Chapter 1

I turned my wheelchair and wheeled away from the library.

It was 5pm and my shift as a librarian’s assistant had ended. Normally when I left the library my mind would be filled with the characters from the books that lived there: the tragedy of Romeo, the adventures of Tris and Four, the embarrassment of Anne Shirley as she clung to the bridge and had to be rescued by Gilbert Blythe and the malevolence of Snow.

Today my sadness prevented me from these thoughts. I couldn’t believe I would have to leave the town of Forks. My foster parents, Deirdre and Harry had decided that this town was no longer for them. This was a regular occurrence as they seemed to find it difficult to stay for one place for long.The twelve months we had spent living in Forks was a record for Deirdre and Harry. I had been living with them for six years, since my parents had tragically died in a fire when I was ten. As their foster child, I was obliged to go where they went, no matter how settled I was or how reluctant I was to leave.

This town was the first place I had ever felt at home. I had a school that I loved and a job where I was surrounded by my favourite thing in the world - books. But the most important reason I loved Forks was that I had a best friend - Renesmee Cullen.

We met by chance when I was 15. I had been helping Renesmee get out a book when she turned around and I realised I knew her from school. Over the months we slowly bonded over our love of Shakespeare's writing.

For Christmas, Renesmee had given me a beautiful pink and gold keyring. The words Best Friends that were written in gold had meant everything to me.

[Fun fact: IRL the author was given this key ring by her beloved friend Emily Prior.]

Because we moved so often, I had found it really difficult to form lasting friendships with people. To have a friend I could confide in and rely on was not something I was used to, but it was something I treasured. The thought of leaving her was unbearable. It caused tears to spring to my eyes.

Tonight was the first time I was going to Renesmee's house. It was the last day of the school year and we were supposed to be having a sleepover to celebrate the end of the year. Instead of celebrating, however, we would now be commiserating. I would have to start again. A new town, a new school, a new job and a whole new set of people to get to know.

I manoeuvred my wheelchair from the road and onto the path into the woods.

Renesmee had agreed to meet me halfway down the path. Renesmee lived in a charming little cottage in the middle of the woods, just down the road from her grandparents house.

I heard a rustling under the leaves and saw a snake, its serpentine coil hidden beneath a pile of leaves. It came towards me, its teeth and body glistening mysteriously.

The last thing I remember was Renesmee’s voice calling my name, her voice panicked and then nothing…blackness …

Click here to read Chapter 2.

Soundtrack

While I was thinking about and writing this chapter, I was listening to:

Alone Alan Walker featuring Ava Max

Nuvole Bianche Ludovico Einaudi