Chapter 1
Everything was covered in dust. A fine showering of the stuff covered the whole of Adelaide. Every house on every street. Every shop and every car. The stuff was everywhere. Everybody in Adelaide hated the dust, everybody except me. The dust for me represented serenity and peace. Nobody bothered going out, when there was a dust storm. But me ? I would get in my car and drive around, appreciating the stillness of a hiding town.
It was a late July evening, and I had a headache.
"Cassie! Your dinner's ready" my mother shouted up the stairs. I quickly swallowed a few aspirin, hurrying downstairs to the kitchen.
"Well don't you look as fresh as a daisy ?" my mother said to me as I took a seat at the rickety table. I gave her a weak smile and peered at my reflection on the back of a spoon. My tangled black hair fell in a twisted mess around my pale face. Under my brown eyes were purple marks and my lips were cracked and chaffed. To be honest though, my appearance didn't faze me. The only people in this house were me and my mother.
"Are you feeling alright, sweetheart?” my mother peered at me anxiously "Your not eating and it doesn't look like you've been getting much sleep either?"
I couldn't explain how I was feeling to my mother because to be honest I still hadn't explained it to myself. Ever since the summer began my appetite had disappeared, along with my ability to get a goodnights sleep. It didn't really surprise me that I was getting frequent headaches.
"I'm fine, just worried about going back to school" I said quickly, avoiding here eyes. I am such a bad liar. I knew without looking up, that my mother didn't believe me. She let it go though.
"So I think I'd like to go for a walk after dinner" I said to my mother.
"Whatever for? The whole towns covered in dust, there will be no one around. " she looked at me bemused.
I shrugged, " I like it when it's quiet and July is nearly over"
My mother nodded, i don't think she understood my love for the dust but she didn't ridicule it either. On the first day of August every year the whole town comes out and cleans all the dust off everything. Every year I would watch as my peace and serenity was wiped away with bubbles and soapy water.
It was about an hour before sunset, when I went in search of peace. The town was as I expected, deserted. I wandered about aimlessly before heading to the top of Birnam hill to watch the sunset. As I watched the glowing orb of heat and beauty ripple away into nothingness, I contemplated the future and the present. I had, had this feeling, a feeling that wouldn't leave me alone. The same feeling that had me waking up in the middle of the night. Things were going to change, and I couldn't stop it. With that moment of clarity, I got up and turned around to walk home and that's when I saw him.
