I felt the little hands pulling me away from the safe haven I adored. Rudely, I was being pulled from the depths of darkness, the void I call sleep. I could not ignore it because my child demanded attention and I had to give it no matter what.
I grudgingly opened my eyes to the harsh morning light that was flooding in from the windows. It was bad enough having to wake up when my body would no longer sleep but being pulled away from it early was horrible. I hated waking up to my life the way that it was. There wasn't much exciting to look forward to in the day.
Once my eyes were open, I saw the child standing beside my bed with a huge smile on his bright face. My heavy heart melted a bit at the adorable sight. The anger, hatred, and hurt that I feel day in and day out pushed aside for the brief minute I looked at that bright smile. It was enough to urge me to push my blankets off and get out of bed. I then pulled some clothes on and walked with him to his room to get him dressed. The typical never changing morning routine had begun.
It didn't take long to finish the morning tasks, but then it never did. Life was funny that way. It gave you nothing to look forward to, nothing to hope for. The heaviness of my hate, hurt, and anger intensified again. I was bored with my life. School was no different. Same time schedule with nothing really different in class. The same selfish and uncaring people were there every class. They didn't understand me at all. The first time we met they wrote me off as a nobody. I hated walking into the classes with those same people.
My life was a never-ending circle of repeating events. The same events day in and day out. Nothing changing. My mother was always condemning me for one reason or another. My son doesn't even respect my authority over him. He thinks that my mother is the supreme God of the household. It hurt terribly.
By the time my day was over, I was ready to fall back into the comfort of the darkness. I was ready to go back to the only thing that I could count on, the nothingness of sleep. When I laid down in my bed and pulled the blankets on, I said thank you into the darkness of the night for allowing me this little bit of peace that I had in my life. Not even that was constant though. From time to time, memories of the past, memories of abuse filtered their way into my shelter of darkness. It was sheer hell.
The next morning, I woke up around 4am due to one of those nightmares of the past. I awoke to darkness which was a relief of sorts. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something that I had never done before. My mind ran rapidly through some of the things that I had always wanted to do but couldn't/can't afford to do.
I thought of how much I had wanted to go skydiving, or body surfing. I thought of how much I wanted to just pick up and leave to go revel in the warmth of a spa. I thought of all the times, I had seen pictures of people mountain climbing and me wanting to be there right beside them. There were even times when I had wanted to learn how to fly a plane so one day I could just get up and leave it all behind. All of the thoughts that were running through my mind were consuming me. I just wanted to go. To leave it all behind me and never come back. I wanted to lose myself in something and never return.
I crawled out of bed with the thoughts still running rampant in my mind to go get a hot cup of hot chocolate. That would hopefully soothe my nerves and help me forget the foolishness of my thoughts. I knew that I could do none of those things. My life was on a set course and nothing was going to derail the direction the train was headed.
Then another thought popped into my brain. I suddenly remembered about that online contest that I had entered to win a vacation with one of the stars of the show La Femme Nikita. A smile crossed my face at the thought. I had foolishly entered the contest. I knew that I had no chance of winning because I never win anything. Nothing that matters to me anyway. They would be picking the winners of the contest soon and I knew that my name would not be among the list. My smile quickly faded.
I took a sip of the hot chocolate and began my journey back to the warmth and safety of my bed. That was the only place that I felt comfort and safe in.
I crawled back under the comforter I had on the bed and finished my cup of chocolate. I set the mug down on the shelf of my headboard and drifted back to sleep. None of my fantasies of having fun were going to come true. At least not any time soon they wouldn't.
The next morning, I was woken up by a pounding on the front door. That was highly unusual for someone to want to come over here, let alone be pounding on the door the way this fanatic was. I quickly climbed out of bed and pulled a warm robe on over my plain nightgown and slippers on my feet. I hightailed it down the stairs to answer to door before the crazy person on the other side woke up my son who by some miracle was still sound asleep in his bed.
