Chapter 2: Hiding .....

CHAPTER 2: HIDING . . . . .

## LOCATION---The village of Vonder Beach and the surrounding area

The next morning, the sun arose to a bright, clear, cloudless sky. It wasn't until later in the morning that Caravelle awoke to the warmth of the sun and the warm air inside the doll house. She was still tired, but the warmth felt good. Soon she peeked out of the open window of the doll house to see that nobody was playing on or around the playground equipment. Good ! She squeezed out of the doll house, then put her things on the sand near the house. Thankfully, there was a porta-potty on the beach next to the boardwalk wall, near the playground. Returning from it, she gathered her things and carried them back to the park bench that she had sat on the previous night. Sitting down, and still wearing yesterday's clothing, she began to assess her situation.

Sitting and looking towards the lake, then looking to the left along the boardwalk and beach, she could see at some distance away was the resort hotel and it's surroundings, including an amusement park. If she looked to the right along the boardwalk and beach, at some distance away was the end of the boardwalk. Beyond that the beach continued on all the way to the marina and even further into the horizon.

" Don't resort hotels on the lake have a beach, and a section for the guests to use ? ", Caravelle asked herself, " And don't beach areas have a bathhouse for the guests to use to change into their swimsuits ? And don't bathhouses have a shower and lockers for people to use when they go swimming ? Rock On ! ".

After having a snack for breakfast from her bags, Caravelle slipped her backpack on, then gathered her remaining items and began walking along the boardwalk towards the resort hotel. Sure enough, she was able to locate the bathhouse near where the boardwalk passes by and around the front of the resort hotel and continues on along the beach. The bathhouse was open, but everything was self-service. She slipped in without anyone noticing. It felt so good to have a hot shower, and someone even left half a bottle of shampoo in one of the shower stalls that she was able to use.

" The weather report that I heard yesterday at the Welcome Center said that today it would be very warm, record-setting, in fact. I should be okay wearing my swimsuit today, since I want to spend time exploring in and around the beach. " , reasoned Caravelle.

She opened her backpack, slipped into her swimsuit, then put on her frilly socks and athletic shoes. Her swimdress was styled like a little girl's tank swimsuit, in her favorite colors of lavender and pink, but with an attached skirt. There was a big pink heart emblazoned on the front of her swimdress. Caravelle put her wet hair up into the customary twin ponytails that she always wore, secured with two pink bows. She put all of her things into a large sized locker, dropped the coins in, then closed it and put the key into her purse. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she was now ready for some serious exploration of Vonder Beach !

Surprisingly for a late October day, there were already many adults and children on the beach in front of the bathhouse enjoying probably the last warm day of the year. Caravelle walked out onto the beach, through the crowd, and circled around to the front of the resort hotel. It was an older hotel, but still kept in good condition with many updates to the outside as well as the inside. Caravelle walked inside to the lobby, then around to see the many little shops and rooms that were inside. Outside of the resort hotel, but still in the neighborhood, was a shopping district with many specialty stores and designer shoppes. Many were closed for the season, but Caravelle enjoyed window shopping throughout the district. Beyond the shopping district was the themed amusement park. It was closed, but Caravelle was able to look through the surrounding fence to see the silent rides and activity areas. She imagined that she could still see families and children walking and laughing along the twisted aisle ways and pathways, and further imagined them as translucent ghosts left over from the last day of summer, and the last day that the amusement park was open.

Coming back from the far end of the amusement park, along the boardwalk, Caravelle spotted a street vendor's cart. So for lunch, she had a chili dog, potato chips, and a Dr. Pepper. She sat eating on one of the ubiquitous park benches, looking out to the lake and to the crescent shaped island in the distance. After eating, she sat a while, then walked back past the resort hotel and inland to the edge of the village of Vonder Beach. A few people were out and around, but nobody paid any attention to her. Finally, after looking around a few blocks of the downtown area, Caravelle walked back to the resort hotel. She then followed the boardwalk back to the original park bench that she had sat on earlier this morning. It was now in the early afternoon, and after resting a little while, she then got up and stretched.

