Macroich - I Am Lauren

I AM LAUREN

By

Edited by: Veronica Castle

Published by:

Crimson Cloak Publishing atSmashwords

Copyright 2015

Isbn 978-1-68160-987-4

This book is a work of Fiction.Names, characters, events or locations are fictitious or usedfictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events, livingor dead, is entirely coincidental.

This book is licensed forprivate, individual entertainment only. The book contained hereinconstitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, stored inor introduced into an information retrieval system or transmittedin any form by ANY means (electrical, mechanical, photographic,audio recording or otherwise) for any reason (excepting the usespermitted by the licensee by copyright law under terms of fair use)without the specific written permission of the author.

~o~

This book is lovingly dedicatedto

LAUREN LECOMTE (1989-2009)

Lauren Lecomte was born on January 25, 1989in Fairbanks. The moment Lauren stepped onto this planet I wascertain she was from another galaxy. She almost immediately tookoff on her own two feet to discover the world around her.Everything interested her. She smelled almost everything shetouched and petted all the animals she knew. The moment she cameout of her mothers belly, she heard the written word read to her.She became one of the most avid readers I have ever seen. She lovedbooks. Eventually, she wrote some of her own stories. Her Englishwas impeccable and she could speak it a mile a minute. She had somuch to say about everything, but she didnt share her thoughtswith everyone, only the select few.

Lauren became an independent thinker early onand she went out into the world without fear. She was accepting ofall human beings and even extraterrestrials. She never had a badword to say about people of different backgrounds or color. Shecould step into the New York subway and talk to the first strangershe met. Where I sometimes saw danger, my daughter sawopportunities to hear other people. Yet, she didnt make closefriends easily in high school, as she was insecure about herself.But when she arrived at the university, she made friends. Shewanted to be accepted for who she was, and she needed to be heard.Above all, she wanted to be loved, as most of us do, and shereturned that love in kind. Yet, she learned to love those shedidnt know and helped them out. She had the kindest heart in theworld.

Lauren traveled this globe with me severaltimes. When she was two she sold poetry books door to door and wastaken to the police station with her dad for soliciting. When shewas five she traveled to New York to see her grandmother and to seethe musical Cats, and saw several polar bears and penguins at theCentral Park Zoo. In 2003, she drove across Canada and then flew toNew York City. In 2007 she went to the Carnival of Binche inBelgium to see her dads relatives for the first time. She had awild time, dancing. She also learned to salsa and rumba. She hadfeet that moved to many different drums. She loved life with allher passion.

Lauren was very human and there was somethingsad in her smile that seemed to light up the room. She had manyconflicts with herself, the world and some people, but in spite ofthat she loved us all. Lauren was born with a special gift: shecouldnt hold a grudge. She was able to step out of herself andanalyze a particular situation and explain why she couldnt getalong with a person. She especially had a lot of love andcompassion for her mother. She loved her brother Nikos, her bosombuddy the day he was born. He misses her a lot as we all do. Shegraduated from Lathrop High School in 2007 and subsequentlyattended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks where she died ofbulimia on February 3rd, 2009.

Lauren still had a lot of things to do. Shewas planning to get her Doctorate in Psychology. She was going toget her drivers license this February. She wanted to either workas a deckhand in Homer or go to summer school. She also wanted tovisit her sister Melissa in Atlanta and see her nephews Isaac andEthan. She would have loved her niece Adelaide. Laurens plate wasalways full. She will have to pass these inconsequential things upon this trip. I actually think she has bigger fish to fry. Once sheheard there was a seat on the last spaceship out, she opted offthis planet to see what a better part of the universe looked like.Lauren was just passing through earth to say hi and to tell us howmuch she loved us all.

Dedicated To:

Denise Lassaw for all the help she gave me tomake this a better read.

~o~O~o~

Lauren slammed the door behind Robertasscreaming and wobbled through the snow up to the old apple tree.She climbed the ladder leaning against the trunk and perchedherself on the upper branch like a fledgling in the safety of hercrows nest. The bay was calm and the small harbor, with its fewerand fewer fishing boats, asleep. The common sight appeased her,especially after catfights with Roberta. The snow was thick andwet. The village below was quickly swallowed by the unpredictedstorm. Robertas insults still resonated in her head. Only a slutwould wear tight purple Calvin Klein jeans, high heels andlipstick. Roberta threatened Lauren with psycho wards and specialschools for teenage girls whenever she acted up or behavedoutrageously. She was out of control, so her mother thought.

Laurens ears and scalp were wet andfreezing. She should have put on the woolen cap she carried withher, but it would have squashed the blue spikes on her head. Shewanted her father to see her new look and approve of her choice ofhairdo and not be like supercritical Roberta dying to be a mother.As the tattoo of a temporary lizard blued its way on her forearm,she heard her twelve-year old brother, Nick, yell from a distance,"Mom wants you to get down from up there and come inside! Laurensaid nothing. Nick was Mommys little boy with glasses and a smallpotato nose, which gave him a Harry Potter look that the girls inhis class loved. He was cute and popular without even trying. Rightnow she hated him as much as she did Roberta. But she didnt callhim the usual kiss ass, and continued to shiver like a leaf aboutto lose its place in the world.

"I like your hair, Lauren. It's really cool!"he said and then ran towards the house.

"I hate you!" she yelled.

Nick didnt turn around. He entered the warmkitchen and closed the door.

Lauren now wished she hadn't cut her hair.She wanted to be someone else in some other place. Alone on herbranch, she was as empty as the tree was without leaves or fruit.Where were the blossoms so she could hide in their aroma? How oftenshe had sat in their sweet perfume, immersed in daydreams of youngmen seeking the virgin princess she imagined herself to be! Shecouldnt wait for her father to show up. After a while, she wishedher mother would come and call her name. But she wouldn't go out inthe cold for anything unless the house caught on fire. She imaginedher telling Nick, "She can freeze for all I care. She'll come inonce the cold gets through to her!"

Lauren was determined to break Roberta's fatmold and resurrect the young woman she loved in old photos. Who hadtransformed her mothers beautiful girlish flesh into the blob nowpretending to be a woman? Who had stolen her beauty? Who was makingher say cruel, ugly hurtful things? She was certain the woman inthe kitchen only pretended to be her mother and that someone hadstolen her heart.

After sometime, her father's head floated above the trimmed hedges. It alwaysentered this place at 6 in the evening without fail. It was withoutbounce and steady in its fur hat. It was an island, always full ofstories that inspired her imagination. She could be sure of herfather's love because she could do no wrong in his eyes. His tall,thin body slipped through the gates in his fading denims. She hopedhe would look up and notice her. Before she could call out to him,he hurried into the kitchen where the fat woman poisoned his mindwith disgusting words about her.