The Blakely Legacy: Ezra Moves to Sunset Valley

Founder: Ezra Blakely

LTW: CEO of a Mega Corporation 

Traits: Workaholic, Genius, Ambitious, Family Orientated, Friendly

Likes: Hamburgers, Indie Music, Irish Green

Astrological Sign: Cancer 

   

Although Ezra Blakely never knew his parents, he knew that they were kind people. He could imagine them spending their free time with disadvantaged youth or at the convalescent homes, just trying to make a small difference in the world before their untimely deaths. He had never known what had taken their lives, but he didn't care to know. He knew that nothing can change the past, but he took the pain of growing up without a family and with it, imagined a perfect future.

Because Ezra was such a soft soul, he decided that once he turned 18, he would move out of the big city and to a sweeter and more slow-paced town like Sunset Valley to start his new life. The orphanage in which he was raised allowed him to earn money inside and outside of its walls and by the time Ezra became the mature and spitting image of his father (although no one would ever know), he had accumulated enough assets to purchase a large lot of land on which he dreamt of his perfect future. First and foremost, Ezra wanted to be father, not to just any child, but to an orphan, just like him. He wanted to provide for a poor lonely child what he didn't have but always longed for, always prayed for, but never had. Ezra wanted a wife to kiss every morning who would blush and smile at him. He wanted to wear a suit to work to a tall building where he could proudly call himself the CEO of a small, but growing establishment called Orphan Corps that provides for parents, mentors, and caregivers of orphans the essentials of books and instructive techniques to insure the child has the best childhood imaginable. He wanted to have a dog to greet on his way to his door, even. Ezra had very detailed dreams for himself and he was determined to live them.

It was very difficult for Ezra to get an internship at Orphan Corp when he first moved to Sunset Valley. He was very lucky to accept a job with the local band as a Roadie, but this didn't help his financial situation very much. As he put almost all of his money into the property, he wasn't able to afford even the most essential things, such as a chair to sit in, or  even a bed to sleep in. Instead, Ezra had to resort mostly to eating cereal and brain freeze a la mode on the toilet he bought at the local junk yard. He doesn't mind much sleeping in his sleeping bag either, until the rats come and try to snuggle with him. Ezra really tried not letting it get to him too much, however. Whenever something really frustrating or upsetting happened, he just thought about his future. He thought of the family photos he would be able to display proudly in the family room as he and his  family sat on the couch watching t.v. or sat talking about their day around the family dining table. It would all be worth the pain and discomfort soon enough. The first week is always the roughest.

However, just as Ezra began to settle into his little shack, and began to think of the possibilities of greatness in the town, something terrible happened. Why of all the fancy houses Ezra lived by the burglar decided to sneak into his very humble house, he will never know, but he did. 

Lucky for Ezra, though, the weather happened to be terrible that night and the burglar seemed to have a fear of water. He didn't want to go out into the rain without an umbrella and it was jammed. By time the burglar finally unjammed his umbrella, the cops that Ezra secretly called with his cell phone inside of his sleeping bag had already arrived and took force against the burglar. The two rustled for a bit, while a frightened Ezra looked on. Finally the burglar was taken away and Ezra was able to go back to sleep, but not before thinking hard about the events that had just unraveled on his property. A normal person would be angered and have second thoughts about having moved to Sunset Valley. However, Ezra knew that out of a hundred people, there had to be at least one bad person and he was glad to have gotten him out of the way during his first week. Something deep in his stomach gave him the faith that there were loads of great people out in the town and he just had to put himself out there to meet them. He settled it then and there right as his eyes began to grow heavy: tomorrow Ezra will go into town and prove to himself that Sunset Valley is where he need to be.  

The next day, Ezra decided to visit the park at about noon, but saw very few people. He saw a few young children playing by the swingsets and admired their playfulness and zeal. He yearned for the youth of childhood again, but at the same time was proud of himself for making it so far as a young man. The other three people in the park were a family. There was a mother carrying a toddler and a father talking to her about how hungry he was. Ezra was a bit disgusted with him. He didn't seem very nice to his wife and he complained very loudly, at least loud enough that Ezra could hear all the way on the other side of the pond, But then he heard the woman yell at her husband that she already ordered a pizza and he figured that was probably how their relationship worked. Ezra diverted his gaze away to the water and walked along its edges. He began to think about how when he would get married, he would never ever talk to his wife that way. Nothing would make it so he would ever disrespect a woman, or even another person for that manner, especially if they were holding a child; a part of their flash and blood. He then began to think of how great it would be to have his own son or daughter, someone to look like him. Did he look like his parents at all? Did either of his parents have green eyes like him? Would his children have green eyes?  He was almost lost in thought when he saw out of the corner of his eye something red walk across the grass towards the rude couple. When he looked up, he saw a young woman who has the reddest hair he had ever seen carrying a pizza. Something was pulling him towards her and he knew he had to talk to her.