" I wonder what there is to see if I walk towards the marina this time ? ", Caravelle suggested to herself.

In a little while, Caravelle found herself walking along the boardwalk towards the marina. As she looked left, she could see the beach and shoreline. As she looked right, she could see open, grassy meadows beginning to turn brown with the autumn weather's incessant march to winter. In the distance, she could see the trolley tracks running parallel to the boardwalk. When the boardwalk came to an end, Caravelle descended the short staircase to the beach sand. At that point, the grassy meadow gave way to a large block of cedar trees, with the beach continuing on and separating the cedar trees from the water's edge. She had just begun to walk on the beach sand next to the tree line, when she noticed an outcropping of a few trees about a hundred feet away from where she was at. When Caravelle had reached the outcropping, she had to walk around it, and was surprised to see what was there on the other side, and hidden from view from the end of the boardwalk. It was an A-frame style cabana, built in a little semicircle clearing at the edge of where the cedar trees met the beach sand.

The first thing that Caravelle thought was, " Who would be using this cabana ? "

The answer was soon apparent, as the cabana had not been used in quite some time now. The little clearing had long grass and weeds growing everywhere. There was trash, beer cans, and a variety of junk strung all over the outside area adjacent to the cabana. Caravelle cautiously walked up to the narrow deck in front of the cabana, and up the steps to the sliding glass front door. There were cobwebs on the front door, showing that the door had not been opened in a long time. She could look inside through the glass partition that ran the length of the deck and formed the front of the A-frame. Part of the curtain that was draped behind the glass partition had fallen down, giving way to a partial view of the inside. She again could see trash, beer cans, liquor bottles, and pizza boxes all over the carpet inside. Caravelle tried the front sliding door, but it was locked. So she went around back, and sure enough, there was a glass sliding door in back, too. She again walked up the stairs to the narrow deck and tried to open the back door, but it was locked, too. Looking from the back deck across the back clearing and to the edge of the cedar trees, she could see a small shed dotting the landscaped clearing of overgrown weeds, trash, more beer cans and fast food bags. A small dirt trail lead away from the backyard clearing into the woods.

" I wonder where this trail goes. " , Caravelle thought to herself.

Following it, she found that it lead through the cedar trees for about a hundred and twenty five feet to the edge of where the cedar trees blended into a meadow. Beyond the meadow was the outside boat storage of the marina. As she followed the dirt trail away from the trees, she noticed that she was walking past a concrete pad partially covered with grass and weeds. Part of a wall was still standing a couple of feet high from the back edge of the pad. Caravelle sat down on the worn bricks of what was once a wall. After a few minutes, she noticed another concrete pad near the one that she was on, and beyond that one, yet another one.

" Ya know what ? " , Caravelle spoke to herself in astonishment, " This right here, right where I'm sitting, used to be a small house. Really ! And that over there " , pointing her finger to the second pad, " would have been the garage. And that over there " , pointing again, " would have been a barn or a storage shed. Wow ! I would like to know what had happened to someone's home. Fer Real. "

With her self imposed rest period over, Caravelle continued to walk through the meadow towards the marina. It was kind of spooky walking around all of the boats that were left outside. They were all parked in disarray, some covered, some not, many in various states of disrepair. There were even a few old cars hidden in between the boats. One ancient car had a really old license plate still attached to the back bumper, that still had the state slogan - ' Land of 10,000 Lakes ' - printed on the bottom.

" What a junkyard ! ", she thought to herself.

By time Caravelle had reached the end of the boat junkyard, the grassy ground had changed to gravel. She passed a green trash dumpster, and walked into an area of buildings that was the repair yard of the marina.

" The marina and surrounding shops and restaurants should be fun to explore ! " , exclaimed Caravelle.

