My Recycled Soul (A Sample)

Good Luck!

They all stop talking when they notice me walk in and Sean says, "Hey, Lizzie, come and sit here with us."

I hate it when he calls me Lizzie, so I ignore him as I sit down at the kitchen island, and silently I watch my mom adding the last bits of ingredients to the food she is cooking. She is attempting an Irish stew, and it smells delicious.

They laugh and talk, not really including me until my mom brings the food to the island.

When my mom sits down, we say grace and start eating.

Halfway through dinner, I say amused, "Sean, I hear your family is one of three families who used to rule the roost here, back in the day?"

He is very proud of his heritage and he starts explaining, in his long lecturing way, "Yes, actually, we can now be classified as royalty." He smiles and winks at Esther, while he continues, "This manor has fallen into disrepair over the last few decades, only because my father never had the intention of coming back to Ireland. Nobody has lived here for a very long time, so it is a wonder the ivy and wildlife never took over."

Looking at the state of the place, I disagree. I cannot imagine why he thought the ivy and wildlife never took over.

He continues, "But in two years' time you won't recognize this place. It will be just as nice as those of our two neighbours."

I interrupt him, "I have met our neighbours' children, and one of them said there are eleven miles of land separating our house from theirs. Does all that land belong to them, or is it divided equally?"

" We do not own such a big portion, because some of it has been sold off to the neighbours over the years, but it would still take you a long while to walk from one boundary line to the next."

He looks at Esther. "I think, although we don't have enough land to farm on, we should get ourselves some horses or ponies."

Esther's face lights up and she asks incredulous, "Seriously?"

He laughs loudly. "Yes, your mom and I have already discussed it and if it is alright with you, we thought we would get you one for your next birthday."

She looks at my mom and then Sean so fast - it makes me feel dizzy. She slides from the chair and she hops, skips and jumps around the table, screaming at the top of her lungs in excitement. Her piercing yell is so loud I have to narrow my eyes to slits and put my hands over my ears tightly, in an effort to block out the noise. She has always dreamt of having a horse and now coming to Ireland her dream is coming true.