Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Roswell but if I did, I would have hired the writers on Fanatics to replace those who made Season2. Anyway, I'm only borrowing the characters for my imagination purposes. I came up with this fic back in 2004 and I have no such knowledge if there are other fics or any books similar to it. I do not want to offend anyone or be sued for plagiarism, so if such is the case, please contact me immediately.
A/N: This was my first fic ever, and I thought I'd share it here. The only other fic I have on FF is Daybreak which is on the Twilight section. If this story seems familiar, that might be because you've already read it over on Roswell Fanatics. Anyway, I hope you'll like this.
Prologue
Have you ever seen horses competing in a race? Have you ever noticed the black patches they wear at the sides of their eyes? Those are placed there to keep them from getting distracted. It keeps them from seeing the other horses running beside them. It makes them see one goal and one goal alone, to win the race, to get to the destination they were being led to.
A lot of people are like that. They are so focused on achieving their goals that they never notice the others around them. Do you know the saying "stop and smell the roses"? Though it has been said many times, it always is true. Sometimes we are so driven by our dream that we don't realize that it's the journey that makes it all worthwhile. Upon reaching our ambitions we celebrate in the triumph for a few moments before setting our sights on something else, something better, something bigger. But the path to attaining it is what teaches us the things we should learn in life, those lessons that we would carry with us for the rest of our days.
For some the goal is to become a winner, something that makes them stand out. For others it is getting back their past, something that they already have that they wish to attain again or to gain more of it. These aspirations may be money, fame, a career, a bigger house, a nicer car, whatever we wish to grab hold of. Unfortunately more often than not, these dreamers neglect the others around them that have helped them through it all. They forget everything that they were taught, everything they valued, no matter what it takes, to achieve their most coveted dream. They become blindsided.
Chapter 1
I've always had a happy childhood. Although I now only have my grandma with me, I remember those times when my family was complete. Has anyone ever asked you what your earliest memory is? I can remember it as if it was yesterday. I was only 2 years old. I was way up in the air, my father holding me, lifting me up above his head as both he and my mother looked up at me with huge smiles on their faces. I remember giggling, laughing, looking at them with such adoration. I wish I could turn back the time…back to when we were all together. My dad died when I was 6 years old. It was in a car accident on his way home from work. I've never seen my mom so devastated until that night when the police came to our house to tell us the news. I remember her crying all night, and there was nothing I could do to comfort her. We were left with nothing, but not even that could compare to the loss that my mom and I felt. A few weeks after that, my mom had to leave me with my grandma so she could support us. She's now living somewhere else, working as a maid, just to make ends meet. Although I miss her terribly, I can't blame her for leaving. She's not actually gone although sometimes I wish she never had to go. I made a promise to her once, that someday I'd be the one working, to take care of her and my grandma, to give us back the life we had then, maybe even more…
"Liz, dinner!"
"Coming Grandma!"
Well, till next time diary. My grandma's calling me for dinner.
Liz closed her diary and shoved it under her mattress. She ran out of her room and straight down to the kitchen as her grandmother set the food on the table.
"Wow, this looks and smells great," Liz said as she looked at the beef stew and dinner rolls on the table.
"Have you done your homework already?" asked Grandma Claudia.
"Yup, all done." Liz reached over for some bread.
"Your mom will be coming home tomorrow."
"I know. She told me last week that she'll be able to get a couple days off this weekend."
"What do you want to do then?"
"I don't know, maybe just spend some time here in the house."
"Why don't you and her go out?"
"But what about you, Grandma?"
"Oh, I'll be fine. I'm too old to be going around walking all day. Besides I know how much you've been missing her."
"Are you sure? I know you miss her too."
"Don't worry, there'll be time for us to catch up when you get home."
"Well… ok, I guess. But you know you can change your mind."
"I know." Grandma smiled.
After dinner, Liz washed the dishes as Grandma cleaned up the table. Then she went off to her room to plan the upcoming weekend with her mom.
As she lied in bed she thought of the things she could do this weekend with her mom. It hadn't been easy being away from her. As it is, it's only her, her mom and her grandma that are left and she didn't want them to be separated anymore. She thought of life and how things should have been. When they were living in their old house, they had big rooms and nice furniture, a big yard, little luxuries that she never really thought about before. But after the tragedy that struck her family, her mother sold their house and moved into this one. Though it is nothing compared to the old one, it had smaller rooms, a kitchen/dining/living room, a significantly smaller yard; it was warm and cozy. Despite the struggles they had to go through, they made this small and simple house into their home.