Curse of the Phoenix

I picked up a photo frame from my nightstand and put it in the suitcase. Before closing it, I looked at the photo. I remember we took that photo at my brother’s 15th birthday. Me, my mother, father and brother were very happy back then. Now it’s just a memory, a beautiful memory. I'm never going to see my family again, because they died a few months ago. Now everything I feel is pain, everything I see is nightmares. That void inside me is a torture and all I want is close my eyes and be numb. But as much as I try I never succeed. After my parents died, my uncle Jordan got custody till I turn 18. Uncle and I were never very close to each other. He is a rational person who relies on common sense rather than emotion. You will never see him showing any emotions. Even though he is not a very sensitive or compassionate person, he's not a bad person either. Just much different than my father was. Uncle Jordan decided that till I turn 18 I will spend a year in a boarding school. He says that it would be the best thing for me, because he travels a lot and has no permanent home. I wasn't fascinated by this decision, but I had no other choice. Travel with him or go to a boarding school. I realized that I would be causing him difficulties while he is traveling from one place to another. Also, school transfers would cause a lot of inconvenience. Besides, no matter where I am or with whom, I still feel an emptiness that no one can fill. From now on I’m alone and I have to deal with it by myself. So, it’s just one year. “Amelia, are you coming? We have a long road ahead of us.” Uncle Jordan called me from the kitchen and awakened from my thoughts. I took my luggage, looked around my surroundings for the last time and left my room. I walked across all the rooms for the last time, stopped in the kitchen and took a deep breath to remember the smell. I can feel tears in my eyes and I can’t stop myself from crying. I would give anything to see my mother humming while she is baking a cake, or my dad and my brother discussing something as if life depended on it. Felt Jordan hand on my shoulder from behind me. “Are you ready?” “Yeah, I am.” I cleaned tears from my face and turned around. He has some similarity to my father, same brown hair, big green eyes and long face. “You know, I miss him too” he looked around the house. “Even he was annoying sometimes with his stupid jokes. “The corners of his lips rose a bit, then he sighed and looked at me. “But you lost him too early, you lost all of them too early and I know it’s hard for you. But I believe you’re strong, you have to be strong, okay? If you need something, don’t hesitate to ask. I will always help you. “Thank you, uncle. I’ll be fine”. I made a simper smile to make sure that he believed what I said. It’s true, it is very hard to lose people that you love. “Come, we have to leave” Just looked around the house for the last time and left. —————— The journey took more than five hours towards the northern part of the country, to Rivertown. So it's no wonder why the weather became so cloudy and wet. When I got out of the car, cold weather hit me. It was getting dark already, but it was still possible to see large school grounds and surroundings. The strong wind was moving trees, which had already begun to turn yellow. I could smell a damp forest, which surrounded the school's territory. And the school? It was much bigger and older than expected. It reminds me of a castle with several towers. The walls look dirty and faded, the windows are various sizes and have the shape of the arch. This view around me made my body shiver. “Miss Amelia Rivera, we've been waiting for you.”Woman's voice on the stairs by the front door scattered me. She began to walk forward our car. “I’m Kristina Antoni Frederica, the headmaster of this school.” She came closer and shook my hand. I noticed that she has perfectly tidy hair, a few wrinkles around her light blue eyes and a set of sharp features of the face. “I’m Amelia’s uncle Jordan Rivera. Nice to meet you Ms. Frederica.” Also uncle and headmaster shook their hands. “Nice to meet you Mr. Rivera. Welcome to Dark River Boarding School. We are excited that you choose this school and we promise we will take care of Amelia as best as possible.” She smiled. “Thank you very much, Ms. Frederica.” “Miss Amelia, you can say goodbye to your uncle. After that these men will show you the way to your room and help you carry your things. “ She waved her hand towards the staircase where she was standing before. From there, two men were walking towards the car.” In the meantime, Mr. Rivera and I will discuss a few things and when I will let him go.” She looked at uncle. “Yes, of course.” He nodded to the headmaster. “Also, Amelia, this is your lesson schedule, school map and all the information and rules that you should know.” She gave me several leaflets with a lot of reading. “Thank you, Mr. Frederica.” I nodded. “Amelia, come here“ Uncle spread his arms and hugged me, even if he's not so keen on it, but he knew that I needed it.” Be safe, and call me if you need something.” “ Okay, I will.” And I squeezed him even harder. Men took my luggages and I followed them to the building. As soon as I walked through the door, I felt a strange feeling in my body, like a premonition or a sixth sense, telling me that something bad might happen and that I have to run away, but at the same time I feel as if I belong here. This strong ambiguous feeling makes me feel nauseous. Inside the school the walls also look old and cold. Most of the walls are covered with antique paintings and portraits. Ceilings are high and the windows are not wide enough to provide enough daylight. This building even makes me feel worse. Maybe I made a mistake by coming here, maybe I would be better with uncle? Even if it's a mistake, it's too late to change my mind. I looked around, here in the colliders, there were many students standing and chatting, others rushing somewhere. Everyone seems so busy that they don't even notice me. But I'm not complaining, it's just that part of me wishes I could be in their shoes, just forget what happened and be able to be happy. In a few minutes we reached my room. One of the men knocked on the door. A girl with blonde curly hair opened the door, from her facial expression it’s possible to say she’s annoyed that we interrupted her peace. “What?” “You have a new roommate,” the man said. “Oh” she smiled a bit and opened the doors widely .“Okey, come in then. I’m Reyna, this girl is Caroline” she showed the girl with straight long dark hair who was sitting on the bed near doors and reading a book. She has a slim body and face, and deep dark eyes. Her dark clothes made her aura even darker. But Reyna has light green eyes and an oval face and she is much shorter than Caroline and her enthusiasm started to spread around the room. “What’s your name?” “I’m Amelia” stepped into the middle of the room and looked around.” Nice to meet you” “There is a spare bed” Caroline looked at me with a stern look and showed me with her hand in the back of the room. I took my luggages, because the men had already left, and walked to my bed. “So where are you from, Amelia?” Reyna asked and sat on the bed between mine and Caroline’s. “From the Southern part of the country, from Gale Town. “Oh really? I have never been there. I believe the weather is much better than here. I am from western part of the country. I can’t wait to go home already actually. I miss my family and friends..” I can easily imagine, because I also miss my family. “Do you have any siblings?” Reyna asked. “I had” I said quietly and lowered my eyes. I didn't like to talk about it, because I knew if I did, I would burst into tears immediately. “Ohh… I’m sorry.” Reyna said. “It's nothing, it's fine” I lied. “I'm here because I've lost my family.” I told her this hoping that she would not ask any more questions on this subject. “My condolences… How did this happen? “ Still she asked. “Don't be offended, but I really hate to talk about it” I answered to her. “Ohh, I understood.” I wanted to interrupt the uncomfortable silence so I asked “Is this place not creepy for you?” She grins a bit and answers. “At first I thought it was, but then it turned into my second home. It's really not as awful as it may seem…” Then she began to talk about her departure, about the friends she met. She told me about the important people who are studying here, also about the unwritten rules to follow. After a while of our conversation I lay down on the bed, took out my headphones and turned on the music. I needed to rest after the trip.