And so it was ! Again that day Caravelle got to do window shopping amid all of the shops and stores that comprised the marina neighborhood . In the late afternoon, she found a Taco Bell fast food place, and ate her evening meal of tacos and cinnamon crisps. With the sun nearing the horizon, a dilemma suddenly dawned on Caravelle.

Where to spend the night ?

A fun day swiftly turned sour as Caravelle began to ponder the dilemma. Without much thinking, she cleared her table at the ' Taco Belch ', as she always called it, and walked out the door, going in no particular direction. After a little while, she instinctively began to retrace her steps, back to the marina repair buildings, back through the gravel lot, back through the boat junkyard, and back past the concrete pads. She once again rested on the short brick wall, then began to walk back through the cedar trees on the dirt path.

Returning to the cabana, Caravelle walked up the stairs again to the back deck. As she was leaning on the wooden railing, a wicked cool idea came to her.

" What if . . . . ?!?!? "

She went around to the front door and tried it again. Still locked. Once more, she went to the rear door and tried it again, too. Still locked. But then she noticed that the back sliding door was not really locked, it was held closed with a small diameter, long wooden dowel placed on the bottom track of the door frame. Placing her slender fingers on the door handle, she pulled on the door as hard as she could, and the door moved open about a half of an inch. Repeated tugs on the door handle showed no improvement in moving the door open any further.

" What to do ? What to do ? "

Caravelle now went into the back yard looking for something to pry with. She found it in a piece of long, wooden plank lying behind the outside shed. With it in hand, she came back to the sliding door and wedged it into the slim, narrow space between the door edge and the metal frame of the threshold. The plank was just narrow enough to fit in the small opening. She tried to pull on the door handle and pry on the board at the same time, but found it difficult to do so.

" You're just a girl, you should have stayed a boy; just a girl, not a boy, just a girl. . . . " , that for some unexplained reason was ringing in the back of her head, over and over, and it made her all the more angry.

So trying one last time, and with one almighty pull on both the door handle and plywood, venting her anger on the door that wouldn't open, as well as being called a "boy", the wooden dowel bowed, then broke in half, and the back door slid open.

" That's what a girl can do ! Rock On ! " , a sweaty Caravelle remarked to herself even though she had fallen over backwards and landed on her behind.

Quickly looking around inside, Caravelle saw that nothing had been cleaned or even touched in a long time. Everything was dark, dirty, and dusty. With dusk approaching with every passing moment, she went back outside and slid the back door closed. Still in her swimdress, and with a sore butt, Caravelle hurried along the beach to the end of the boardwalk, then across the meadow to the midway trolley station that she first came to yesterday evening. Boarding the next trolley, she rode it to the resort hotel station and got off. Going right to the bathhouse, she found her locker, unlocked it and retrieved her meager belongings. Carrying them back to the trolley station, she once again boarded the next trolley going in the opposite direction and got off at the midway station. Then she carried her things to the boardwalk, then to the boardwalk's end, and hopping through the sand, she finally came to the cabana. Going around to the back, she slid open the back door and placed her things inside. Then she looked around outside and found a thick twig about the same length as the wooden dowel had been. With the last rays of sunlight disappearing below the horizon, Caravelle slid the back door closed and placed the twig in the bottom of the metal track to hold the door closed. And with the back door now secured, she disappeared into the darkness of the evening, and the darkness of the inside of the cabana.

## LOCATION---The Beach near the marina, just outside of the village of Vonder Beach

On the previous morning, Caravelle was awakened by her sense of touch, namely the warm sun and warm beach air that she felt on her skin. However, on this morning, Caravelle was awakened by a entirely different sensory perception, that of her sense of smell. As she awoke, she became aware of a very exotic mixture of aromas, that of moldy, musty interiors, spilled beer from ubiquitous beer cans, stale, moldy pizza in boxes, old shoe odors, as well as many more odors, just as vile and disagreeable.

" Oh Yah ! I remember where I am now. " , thought Caravelle.

