Innocence

Chapter 1

Sunny squinted as she stared at the blindingly white snow that had fallen upon the grass and trees. She couldn't make out the fine details as her and her father sped by them in their small and cramped car.

She wondered why her father never purchased a bigger car. Nothing ever fit inside the current one because everywhere he went, her father always had to carry several boxes and briefcases.

Sunny never knew what he was up to. In fact, she didn't even know what his job description was supposed to be. He worked at the top university in Sydney in the faculty of science. He mostly did research, and seldom taught any classes. Most people thought he was far too eccentric to teach a class.

It wasn't surprising at all whenever she experienced someone finding her father strange. Mr. Kimberlin was a tall and slim man, with quite a baby face. His hair was always disheveled and occasionally his suit was not adorned neatly.

After a torturous three-hour drive from Sydney, Sunny and her father finally arrived at their destination. A rather large cottage made of wood.

Sunny stepped out of the car and cringed when her feet felt the audible crunch of the snow. She lifted her eyes to gaze upon their new home.

It was probably one of the most hideous buildings that Sunny had ever seen in her life. Not only did the cottage look older than her already deceased grandmother, but it looked like it could crumble with nothing but a small gust of wind. This was more than a far stretch from the nice, fancy villa she stayed in back in Sydney.

"I know this place is not ideal, but look at the scenery!" her father exclaimed. "The real estate agent also tell me that there's some spooky history in this house."

Sunny let out a small breath. How could her father be so... bright and happy about the outcomes of their new situation?

"Yeah, this is definitely not ideal, dad," Sunny said. "Why did you have to bring us all the way out here?"

"Oh, come on, Sunny! I already told you... Studying wolves out here is much more effective than reading about them in a stuffy library. Besides, look at all the freedom and fresh air you have out here!" he smiled.

"But look at the state of this place... we're gonna die if we stay here." Sunny argued.

"We're going to fix it up. I came up here last weekend and the neighbours were kind enough to help us out with it once we got here."

"Brilliant." Sunny grumbled inaudibly as she stomped to the boot of the car to retrieve her luggage.

As Sunny and her father were loading the last few parts of their luggage into their house, an overbearingly loud couple greeted the pair as they walked towards their house. The man was rather short, with a balding head, and bursting belly that looked like it could pop if you poked it. He had a cheeky smile on his face, but it was the kind of cheeky that a fun uncle would have. His wife was not unlike him, as she too was short and stubby, carrying a bursting belly, however she hadn't lost any hair at all, and it was all piled on top of her head.

"Hello, Mr. Kimberlin!" the stubby man beamed. "It's good to see you finally coming down here."

"Hello, Mr. Johnson, it's good to see you too. Also, just call me Mark. Mr. Kimberlin sounds too formal."

Sunny watched this small exchange with disdain as she was itching to get inside the house and see what they could do to survive in the middle of nowhere. Her father and Mr. Johnson kept talking about nonsense until she cleared her throat.

The abrupt sound caused Mr. Kimberlin to look at his daughter and smile.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering the important things. "Mr. Johnson, this is my daughter, Sunny. I hope she will be a pleasant neighbour to be around."

"Hello..." Sunny managed to choke out. She wasn't particularly good at meeting new people, which was one of the reasons why she objected to moving away. Funnily enough, there weren't even any new people to meet with other than the greasy old couple since their house was the only other house in this area.

"Oh, hello, dear," the wife, Mrs. Johnson, managed to speak up. "You seem absolutely lovely. We hope you both enjoy your stay here."

"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson," my father replied. "Um... would you like to come over for dinner?"

Sunny shot her father a disapproving glance; but it was no use since Mr and Mrs. Johnson were already nodding their heads in concurrence. 

"How lovely of you, Mark!" Mrs. Johnson exclaimed happily. "We'll bring our children too!"

Children? Sunny had a bad feeling about the upcoming dinner. How on earth were they supposed to feed the two hungry hippos and their children.

Sunny knew she was being unfair since these people had shown nothing but kindness towards her and her father in the short period of time they had been there. However, she was thinking logically here. They had just driven for three long hours all the way to a remote area, they had no food whatsoever, and the nearest shops were a thirty minute drive away.

"I'll prepare something good for you to eat then." Mr. Kimberlin assured them.

"Why thank you for this, Mark. You're proving to be a very good neighbour." Mr. Johnson laughed.

"Well, then I guess we better get to it!" Sunny's father finally broke off the conversation with Mr and Mrs. Johnson.

Sunny sighed in relief as the odd couple left. She followed her dad when he asked her to drive with him to the markets.

Another disappointment: market. Not even a proper shop or convenience store, but a market.

Sunny knew for sure that life here was going to be quite the feat. She hoped that she'd be able to endure it without driving insane.