After she collected the cash for the pizza from the couple, Ezra walked a bit too fast, up to the young woman. He called out to her, and he looked over her left shoulder and stopped when she saw him. He introduced himself and he learned that her name was Autumn Cusack. There was an immediate attraction that he couldn't understand. He had never seen another person so enigmatic, so personable, or so excitable than Autumn. Although Ezra was sweating and shaking slightly, he fought back the nervousness and asked her for her phone number and she obliged. Ezra was jumping with joy inside, but played it cool on the outside. Everything else seemed not to matter anymore, it was all Autumn.

 

The next couple of days were torture. Work seemed to drag on and Ezra didn't even try back for Orphan Corps at all. He spent a lot of time throwing stones into the ocean and drawing hearts into the sand at the beach. He didn't eat and didn't shower. Ezra was so lovesick, he could't even recognize it. He had never felt this way before, has never even felt close. He had dialed her number hundreds of times, but had never pressed "call" for fear of saying something stupid and ruining any chances and happiness. He even ordered about twenty pizzas hoping that she would show up, but it was always a different delivery driver. One day, Ezra gained the courage, after reminiscing about his dreams and aspirations, to call her and invite her to the library. He didn't know where to take her, but he figured that it was non-committal and it didn't give off any bad or creepy vibes, other than that he was perhaps a bookworm or nerdy, which wasn't a bad thing, in his opinion. To his relief and mental and emotion health, she said yes, with a very cheerful voice.

When Ezra arrived at the library, he realized he was about a half hour early, so he decided to go into the restroom and he began to think about what he was doing. What were his intentions? It would be really great to have a friend in this town. Someone to call when he got a promotion, to invite over if he needed to vent about something or needed a shoulder to cry on. But wouldn't it be great to have someone there to hold your hand? Someone to kiss and someone to tell they're beautiful? In the end, Ezra wanted someone close to be himself with. Wherever that relationship went, he'd be fine, but it be great if it went further than just friendship, because telling a woman like Autumn she's beautiful every day of his life would be the easiest thing he'd ever get to do.

When Autumn arrived, Ezra was almost speechless. She did not look anything like she did in her Pizza Palace uniform. It turned out she wore a wig to work for some reason and her hair was more of an auburn, which he found much more lovely. They spent the entire day at the library, looking at comics and laughing together at the sleeping elderly people. They spun the globes and stopped them with their fingers, claiming that's where they would go on their vacations. Autumn said she would invite Ezra on hers with him, if he wanted to go with her. Ezra could only smile.. They learned so much about each other. She learned all about Ezra's sad, but inspiring past and goals for his future. Ezra even learned that Autumn was raised by an aunt after her parents passed away in a car accident when she was thirteen. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life yet, she said, but she had always wanted to stay in Sunset Valley because it felt like home. It was beginning to feel the same for Ezra. 

By the end of the evening, the two could definitely say they were friends. The novelty of embarrassment and nervousness was eradicated within the first few hours and the two even hugged when they said goodbye. As Ezra looked over his shoulder as he walked away from the library, he saw Autumn doing the same. He could do nothing but smile the entire way home. 

Ezra still spend a lot of time at the beach, but instead of wasting away impatience with his relationship with Autumn (or lack thereof), he thought about their future. He still had plans to adopt, but he could imagine a little red-haired child walking between them that shared both his father's soft heart, but his mother's charismatic personality. He knew that this wasn't just a friendship anymore. It was much much more. He was falling in love with her and he couldn't stop it. He didn't want to.

They were spending a lot more time together. She was very supportive of his dreams and gave him tips for his interviewing endeavors. With her help, Ezra got that internship with Orphan Corp and that put him over the edge. If he could feel so wonderful around someone and she can also not only be supportive of his dreams, but help him achieve them, she was the "one".  

Ezra decided to take Autumn to his secret spot by the beach for a special 'date'. He had stayed up most the night before planning, but he knew that he would confess his love for her and kiss her for the first time, kiss a woman for the first time in his life. He told her all he felt; she blushed so violently she almost matched her hair. Finally, Ezra couldn't hold it in any longer and his kissed her and he felt warmth and happiness spread all over his heart and world. 

As it started to rain, Ezra's courage began to grow stronger and he knew that if he didn't ask her now, he would never have the courage again to ask her to be his girlfriend. He watched her eyes grow big and begin to swell with tears. Her cheeks began to flush again and her lips curled up into a smile and although she was so stunned she could not speak, she nodded slowly until Ezra took her into her arms and hugged her tight. He fought the tears, although it was hard. His dreams were coming true.