Blindsided

Chapter 1.Beginnings

SIX YEARS LATER

A 12 year old Alana walked down Shrewsbury Road, thinking to herself. S he has had a very uneventful life for the past three years and living with her Aunt Aiofe and Uncle Featherweight had not made it any more interesting. When she moved to the richer part of Dublin, ahe had expected more fun than she had in her life but it seeems the world was laughing at her. Her aunt and uncle always treated her like fine china, expecting her to break at any minute. They were wrong. If anything, Alana was stronger than she had been her whole life. After loosing her father to a heart attack six years ago, she had cried her heart out. She would not talk or look at anybody. She refused to aet for weeks after his daeth. She blamed herself for her fathers death. M aybe if she had not made him talk about her mother, he would have been alive. She reminded him of the thing he loved most and his heart could not keep up. But as she grew, she learnt that a heart attack would not develop in one night and kill a man. She remembered seeing peace in her father's eyes after their discussion that night. She always smiled now because she knew that her father died in peace.

Three years after his daeth, she left the orphanage and moved in with her Aunty and Uncle in Shrewsbury Street were the rich people lived. She did not know that she had rich relatives but it appears that her Aunt, who was her father's brother, had ran off when she was young to get married to a rich man with an incredibly light weight name. It was obvious that Uncle Featherweight loved her Aunt and she always wondered if that was the amount of love her parents shared.

The street was quiet, except for the many snobbish children that were too dependent on their parents wealth. Lost in her thoughts, Alana wlaked past Shrewsbury street and past the next few streets. By the time her conciousness awoken, she was completely lost. She realized now that her maid, Ailis, was right. She had asked her not to go out strolling because she did not know anything about her new street. Alana had never been a fan of the outdoors so she had not gone out alone since she moved. She had gone out in her Uncles small car a few times but always with Ailis. So, as she wandered around the unknown street, she began to think up something that could explain her sudden longing for the outside world. AFter a few minutes lost, she began to hear feet shuffling behind her. It was obvious that she was being followed and was angry about how stupid she was for leaving the house in the first place. She hastened her steps until she found herself at the mouth of an alley. As fearless as she was, she walked into it. She felt something pulling her into the alley and she could not resist. She chose to belive that going into the alley was for her own safety. She felt her feet lighten in the quiet alley. There was not a single ray of light as she looked up wanderimg when the sun disappeared. She got to the dead end and began to listen for any unwanted company. Once she was satisfied that she was alone, she turned around only to come face to face with a screaming boy. It took her a while to realize that she was the one that was screaming. So much for her fearlessness. She snapped her mouth shut and took a step back until her back was against the wall. She looked the boy over and found him to be around her age ; maaybe a year older. He was pale as a ghost and must have had light feet because she did not hear him in the alley. Granted, she did not hear herslf too so the ground must have been covered with smooth sand. To confirm her suspision, she looked down and frowned at the sight of scattered granite.

She looked at the pale boy and smiled. "Are you lost too?" she asked.

He nodded and took a few steps back, his eyes still on her. "I cannot help you though because I am lost too" she said.

He only looked at her as if she was a tree had grown on her head. He seemed frightened by her and she could not see why. Apart from her height, there was nothing strange about her because she had seen a lot of girls her age that towered over her. The boy, on the other hand, was taller than many boys her age too. The only indication of how young he was was his face that looked almost too childish. He looked like someone that had grown without really growing. Yet his eyes looked so old. As though he had seen many generations pass. His clothes were covered in dirt and shrub and was wrinkled all over.

Alana felt a strong wave of pity wash over her and immediately felt the need to protect this boy that did not look he needed protection. She took a few steps towards him and offered her hands to him "My name is Alana. Call me Alie."

He looked at her hands as if trying to decide if she was real. After a few seconds, he took her hand in both of his and smiled at her "Ten" was the only he said.

"Weird name. Where do you live. Maybe we could find it together." she suggested.

He did not answer her but he walked to the wall and sat down. She looked at him, finally understanding why his clothes were so dirty. She nodded and said "Ten" to confirm if it was really his name. When he looked up at her immediately, she smiled and walked up to him. "I'll return tomorrow. Please be here by sun set".

She looked at him one more time before leaving the alley. She did not want to turn back because she feared that she would want to stay with the boy that she wanted to protect.

Ten watched her go and felt satisfied. It had been a years since he said a word to anyone. No one paid him attention and almost believed that he was invisible. His lost memory did nothing to help his cost and it made him feel even worse. But that girl had acknowledged him and even though he knew that it was out of courtesy, he was happy. He was really scared when she walked into his alley but he was now happy that she did. Her name was Alana and he was not sure if she would really come back, but he was willing to wait. Not like he had anywhere to go. He was homeless.