Dreamcatcher

Chapter One

Handong closed her art book as best as she could; there was so much stuff in it so it could no longer close properly. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she got up, relieved that the school day was finally over. She picked up her book and dropped it on a shelf in the side of the classroom as quickly as she could and headed towards the door.

As she walked down the hallway, she made sure to mentally note the homework tasked she needed to do. There was that maths booklet she had received earlier today and her English teacher had created three separate assignments to do over the next 6 weeks: a book report, a creative writing journal and a newspaper article. She's have to borrow her aunt's computer again since it was much quicker to work on then her old Windows laptop.

"Handong!" The sound of her friend yelling ran through the hallway, catching everyone else's attention as well as Handong. Through the crowd, she watched as a blonde haired girl slipped through the forest of people until she reached Handong.

"Siyeon." Handong greeted her friend. "You know you could've texted me if you wanted to see me."

Siyeon wrapped her arm around Handong so they could walk together. Her assortment of chunky bracelets on her wrist slightly tugged on Handong's blazer. Siyeon's blazer was long gone, she only had a plain white, collared blouse with no tie and the top three buttons weren't done up. Her casual version of the uniform was completed with a pair of red knee high socks and black trainers.

"You were right down the hallway though, it would've been easier." She said.

"Well you got my attention as well as everyone else's." Handong glances back as the crowd of people who had been watching Siyeon as she ran through the hallway like a maniac.

Siyeon brushed it off. "Are you free now?" She asked.

"Not really." Handong answered honestly. "But if you're screaming through hallways for me you probably are desperate for me to come with you for something."

Siyeon smiles. "So, it's a funny story really. I was walking home last night. And I saw a badger. With red eyes."

"Badgers' eyes aren't red Siyeon, it's just the blood behi-"

"Yes yes, anyway the main point is, I ran away from it and in the process threw my bag into Mrs Taylor's house."

My eyes widened. "Of all houses? You're never getting it back."

"I got a cute boy's number yesterday, I need my phone back. Please Dongie. I'll buy you lunch on Saturday." She begged Handong.

"That house freaks me out though." Handong groaned.

Ten years back, Siyeon leaving her bag in the house would've been no problem. It was like the neighbourhood's unofficial community centre. Mrs Taylor was a sweet lady. Her kids had all grown up and gone to university, leaving her and her husband alone. So they liked to set up activities for the neighbours to keep them busy. Handong remembered doing a family secret Santa there, and an Easter egg hunt with her parents. Someone even had their wedding there.

Mrs Taylor would be out every morning, ready to plant new flowers and care for the ones that were already showing off their gorgeous colours. Surrounding the vibrate green grass, her endless amounts of colourful flowers climbed up the freshly painted fences. A couple of apple trees were at the back of the garden, along with a mint green shed filled with the tools she needed. The bright colours attracted many birds and insects, making it a great place to scrapbook nature or go bird watching.

Then, there was a car crash. Mrs Taylor and her husband were visiting their daughter and were rear ended on the motorway. The car was found off the road in a ditch. Their car set on fire instantly and there were no survivors. The whole neighbourhood mourned their deaths. People would visit everyday, with a new bouquet of flowers or some new art work to hang up. Christmas that year was especially cold, and the community slowly began to fall apart.