in the day,and sold herbal remedy's in the evenings. That was many years ago, now only remembrances inside my soul. Times such as The Harvest festival when we shared the sweet Moon-cakes and other seldom tasted treats. We were poor in yen,yet rich I think in love. We learned respect for others at an early age and responsibility. 


Approaching the garden filled with the dark skeletons of its former tenants,she spoke out loud.


"Soon there will be nothing left to harvest, perhaps a few potatoes now that autumn is near over."

Hungrily plucking a small tomato and biting into it. Quickly spitting out the bitter fruit with a sigh as she walked towards the smell of her cooking pot. Jah-Lee meant good and beautiful in Chinese,though it was said Lee-Jah as the Chinese put the family name first then the given first name. Like many others before her, names  were changed to make them simple to write down in the census of their American new life. Many years had passed since Jah-Lee  had arrived in a land so different then the one she was born in. Her father,brother and uncle came to San Francisco in 1849.