𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇, 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

INTRODUCTION
dear old friend.

•••

ELEANOR CELESTE WEBB was born in 2006, the fourth decade after the Problem had started, in Marylebone, London. She was born into a family of three, with her being the only child. Her parents, Richard and Clara Webb, were former agents and the founder of WiseGuard agency, a small and independent agency that had a good reputation due to many successful cases. The family lived at 34 Portland Row for most of their lives, before moving into a larger house after the agency caught their first big-break.

Growing up as an only child could be a lonely experience, but that was not the case with Eleanor, or Ella, as people would call her. Aside from her loving parents, she always had a best friend, who happened to live next door to her before her parents decided to move out. He was the youngest child of the Lockwood family, the only son, Anthony. She didn't remember the exact moment when they first met, or when they decided to become friends. She didn't remember the time before he came into her life, all she knew that he was always there. And she couldn't imagine how her life would have been if he wasn't.

The fact that they were the same age, lived next door, and had parents who were close friends made it natural for them to become friends too. However, that wasn't the only reason why they got along so well to the point where they were inseparable. Life had been cruel to them even when they were little, and they were always there for each other, always had each other's back. They couldn't help but find comfort in one another through it all.

For example, when Ella was three, she developed an interest in dancing. Her parents decided to sign her up for a ballet class, and soon they found out that she was gifted. By the age of six, her teacher enrolled her in a ballet competition. And one day while she was practicing for the competition, her babysitter had an accident and couldn't pick her up. She had to stay a little late at the dance studio as her parents were away for a jobㅡthey tried to come as fast as they could to get her, but they were still too lateㅡ. It was only an hour before curfew, but Ella accidentally heard something from the back of the nearly empty studio, something most people couldn't hear. Like other curious kids, she went to the source of the sound, and saw a visitor for the first time in her life; a former Ballerina who died tragically in an accident.

Despite being rescued in time, the encounter traumatized her enough that she didn't want to set foot in that place anymore. In fact, she didn't want to go anywhere anymore. She told her parents that she wished to stay in her room forever, realizing that they were everywhere. Her parents tried to coax her, convincing her not to be afraid since the visitors only manifested at night, and even so they promised that from now on they would make sure that a place was safe before Ella set foot there. But it didn't work. Ella still refused to go out of her room. Until a week later, when the Lockwoods finally returned from their trip (Donald and Celia Lockwood were researchers who traveled to many places, and sometimes they took their kids with them). It turned out, spending the night with her best friend was all she needed to gain her courage back.