"Do you remember where you were, when you were called up to this life?"

Maria stared into the small fire she'd built on the edge of the park, in the shelter of the trees. Grateful for the warmth on the chilly spring evening, several finely dressed folks had gathered around. Somebody had even brought along some marshmallows to toast. It was quite lovely. And more than anything else, it reminded her of her upbringing, just outside of Chicago. Summer evenings spent either around a fire by the woods not far from her home, or at a campsite by a lake, or, well, just about anywhere. It didn't matter. Good friends, good company, perhaps a little pot or a bottle of moonshine if it could be scored... she missed those days. 

They were gone though. The thought of the last of them, her farewell to Chicago, to her old life, to her friends and to her family at home, brought a sharp stab of pain through her heart. The long bus trip to New York had been slightly unpleasant to say the least and she couldn't say she was thinking all highly of city living so far. The idea of the only trees around being surrounded by sky scrapers and busy roads was almost enough to have her ready to scream. And, well, it was a good job she wasn't here to work a white collar job, to put it that way. She'd grown up hunting and couldn't imagine never being able to shoot again. 

She sighed softly as the sun dropped down a little more in the sky. Expertly picking her marshmallow off its stick, she ate it quickly.

"I remember where I was. I was just getting home from work. I was a secretary with the local building firm. My mother encouraged me to take a typing class in high school, it saw me well when I got to looking for work. I thought that was my forever, y'know? I was the first woman in my family who had a get out clause, who wouldn't be expected to keep the family name alive here. I was the first one entirely in control of her own destiny, and it felt good. I was a twin. The first in the family, the first in the family to even have siblings. And my brother, god he lived for this way of life. Even as a kid, if anyone asked him what he was gonna be when he grew up, he'd flat out tell you a gangster. That's just who he was."

She stares deeply into the fire, the flames reflecting back in her eyes, tears shining softly though not escaping.

"But... he's gone now. And before I could even accept that he was gone, I knew it had to be me. I sat in my chair at home and I realized that it was on me now. That I had to pack up my things and head on out. And now... here I am. 

How about you all?"

"Do you remember where you were, when you were called up to this life?"

The words echoed through Dans mind. Dan was not a young man as he once was. He had some difficulty remembering the exact time and place in life when he knew from that moment forward, he would be in the life.

He sat by the small fire that Maria had made. Others were sitting around and laughing, some even roasting the marshamallows that were brought by someone. He however couldn't stop thinking about the question. It intrigued him.

"Hmm. I grew up as a poor second generation Irish American here. I remember I was helping a friend of my fathers on a local pig farm. The man that my father knew so well had asked me to help him with something.. I remember seeing two bags. They were very large.. Large enough to fit a body. It was at that point I knew what this farm did. My father mentioned great things about this man and to listen to his every word. It was that day I knew I would be in this life of sorts, just not in that particularly disgusting part of sifting through pig feces to help dispose of.. things."

Dan laughed a little. A now Godfather, starting his life off by helping an old man at a farm disposing of bodies. It wasn't the most glorious way of starting out but it was indeed the way he had started this life in. He enjoyed working at the farm and eventually after the old man retired, he moved to a new one, one with friends. Cantillon had taken in Dan at his farm many years later where they had some interesting times. Dan truly made his bones working at that farm.

"I'm sorry to hear about your brother, Maria. He was a good man. I knew him, but you know that." Dan tried not to look into her eyes. He didn't want her to see the eyes of a killer. The man who killed her brother.

Feeling Dan avoid her gaze, Maria dragged her eyes away from the fire, breaking the soft trance that the flickering flames had drawn her into. Dan had been nothing but nice to her since she'd arrived her, a country girl stuck in the big city, visiting her brothers funeral and feeling entirely confused about the world she was about to step into. Sure, it was tradition, but that didn't make the transition any easier. When she met Dan at the funeral, she'd felt a little better. His bloodlines name had been dotted throughout the family journals as a friend, and she hoped that the friendship would carry through her generation too. 

Still, him avoiding her gaze was... off. The truth would come out, whatever was bothering him would boil to the surface - Maria was sure of that much. As she responded, she tried not to let her concern show.

A humble beginning then, eh Dan? But how did you get from there to... here? I mean, this world is huge, full of people, how do you make it so that you're the one in on hundred who gets to the top? What's your story?

She watched him, as she waited for him to respond. Looking for any flicker of doubt or guilt on his face, for any clue as to his avoidance. 

Tepid felt out of place, he didn't know a single face personally around the small fire burning away, he was only there by following the crowd. Still it was nice to be out, he was so infatuated with Amethyst that all he did was work, work and work some more, she'd been telling him to get out there, make a name for himself and build some connections, though he wasn't too interested in those sort of things, he knew she was right.

