Post by moonwick on Apr 8, 2006 9:27:37 GMT -5
Emily DuPrae stared out the window of her rented city loft. She didn’t see the rain falling or the children splashing in puddles on the wet sidewalks. She didn’t even hear the thunder as it shook the dripping panes of glass. No, Emily’s mind was focused entirely on something else: Tuesday’s debut match with Geno.
She hadn’t even met him in person yet, but Emily had heard of Geno’s impulsive ways and arrogant disposition. Not to mention his large size, she thought with uneasiness. Well, Em...you’re playing with the big kids now. It’s time you quit acting like that crumpled-up, frightened child on the lab room floor. It’s time you started acting like Jade.
Another cacophony of thunder made Emily jump, her fingers flying to her neck where the smooth jade stones hung, a high school graduation gift from her grandmother.
“Do you know why jade is so special, Emily?” Nana had asked when she tied the necklace around her granddaughter’s neck. She laughed at the puzzled look on the young woman’s face, her aging eyes twinkling with delight. “It’s stronger than steel. And that’s what you must be. You’ve got to be strong, dear. This necklace will bring you luck.” She had held Emily’s face in both hands and kissed her forehead. “You are just as beautiful as this jade. Someday you will be infinitely stronger than it.”
Nana was all Emily had in the world since her parents were murdered. She was just seventeen then, but it seemed like only yesterday. The face of the killer was one she could never forget…the devilish smirk on his lips the day he was released (due to lack of evidence) would haunt her forever. But through it all, Nana was there.
Winifred Lavine (who Emily affectionately referred to as “Nana”) was born and raised in England. She married a Frenchman named Jacques DuPrae and moved to the United States in the year 1941, but he died of fever shortly after their twin boys were born and never got to meet his only granddaughter. Even Emily’s father had no memory of the man. But Winifred was strong and intelligent, and the young boys grew into wonderful beings, healthy and in love with life. All was thought to have turned out alright, considering the circumstances, but Emily’s Uncle John secretly felt the absence of his father very deeply, and one morning little Jack DuPrae woke up to find that his twin brother had disappeared. No one has seen him since. Emily had heard the tragic story many times, and that’s how it always ended.
The loss was especially hard for Jack, but with Nana’s help, he learned to cope. The mother and her son still loved life so much, even after all that had happened, and Emily knew it was Nana’s strength that had held them together. Jack attended college and thrived in Minnesota, where he met and married Emily’s mother, Noel, and Emily was born on July 17th, 1982. The young girl was just as full of life as her father had been, and she and Nana got along famously. When her parents were killed in 1999, she sobbed into her grandmother’s arms, but Nana never shed a single tear. Emily loved Nana more than anything she had ever loved in the whole wide world. Dear, sweet Nana...the glue that held her granddaughter together, even after Emily’s dreams were shattered in college by a horrible young man, someone she had thought to be a friend. This man had assaulted her, but there were no eye witnesses to back up Emily’s story. For the second time in her life, she saw that same evil grin as another guilty man walked away free of charges because the case lacked evidence.
The young woman decided to take self-defense classes. She was tired of being the victim, and fighting gave her an outlet for her anger. A whole new person was forming inside of Emily…a stronger person, a braver person. Nana encouraged Emily to make that side of her personality known.
“But Nana…how?”she had asked, still not sure of herself.
“Just be strong, Emily,” the old woman had replied, touching the beads of jade around her granddaughter’s neck. And that’s when Emily DuPrae ceased to be the victim. That’s when Emily DuPrae became Jade.
Emily knew the time for strength was now. Strengths…strengths…what are your strengths? Come on, Emily, think!!!
“That’s it,” she murmured softly. “I’ll think. Geno may be bigger than me - as strong as a rock - but I’m quick and careful, and I’ll use his impulsiveness against him. Strength comes in all shapes and sizes; you just have to find it.”