I looked out of one of the small windows in the door as I reached it at the bottom of the stairs to see someone that I didn't know. I wasn't sure about opening the door all the way and letting the stranger in so I opened it about an inch and a half. "Yes?" I asked hesitantly.
"Are you Cheryln Cramer?" The stranger asked directly.
"Who's asking?" I replied suspiciously.
"I am from the La Femme Nikita contest. I need to speak with her." The stranger announced boldly.
"I am she." I replied still suspicious of the stranger.
"May I come in? It's cold out here." He asked. I could see that he was shivering out there so I opened the door and granted him access. I was a bit curious as to what he had to say.
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Part Two:
Once the stranger was inside, I moved over and offered for him to sit down in one of the chairs or on the couch. The stranger chose the couch and I sat down on the chair across from him.
"Now what is it that you need to speak with me about?" I asked directly. I didn't need anyone raising my hopes for them to be disappointed again.
"First, my name is Craig. I was sent here to inform you that you have one a vacation with a star from the show La Femme Nikita." He said with a smile on his round face. He was rather handsome for someone in his forties, or looked to be in his forties.
"You have got to be joking! I never win things like this. You must be mistaken." I told him vehemently. There had to be some mistake. He had to be some crazed person who wanted to push me over the edge that I was teetering on.
"Nope, I'm not joking. Your name was drawn from the barrel of names entered into the contest." He said not quite sure what was happening. He wasn't used to reactions like this and it scared him a bit. Just as he finished his sentence, I heard my son start crying announcing that he was awake but still tired.
"Could you hold on a moment please?" I asked him but didn't wait for his reply. I headed straight up the stairs into my son, Steven's room to get him. I carried Steven into my room to quickly pull on some clothes before returning to the lower level and the stranger named Craig that was sitting in my livingroom. After quickly pulling on something that was presentable, I carried Steven down the stairs.
I set Steven down on his feet and turned the television on. I then put in one of the tapes I recorded of his favorite PBS show, Theodore Tugboat for him to watch and keep busy with. Steven was delighted as the tugboats appeared on the screen before his eyes. He stomped his right foot on the floor roughly trying to keep up with the beat of the theme song that was playing. It was hysterical to watch actually.
"Would you like some coffee, orange juice, hot chocolate or tea?" I asked politely.
"Coffee would be good thanks." Was Craig's reply as he watched the antics of my Theodore obsessed son.
I walked into the kitchen, and started a pot of coffee brewing. Then I pulled out a sippy cup and filled it with orange juice and made sure that the cap was screwed on tightly so that he could not get it off. I walked into the livingroom and handed Steven the cup of orange juice and a quickly peeled and broken in half banana for him to eat while watching Theodore. Steven accepted both with such childlike joy that it amused me greatly.
I turned and walked quietly back into the kitchen to pull out two plain black coffee mugs and filled them with the coffee that had just finished brewing. I carried both cups into the livingroom and handed one to Craig.
"If you'd like milk or sugar, I can go put some in if you'd like…" I offered more out of politeness rather than caring at all if he liked either in his coffee.
"Nope, right now, strong black would do me just fine. I've been up for quite a while now actually." Craig replied taking a sip of the steaming hot liquid then setting it down on the coffee table.
"Ok. Now what was it you were saying about me winning this contest?" I asked him directly.
"You've won a trip with one of the stars of La Femme Nikita. Has there been some mistake? Did you not enter the contest?" He asked suddenly. He felt uncomfortable with the way that I was taking the news of winning.
"Yes I did enter, but I never win things like this. It's just my bad karma or something." I replied taking a sip of my coffee.
"Well, your bad karma must have changed because you actually did win." He replied a smile suddenly appearing on his face.
"Which cast member?" I asked suddenly remembering that he had not stated whom I would be taking this trip with.
"That will be announced on the day of departure. All six of the contest winners will be gathered at the studio in Toronto then. When the cast members arrive, we will announce who's taking a trip with whom." He replied easily. He didn't understand why they did things that way but hey, if that's how they wanted to do it!
"Why all the secrecy?" I asked suspicious again.
