Element

Element V

V.

I was cold and tired and I was running through the forest.

Fear was settling deep into my being with each step that I took. As the full moon shed light down on the path I was taking, I had no idea where I was going.

All the sudden, the trees opened up in a clearing. In the middle stood a man with his back to me. He wore all black and when he turned around, his eyes resembled black holes that held only evil in them. As I stood there with fear wracking my body, I chose to speak first.

"Who are you?"

The strange man let out a low chuckle. “You would be the one to ask me that Helen when you don't even know who or rather what you are."

I continued to stare at him completely baffled by what he said, not knowing how to continue. None of this made any sense.

"Although you don't know me Helen, I know everything about you. Mommy died when you were a kid, daddy didn't love you enough to care, and now even your brother left you. You are all alone and no one will be able to protect you."

Angered, a low growl began to resound deep within my chest as he continued.

"Right now Helen, you are worthless to me. It seems silly to me that such a pathetic little girl like you would be chosen to hold such a precious gift and you don't even know it! Ha, but after your sixteenth birthday, you will understand, the story will start to unravel and I will come for you!" With that, he let out the most evil laugh possible and all went black.

I all of the sudden woke up with my heart beating fast and sweat dripping down my body. As the dream began replaying in my mind, I couldn't help but to feel that it really happened. As I tried to get my breathing under control, I look towards the clock to see that it was almost seven in the morning.

Deciding that any chance of sleeping in was hopeless, I crawled out of bed and made my way towards the bathroom. After a quick shower where I was able to wash any fear that still lingered after that dream with my pomegranate shampoo and body wash, I climbed out of the shower ready to tackle the day.

With a plush towel wrapped around my small frame, I strolled over to my luggage and pulled out the first pair of shorts and a t-shirt that I could find. After getting dressed and throwing my long hair up in a wet bun on top of my head, I made my way downstairs in hopes of scoping out the place I know called home.

Heading down stairs, I realized that no one else was awake and took this as an opportunity to explore the house.

Initially, you could tell the house was huge on the outside and the inside only confirmed this. The floor was a deep cherry red hardwood floor. The house had a homey feel to it and warmth that only a home could feel like. The house was moderately decorated with natural hues of browns and greens. There was a giant fireplace that took center stage in the living room and surrounding it was a waterfall. The sound was so peaceful that immediately it relaxed me just listening to it. After about a minute of admiring the fireplace/waterfall, I turned and made my way towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was absolutely beautiful, having learned to really appreciate being able to cook, kitchens were always my weakness. The kitchen was made up of granite countertops and black wooden cabinets. Everything was stainless steel and attached to the kitchen was a breakfast nook with a window bench.

However, the thing that made the house truly stand out as a magnificent piece of architecture was the back wall of the house. Instead of it being a normal wall, it was all made of glass. Thinking it was just my room that had a whole wall made of glass, I quickly realized that house was designed instead to have a wall made of glass that allowed anyone in the house, no matter where they stood, to get an amazing view of the forest that laid just beyond the neatly trimmed lawn of the background.

After being thoroughly amazed by the architectural defeats that were accomplished in this house, my stomach suddenly growled quite loudly and I realized I was hungry. Since I was already in the kitchen, I made my way over to the pantry and found a box of pancake mix. Figuring there would be no harm in making breakfast, I set out preparing pancakes, bacon, and eggs for the family.

When I was flipping the last pancake onto the platter and turning off the burner for the eggs, I heard a noise behind me and turned around to see my aunt making her way towards the kitchen. With a giant yawn, she kissed my forehead and all the sudden froze.

"Helen, did you make all this?"

Embarrassed, I shrug my shoulder and quickly nodded. "It's no big deal, I was starving and I figured you all would be hungry when you woke up. I hope it's not a problem." I said while staring holes into the floor.

"Of course it's not sweetie. I actually was coming down here to make you breakfast but evidently you beat me to it." My aunt chuckled and began to make coffee.

After scraping the eggs off the skillet and setting them on the table, I heard my cousin barreling down the stairs followed by my uncle.

"And so it begins." My aunt muttered while bringing the coffee up to her lips to take a drink. As my cousin and uncle entered the room, it seemed that they were racing to see who ate first. After grabbing their plates of food, they started shoveling as much food into their mouths as possible. Finding this amusing, me and my aunt took our time to eat at a normal pace while watching the two devour theirs.

With everyone fully satisfied and thanking me for the breakfast, I set about cleaning up when my uncle stopped me.

"Helen, how about I clean because you cooked. Go take a break and relax because I'm pretty sure your aunt has a whole day planned for you."

Concerned, I look towards my aunt Kat and asked if it were true. Smiling she began to tell me her plans. "I was thinking since you just moved here and you had very little with you, we could spend the day shopping. You can buy some clothes to expand your wardrobe and then I can take you to get a proper cell phone and whatever else a typical teenager may need. How does that sound?"

"Good but I never go shopping and I have no idea what a typical teenager may need."

"Don't worry, I have that covered!" Alora said with that dazzling smile plastered on her face. With an excited squeak, she quickly turned and ran upstairs to get ready. With a nervous feeling settling inside my gut, I put on the best smile I could muster and I just knew today would be a long day.