The small group around, all laughing, joking and telling how their lives started... But only a few so far, all seemed a happy bunch, like nothing could phase them. DanTheMan, spoke his upbringing with such conviction, like he missed his old life, he spoke it in such a way, if you closed your eyes you could actually put yourself in his shoes. Words were running through the mind of Tepid like an athlete on a track, but none made sense, it was all half sentences, for some reason he couldn't think straight, he wasn't sure whether it was the setting or the group around.

Grabbing a marshmellow from the bag, he not need put it in a stick, he preferred them natural like. He knew at some point he would be spoken to, maybe asked for his upbringing and how he came to be. With all these high profile mobsters around, would he be able to speak? Would they laugh at him for his story? Would they think he's just some crazy dude that got lucky? Who knows, he just hoped he didn't stutter or mumble, he needed to show strength.

Knowing Maria had arrived in New York, Sheamus had stopped by his favourite milkshake stand on his way to meet her. He had brought three mint chocolate shakes along, one for Maria, Dan and himself. He knew it was Maria's favourite. He was sympathetic to her plight; He arrived in New York just as her brother did, and grew to know him as a close friend. They had planned on setting up a newspaper together, and he remembered with fondness the time they wreaked havoc with rival newsstand owners in preparation for their own launch. He too was mourning his passing. He sought to comfort Maria.

Your brother was a great man, Maria. He was truly a close friend to me, and this gives me confidence in saying that he would've been so proud knowing you were here to continue his legacy. I know as well as he did that you can do him proud out here, and I am truly confident that you will do so. You and him are cut from the same cloth, and I know how he loved this business. You can achieve great things here, even greater than he did.

He took a sip of his milkshake as he reached for the marshmallows.

As for my own story, I moved here from Ireland as a teenager. I dreamt of a new life in America... In the big city. I too grew up in the country. I arrived here not knowing anyone or anything. But I was taken in by Dan, and I felt the need to repay the faith he had shown in me. I was so lucky to get this chance. Fortunately, I have been able to do so and I like to think I've been able repay the trust Dan has placed in me.

He turned back to Maria.

Given the time, you'll go far here.

As she sits around the campfire, listening to the others talking about their experiences of how they were 'introduced' into this life, she ponders how much to reveal of her own memories.  Being a southern girl in New York was a cultural shock at first, but Rose was able to adjust quickly in pretty much any given circumstances.  She hasn't lost all traces of her southern upbringing, especially in her accent.  Even though she speaks softly, her southern accent is prominent in every syllable.

Reaching for a marshmallow, and placing on a stick, she begins to watch the flames engulf and blacken it.  Funnily enough that is how she feels at times, a marshmallow on fire, soft and tenderhearted then bursting into flames.  Soft hearts in this life only makes you a target, yet being cold and heartless just isn't her, nor has her ancestry been ruthless or uncaring.  

Blowing on the marshmallow gives her time to scan the faces amongst the crowd.  Rose recognized a few faces here and there around the campfire.  Some already knew her story, or at least bits and pieces of it anyways.  Her ancestry didn't date back very far, but she was third generation Mafiosa.  As she gazes into the campfire, memories flood back to when she first came to these shores.  Rose glances towards Maria, listening to her story of her brother.  She knew him pretty well and was saddened when he passed.  In this life death is inevitable, it is just a matter of when.  

"Your brother will be missed Maria, but I know he would want you to draw strength from his memories, and not uncertainty about anything.  He left a great legacy for you, to inspire you to become great, too."

"We may not get the answers we want in life, but dwelling on things of the past prevents us from moving on."    Sounds good.  If only she can do the same thing for herself.  

"I read the journals left behind from my ancestry, and I wonder how I could do better.  My grandmother could not take the pressures of this life, and sought the easy way out, though at the time she thought it was for the best.  Her journals were very descriptive of how she came to these shores, and described how her new family welcomed her with open arms.  She had a friend who introduced her one day to her family, and though she faced struggles daily, her family stuck by her til the end."

Taking a deep breath, resisting the urge to wipe a tear, as memories flood back from reading the journals.  Friends and family lost here and there along the way.  The struggles that her grandmother faced, and the triumphs that Rose's mother gained along the way, gave Rose the courage to not give up, even though some days seem too hard.  Her mother....she misses her dearly.  Clearing her throat she looks over towards Maria, knowing she understands her turmoil.

"My mother's journals proved what a loving and united family to which she belonged.  When my grandmother had passed, my mother wanted to make her proud and do something with her life.  Sacrifices were made, but goals began to become a possibility.  She worked hard every day proving her worth, and earning her place in her mother's stead.  She was welcomed with open arms as well into the family, but she felt the need to make up for her mother's mishaps."

Taking another deep breath, Rose continues, but keeps things simple.

"My mother died in a war, but after reading how she lived life everyday to the fullest where as my grandmother was unable, it gave me the desire to seek out this family that gave her such joy and fulfillment.  This way of life for me has given me a strong sense of purpose, ya know, it's like I was born to be Mafiosa."

Rose stops speaking, and glances around the campfire, smiling softly to herself hoping she wasn't extremely boring.  Grabbing another marshmallow, her attention is drawn to the flames.