"I have no idea. Personally I think that they do it in such an awful way but I don't have any say in such matters." He replied. He was used to this line of questioning.
"Well, when am I supposed to be in Toronto and am I paying for the trip there?" I asked him.
"No, you won't have to pay for the airline ticket which I have right here for you. You are booked to fly to Toronto two weeks from today. Is that ok?" He informed me pulling out an airline envelope and handing it to me. I was stunned beyond belief.
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Part Three:
I took the envelope from his hand and opened it. Sure enough, there was a valid airline ticket to Toronto inside. Once I saw that, I started screaming and bouncing off the walls with joy. Finally something in my life had gone right!
Steven saw me acting crazy and began to imitate me quite hysterically. I reached over and gave Craig a hug. I wasn't thinking about how awkward it was. It was not long after he gave me the airline ticket that he left me to arrange for a baby-sitter and time off school.
When the door shut behind him, I ran over to the phone and called Steven's grandparents and asked them if they would like to come and get him for the week of my vacation. They agreed happily. As soon as I hung up the phone with them, I dialed the number for one of my closest online friends Karin. It didn't take long for her to answer the phone and I started screaming my great news as soon as I heard her voice.
"Calm down Cheryln! Tell me again slowly and calmly because I didn't understand a word that just came out of your mouth." Karin told me patiently.
I took a minute and regained my composure. I took a few deep breaths trying to contain my excitement.
"There was a guy named Craig who just came to my door this morning. He told me that I won a trip with one of the stars of La Femme Nikita!!! He even gave me an airline ticket for two weeks to go to Toronto to meet with the other winners and find out which cast member I'm going on vacation with!!!!" I said in a high pitch but not screaming voice.
"That's terrific! I knew that something good would happen to you!" Karin said enthusiastically. She was so happy for me. We talked for a bit longer then I got off the phone before I ran the phone bill sky high like I usually do talking to her.
Not long after I hung up the phone, I got a call from my good friend Tracy. She was screaming and carrying on uncontrollably. I had a feeling that I knew what she was trying to tell me.
"Calm down! Tell me again! I didn't understand a word of what you just said to me!" I told her thinking that I sounded just like Karin.
"I won a trip with a cast member from LFN!" She screamed again.
"That's wonderful! So did I!" I told her my voice going back to a scream with excitement.
"You did?! That's fantastic!" Tracy said to me. "I wonder who the other winners are." "So do I." I told her with happiness filling my voice.
"Well, I'm going to get off here and call Aly to tell her my great news. I hope that maybe she's one of us lucky winners too." Tracy said happily. She couldn't wait to go and neither could I.
"Well let me know what she says! I might call her later too." I told Tracy easily. "I'll have her call you." Tracy told me.
"Please do!" I replied. Then we said our good-byes and hung up the phone.
I went back to my morning routine humming the theme song for La Femme Nikita as I did. I had a bounce to my step that was never there before. After a couple of hours, the phone rang again. "Hello?" I said when I answered it.
"Hey Aries! It's me Allyson!" I heard the voice say on the other end of the line.
"Hey! Did Tracy tell you the great news?" I asked her enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but I've got some news too! I won a trip too!" Aly told me near screaming.
"Man, this contest is definitely being dominated by CLs!" I told her with a laugh in my voice.
"I wonder who the other three winners are…" Aly began.
"So do I. I'm going to log onto the computer and post to the list about this now." I told Aly. We were both barely containing our excitement.
We talked for a few minutes longer as I booted up my computer then got off. We both had a lot of planning and schedule rearranging to do before the trip to Toronto.
After logging on to AOL, I saw that Nikita507 was online and immediately messaged her about it. I found out that she had also won a trip! This was fantastic! All of my friends are going too. I wonder if they will be separate vacations or all of the cast and all of the winners on one trip.
We'd find out soon though!
Just as I was getting ready to pose the possible question to N5, my phone rang again. I answered it immediately to hear Karin's screaming voice on the other end. When she finished screaming, I started to laugh lightly.
