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001. the death of corinna hoffman.
THE WATER SURROUNDED HER, ENCASING HER IN HER OWN BUBBLE of comfort as she continued to swim laps, her arms and legs moving rapidly against the clear liquid. It was late, which was blatantly obvious considering the fact that the crescent moon was brightening the sky that hung above her. The stars in which she could name effortlessly twinkled in the dark, causing her to pause every now and then to look up and smile. They always were her favorite.
She swam a while longer, the water being able to calm the thoughts that occupied her mind endlessly. Tonight was the anniversary of her death, a day made to be dull since her end. So in order to rid herself of the dark thoughts that came with grief, Corinna Hoffman did what she did best—she swam, and she swam, and so on, until her limbs finally grew tired and she moved to sit on the edge of the pool, her legs still dipped in the water.
She could hear the crickets chirping nearby, and occasionally saw the bright yellow light emitted by fireflies as they danced in the sky. Despite the ache in her heart that only seemed to heighten this time of year since four years ago, Corinna was content. She'd finally found a good group of friends—a strawberry blonde girl that first befriended her their first day of grade five, and a raven-haired girl that arrived to town the beginning of last year. And her sister was as sisterly as ever, reminding her each and everyday of the expectations she was supposed to up-stand as a Hoffman. This was her parents' doing, of course, Lilah was simply only reminding her for the sake of not wanting Corinna to be sent away to an all girls private school in London.
Corinna sat on the ledge for a while longer, her pale skin quickly drying due to the hot air nipping at her skin like mosquitoes, only her legs remaining in the water as they swung back and forth.
Just as she was about to stand up, grab her things, and leave, the sound of sticks snapping caused her to halt, her body stiffening as she suddenly became alert.
Cautiously, Cori stood up, grabbing ahold of her towel that was neatly folded beside her and wrapping it around her body as droplets of water dripped onto the floor from her legs. "Hello?" She called aloud, praying she wouldn't receive an answer. "Is anybody there?" Corinna gripped her towel tightly and quickly grabbed her bag that was resting on a chair nearby. Her head spun as she glanced around the scene, half-expecting to see someone, but mostly wishing she wouldn't. After several moments of no sound, Corinna sighed and told herself it was just a deer or some other animal prancing in the woods. So the girl continued to dry herself off before walking to her car.
Except now, as the girl was about to close the gate that she had entered from, a dark silhouette appeared several feet away, standing still as it watched her, it's pure white eyes staring at her hungrily.
