Elyse Downy returned to her apartment where she lived with her mother carrying a bag of groceries. Her black hair was tied to the back of her head and she wore a pair of dark sunglasses. Her frumpy clothes and quiet demeanor were designed to make her inconspicuous, but all it really did was make her stand out even more. Still she did what she could to not draw attention to herself. It had been that way as far back as she could remember, although she was forbidden to talk about the past.

Her mother had this rule that they never talked about the past even as little as a month. Even though she was never allowed to talk about those things she never forgot them. One of the things she did so she wouldn't forget was keep a diary. Having moved fourteen times in the last ten years she felt it necessary to keep a diary just so she knew for sure where she had been and where she was at the moment. She managed to hide her diaries from her mother who would have more than likely destroyed them.

As she came through the door with her hands full she didn't bother closing it and walked to the kitchen area and dumped the bags on the counter. She could hear the noise of neighbors' kids running and playing up and down the hallways. Elyse paid it no mind since she was used to the noise. The last place they stayed was worse with two people having been shot out in front of their door.

One of the reasons her mother insisted on them skipping town once again was to avoid any publicity. She hated all the hiding and never quite understood her mother's paranoia, but she had no choice but to go along with it.

When she started to put away the groceries she heard a loud noise and turned around to see a basketball fly into the apartment and land on the coffee table. It didn't break anything, but it was enough to wake her mother who was sleeping. She got a job working the nightshift at the local convenient store down the street and slept during the day. It was at least another hour before she had to wake up, and she was always cranky if she had to get out of bed before she had to.

"Elyse!" she screamed while coming into the doorway. Elyse had the ball in her hand just as a young boy of no more than seven appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, that's mine," he said and Elyse threw the ball back to him. "Thanks, lady." With his last word he disappeared down the hall as quickly as he appeared. Elyse walked over to close the door just as her mother's angry voice filled the air.

"What was that about?" her mother snarled at her.

"I left the door open when I came in," she said and went back towards the kitchen area. She continued to put away the groceries while her mother ranted on.

"Why would you do that?" her mother continued to yell at her. "You know how these people are? Do you do these things just to torment me?"

"Why is everything always about you?" she asked. She had just put the last of the food away and stumped off into the bathroom. Before she could close the door her mother blocked the doorway so she couldn't. "Leave me alone."

The older woman refused to move, and Elyse responded by pulling off the black wig revealing that underneath her real hair was a very light blond. It was cut short and although she preferred her real hair her mother forced her to wear dark wigs after she refused to dye it any longer because the regular dye jobs was destroying her hair and irritating her scalp.

"Put that back on," her mother said.

"No," Elyse said and threw the wig in the sink.

"I said put it back on," she said and picked it up and tried to hand the wig back to her, but she refused to take it and pushed her mother out of the way and stumped off to her bedroom. Her mother followed. "Don't ignore me when I talk to you."

"Go away and leave me alone," Elyse said and tried to escort her mother out of her room, but the older woman responded by grabbing her hair and shoving her across the room. Her back hit the dresser and she fell to the floor. She looked up and saw that her mother had a large clump of her blond hair in her hand.

Elyse didn't say anything as her mother tossed her the wig. Her cold stare sent chills through her body. "Put it on."

This time Elyse complied and put the wig back on, even though her head was throbbing from where her mother had pulled out her hair. She silently cursed the woman for treating her so badly. Her mother left the room leaving her there on the floor.

Can you guess who Elyse really is?