Seeing that is was already bright outside, she eventually arose, and quickly changed out of her swimdress and into clothes more suitable for whatever the day's activities would become. She selected from her small suitcase a yellow T-shirt with an anime girl and the words, 'Shoujocon 2003-Rye, New York' on the front and the word, 'Staff' on the back, a black denim pleated mini-skirt, and yellow frilly socks. After dressing, she unlocked the front door and rolled it open, then rolled open the back door to let the place " air out ". Then she dragged a small folding chair that she had found inside, out the front door, down the front steps, and set it up on the beach sand in front of the cabana. After a quick trip to the porta-potty, located by the steps at the end of the boardwalk, Caravelle returned to the folding chair and sat looking at the cabana, collecting her thoughts. After a while, hunger began to growl at her, so she retrieved and opened the plastic bag of snacks that she had been carrying around with her. Her breakfast consisted of potato chips, Ho-Ho's, a pudding cup, and a warm Dr Pepper. When she was done eating, she then got up and began a comprehensive look around both inside and outside the cabana, but now done in the bright morning light.

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Looking at the A-frame style cabana from the front, it looked just like a capital letter " A ". The cabana was about 35 feet in length by 30 feet in width at the base. It was elevated from the beach sand by a few feet, with a wooden deck and steps up to the deck both front and back. The sloped roof on both sides reached up to a second story height at the peak. Both roof sides had unusual circular roof shingles, and Carousel did not notice at this time that most of the shingles from about 10 feet off of the ground up to the peak were actually circular solar panels. In the front, from the deck floor up to the " A " crossmember was a glass panel, with the sliding glass front door in the middle. In the back was the same, except that the panel was of wood with a small window to the left of the glass sliding door. Above the " A " crossmember up to the peak was covered in wood paneling on both front and back. The cabana sat in a semi-circular clearing in the cedar trees where the trees met the beach sand. In back, and to the left in the back yard clearing, next to the tree line, sat a small aluminum storage shed. A small dirt path lead from the back yard, past the storage shed, into the cedar trees. The side and back yards were originally of mowed grass and trimmed bushes, but were now of long overgrown grass and weeds, and untrimmed, ugly bushes.

As one walked up the front steps and slid open the glass door to look in, one could see that the interior was divided into rectangular halves. The front half was one room, but the back half was further divided into two square rooms, separated by a walkway leading to the back door. Standing at the front door threshold, and looking left, one could see metal lockers on the back wall from the walkway to the sloped side of the left wall. The sloped left wall had terraced shelving from the floor to the ceiling. A long, slatted, wooden bench was in the center of this room partition, for ones to sit down on to change into their swimsuits. One end of the bench was pointing to the shelved wall, and the other end pointed toward the interior walkway. Looking right from the front door threshold, one could see a narrow breakfast bar from the walkway to the right sloped wall. The right sloped wall also had terraced shelving on it. A small card table and chairs were in front of the right sloped wall, between the breakfast bar and the glass front wall. A narrow wooden panel covered the end of the breakfast bar on the walkway side, from the floor to the ceiling.

Walking across the larger room, the front half of the cabana, and continuing onto the walkway, on the left would be a wall, on the right would be the breakfast bar. Just past the breakfast bar and turning right, one would see one of the two one-fourth sized rooms. The far wall would be a sloped wall. In the corner of where the breakfast bar meets the sloped wall is a small, squat refrigerator. A small microwave is placed on top of the refrigerator. To the left and along the back inside wall of the cabana is a window in the center, with wall mounted cabinets on either side. Below the window is a counter top running the length from the back door to the sloped wall. In the center of the counter top and directly below the window is two tiny sinks and faucets. Below the counter top are drawers and cabinets to the floor.