She glanced out the window as the rain dripped from the roof and onto the rocks below. Gutta cavat lapidem-non vi, sed saepe cadendo. A drop drills the rock not with force, but with perseverance. This one’s for you, Nana. This one’s for you.
She hadn’t even met him in person yet, but Emily had heard of Geno’s impulsive ways and arrogant disposition. Not to mention his large size, she thought with uneasiness. Well, Em...you’re playing with the big kids now. It’s time you quit acting like that crumpled-up, frightened child on the lab room floor. It’s time you started acting like Jade.
Another cacophony of thunder made Emily jump, her fingers flying to her neck where the smooth jade stones hung, a high school graduation gift from her grandmother.
“Do you know why jade is so special, Emily?” Nana had asked when she tied the necklace around her granddaughter’s neck. She laughed at the puzzled look on the young woman’s face, her aging eyes twinkling with delight. “It’s stronger than steel. And that’s what you must be. You’ve got to be strong, dear. This necklace will bring you luck.” She had held Emily’s face in both hands and kissed her forehead. “You are just as beautiful as this jade. Someday you will be infinitely stronger than it.”
Nana was all Emily had in the world since her parents were murdered. She was just seventeen then, but it seemed like only yesterday. The face of the killer was one she could never forget…the devilish smirk on his lips the day he was released (due to lack of evidence) would haunt her forever. But through it all, Nana was there.
Winifred Lavine (who Emily affectionately referred to as “Nana”) was born and raised in England. She married a Frenchman named Jacques DuPrae and moved to the United States in the year 1941, but he died of fever shortly after their twin boys were born and never got to meet his only granddaughter. Even Emily’s father had no memory of the man. But Winifred was strong and intelligent, and the young boys grew into wonderful beings, healthy and in love with life. All was thought to have turned out alright, considering the circumstances, but Emily’s Uncle John secretly felt the absence of his father very deeply, and one morning little Jack DuPrae woke up to find that his twin brother had disappeared. No one has seen him since. Emily had heard the tragic story many times, and that’s how it always ended.
The loss was especially hard for Jack, but with Nana’s help, he learned to cope. The mother and her son still loved life so much, even after all that had happened, and Emily knew it was Nana’s strength that had held them together. Jack attended college and thrived in Minnesota, where he met and married Emily’s mother, Noel, and Emily was born on July 17th, 1982. The young girl was just as full of life as her father had been, and she and Nana got along famously. When her parents were killed in 1999, she sobbed into her grandmother’s arms, but Nana never shed a single tear. Emily loved Nana more than anything she had ever loved in the whole wide world. Dear, sweet Nana...the glue that held her granddaughter together, even after Emily’s dreams were shattered in college by a horrible young man, someone she had thought to be a friend. This man had assaulted her, but there were no eye witnesses to back up Emily’s story. For the second time in her life, she saw that same evil grin as another guilty man walked away free of charges because the case lacked evidence.
The young woman decided to take self-defense classes. She was tired of being the victim, and fighting gave her an outlet for her anger. A whole new person was forming inside of Emily…a stronger person, a braver person. Nana encouraged Emily to make that side of her personality known.
“But Nana…how?”she had asked, still not sure of herself.
“Just be strong, Emily,” the old woman had replied, touching the beads of jade around her granddaughter’s neck. And that’s when Emily DuPrae ceased to be the victim. That’s when Emily DuPrae became Jade.
Emily knew the time for strength was now. Strengths…strengths…what are your strengths? Come on, Emily, think!!!
“That’s it,” she murmured softly. “I’ll think. Geno may be bigger than me - as strong as a rock - but I’m quick and careful, and I’ll use his impulsiveness against him. Strength comes in all shapes and sizes; you just have to find it.”
She glanced out the window as the rain dripped from the roof and onto the rocks below. Gutta cavat lapidem-non vi, sed saepe cadendo. A drop drills the rock not with force, but with perseverance. This one’s for you, Nana. This one’s for you.