Arabelle

Chapter 1 - The Awakening

Bella's POV

I woke up drenched in cold sweat for the seventh night in a row, my heart beat wildly in my chest, my surroundings looked familiar but also very unfamiliar at the same time, it took me a while before I finally gathered my wits around me, I looked around, I noticed I was in my room at home, the cream walls, the plush white sofa, the window and my pictures suddenly made me feel secure, they proved it had just been a dream, a very vivid dream indeed but a dream nonetheless.

It took a few minutes before my breathing stabilized and my brain started functioning properly, I had had this same reoccurring dream for the last seven nights, I felt everything the girl had felt, she had looked exactly like me, I felt every heartbreak she felt, I felt the sorrow deep in my heart, even now, as I sat on my bed, I still felt a sadness I couldn’t explain, I remembered every detail vividly, how she had felt when the blade had pierced in to her chest, how the heat of the fire had scalded her body, I remembered the man's voice very clearly, his face hadn’t been very clear in my dream, but his eyes were imprinted into my memory, his eyes were very different and was difficult to miss in a crowd.

I exhaled deeply, it was still dark outside, everyone would be asleep by now, I stood up from the bed knowing it was a futile attempt trying to go back to sleep, I walked over to my bathroom and washed my face, my reflection looked very tired, I felt very tired, the continuous interrupted sleep was taking its toll on me, I just hoped the dream will stop soon because college resumes on Monday and I was not sure I could deal with this drama combined with my school work, this was my last semester and I didn’t want anything messing it up, I couldn’t wait to graduate and start working with Mum.

I looked at my reflection one more time, I took a deep breath, I didn’t have time to be distracted this semester, I would treat the dream as just that, a bothersome dream that needed to be ignored.

With this thought in mind, I walked out of the bathroom.

************

“You are up early” mum said once she saw me sitting on one of living room sofas 4 hours later,

I smiled at her “yeah I woke up really early today, I had gone jugging, it wasn’t that long ago I got back” I answered

“You look tired honey” Mum said as she sat opposite me on one of the sofas,

Nothing gets past my Mum, she noticed everything “Just having trouble sleeping, its nothing to be concerned about” I said with another smile

Mum looked me for while then she said “want some coffee?”

I laughed “ I could get Sofia to make it for you” I said

Mum waved her hand at me, dismissing my suggestion, she walked glamorously to the kitchen in her silk royal blue robe, she was bare footed as she normally was, mum only put shoes on when she left the house, she was always bare footed at home, even when she had guests.

I followed behind her, I wondered how her hair could be so neatly arranged judging from the fact that she just woke up, but then again, I always thought my mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.

She had black hair that stopped just below her shoulders, a pair of clear blue eyes, a nose that belonged on a porcelain doll and a body that seemed to defy the laws of time, she could easily pass off as my sister, people had often thought she was my elder sister anytime we went shopping or took a walk together.

I watched her move around the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers, mum almost never set foot in the kitchen, even when Dad was alive, she never cooked, she always said she had grown up like a spoilt princess and princesses certainly never learnt to cook and Dad agreed with her completely, he loved her way too much to ever find any fault, Dad simply adored Mum and so did she, I was witness to their love, I grew up seeing how much my parents loved each other and I always wanted a love like theirs, no one had thought mum would be able to recover from the shock of losing Dad, she was unconscious for 3 whole days when she heard her husband had died in a plane crash, I prayed everyday by her bedside hoping she would wake up, on the third day, she opened her eyes and gave me a smile, then she told me not to cry and that we would be okay, that was seven years ago.

“Bella darling, could you tell me where the coffee beans are kept” mum said, she was still busy opening cupboards

I couldn’t help the small smile that crept into my face “just forget it mum, sit down and let me do it” I said and pulled her to sit on one of the kitchen stools, she wanted to protest

“remember what happened the last time you tried to cook anything?” I asked

Her face paled, she sat down calmly on the stool “I will let you handle it then” she said

I smiled, the last time she had tried cooking something, she ended up smoking the entire house, I still don’t know how she managed to do it.

