Reflections of the Past

Chapter two

I wake up to find myself resting on a giant canopy bed. My eyes travel up the wall opposite me and then skim quickly through the rest of the richly decorated yet impersonal room. My mind tries and fails to find something that would make sense; some recognition of where I am, what I'm doing here or simply, who I am! 

Then I realise there is someone standing in the doorway, watching. I turn and the young woman dressed in a simple black outfit, speaks. 

"Happy thirteenth birthday, Miss Cass.  I'm Leanne...I'll be taking care of you from now on." 

Chapter two:

Cass weaved through the dense crowds of South Falls in pursuit of her destination--a small corner coffee shop. With all Cass had read about the town, she still hadn't expected it to be so full of people. There were buildings all around her, housing everything from bakeries to electronic stores. There were spots of greenery that could be seen every ten to twenty paces but they seemed swallowed by the largely urban surroundings. 

Everything about this place from the shops to the people to the giant college that was at the very heart of the town was so unlike the secluded suburban area where she had grown up that she found it a little unsettling. Which was why she was so looking forward to meeting with familiar...so comfortingly familiar... Leanne, who was waiting for her at the coffee shop. 

For as long as Cass could remember, it had always been just her and Leanne. She had been Cass's tutor, her care-taker, her play-mate and when she really needed one, Leanne had come through as a friend. Even though she was but six years older than her, Leanne was the closest thing Cass had to a parent.

Oh, she knew she had a father somewhere. It was his wealth that had her living in a giant mansion for a house and it was his money that kept Leanne in pay. 

But what kind of father doesn't even bother to show his face to his only child?

The thought was pretty grim but it was a fact: she'd never once met her father. Not even when she woke up from a six-month coma to find herself in his house for the very first time. No gifts on birthdays, no intriging, mysterious letters...hell she'd never even gotten a crummy email.

She shook herself and hurried her steps. She hadn't seen Leanne in more than a week and the separation felt to her like having an arm missing so she was determined not to let thoughts of her estranged father ruin her day. 

The bell above the door chimed as she pushed it open. Looking over the people gathered in the small shop, her eyes found her long-time friend immediately. Leanne, now 25, had a slim build, a fair complexion and silky blond hair that reached her shoulders. But it wasn't because of any of those things that she always drew the attention of the crowd. It was because her every movement, every gesture, was laced with a certain grace that Cass could only ever dream about having.  

Leanne sat at the corner table near a window, the light streaming across her face and when the older girl looked up, Cass ran up and wrapped her arms around her oldest friend.

Why euphamize it? She's your only friend.

"I've missed you Len!"

"I've missed you as well, Miss Cass," she said, pulling away and Cass frowned. She'd always wished that Leanne would drop the title because she felt so much more to her than just a caretaker. Try as she might, she just couldn't convince her and Len had never been one for wishy-washy affection, anyways. Looking at the two of them interact, an outsider might assume that the older held little to no real compassion for the younger but they'd be wrong. 

Len would never make it obvious that she was helping Cass, but no matter when or how her young ward was troubled, she'd find that Leanne had already provided her with advice. She helped her in subtle ways--sometimes with words so cryptic that it could take Cass a couple weeks to figure out what her guardian had been trying to tell her. So no matter how it may seem, Cass knew that Leanne genuinely cared for her. When it came to Leanne, even the inner-Cass had no snide remarks.