The Garden of Broken Souls By: Petra (Morithil Greenleaf)

A/N: This is sort of Angst in the beginning, but it gets happier. Yes, this is probably a Mary-Sue Legomance. MY FAVOURITE! Sorry. I would also like to make it clear that I believe this is my worst chapter, so please, even if this chapter doesn't grab your attention, I ask you to do me a favour and read chapter three.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkein's works. But I am going to steal Legolas. Everything else here is mine. Even the song! Muwhahaha!

Chapter 1: Tears

Thunder. Splashes of rain everywhere. Most people would like to be inside tonight. All cozy. But not she. She was different. She was relatively glad. Because she was outside instead of in. Inside, it was only ten times worse.

As long as Anise -for that was her name- could remember, she'd had sorrow. From her father. He always came home drunk, always came home mad. Four years ago her mother and father had the worst fight they had ever had before. She could remember as clear as it were yesterday.

::Flashback::

"Where is it!?!"

Calmly: "Where is what?"

"The Beer! Where has my beer gone?!?"

"I- it's gone... You've drunken it all."

"I told you to get more!"

Anise looked to her mother. 'Yes. Go,' she mouthed to Anise. Anise nodded to Kevin- he scooped up Anna in one arm while Anise took Linda in hers. They rushed out the kitchen door, then up the stairs and into Anise's room. Where they would be safe. For now.

"I have the floor ... you get to the window," Kevin, her favourite person, her brother, her best friend told her.

Bending his ear to the floor, Kevin could almost make out what was happening. Raging. Glass breaking. More shouting. Anise was poised at the window, ready to kick the secret rope ladder down if they needed to escape, laden with her sisters, trying to hush them. There was no point. Kevin sat up, he didn't need to have his head on the floor for this. Every one could hear.

"And what’ve I brought you for! You sit here, doing nothing, when I TOLD you earlier! But NO! You don't listen!"

"I was busy all day with the children, I had to take-"

"Don't you talk back to me! You should have learned to not answer me like that by now! Why do I put up with you?!?"

Kevin and Anise winced ... for they knew what was coming next. Fortunately, so did their mother. She had ducked and this caused their father to slam into the wall. Not a great way to calm him down. It could only get worse.

"This is too much for me Robert! I won't take it anymore! I'll leave and I'll take the children with me!"

Or so she had tried. Anise's mother marched up to her room, took what little she could call hers alone, and tried to take the four with her, hopefully to a shelter. Robert wouldn't let her take all of them. He of course, would let her take two, but he needed someone to do things for him, didn't he? So as Robert lay conked out on the couch, unmoving, Anise and the rest tried to figure out what to do. Mother didn't want to leave without them all, but Kevin, being the wonderful person he was, helped Anise persuade their mom.

"Listen, Mother, you take Anna and Linda, they need you more than us. Anise and I will stay here," Kevin eased.

"I-I won't let you to stay here to be murdered by your father! I won't!"

"Mom! He won’t murder us. You and the twins will be safe! In less than 3 months, Kevin will be 18! He can leave here, and get a job. When he has enough money, he'll come back and take me with him. Won't you Kevin?" Kevin nodded. "I can stay here. I'm fast- so I can avoid him. I'm nearly 13. I can take care of myself," Anise begged.

Robert stirred on the couch. The rest leaned in closer.

"Well... I suppose I have to. It's not like it can really get worse, without me. Molly and Sally will be safe. And soon you will be also," Anise's mom had finally given in.

::End Flashback::

Almost everything had worked out as planned. Almost. Kevin didn't come back. Of course he was going to ... but something got in the way. Something called death. Not but a year after Kevin's 18th birthday- the day he left, there was a fire. Kevin was coming to take Anise, and had been just about to leave the cheapest apartment building he could find, when something horrible occurred. The alarm sounded. And Kevin was on the top floor- he perished in the fire. That was 4 years ago.

Her father had thrown her outside, as a punishment. What punishment was this? None to her, at least. Her mother was somewhere. Her twin baby sisters were with her mom, somewhere. Her big brother was gone. Even her cat was gone.

‘What is rain?’ Anise thought. ‘Why does it make people sad?’ She reached out and caught a drop in her hand. ‘Oh wait. I know. Raindrops are tears from heaven. When everyone up there cries, so do we all.’

Anise was now 16, and since Kevin's passing she had grown. Not as scared, or as shy. Since then Anise had found a cat, and named her 'Mir'. - But Mir was gone too. She had also discovered Lord of the Rings, and she dwelt on it. She was obsessed- and that obsession had given her a will to live just one more day, every morning.

Heaven's tears, her new name for rain, ran down her nose, mingling with her own tears that fell from her eyes, a grey-blue like the sky. Her light brown hair was soaked. She was wearing a ratty old pair of jeans, and a black T-shirt that fit a little too tight. Her life had been broken. And so with her soul.

Why has this happened to me?

What have I done wrong?

How is this justified? How is this right?

How can someone pass me by,

And give me nothing but a dirty glance?

All I want is a smile ...

Please, just give me something that'll help me go on ...

Just a smile?

Is that to much to ask?

Can't you save me ...

Can't you take me away?

I want to be someplace better

Where I can laugh in joy...

But no, I am rendered here,

Stuck in this puddle of grief

My world has collapsed

And my soul ... broken

Why has this happened to me?

Please, all I'm asking for is,

A smile ...

YAY! I'm done with my first chapter! Sooo.... what do you think? I wrote this during a storm, at 10:19 to 12:15 at night- and as a result, it’s kind of odd. Hehheh. And umm, I apologize if her father seemed weird ... I tried hard, but couldn’t seem to get him right. Any suggestions? Please? AND YES THE SONG IS MINE!!!

Anyway ... see that button ... right down there?

Just right here ---------- ! ---------- Right under the mark. That one. CLICK IT AND MAKE ME HAPPY!