We Were Best Friends....

We Were Best Friends….

Chapter One

"She's Gone"

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"Hanna!" I called to my best friend. "Hanna, it's getting late, can we go back home?" It was scary at night here, beneath the trees. Hanna and I loved these woods, but at night, I just got the shivers.

                “Riley,” something whispered. I could barely make it out. “Riley.”

                “Hanna, stop,” I said. “You know I don’t like being out here at night. Hanna?”

                “Riley, come here.” I stepped toward the voice, being extra careful. Who knows what it could be. “Riley.”

                “Hanna, this isn’t funny! Come out!” But, nobody came out. The voice kept saying my name, over and over again. So, I got closer, ready to hit whoever it was with my flashlight. Two bushes were shaking and the sound of my name got closer and closer as I stepped toward them.

                Suddenly, as I raised my flashlight, Hanna appeared, saying, “Boo.”

                I jumped. “Hanna, don’t DO that!” But Hanna was rolling on her side, laughing.

                “You should’ve seen the look on your face! Classic!” Hanna kept on laughing for another five minutes, soon able to stop. “Sorry, Riley. I couldn’t help it.”

                I reached my hand to her, grabbing hers and lifting her off the ground. Instead of standing, she toppled onto me, making us both fall to the ground like tumbling towers being hit by an airplane. But, we laughed, glad to have the whole scary endeavor behind us.

                Soon, we were walking back home. The trees began to thin and soon, we were in our small little town. Ember was the town’s name, but it was a small town; a real small town. Everyone knew who you were and what your business was.

                Hanna sighed and said, “I wish we lived somewhere else. Like another world.” We were both told there were other worlds by a man who came stumbling from the ocean. “We could make it, you and me.”

                I swallowed. “Hanna, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Who knows what could happen.”

                Hanna frowned, but smiled again, as if to hide her pain. “I know, I’m kidding. We’re too young to go anywhere but here, right?”

                But, that wasn’t the case. The next couple of days, I saw Hanna sitting on the sand, watching the horizon. Then, she would speak to herself, and repeat whatever anyone said to her. She became distant the next few days, only answering simple yes or no questions. Then, she just stopped talking.

                One night, I found a scrap book Hanna and I had made years ago. There were pictures of before we met, and after. A little ways in, I found the picture of us on our first day of school. A mean boy by the name of Tyler had been teasing me.

                “Banana head Riley, Banana head Riley,” he taunted since my hair was a golden blond, nothing compared to a banana’s color.

                “Leave me alone,” I said, my voice shaking. I turned my attention back to my lucky charm. It was a small little bracelet with a shell and heart design. I had had it since the day I turned one, and I wasn’t about to let it go. It was the only thing I had to remember my mother, who had died just after my birth.