"Let me guess, you won a trip too?" I asked her.
"Yes I did! I'm so happy!" Karin replied. Then I told her about Tracy, Aly, and Michelle winning as well. There was only one position left for a winner that we didn't already know who it was. I guess we'd find out later who that other person was.
Karin and I talked for a while about how things were going so great then got of f the phone. It was cheaper to talk online than over the phone anyway. My thoughts kept turning back to which cast member was I going to spend entire week with…
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Part Four:
The time until the trip to Toronto seemed to be taking forever to come. Going out to get a passport took my mind away from it for a bit though. I was distracted in all of my classes.
Finally the day had come for me to go to the airport. Steven had been picked up the day before by his grandparents, and mom was still at work at the time I had to leave to get to the airport. At least there wasn't anything to make me late!
I drove carefully to the crowded airport and parked my car. I then took the shuttle to the terminal and checked my luggage in. I grabbed a cup of coffee and some toast at a small restaurant in the terminal waiting for boarding time. I decided that while I was just sitting there waiting, I would practice the French that I had been learning from a computer program that I just got to teach it to me. In my humble opinion, I was doing a great job of learning it.
After going through a few sentences, I looked at the time on my pager and paid for my coffee and toast. I had to get to the boarding area quickly because if I didn't, I would miss the plane and I couldn't afford to do that.
Luckily, I got there just as they were beginning boarding. I got on the plane and fastened my seat belt. I was itching for the plane to take off. The people from the contest had arranged for a limousine to meet me and the other contestants as they arrived and take us to the studio.
After the plane landed, I got off and collected my luggage from the baggage claim and began to look for the limo that was going to take me to the studio. It pulled up right on time. It stopped at the curve, the chauffeur got out and opened my door for me. I was flattered. I had never had this kind of treatment before in my life and was enjoying every second of it. I got in.
When I got in, Karin who had already made it in greeted me. We were obviously the first two to arrive.
"I guess we wait for the others then head to the studio." I stated the obvious feeling a bit nervous. Now that the time had come, I was sure that I actually wanted to go through with this. I was scared tremendously.
The limo didn't leave the curb, and about 15 minutes later, the door opened again allowing someone else into the car. Karin and I looked up to see Tracy and Michelle getting in. Once they were inside with the door shut, we all hugged happily. It was great meeting each other for the first time under such great circumstances.
About ten minutes later, the door opened again allowing Aly and Shannon to enter! Aly jumped in and gave us all hugs while Shannon took her time entering. When she was fully in, I reached over and gave her a hug. She was always so nice to me when we talked and the conversations we had were great.
She hugged me back as the car pulled away from the airport and we began our trip to the studio.
An hour later…..
The car pulled to a stop and parked. I assume that the traffic was horrible because we all know it shouldn't have taken that long for us to get there. The driver came around and opened the door for all of us and we each climbed out carefully. We inquired about our luggage, but the driver told us that it was safe in the car that had pulled up behind us and that we'd get it when we were ready to depart again. We were each happy that we didn't have to lug it around with us everywhere we went.
Arm-in-arm we all walked up the stairs to the studio and walked in when the door was opened for us. The studio was huge! There were lights all over the ceiling. It was overwhelming for all of us. Suddenly, a woman appeared before us.
"You all must be the winners of our vacation contest! It's nice to meet you! I am Brenda and I will be taking you to meet the cast and further along the arrangements for who's with who and so on. If you'll follow me!" She turned and walked away. She seemed to be a very impatient person who never wanted to wait for anything. We followed along behind her looking at all of the different set-ups for the different scenes we watch religiously on television every Sunday night (Saturday nights for Canadians).
Finally she came to a stop in front of what looked like a lounging area for the cast in between takes. She opened the door to the room and we all walked in hesitantly. The room seemed so luxurious and big that we really didn't want to touch anything for fear we might destroy it.
"Please, do sit down. The cast and Joel will be in in a few minutes." Brenda said before turning and walking out of the room. We all did as she instructed and uneasily sat down on the plush couches arranged around the room.