At the end of the center walkway, straight ahead, is the back door. Making a U-turn in front of the back door leads one through a door into the second one-fourth room. Looking in, along the back wall is a small combination bath tub and shower. On the left is a small toilet. Next to the toilet is a small vanity. On the right would be the sloped wall. However, it has been modified so that the wall is flat, and has a counter top running the length from the bath tub to the back inside wall of the cabana. A tiny sink is set in the counter top near the bath tub and across from the toilet. There is a medicine cabinet above the sink. There are drawers and cabinets under the sink for half the length of the counter top.

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When her self-guided tour of the cabana was concluded, Caravelle once again sat down in the folding chair on the beach sand outside. Resting, she began to think of and daydream of what the cabana would look like if it was cleaned up and taken care of. Wouldn't that be nice. Soon, and without thinking much about it, she instinctively got up and started to pick up the trash that was outside and in front of the cabana. Remembering that she had seen something that would be useful, she went inside to the back window. On the window sill was a large package of plastic garbage bags. Rejoicing, Caravelle tore off several bags and took them outside. On the way out of the front door, she noticed a key hanging by the door frame on the inside. She tried the key in the front door lock, and it worked ! " Hallelujah ! " , she exclaimed.

During the next few hours, Caravelle had picked up enough trash, junk, and beer cans from the front and sides of the cabana to fill six large trash bags. One by one she would fill the bags, then drag them around to the back and leave them behind the storage shed. In the side yard, she had found a child's plastic wading pool engulfed in weeds, and filled with stagnant water and beer cans. She emptied it and dragged it around to rear of the back yard. Under the front deck, she found two large wax coated cardboard boxes, each one completely filled with 48 empty beer bottles, and with a picture and slogan printed on the sides of the box that said,

"Shaffer is the one beer to have when you are having more than one".

Behind a bush she found a large metal beer keg, with a label glued to the side that said,

"Heineken---Normally we don't advise drinking a whole keg, but go ahead, enjoy a whole keg".

" Why do people drink so much ? ", popped into her mind, " And why is drinking a lot of beer and liquor advertised as something that adults *must do to have fun* ? "

She was then reminded of something that she had overheard her mother screaming at her father one time. Her mother yelled---

*"You know how all men are ! You can not get them to do anything around the house, unless you let them drink all day long !"*

Around noontime, she stopped to eat lunch.

"I had better do something about groceries soon, what I'm eating now is the last of my snacks that I had brought with me." , she noted.

As she was sitting in the folding chair and eating, an uneasiness began to overtake her.

" I like this cabana. " , thought Caravelle, " But there is no electricity or water. And who does it belong to ? Am I trespassing ? What would someone think of me cleaning their cabana ? Can I even stay here ? Will someone come and take me away to juvenile detention for being here ? Will I go to jail ? This needs to be taken care of real soon, like today, like right now ! Hot Dog! "

Caravelle finished eating, then went inside the cabana, and got something out of her suitcase. She then grabbed her purse, propped the back door closed, closed and locked the front door, and hurriedly left. With a sense of urgency, Caravelle made her way to the midway trolley station, and rode the trolley to the resort hotel station. Going to the bathhouse, she showered and changed her clothes. She had brought with her a lime green with tiny white flower print pattern baby doll/maternity style shirt. She wore that top with the black denim pleated mini-skirt and yellow frilly socks and black mary-janes she already had been wearing. When she caught a glimpse of herself in the bathhouse mirror, she remarked,

" My mother told me once that women wear special clothes when they are going to have a baby. I sorta look like I'm wearing maternity clothes, I hope nobody thinks that I am pregnant ! "

She placed her T-shirt in a locker and quickly ran back to the trolley stop just in time to catch the trolley going towards the marina. There she changed trolleys to ride the one that went to downtown Vonder Village. Thanks to the map that was in her purse, the one that the security guard had given her, she located the office building called " Room Service. " She got off the trolley and began walking to Room Service.

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## LOCATION---Room Service building, downtown Vonder Village

Caravelle walked into the lobby of the office building, then along a short corridor to a glass door that said "Room Service" on it in big black letters. She paused before she went in.

