His name was Nathaniel

1

"Finally summer holidays!" Adaliya squealed as she stared out the car window.

Every summer holiday she and her parents would visit her grandparents and stay with them over the holidays, her grandparents live in South Carolina and own a cute cottagecore near the city. Adaliya had been going there every summer since she's 6 years old and recently just turned 17.

She loves it there because when she's there it feels like she can finally live and enjoy her life, even if Adaliya doesn't t have many friends in South Carolina she still enjoys it a lot.

"You can Film your whole summer with the Camera uncle George gifted you" her dad said from the drivers seat, he was the one driving them to her grandparents.

"Oh yes! I will start right now!"

Adaliya looked trough her handbag for her new camera she got for her 16th birthday. It was a cute little cam recorder that fitted perfectly in her small hands.

She moved the screen that way so she could film herself, turned it on and started recording.

"Uhh hey future me, or whoever who's going to see this, right now I'm in the car with my lovely parents-" She greeted and turned the camera to her parents who were happily talking to each other
"Mom, dad say hii" Adaliya cheesed and zoomed into the faces of her parents.

Both her parents said 'hey' and waved for the camera before Adaliya turned it back to herself.

"Soo. We are driving all the way from Atlanta to South Carolina to meet grandma and grandpa. So exciting I know. We are almost there and- Oooh! Look we can already see the water!" She squealed and quickly filmed the landscapes and ocean they drove by.

"That means we are almost there! I can't wait to see my grandparents again. Talk to you later" She said to her camcorder and turned my it off.

"As soon as we arrive you can get us any ice cream you like, yeah sweetie?" Her mom offered
"Of course mom thank you" She said giddily

•

Adaliya and her parents arrived pretty early at her grandparents house. It was hot and the sun was still up.

While her parents calmly stepped out the car and unloaded their luggage Adaliya instead ran over to her grandparents who had been waiting patiently for their arrival.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" She yelled loudly and ran towards their laughing bodies to engulf them in a tight embrace.

"I missed you guys so much"
"We missed you too hun" her grandpa said chuckling.

After long and tight hugs Adaliya went already inside while her grandparents greeted her parents.
The house they live in is also where her mom grew up and used to live, that's why Adaliya is staying in her mom's old bedroom.

'I love her bedroom it's so simple yet cute' she thought.
Pastel blue walls, a single yet large bed with rose purple-ish blankets, an office desk, a blue circled carpet, a white dresser and some cute decorations adorned the bedroom.

Adaliya threw her backpack and handbag on the floor and plopped on the bed.
She checked her phone for any messages or more and wasn't so surprised when she saw that she had no new notifications since she told her friends that she will leaving over the holidays.

'I knew my friends don't care about me but they could at least pretend to'

"Liya! Come downstairs and help us please!" Her mom called and she swiftly got up to help them.

•

After they got all the luggage inside, mom gave Adaliya 10 bucks to buy some snacks and ice cream.
The sun was starting to set causing everything to look almost euphoric.

"I love sunsets" Adaliya thought out loud.

She puts on her purple crocs, took her phone and EarPods and went outside.
Adaliya is very known around here so she gets greeted by a lot of people whenever she is outside.

Adaliya entered the local supermarket and got embraced by the fresh air in there, it was really refreshing after being outside for a longer time.

She picked up some ice cream in a tub, snacks and a little drink she could drink on her way home.

"Welcome back Liya" the cashier named Alonzo who Adaliya had known since her first visits here greeted
"How's life?" He asked as he scanned all her products and placed them in a bag.
"Good Good, it's nice being here again" she said smiling
"That's good. That makes then 7.56$"
He said handing her the bag with her stuff inside.

Adaliya gave him the 10 bucks and told him he could keep the change.
"Greet your grandparents for me" he said smiling
"I will, see you soon" She said waving at him before walking out the store.

Adaliya decided to take a different route back home because She enjoyed the area and it's aesthetic so much.

She eventually went so far away that she accidentally walked into the 'rich' part of the Town. She never really liked this part of the island because the people here often thought they are better than people like her.

•

"I'm back!" Adaliya called as she entered inside the house. Nobody responded but she could hear laughter and dishes clanking from the garden.

She placed the bag on the kitchen counter and the ice cream in the refrigerator and walked towards their garden where all that noise was coming from.

Her parents, grandparents and a few local neighbours were eating and chatting together

"What took you so long sweetie? Come have a seat" her mom said smiling widely at her, she could tell that her mom was also happy to be here.

"Uhm no thanks I'm not really hungry right now. I'm upstairs if you're looking for me"

•

After Adaliya took a shower she examined herself in the full body mirror.
Her chocolate skin has always been smooth, thanks to all the body scrubs out there.

Adaliya actually never really cared about the size of her body or had been insecure about it until her body didn't fit into society's  standards anymore, causing her to be insecure about her body and looks. She is somewhat struggling a little bit but is trying to love herself the way she is.

She puts on a pair of comfy clothes and decided to eat the snacks she had bought earlier and read her book she brought until she would eventually fall asleep.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter so far :)
Btw I love the movie spirited away it's been one of my comfort movie since the first time I watched it as a child

Update: Shoutout to my younger self who came up with this idea for a book😂

Anyway what do you guys think of this first chapter?