Dear Laney

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

One year earlier

The sound of the wind blowing gracefully through the trees reaches my ears. The feeling of the sand against my skin beneath me as I lay peacefully on the forest ground with my eyes closed. This was it, I knew it, I felt it as I lay there with my eyes closed and hair spread out on the forest ground. This place was my sanctuary, the one true place I felt at peace with myself. It was the only time my inner demons weren’t at war with me, and the only time I would get to find myself again.

I looked up at the trees when I felt tiny droplets landing on my face, awakening me from my peaceful state as I stared at the sky in confusion. Another drop landed directly between my eyes. It never rains here, at least not in my dreams. It saddens me to admit, but I have never physically been to this place and in all honesty it may not exist. All I know is, whatever I’m feeling is real, even if it's just a dream.

Just then, I felt a wet tongue slide across my face and immediately wake up from my peaceful dream.

“Sarah!” I yelled as she came rushing out of my bathroom with my favourite mascara in hand. “Your insanely adorable dog ruined the best dream ever!” I yelled and gave her a pointed look. “Bean! What did I tell you about waking Aunt Elly up?” Sarah reprimands her dog, or as she always says, her “child”.

“Sarah, you know I love you, right?” she nods slowly “and you’re always welcome here”. She nodded once again with a blank expression on her face, clearly not knowing where this conversation was going. God help my best friend, she’s slow but I love her none the less. “If you don’t mind me asking, what the hell are you doing here at five in the morning?!” immediately her jaw drops. “Oh my God” she says at my confused expression. “You totally forgot, didn’t you?” she says, “Today Ellane, is the first day of college!” she exclaims excitedly. “OH MY GOSH! I have to get done.” I say, barely above a whisper. “Yes, now get up and get done, you stink!” she says as she grabs my hand and rushes me into the bathroom and shuts the door, leaving me alone. I immediately turn on the water as I step into the shower, allowing the ice cold to fully wake me before the water slowly runs warm. I take in the sensation of the hot water running down from my ginger hair making its way down my tan skin.

After finishing up in the shower and brushing my teeth, I finally exited the bathroom to see Sarah laying out an outfit for me. A long black polkadot skirt, white long sleeve crop top paired with black combat boots and my black leather jacket. My best friend sure knows me well. You see, I have always had a “different” sense of style. Sarah and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. We know everything about one another, from the style of our clothes to our mood swings, even our train of thought. We’re basically sisters. I’m brought out of my thoughts when a pair of socks come flying my way. “Wake up i***t, get done!” Sarah says in an annoyed tone, “and quit daydreaming!” she adds as I finish getting ready.

Once I’m done, Sarah starts on my makeup. “What do you think this year will be like?” she asks “Honestly, I don’t know, I just want the year to go by smoothly” I say being completely honest with her. “Well I want to meet someone.” She sighs with a hint of sadness. “What do you mean?” I ask, “Well my whole life I’ve been waiting for the one, ya know, my soulmate. I just hope it will happen for me this year.” She says, sounding sad once again. This confuses me. “So why now? How come you’re expecting Mr. Right to show up now? You’re turning eighteen this year, what’s the rush?” I ask her, “I just, I can feel it coming you know, it’s meant to happen.” Sarah says with a strange look in her eyes, “What do you mean ‘you can feel it’ ‘its meant to happen’?” I ask, something about this conversation raises red flags for me, other than the fact that I hate seeing my best friend down. “O-Oh nothing!” she says hurriedly before shoving a mirror into my face asking me how I like my makeup. Now that was strange. Sarrah and I eventually finished our every morning ritual and made our way to school, extra early might I add, just to watch all the students as they walked around getting to know the place where they would be for the next five to seven years. Where as most seniors wouldn’t bother to look in the direction of the freshmen, this had been a tradition for Sarrah and myself since ninth grade. It reminded us of how we felt when we started high school not too long ago. We did this on the first day of school every year as we indulged ourselves in nostalgia. This year would be our first time doing this at college, hence we lingered and took in as much as we could, nervous and excited to be starting the next chapter of our lives.