Page 1 of Save Me

Prologue

Past

“Once upon a time, there was a girl whose mother had died-”

“Pru?” the little boy asked from beneath the comfort and safety of his covers.

“Yes, sweety?” she replied with her unrelenting smile, the one that was always there for him.

Being brought up by the nanny could be a precarious position to find yourself in, but not for this little boy. Pru was as kind and caring as they came, loving the child like he was her own and always giving into his cheeky boy smiles. She was yet to have her own family, but deep down, he knew she would one day. His father had often said how beautiful Pru was, that it was only a matter of time before ‘a good Mayfield man’ would swoop in to ‘claim her’. The boy worried about that day, for where would he be after Pru? He hardly knew his parents and his best friend, Jonah, had told him horror stories about strict, cold nannies, who would shut kids up in their room and leave them in there for hours.

“Can I have a different story?” the boy asked and grinned one of those grins he knew she couldn’t resist.

“Of course, what were you thinking?” she asked with the same, warm smile she always gave whenever he asked for anything.

“I heard my father talking about something, Mother too,” he told her, speaking about his parents quite formally, for they were more like visiting business associates of his father’s than a real mom and dad. “Father said the word ‘Mayfield’ a lot, and then said my name, and how he expected me to do great things with it when I’m grown up.”

The woman faltered for a moment, her warm smile dropping ever so slightly while eyeing the young boy with a little sadness and fear. She said nothing.

“Please, Pru, what is it? What is ‘Mayfield’?” he asked with confusion and a hint of desperation in his deep, blue, eyes.

She watched him watching her for a while, swallowed hard, then plastered on her warm smile again. However, it now only looked half as genuine as it had done before he had mentioned this strange word.

“I’m not sure I should be the one telling you about this. I should imagine your father will want to discuss it with you himself-”

“Please, Pru, father scares me. He shouts at the phone and kisses the maids when he thinks no one is looking,” he flusters, looking guilty for sharing such a secret with her.

However, Pru believed every word that had just come out of the seven-year-old’s mouth, because she had seen it too, as well as many other…things.

“I want you to tell me. You’re my best friend, Pru, except for Jonah, but you’re like a mum kind of best friend.”

His words warmed her heart because he had been in her care since he had turned three, just after his first nanny had left the state. If the rumors were to be believed, the girl had fled after she was propositioned by the boy’s father and had declined his advances. It did not do one well to refuse a man in her employer’s position. It was a fear Pru lived with on a daily basis. Fortunately, she had managed to protect herself, heeding her parents’ warning about working for such a family. She was not only pretty, but she was also smart and had been taught from a young age about how to keep herself safe around men like her employer. And now, here was a boy who she felt like was her own, pleading with her to tell him about what was to become of him, when he too, would become a man of ‘Mayfield’.

“Ok. I suppose I can tell you how it started,” she said on a sigh, even though she still wasn’t convinced of her decision to open up to the small boy. “Mayfield is kind of like a club…an organization.”

The boy gripped hold of her arm, suddenly looking nervous, all the while keeping his eyes directly on hers.

“Tell it like a story, Pru, with all the voices, like you normally do?” he asked, looking ever so small again. She pushed back his hazel-colored locks behind his ear, peered into his big, blue, eyes, and smiled a smile that was meant to soothe his troubles, his fears, and confusion.

She picked up his old teddy, the only one he had, one which she had bought him for this fourth birthday, tucked it inside his cover, and set herself up straight. She then theatrically cleared her throat, making him give her a toothy grin before she began:

Once upon a time, about three hundred years ago, to be precise, a small town, not too far from here, was mourning the loss of a young woman called May Fields. She was a widow, much too young to be one, but a widow nonetheless. Her husband had died of brain fever, or what we would now call sepsis. She had no children and kept herself to herself. She was very beautiful, very kind, and had already captured the eye of many male suitors in town.

When they discovered her body, the town went into a deep state of shock, for nothing of the sort had ever happened since anyone could remember. Besides, who had wanted to hurt such a beautiful spirit? It was only on further inspection that it was discovered poor May had been drowning in debt, for her husband had left her with nothing. Not wanting to tell anyone about her unfortunate situation, she had turned to an unscrupulous man from another village and borrowed money from him.

May made very little as an embroiderer, and it did not pay the money she needed to keep up with her now mounting debt. Her neighbor admitted to seeing this man, a stranger to their village, visit her several nights a week. It was surmised that either the man or May herself, had ended her life before he departed that very same night.

The town itself was run by four men: Abraham Boone, the town sheriff, Noah Fox, a doctor, Raphael Lawrence, a judge, and Julian Steele, a wealthy businessman. They were seen as pillars of the community, the most intelligent and moral of all the inhabitants in the area. The news of May’s death had spread and was causing people to become unsettled, almost riotous; something which was playing on all the gentlemen’s minds.

They came together to discuss what could be done to ease everyone’s concerns. Fox could not understand why May had not gone to them or at least sought help from someone she was close to. Boone couldn’t explain how a man from outside the town’s borders had been able to come in and out without detection. Whereas Lawrence and Steele voiced their concerns over the town’s reputation. They all agreed, however, that something had to be done.

Together, after weeks of discussion, they came up with an idea that would hopefully solve their problems and make life better for a lot of people. They would create an organization designed to help serve and protect those who belonged to it. People would be free to join and would only be expected to give up a small percentage of their wage, meaning that the wealthiest would give more, while those who earned little, could give less, and still be protected.

The organization would give to those who needed it, offering them legal, health, and financial protection. They would live by a strong set of morals, including fairness, justice, and equality for all. Every member’s child would automatically belong and be educated by their strict guidelines, so that generations in years to come, would grow up in the ‘goodness’ that the organization wished its members to follow.

When put to the town, the people cheered and were more than eager to sign up to what would be known as May Field’s legacy, ‘Mayfield’. Never again would people have to fear what May had endured, for they knew they belonged to something that would help them no matter what.

Its leaders, the four men who had come up with such a plan, vowed to protect the village until they were no longer able to, at which time they would pass their role onto their first-born son. The people were happy, their fears relieved, and the town began to flourish again.