Name: Melina Philips Nickname: Melody Age: 17 Romantic Interest: Noah Dixon Physical Appearance: Long golden blond hair and green blue eyes. Family: Unknown - Ophaned as a child
Background:
Melina's mother put
her on the doorsteps of a New York City orphanage when she was two
days old. She didn't know who her father was or if she had any
siblings.
One of her caretakers told Melina when she was old enough to
understand that her mother was probably a young girl and she couldn't
take proper care of
her.
Melina was a quiet child. She liked to play alone. She wasn't shy, but she just liked to do things on her
own.
She had a soft voice, but when she talked, it was sort of musical. That's when one of her favorite caretakers called her Melody.
Melina felt content in the orphanage. She didn't want to be
adopted by
strangers.
She asked one of her caretakers if she could stay until she was
eighteen. The caretaker told her she could stay until a good family
can be found for
her.
Melina prayed that no such family would be found. She also made sure it wouldn't happen. She would hide when new people came to see the children. With so many children, they didn't notice one was missing. But her
favorite caretaker did
notice, and warned her not to hide anymore.
So when people came to visit the children, she sat on one of the
swings and
watched.
When she was nine, an man and lady with a young girl watched the pretty blond child on the
swing.
The man was named Fredrick Ridd. Mr. Ridd was a railroad owner. He and his family lived in a town called Sweetwater. He heard about the oprhanage from a friend who lived in New
York.
He and his family traveled by train to the orphanage. He wanted a little sister for his twelve year old daughter. His daughter had Polio and lost the use of her legs. They wanted a strong child to
help them with their daughter.
Mr. Ridd asked her daughter, who got everything she asked for, to
pick out the child she
wanted.
Kim, as she was called, talked with her mother. Her mother was
named Jean. Together they decided they wanted the little blond girl on the swing.
It wasn't until seventeen and a half that Melina was really free. Free to be herself and not to wait on Kim or her
mother.
Kim married a month before. A few weeks after, Melina got a job at a
dress shop. Her boss let her board with her. Her boss, Mrs. Wade, was a very nice lady. She was a friend of
Teaspoon.
She told Melina that she coud see Noah Dixon when he is off work. Melina meet Noah about two months prior. She felt something special about the handsome black young man and she hoped he felt the
same way.
The Ridd's didn't like Noah and didn't understand why she
couldn't find a boy of her own
race.
Melina didn't care about what the Ridd's thought. They never
treated her like a daughter. She was just a worker to them. She
always felt like an outcast in the
family.
The only people she felt safe with was Teaspoon, Lou and the
boys. She hoped they felt the same way. She felt that Noah
did.
