SquidgeWorld Archive

Chapter 1: Viviana Antanasia Valo Vuorela

Before I begin telling you how I came to live in Santa Carla and and of the things that happened to me, I think that it's only fair to tell you about myself and my family. We'll start with the basics. My name is Viviana Antanasia Valo Vuorela and I was born on February 14, 1968. Viviana Antanasia are common names in Romania, my mother said that there was a particular reason she chose these names. Now, I understand what that reason was. In Romanian culture, Viviana means "immortal" and Antanasia means "full of life." Isn't it ironic? But anyway, Valo and Vourela are of Finnish origin. I'm not quite sure what they mean or if they even have a meaning. Someone once told me that Valo means "light." There's another irony. I am of Romanian and Finnish descent, my mother was from Romania and my father was from Finland. I have two younger siblings, a brother and a sister. My sister's name is Stela Catalina Vilen Vuorela and she was born on June 13, 1977. Stela Catalina also comes from Romanian origin. Stela means "star" and Catalina means "pure." I don't know what Vilen means but it is Finnish as is her last name. My brother's name is Aubrey Aidan Vanhala Vuorela and he was born on March 1, 1975. Aubrey Aidan originated in Romania also. Aubrey means "supernaturally powerful" and Aidan means "fire." Vanhala originated from Finland as did his last name. People always tell me that my sister and I were blessed with our mother's good looks. We both have long dark brown hair and eyes the color of chocolate. My brother doesn't look like either of our parents, he's more of a mixture of the two. He has black hair and chocolate-colored eyes. I am responsible for my brother and my sister because my parents don't care one way or the other what happens to us. Now that you know about me and my siblings, I'll tell you my story and how it all unfolded in front of my eyes.

~Start~

I was in a hurry as I ushered my brother and sister up the stairs, I almost tripped twice over my skirt. My father was in a drunken rage as he followed us through the house, all the while screaming and yelling. He didn't even need a reason to scream and hurt us, he did it out of boredom. I didn't care if he caught me, I just didn't want him to get his hands on Stela and Aubrey.

After what seemed like forever, we finally made it up the stairs. I don't remember there being that many damn stairs, I thought to myself. We all ran into my room and I hurriedly locked the door. I knew that it wouldn't hold him off for too long and I had to come up with a plan fast. I looked at the terrified, tear-streaked faces of Stela and Aubrey and that's when I realized that we had to run, we had to run as far away from home as we could.

I had gotten a job over the summer and had saved up some money in case of an emergency, and I believe this classifies as an emergency.

A loud slam against the door brought me back to reality. I grabbed the money and a duffel bag. I grabbed a few belongings and threw them into the bag. Now comes the hard part...how am I going to get to my brother and sister's room without getting caught? I knew he was waiting outside the door, but I was fast and he was drunk, so it couldn't be that hard to get by him, could it? I just didn't want to leave Aubrey and Stela alone. I knew that this was our only chance of escaping and this was the only idea I could think of, so I decided to go with it.

"How would you guys like to leave this place and go somewhere far away where we could have fun all of the time without having to worry about anything?"

Stela looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and said, "How could we do that Vivi?"

"I have some money saved up, we could catch a bus and anywhere in the world. I'll even let you and Aubrey pick the place." Aubrey whispered quietly from the corner he was hiding in, "I read about this place called California where the sun almost always shines. I think there's a place called Santa Carla, it has a boardwalk, I'm not sure what that is but it sounds fun. If we go anywhere, I want to go there."

I looked over at Stela and she nodded her head, silently saying that that's where she wanted to go too. "Ok, we'll go to Santa Carla, I just have to get some things from your bedrooms first. Is it ok if I do that?", I asked quietly, hoping that they would agree. Aubrey looked like he was arguing with himself, one part of him wanting to run away and never come back, the other part not wanting to be left alone with the monster that we called "father."

He finally agreed and I told them to get into the closet and they slowly inched their way towards it. After I made sure that they were well hidden, I made my way to the door. There's no turning back now... I reached for the doorknob and slowly turned it. I felt like my heart was going to explode because it was beating so fast. I looked down and saw that he had passed out on the floor. That makes things less complicated. I made my way to Aubrey's room and grabbed everything I thought he would need. I saw his ragged teddy bear that grandpa had given him before he passed away lying on the floor, I grabbed it and put it in the duffel bag. Now I have to go to Stela's room... I grabbed whatever clothes I saw and I also grabbed her teddy bear. I quickly and silently made my way back to my room, just in case he decided to come to. I finally made it to my room and I silently swore myself for not locking the door. God, I'm an idiot! I went inside and shut and locked the door. I heard him stirring outside of the door...I made it just in time. I made my way over to the closet and opened the door.

"We're going to have to climb out of the window and then we're going to climb down the tree. Do you think you guys can do that?"

"I think so," Stela mumbled.

I opened the window, careful not to be too loud. Stela climbed out first and then Aubrey. I turned around and looked around my room. This will be the last time I ever see this place again...Thank God! I checked to make sure that I had everything. I grabbed some blankets, just in case. I silently slipped out of the window, I looked down and saw that Aubrey had already climbed down the tree and was helping Stela make her way down.

After I saw that she made it safely down, I threw the duffel bag onto the ground below me and began climbing down the tree. Wow that tree is taller than I thought it was. After I made my way down, I checked to make sure Stela and Aubrey were ok and then I picked up the duffel bag.

"Are we still going to Santa Carla, Vivi?", Aubrey asked.

"It depends on if you two still want to or not."

"Of course we still wanna go...Vivi, I think you hit your head on a tree branch when you were climbing down," Stela said.

I laughed...she's definitely my sister.

"Now we have to get bus tickets." After I bought out tickets, we made our way to the bus and climbed on. I gave the driver our tickets, as he took them from my hands, he gave me a look that clearly stated...runaways. I didn't care though, I was getting out of this place. I was happy that I was getting Stela and Aubrey out of this hell hole.

We walked to the back of the bus and sat down. We were the only ones on the bus except for one boy who had a green mohawk. He looks...interesting. When Stela and Aubrey spotted him, they scooted closer to me. They were excited, I could tell just by looking at them.

"You two should get some sleep," I said handing them a blanket and their teddy bears.

The last thing Aubrey said before he drifted to sleep was, "I love you Vivi, thanks for saving me and Stela. You're the greatest person ever."

"Yeah, what he said," mumbled Stela.

It brought tears to my eyes and shortly after that, I fell asleep too. My last thought was...Santa Carla, here we come.

TBC