Decode | JH

excerpt

A/N: this isn't the first chapter, it's an excerpt from a scene that comes later on in the book. it's not necessary to read this before starting with the actual chapters but i wanted to drop a lil teaser for ya'll

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It all kicks off with a photograph, a blurry image in the corner of the frame piquing my interest. When I squint hard enough, I'm convinced I can almost make out a leg wrapped around a thick tree branch, a pair of hands clawing into the bark, and what could roughly be a pale face poking out between the dots of snow-covered leaves. Though, looking up from the display screen into the tree line, I find nothing. There's only the same empty endless expanse of towering pine trees. "It's just lens distortion," I mutter to myself, I yearn to believe it because the alternative is hard to swallow. For weeks on end now, every time I venture out into the woods behind my house to take photographs, there's always this blurry figure in the corner of the frame, haunting me. It's near humanoid in appearance, but its skin is so white it practically camouflages as snow. I tell myself that it's an eagle nest, or rubbish, or even someone's clothes; never mind that the trees in question are easily over a hundred feet tall and getting up in a tree that high is an impossible feat, let alone getting down. I shake my head then, rolling my eyes to myself. I almost sound as bad as Bella now, with all her theories and conspiracies.

Dropping my camera again to hang by the lanyard around my neck, I decide to disregard the odd photo, just as I've done with the others before it. "It must just be light reflecting off of something I can't see," I reaffirm, clearing my throat meaningfully as I continue to trudge along my familiar path. A particularly strong gust of wind flutters through the trees and I shiver, 'I should've worn more layers'. "Or maybe there's something wrong with the lens..." Yet another expense I won't mention to my parents, they're already struggling as it is and I'm not prepared to add to their ever-increasing load of troubles. Between baby Addison's cold, Grandma Lois' quickening deadline and their struggle to scrounge up the funds to get me a car for school, they have enough on their plates already.

We're beginning to settle into a routine now here at Forks, but I'll be the first to admit that the move from the UK to the US has been tiresome at best. However, perhaps our relocation halfway across the globe could be an easier pill to swallow if it were voluntary. I feel awful just for thinking it, but it's the unspoken and undeniable truth of the situation; none of us want to be here, but none of us can deny an old woman's dying wish for reconciliation either.

I'd be lying if I said Forks isn't growing on us though, I know Mum is appreciating the nostalgia of being back in her hometown, and even Dad is finding something to look forward to with his weekly fishing day trips with Charlie and Harry up on the reservation. And I've fallen in love with how natural our surroundings are, always right outside our doorstep. There's nothing quite like it, especially back in London, I can't take my nature walks or immerse myself in the wilderness over there like I can here in Forks. Out here in the evergreen forest, I feel a sense of comfort wash over me. This world is so far removed from what I'm used to back in the cityscape of London, and yet, it's beginning to feel like the comforting embrace of home. Even as I begin to stray too far from the well-beaten path, venturing deeper into the shroud of hanging branches and snaking ferns, I feel content. It's a welcome respite from the tension at home at least.

I find myself here most Sunday mornings. It's a few hours shy of noon and with a clear schedule, I woke earlier this morning with the thought that what better way could I spend my time than with a walk in the woods with my camera as company. It's cold enough today that there's a sprinkling of snow on everything and so I've rugged up in an old spray jacket just for the occasion. I spare a glance to the sky to see the snow is falling heavier than I expected, but I brush away my worries, out here there seems no sense in my anxiety anymore. I'm not certain what I'm looking for just yet, perhaps that winning shot; something adequate to post to my photography blog. Nature photography isn't my preferred medium -- no, I'm much more used to the urban scramble -- but I can't deny the beauty that surrounds me.