FADED VIRIDITY

CHAPTER ONE

I am about to take you on a journey of a girl hunting for success, education and love. Cliché I know, but this isn't your typical story of a princess being locked away in a tower safeguarded by a dragon waiting for a prince to save her. This is about a significant bond shared with oneself, characteristics and personalitiesbounded together by the demanding traits of circumstances and the fortuitous nature of transformation. More importantly, about her faded innocence.Hi, I am Issabella Clarke of 23 Empire St, Johannesburg. My story begins in a small town called New Castle. I was what people described to be the introvert of my class. If I could describe myself, I would say that I was a relatively tall girl with broad shoulders, and a tad bit plump. I had long locks of black hair that complimented my hazel eyes. The girl back then was different from the one describing her. Her soul was pure, her mind was naïve, her personality was amicable and her heart bled with innocent love. Being the girl who grew up wearing an invisibility cloak led me to create a world of my own, away from the people who walked through me. I never knew that my imaginary world served as a defense mechanism against the harshness of reality, not until now, anyway. Like all young girls I too believed that I was an enchanted princess from a castle far, far away. Not because I was confident in who I was, but because I needed saving from the mundane tasks of my everyday life. Coming from a background of a well earning family gave me the ammunition that was needed to further my studies at the New Castle high school for girls. Even though my dad was the sole provider of three girls and a wife, he never lacked in providing for us the luxurious life that we had. Of course, money was not a concern when all three of us simply enjoyed being loved by both our parents. Nevertheless, the lust for education flowed through our veins.