CHAPTER ONE: EMBERFALL'S MORNING
295 Words
The first light of dawn spilled lazily over Emberfall, turning the small town’s rooftops a warm amber. Birds chirped in neat, predictable patterns, and the scent of fresh bread drifted from the bakery on Main Street. To most, it was an ordinary Tuesday.
But to Jasmine, ordinary had never meant simple.
She yawned, tugging her messy hair into a loose ponytail, and stared at the stack of schoolbooks on her desk. History, chemistry, literature… all waiting for her attention. She sighed and glanced at the clock. Seven thirty. Time to get ready.
Her little room smelled faintly of lavender and old paper. Posters of constellations and city skylines covered the walls. She liked maps, patterns, things that made sense. The world outside her window—quiet, neat Emberfall—felt safe. Predictable. Boring.
At the kitchen table, her mother was already pouring cereal into a bowl, humming a tune Jasmine couldn’t place. “Morning, Jasmine,” she said without looking up.
“Morning,” Jasmine mumbled, grabbing a spoon. She stared out the window, half-listening to the distant sound of a lawn mower and the soft hum of cars passing by. Nothing unusual. Nothing exciting.
Nothing that could have prepared her for what she had seen the night before.
She shook her head, trying to convince herself it had been a dream. A falling star, a glowing object, a whisper calling her name… It had to be her imagination. Right?
She chewed her cereal slowly, eyes wandering to the quiet street outside. Her friends wouldn’t believe her even if she told them. And even if she told her mother… well, she didn’t want to sound crazy.
Jasmine didn’t know it yet, but the ordinary Tuesday stretching before her was about to be anything but ordinary.
- Writer