A worried voice in the back of her mind said, "Are you sure that you want to go in there ?"

An equally concerned voice in her mind said, "Yes ! You have to do this !"

"But an adult may tell me ' No ', and I may lose my cabana."

"No, you have that backwards, If you DON'T go in there, you are going to lose your cabana."

"You know how adults are, they will tell you anything just to be able to get rid of you and go after what they really want."

"That's why you have to go in there and go after what YOU want !"

"Maybe I can come another time. . . . . "

"JUST GO IN THERE ! NOW ! GIT-R-DONE ! GIT-R-DONE !!!"

Caravelle swallowed hard, and swung open the door. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone else in the lobby. A long open window with a counter top, and with a computer in the corner of the counter, occupied the entire far wall. Beyond the counter top was an office complex with many desks and equipment arranged into cubicles. Caravelle walked up to the counter. Surprisingly, there was only one person in the office, a woman in her thirties, guessed Caravelle. She was at her desk, but when she got up, Caravelle got the astonishment of the century ! The woman had on the very same baby doll/maternity top that she had on, except that it was a light orange colored background with the flower print pattern. And she had on a black knee-length pleated skirt, similar to her own mini-skirt, but worn with black pantyhose, and black high heels. The woman was a bit chubby, and since she nicely ' filled out ' her baby doll/maternity top, appeared to be pregnant. However, Caravelle thought that she looked cute, very attractive and was dressed very nicely.

The woman came up to the counter and said, "Hello. How can I help you, young miss ?"

Caravelle noticed that her name tag read 'Charity' .

"Uh ! I mean. . . . Hi !", stammered Caravelle as she was trying to get around the clothing astonishment in her mind, "My name is Caravelle Axxe, I'm fifteen, and I am new to Vacation Wonderland. Here is my I.D. Can you tell me who owns something on the beach ?"

"I'll do my best.", replied Charity.

"Just outside Vonder Beach, just beyond the end of the boardwalk, there is a cabana. Who owns that cabana ?" , asked Caravelle while she was wringing her hands.

"Less see........ " , said Charity as she moved over to the computer on the counter and began to boot it up.

After a little while, Charity spoke again.

"Hmmmm, Vonder Beach you say? Is it on the resort hotel side or the marina side of the beach and boardwalk ?", asked Charity.

"On the marina side." , remarked Caravelle.

" Less see........Between the end of the boardwalk and the marina boat storage. Yah ! That would have been Henry Mathesson's property. But everything there was torn down when the marina expansion was done about two years ago." , stated Charity.

"But there's a cabana. . . . " , began Caravelle.

"But it's not there now!" , broke in Charity, "Like I said, it's not there because Mayor Wellman and the local government took his property by a process called 'eminent domain', then forced him to move off of the property, then gave it to the developer that was contracted to redo the marina. Less see. . . . that would have been W.E. W.R.E.C. U. **(\*)**. They demolished everything to make room for the expanded boat storage area, and for future beachfront development." , proclaimed Charity.

"But all that I am asking . . . . " , began Caravelle for a second time.

"No but's about it, young miss!" , Charity said sternly, "You must be confused ! There are cabanas by the boardwalk near the amusement park, and also by the water park, but not at the location that you are describing to me. There might have been a cabana there at one time, but it's not there now. It's gone, vanished, ka-put, zilch, curtains, end of story !"

"Well if you say so." , offered Caravelle.

"Is there anything else that you want to inquire about ? You know that you are going to need a place to stay in Vonderland, don't you ?" , observed Charity.

"Can I ask about a room for myself in the Home for Little Wanderers ?" , asked Caravelle.

"You can apply here for consideration of your request." , said Charity, "Anything else ?"

"Even though my mother no longer wants me, my attorney has been appointed to be my legal guardian. Mr. Burl Iverson, ESQ, is my attorney. And since I have been declared to be a Mature Minor with adult privileges, do I have to be assigned to an advocate/mentor or have a trustee appointed to watch out for me in Vacation Wonderland ?" , asked Caravelle.

