Matchmaker Club

The Arrival to Hill Dove

                                                                                               Chapter 1

After 12 long hours, my time in the car is finally coming to an end. We are moving to live with my grandmother. She works as a baker and makes tons of delicious, melt-in-your-mouth sweets. My family and I noticed that my grandmother had been having some difficulty with the customers in her old age; that's when my parents told me we'd be moving. I was a little upset that I had to say goodbye to my friends in Williton and anxious to be living in a new - well; newish - place. As we drove past the "Welcome to Hill Dove" town sign; I started remembering the times we would visit and how magical the forest near my grandmother's house felt. Remembering all the good times made me think it might be rather exciting living here. I even started to recall some memories of a boy I used to play with in the park, causing my heart to flutter.

I shook away the thought as we rounded the corner of Wake Forest Street and my grandmother's house came into view. There is a rose bush near the doorway with several tall trees surrounding it. The mahogany door only added to the cottage's warmth. As we pulled into the driveway, I saw the door open, and out walked my grandmother with a big, welcoming grin. Before exiting the car, my parents looked back at me and gave me a soft smile, "I know it can be hard starting at a new school but I promise you will enjoy it here." My mom said in a hopeful tone. I looked at them and smiled, "I think I'll be fine, it's alright." Relief settled over their faces before we got out of the car. Almost immediately, we were being squeezed by my grandmother's warm embrace. Laughing, we each began to pull boxes out of the trunk and carry them inside. My grandmother told us to set the boxes wherever before turning to me and telling me to come with her. I followed her up the staircase that led to a room that reminded me somewhat of a princess's tower. Only smaller and less tower-esk. It's amazing though, with a window going all the way from ceiling to floor, letting in lots of natural light. It even has a loft! Which is something I've always wanted. I walked further into the room to get a better look at everything. There was a large corner desk in one corner. The bed was covered in a luscious, blush pink duvet and large, plump pillows that made it look like I would be sleeping on a cloud. The pillows were a combination of light seafoam green pillows and light gray pillows with smaller decorative white, gold, and silver pillows.

From behind me, my grandma told me that this used to be my father's room and now it's mine. I faced her and smiled before throwing myself at her and giving her a big hug. She laughed as I sprinted back down the stairs to start gathering my things. She yelled down after me that food will be ready whenever I get hungry.

"I'll be down for dinner!" I called back as I ran out the front door to get more boxes. I pulled the boxes with my name out of the car and headed back inside. After stacking all the boxes in my room, I sit down and begin opening boxes. The first box I opened had old yearbooks and pictures from my childhood. As I'm flipping through a yearbook, I noticed a pink picture book from the corner of my eye. The quality was as though it were brand new. Opening the cover I'm greeted by pictures of little me visiting my grandmother's house. There was a young boy with me in most of the photos. Brown-gray eyes peeked out from his blue hair. I continued flipping through the book and realized that most of the pictures were taken in a park. I began to remember the park but still couldn't recall the name of the boy.

I pulled out one of the photos and flipped it over to see if perhaps there was anything written on it. Just as I had suspected, my name was written on the back. Along with a name I didn't recognize. I wonder if this is the name of that boy. I read out loud "Lucas and Izzy in the playground, May 10th, 2009." Suddenly, my cheeks felt warm and my heart began to flutter again. I can't remember his face or hanging out with him so I decided to ignore the feeling for now and continue unpacking.