Hello!!

Hi everyone...yes I'm still alive. Okay, I have been down on the ball writing my story...plus I have been writing another one at the same time...hehe...here it is!!

It was the summer I turned 17 that everything changed, from my family to everyone I knew, I guess you're thinking I should know that things change...I do, and did, but I wasn't ready for what happened, and I don't think I would have ever been. Part of me wishes life could have gone on just like it always had, and the majority of me is relieved it happened, it made me free.

Morning came with the voice of mama and papa. I slowly crept down the stairs the the living-room door, they stopped talking for a minute,

“Tom? Did you hear something?”

“No.”

“What do you think?”

“About what dear?”

“about Adriana?”

“I don't know...it might be a shock to her...”

“Honey...there’s no doubt it will give her a shock.”

“I mean like depression...”

I was having a hard time deciding whether to go in and ask what it was about, but something told me it would be wiser to remain hidden.

Strangely enough I had been getting this feeling of hostility when they spoke to me lately, I couldn't really explain it, but it was there, and I kept having this urge to flee when they hugged me.

“She might leave.”

“That's the least of our troubles Alice.”

“Then what?”

“She knows to much about this side...if you get my meaning.”

“I haven't thought of that.”

“and she's starting to look an awful lot like them.”

“...yes..that worries me too.”

“She's mixed...that much is clear...and that's the worst part.”

“Yes...but I've gotten so close to her.”

“Alice, you don't mean you haven't noticed?”

“noticed what?”

“She has been acting strange toward us...like she knows...”

“oh don't say that Tom...she's a good girl...please let me tell her...”

“Ok...be prepared to lock her up though.”

“The ceiling's creaking, I think the kids are up.”Alice says and their conversation stops abruptly.

I had started suspecting I didn't belong here when my brother Jack started looking at me strange and I started feeling odd toward him, like we had grown apart. We had been really close as kids, but that had all changed a couple years ago, when I was thirteen...

...I was walking in the woods one bright morning, just glad to be alive, when Jack jumped out at me, he gave me his weird look and started walking with me, my good feelings started to disappear.

“I need to tell you something.” he had said, and when I didn't answer “you're not really my sister...” I stared at him, “really Jack, try being mature!” I felt mad, at him and at myself, him for teasing me and myself for having these feelings towards him...

Our brother sister relationship had gone downhill from there, he had proceeded to tell me the rest of the story, which I hadn't believed, now I needed to talk to him.

“hey Jack?”I call, and he looks up “wanna walk with me for a bit?”

He looks up from his work,“since when do you talk to me?”

“Since this morning.” I say and begin to walk away,

Jack stops what he's doing and comes after me, wiping his dusty hands on his pants.

“What?”

“we need to talk...” I look at him briefly and charge ahead of him. It was evening, I remember this morning vividly.

“'bout what?”

“You will see soon enough,” I pause and look behind me. Sure that nobodies following I turn toward Jack,

“OK, Jack, what do you know about my past...”

He looks at me puzzled,

“Before I came here.”

Jack nods,

“Nothing...I only know a few predictions and suspicions about your past before you came here.”

“Tell me!” I plead, “I need to know!”

“...you were two years old when you came to us, I was little myself...Mother and Father agreed not to tell you where you came from...”

Jack looked into my eyes “...they say you came from the forbidden country...” Jack sighs and then continues, “you showed up on our doorstep in the middle of January...we thought you were going to die...yet there was something about you that was different...father didn't want you in the house...but mother pitied you and wanted to take care of you as her own...because of the daughter she had lost two months earlier...” Jack looks at me again, “that's all I know.”

“Jack?”

“yeah.” he was sitting on a log pulling grass up with his bare toes, I can hardly suppress a giggle as I watch him,

“Are you sure that's all you remember?”