"Not necessarily, since your adult status gives you some leeway. But I'm not the person to answer that for you. However, you can apply for all that if you want to." , said Charity, "Anything else ?"

"I know that I am only fifteen, but since I have an attorney guardian, and he says that I am a legal adult, can I have semi-autonomous status in Vacation Wonderland ?" , asked Caravelle.

"That sure is a mouth-full for such a young lady !" , remarked Charity dryly, "Haven't you ever heard of the old saying---'Be careful of what you wish for, you may actually get it' ? Anything else ?"

"No, I guess that is all for now." , said Caravelle.

"Well, then take, this blank form, go sit down over there at the desk, and fill it out completely. Put down all that you want done. If you don't have a temporary residence yet, put down where you can receive mail or e-mail. Then put the form in that plastic tray on the counter. Your requests will be presented to the appropriate people for consideration. If anything is approved, it will either be posted on that bulletin board over there on that wall, or be posted on the e-mail that you specified. Or it will be posted on Vonderland Cable TV Channel 369. Don't call us, we'll call you ! Have a nice day !" , proclaimed Charity with a note of finality as she strolled back to her desk.

Caravelle wanted to ask Charity if she was actually pregnant, but was embarrassed to do so.

Caravelle filled out the form, signed it, and left it in the plastic bin. She walked out of Room Service, used the ladies room in the lobby, then walked out of the office building into downtown Vonder Village. It was now late afternoon, so Caravelle thought that there would be enough time to go to an ATM, than do some light shopping for supplies before she went back to the cabana.

"For now, it looks like the cabana is going to be my home, at least until the application that I just turned is approved for a room in the Home for Little Wanderers. And the best part is that the cabana DOESN'T LEGALLY EXIST." , Caravelle gleefully exclaimed to herself.

## LOCATION---Near Vacation Wonderland Mall, downtown Vonder Village

Digging out the map once again from her purse, Caravelle looked to find the Vacation Wonderland Mall in downtown Vonder Village.

"Here it is.", she said looking at the map, "And it is not that far away, I think I can walk to there from here."

But after walking a few blocks, Caravelle became confused as to just where the Mall was. She found herself in front of a parking garage, and she noticed that a young mother and two children were just getting out of their car and locking it up. She could hear the mother talking with her daughters about going shopping for new shoes at the Vacation Wonderland Mall. As the three were leaving the parking garage and walking along the sidewalk, Caravelle hurried to catch up to them.

"Excuse me, ma'am. My name is Caravelle Axxe, I'm fifteen, I'm new to Vonderland. Can you tell me how to get to the Vacation Wonderland Mall ?" , implored Caravelle.

"My, my! You startled me !", exclaimed the young mother.

The young mother had on a pretty blouse and a voluminous knee-length circle skirt. Her two daughters were both wearing pretty dresses. The youngest child looked to be about 6 years old and was held by the hand of her mother as she hid behind her mother's skirt. The older child seemed to be about 10 years old and stood near her mother, looking at Caravelle.

"The entrance to the Mall is just around that street corner. Just turn left at that corner, then go down one block and turn left again. You will then see the entrance.", said the young mother with a nervous demeanor.

"Hi ! My name is Lilyanne Turner. And that is my mother, Ariel, and my sister, Sophie.", said the older child. "You seem to be a big girl, so I want to ask you a question. Why are you here alone ? Where is your mother and father ? Why do you get to go downtown by yourself ?"

"Well, Lilyanne, to answer your questions..." , replied Caravelle as she squatted down and leaned on her toes to speak to Lilyanne face to face, "...My father is no longer around, and my mother no longer wants me to be with her, so I was taken to Vonderland to stay by myself. I came downtown to ask about a place to stay, and to do some shopping at the Mall. I can take care of myself. Really ! Thank you for asking, though."

"Oh, my. . .", said Lillyanne.

