"Leave me alone." a small girls voice called out as she sat among a sandbox in the middle of the park. She held up her hands to avoid the sand that was being kicked at her by two young boys who had found their own personal joy in tormenting her. Her mom had brought her there earlier that morning, and as usual she settled into a seat beside a friend on a bench and hadn't glanced another look at her since.

Clare wasn't like most 7 year olds. She had never liked the park much. She didn't appreciate the dirty informal feel of it all and she especially didn't like that every time she came, the dress she chose to wear inevitably ended up dirty. Her father had always said that Clare was born 50 years too early and that even as young as she was, she was very mature for her age. Clare had known, even then that he was right. When she closed her eyes, she never imagined recent events or memories she's had. She always had visions of old buildings, old cars and woman and men dressed in clothes that would be considered antiques in the present day. She had no idea where these images came from, but somehow she knew that they were no stranger to her.

"I said, leave me alone!" She shrieked as she stood up and brushed off her dress, "You're getting me dirty!"

"Oh no, four eyes is getting all dirty." One of the boys with a pig nose and dirty blonde hair squealed with laughter.

This had Clare in rage. She hated to think she even had to wear her glasses, and she hated being teased about it. Once she'd tried to go an entire day of kindergarten without wearing them. She was unable to see anything and ended up running into the door frame as she went to exit the room, causing her nose to bleed. Her teacher ended up calling her parents during lunch to pick her up and she spent the rest of the day in bed crying. After seeing a commercial on the TV, she begged her parents to let her get contacts, but they told her she was too young.

"Don't call me that!" She shouted and pushed the pig nosed boy backwards. Fury covered his face as he jumped up and shoved her back, making her fall down into the sand and the wooden outside of the box dug into her back.

She bit her lip trying to hold back the angry tears that fought at the corner of her eyes. She refused to allow herself to show weakness to these immature boys, but the pain in her back burned like a fire. The pain almost took over and she almost gave in to the tears, but before she could a voice called out.

"Hey, get away from her!"

She looked up, expecting to see her mom, but the voice hadn't quite fit and confusion struck her when she noticed the silhouette of a boy approaching them. When he came more into focus, something inside of her ignited. She knew she'd never seen him before, but her little heart continued to accelerate as he came within inches of her and her bullies. His hair was dark and his skin was white, but the most astonishing thing was the green of his eyes. They were unforgettable. She felt herself become light headed and before she could get a word in she felt her eyes close and her head fell back.

"Alice." a voice spoke, deep and smooth to her ears. It was a familiar voice that she loved to hear and she felt her body tingle as he brushed his lips against her ear, "Come with me."

"I can't." She whimpered, her heart was fighting a battle against her mind, "Daddy would be so upset."

"You have to stop caring what everyone else thinks and only pay attention to what you want!"

The raised tone of his voice caught her off guard, but she knew he was right. She'd spent her entire life trying to make her parents happy. If they'd found out she'd fallen in love with a working hand on their ranch, they'd have her locked away for life. But she couldn't help who she'd fallen in love with. His warm brown hair and beautiful green eyes sent her heart soaring in ways it never had before. She knew the moment she sat eyes on William Pierce that she loved him. She'd fallen for him so completely that she spent most days laying in her yard, watching him work. It wasn't until he spoke to her and confided that he loved her too, that she realized that she would be his forever.

"I love you Alice Desmond." he said, his southern accent heavy on his lips., "I want to be with you forever. I can't lose you again."

She nodded as she chewed on the edge of her lip, "I love you too William."

"Clare!" the small girl heard a voice come into her mind as she woke from her faint. She felt sick to her stomach and as if she was going to puke, but she held the feeling back as she opened her eyes and saw her mom crouched above her. She had her hands placed on Clare's cheeks and as she looked up at her, a relieved smile spread across her face.

"Sweetie you gave me a heart attack!" She exclaimed as she pulled her close to her with a tight hug. Clare moved her head to the side, desperate to catch another glimpse of the boy from before but to her dismay, he was gone.