“...truthfully...no.” Jack's face was serious now,

“what else...I need to know,” I was scared of the truth and was worried there would be something about my past that would get me killed...if my mother was a native to the forbidden country...if both my parents were native...they would surely hang me when they found out...if they found out. I pushed these thoughts away and sat down at Jack's feet, who is staring thoughtfully up at the sky,

“well...you were about two, I remember you just cryin an cryin about your mother...you said she had told you she would come back for you later...but she never did, maybe she came back but saw you had forgotten her and decided against taking you back...” Jack hesitated...”you had been hurt...like beaten...you had a black eye and your lip was bleeding really bad...that was all we knew about you, then about two weeks later a man comes up to our door and pounds on it telling us we had better let him in...” Jack looked at me,

“don't hold anything back,” I assure him,

“...we didn't let the man in...but father found a note on the door the next day...it said that they had killed your mother for who she was and that you were next...it said they didn't care how long it took, they would hunt you down and get you...that's when the border security doubled and nobody, not even the traders were allowed in or out of the forbidden country...that's all I know.” he finished and stretched out, and started pulling grass up with his toes again, I didn't laugh, my mind was racing, “kill me?” “who was my mother?” “what did she do?” I twisted my fingers through the tail of my braid, I had to find out.

“Jack?”

“mm?”

“I have to find out who my mother was...or is.” I try to look convincing but judging the look on Jacks face I guess I didn't do to well,

“Adriana...that's suicide!!” he jumps up “you can't do that!”

“I can and I will...I no longer have any ties here.” I snap. If my mother was some murderer or had some other bad name, I had to find out.

“Don't...”He stops, ”please.” his face was white and I knew he was genuinely scared. I pulled my scarf up over my head, it was getting chilly.

“Jack...you can't stop me...” I close my eyes and breath deeply, “it's my destiny Jack, I feel it inside,” I suddenly feel like a weight has been lifted off me without me even knowing I had one, my breath comes out with force, and when I inhale I felt the air go down deep into corners crevasses I didn't know existed. My energy pulses through me, my mind races, nothing in the whole world could describe the feeling of freedom I feel.

At home, the house is quiet...the children are having their midday nap.

I look down at the holy water on the shelf by the door. For years I have been rebelling the strong universion rule of dipping your hand in the holy water and washing your face with it every time you entered the door.

“don't forget to cleanse yourself Adri!” my “mother” whispered loudly from the adjoining kitchen, separated only by a thick curtain.

“I know.” I tell her truthfully and walk up the stairs to my room.

After a while there is a gentle tap on the door, “Adri?

“Yes?” I roll my eyes and remove my headphones, the sign above the door says it's Jack,

“may I come in?” He asks

“yes.”I quickly hurry around the room picking up clothing and shoving it under my desk.

Jack comes in and looks around, “I'm coming with you.” he says and sits down on my swivel chair that all the wheels had broken off of. He clears his throat and I can tell he wants me to say something,

“Um okay, but I don't need you.” I reply coldly,

“I'm still coming.”

Surprised, I sit down on my bed, he looks around nervously.

“what's wrong.” I ask, I know that look.

“um...mom...and dad, well, they are going to report you.”he looks at the door again, “like within the week...they may have already.”

My heart almost stops beating, “already?” I choke, feeling tears well up, filling my vision, I have been betrayed. My instincts scream “run” and I look at Jack, he stands and dashes to the window.

“Yes...we still have time.”

Outwardly I don't care whether Jack comes or stays. But inwardly I'm glad somebody is coming with me. I fling some clothes into my bag, and stumble to the emergency provision box, after I enter the code it opens and I take out all the nonperishable food.

Jack joins me as I run past his room, and we crawl out through the garbage shoot. The exit is behind the house in the woods, perfect for our secret departure.

When we enter the woods, we both creep silently up the the camera alarm, Jack covers it with his hat and runs past it pulling me with him, we stumble through the woods as fast as we can, ducking branches and dodging obstacles. Then we stop, the alarm is blaring loudly. Jack starts running again, and I feel like a rag being yanked along behind him.

More coming later...(oh and scrap the other one, I'll probably never finish it...sorry!!)

Thanks for reading!!

~

Abbey