"If you need anymore information, you can go and ask at the downtown police station.", interrupted the young mother with a sour voice. "Now please leave, *RIGHT NOW*, you are scaring my children."

"She's not scary at all, she's just a big girl.", pleaded Lilyanne.

**"PLEASE GO NOW !!!"**, the young mother said in a raised voice, "And come with me, children!"

Caravelle could just catch what was next said by the mother to the children as they walked away---

"Girls! That person over there is *not a real girl*. He is a cross-dressed boy! That means he is a real boy wearing girl's clothes and only pretending to be a girl! That makes them very sick and dangerous to be around! The God that I am devoted to *hates boys like that!!!*"

"But Mommie.......she's not a bad......", cried Lilyanne, without being allowed to finish her thought.

"I have to go now, too !" retorted Caravelle now muttering to herself, "I am in a big hurry to get my shopping done before sunset. Thank you for your directions anyway."

Caravelle turned away from the young mother and her daughters and crossed the street. As soon as Caravelle had her back to them, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She rested across the street before she walked the rest of the way to the Mall. As she walked, silent tears streamed down and wet her cheeks. Nobody noticed, or if they did, they did not say anything to Caravelle. Once inside the Mall, Caravelle dried her cheeks with a tissue from the pack that she had in her purse. Silently, and with a low self-esteem, she did her shopping. She saw a warm electric blanket on sale, so she bought it.

"I'll need it, even if there is no electricity, for when the weather turns cold, which should be very soon now.", she thought to herself.

She also bought a pack of teen's paper panties, a tube of first aid cream, and a tube of lip gloss. At the grocery discount outlet, she bought a few more snacks and a six pack of Dr Pepper, a can of spray foam cleaner and a roll of paper towels. Soon she had to stop shopping, as she would not be able carry all the things that she wanted to buy. Caravelle carried her two large plastic bags to the downtown trolley stop. After boarding the trolley that was going to the transfer station near the base of the peninsula, she sat down, looked out of the window into the evening twilight, and almost began crying again as she mused---

"Why did that young mother think that I was scary ? Is a fifteen year old trans girl really all that scary? I wasn't carrying a gun, knife or a bomb with me. I wasn't dressed like a terrorist. I was dressed very nice, a lot of young girls wear baby doll/maternity tops these days. Absolutely! Was it because I was wearing a mini-skirt? I don't think so, her daughters both had on short hemline dresses just like little girls wear nowadays. Sophie's dress was even so short that it showed her rumba panties. Did I talk nasty to her or Lilyanne? No! Did I say anything that was gross or improper to them? No! What is wrong with me then? I thought that maybe they would make the offer for me to walk together with them to the Mall entrance. I wanted to be friendly to them. Why was I treated like a bad girl? Why was my presence so unwanted? What is it about me that is supposedly so outrageous? Seems that the mother thought that I was supposedly a cross-dressed boy. Seems that she thought I was sick and dangerous. Seems like her God hates me. Seems that I have always been unwanted. Seems that I have always been alone. Seems that I have always been a 'throwaway girl' " , thought Caravelle with much anguish and heartbreak.

When she finally got back inside her new place on the beach, her cabana, she immediately dropped her packages on the floor, then collapsed on the floor herself and began crying her heart out, in the darkness of the cabana, and in the darkness of the night.........

( Chapter 2--- " Hiding. . . . " concludes )

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(\*) **W.E. W.R.E.C. U.**

W.E. W.R.E.C. U.---( pronounced-We Wreck You ) An acronym that stands for Wonderland Enterprises / Wonderland Regional Economic Consultation and Underwriting. The largest land developer in Vonderland. They are 'plugged in' politically with the mayor and the local government officials so that they can do things that are not necessarily strictly legal, kosher, or proper. Much 'dark money' and various favors flow back and forth between Mayor Wellman and W.E. W.R.E.C. U., mostly 'under the table' and hidden from public sight.

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Click on Chapter 3 to be taken to the next chapter.