I opened one of the cupboards and took out the coffee jar, I heard mum scoff behind me “show off” she muttered

I laughed and said “ I am gifted, what can I Say?” I shrugged humbly

Mum laughed “ just make me coffee already young lady” she said

“Yes my lady” I answered with a mock bow

Mum laughed “you are quite a character Bella”

I smiled and said “ I wonder who I take after”

Mum gave me a clueless look and casually shrugged her shoulders, “ I have no idea what you are talking about”

I laughed as I mixed the coffee and put in two spoons of sugar in mum's cup just how she liked it, I placed it before her with the flourish of a highly experienced Batista,

Mum laughed and sipped her coffee with glee “you could make a career out of you know” she said with a wink.

“As I said before, I am gifted” I said with another shrug

Mum laughed as I took a seat before her and settled down to also drink my coffee as well,

“So how's Danny?” Mum asked, a sly smile played at the corner of her lips

My face lit up immediately at the mention of Danny, Danny was my best since we were children, there was hardly anything that Danny didn’t know about me, he was the second most closest person to me, my mum being the first, Danny was someone I could definitely count on even if the sky was falling.

“ He is doing alright, he sent me a ton of pictures from his last trip to Japan, he should be back in the country on Saturday “ I answered,

Mum still had that coy smile on her face and she was looking at me weird

“ what is it this time Mum?” I asked

“ when do you think Danny is going to ask you out?” Mum said with enough excitement to put my college cheerleading team to shame,

I almost choked on my coffee “Mum!!!” I said looking at her in utter disbelief,

“what? You guys are already as good any boyfriend and girlfriend could ever hope to be, you just need to make it official “ Mum answered with a dismissive wave of her hand which I dutifully ignored,

“Danny is just like a brother to me and you have known him since he was a child” I said trying to make a point,

“well he is not your brother now is he? And the fact that I have known him almost all his life makes him the perfect choice, I know how much he cares for you and I know he won’t do anything to hurt you, he is a good, that much I can testify” Mum answered

She was giving me a rather serious look, I couldn’t believe she was serious about this, she had always been extra nice to Danny but I assumed it was because he was my best friend, I had no idea she was thinking along this direction.

“You are impossible Mum, that’s all I can say” I said to her and as a reply, she gifted me with a teasing smile.

“Well this impossible woman needs to get ready for work, a doesn’t run itself you know” Mum said after draining the last of her coffee,

I shook my head, my Mum was an unrepentant drama queen, I watched her walk elegantly out of the kitchen, she stopped when she got to the door,

“you should get some rest dear, you look like a walking corpse” she said and walked away.

I smiled, Mum was indeed a tough one to handle at times but that was what kept my life interesting.

I grabbed the two cups off the table and turned to put them in the sink when I suddenly tripped and the cups flew out of my hands and into the air,

I screamed and suddenly everything froze, I wasn’t falling anymore and the cups were frozen mid-air, I righted my standing position, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing right now, I blinked twice thinking that maybe I was imagining things but the cups remained exactly as they had been,

Slowly, reluctantly I reached my hand out to touch them and just as shocking as it was that they were floating, they shockingly came crashing down to the floor, pieces of the ceramic cups flew in every direction, I screamed again and fell to the floor, I lay on the floor breathing hard, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, maybe I was having another dream but I knew this was no dream, it was real, very real indeed.

“Oh my God, Bella!!!, honey are you okay?” I heard Mum's voice say from somewhere in the distance, I couldn’t answer her, I was still in shock

“Sofia, please get the broken pieces cleaned up before someone gets hurt” I heard Mum say as she approached me,

“ Oh my Bella, you are bleeding” Mum said as she quickly grabbed my left hand, hearing her say this, my attention turned over to hand and saw that there was a cut on my left wrist, some drops of blood had fallen onto the white marble floor, I had no idea I had hurt myself

“common honey, let’s this cleaned up quickly” Mum said sounding very worried

“ it’s just a small cut, you don’t need to worry so much” I said trying to comfort her

“ I don’t care, just get up already, and why do you look so pale? You look like you saw a ghost” Mum said, she was talking very fast as she normally did whenever she was worried,

I held hand and squeezed I gently, she raised her head to look at me, I smiled “ really I am okay Mum” I said,

She nodded her head, I saw that she had relaxed a little “common let’s get this treated” she said calmly

“Yes mum” I answered and got to my feet with a little discomfort but I kept the smile in place for Mum's sake

As she led me out of the kitchen, one thought kept playing in my head “what the hell just happened?”