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Part Five and End:
We sat around nervously waiting for Joel and the cast to enter the room. It seemed like forever before they came in, yet it seemed like the time had passed so quickly. It left us disoriented. When they walked in, we all gasped at the wonderful sight before us.
"Hello, my name is Joel Surnow. I would like to introduce to you the cast. This is Peta Wilson, Roy Dupuis, Alberta Watson, Don Franks, Matthew Ferguson, and Eugene Robert Glazer. We are very happy that you all could make it to spend this time with us." He said with a bright smile on his face while the rest of us just looked at each of the cast members in shocked silence.
"Hello all, we're glad that you are fans of the show." Peta said walking past the rest of the cast members over to where we were all together in a group for support. We were all speechless for once.
Don stepped forward as well and came over to us. He held his hand out to each of us and kissed the backs of each of our hands. When he kissed mine, the room began to spin. I had never in my whole life dreamed I would actually meet celebrities, let alone have one kiss the back of my hand. I held onto the couch I was sitting on for support until the dizziness finally cleared from my head. I looked around to see that the effect was the same for the rest of my friends.
"Well, now that we have introduced ourselves, how about you introduce yourselves to us?" Joel asked stepping forward. He had expected us to act this way and warned the cast of it as well.
Taking control since no one else seemed to want to go first, I stood up and looked at them.
"Hello. It's great to be here and meet all of you. You all do a great job with the show. My name is Cheryln." I said at first with hesitation but it faded into confidence as I saw them smile at me in return.
"Merci Cheryln." Roy said and my heart began to flutter. The man I worshipped as a God was standing right before me and said my name on his beautifully luscious lips. I quickly sat back down before I did something foolish like faint.
The rest of my friends took up where I left off and introduced themselves to the cast. When everyone had been introduced, Joel held up a clipboard for us all to see.
"Right here I have the list of who's going with whom and where you are going to." He said with a smug grin on his face. Everyone was anxious to find out the answers to those questions. Even the cast had not been privileged to that information.
"Going with Peta to the Grand Canyon for some good old sky diving, we have Tracy!" Joel announced handing Peta the airline tickets and two envelopes full of cash for them both to spend. Peta walked over and handed Tracy hers.
"Then we have going with Roy to the Alps for some mountain climbing we have Cheryln!" Joel practically shouted my name out. I fainted dead away.
Tracy, Peta, and Roy walked over to me to make sure I was alright. I woke up a few minutes later with a red face from total embarrassment.
They helped me up and Joel went on with the announcing of who was going where with whom.
"Now, we have going to Nevada with Don for some good air body surfing, Allyson!" Joel said and I had to help keep Aly standing. She was incredibly happy at that point.
"Next, we have going to Hollywood, California with Matthew for some awesome bungi jumping and surfing, Michelle!" Joel announced happily. He was pleased that Warner Bros. had approved his and the casts' idea for this. It was a good way to make and keep viewers.
"Now we have going to the Rocky Mountains with Alberta for some great skiing, we have Karin!" Joel announced and Karin fainted the same as I did. She loved Alberta's work and wanted to spend time talking to her about what kinds of books that she reads and stuff like that. They had made a perfect pairing there. I got Karin awake in no time.
"Last but not least we have going with Eugene to New Mexico to spend some time at a wonderful spa and camping resort we have Shannon!" Joel announced. He had wished that he and the cast had picked the vacation areas but they were not given that choice. He was happy with the overall results though.
Everyone took some time out to say hello and get at least slightly aquainted with their travel partners before we were all filed out for a wonderful lunch.
After lunch, we all said good-byes and headed off to catch our planes.
I was very content with getting to go mountain climbing with Roy. He was gorgeous and seemed to be very patient and gentle. I hoped that he would be that way when he found out that I had no idea what I was doing! I didn't have to worry about that though, he truly was! This vacation turned out to be the miracle that I needed to restore my hope and faith in life.
The End!