Innocent Soul

Chapter One

Wind gushed into the growing girl's face, blowing her blonde hair all over the place as she plunged her head out the window. Her bright blue eyes gleamed with the first sign of delight since her mother's death a week ago.

"Alexandra Hale! You'll get hurt!" Her grandmother, Elisa Henderson, who Ali preferred to call 'Nanny', warned, glancing at the child as she drove along the coast.

"Fine." She sighed, settling back into her seat. "When will we get to your house?" she questioned, her eyes focusing on Elisa.

"It's our home now." She slapped her grandaughter's leg gently. "And we'll get there when we get there."

"But how long?" Ali whined, shifting her gaze to the road ahead of them.

"A few minutes, little one." 

She sighed again, taking in the dunes as they passed by them. It frustrated her that at most times she couldn't see further than the white sand to lay her eyes upon bountiful water beyond it. However, the seagulls squawking and flying about pleased her enough to forget this. Even though she was still grieving over losing her mother, she had never been to the beach before. In fact, she had never been anywhere but Virginia in her mother's efforts of keeping her safe and pure. This foreign experience was amazing the girl even if she was still depressed from her mother's passing.

"Here we are, youngster." They pulled into a gravel driveway, the weight from the vehicle on the ground causing crunching sounds to reach their ears.

Ali's eyes landed on the two-story beach house before her. On the outside, it was quite unimpressive with a boring shell comparable to every surrounding residence. But it still excited her since she had never been in such a home before. Every house she had ever even had a glimpse of had been planted firmly on the ground, not balancing in the air on stilts!

"What do you think?" Elisa asked. Before Ali answered, though, she hastily unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of her seat, her feet settling on the gravel-covered ground.

"It's so cool!" the girl gasped, walking closer. She was amazed by every single thing the house had to offer. But she had yet to see anything.

Her feet quickly shuffled up the steps, carrying her to a deck outlooking the ocean. She couldn't contain her smile as she admired the alluring landscape before her.

It was late afternoon and the crowds of midday had thinned out to a simple few people lounging on their beach towels, soaking up the last rays of sun. Waves crashed on the shore, reaching out and tickling a toddler's toes as the little boy stood straight, his arms stretching upward as if he were trying to grab the sun. The sound of his giggle was faintly heard by Ali as she leaned against the railing of the deck, her blue eyes gleaming in the sunlight. 

"So, do you like it?" Elisa asked, finally reaching the top of the steps. She was at the age where it was becoming more and more difficult to complete the task of reaching the top of the stairs.

"It's amazing," Ali murmured, entranced by the pulchritudinous scenery.

A soft chuckle escaped Elisa's lips as she stood behind her grandaughter. "It is a sight, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ali whispered, staring at the beauty. 

This was her new home. And for the first time since finding out she would be moving here, she was actually content with that thought.

But she had no idea what all was to come.