Today might be the worst possible day to travel. No, not because it is busy, but because today is the convergence of the planet Dianthri and Mara's planet. Colana. Mara, for one, had never been taught much of Convergence Day. All she knew was that it was dangerous, and that people generally were afraid to board a plane that day. So, in response to that, flight tickets were dirt cheap. And Mara, who was desperate to begin a new life, saved up all her money and bought a plane ticket to London. This plane ticket might be the key to starting a new, wonderful life, she thought.
Mara is 18 years old, an orphan, and longing to get away from that awful school that she grew up in. She really doesn't know how her parents died. People tell her it was in a car crash but somehow she doesn't believe that. They died when she was 2. After their deaths, Mara was dropped off at Green's orphanage and school. A dreadful place. She grew up there along with 10 other kids. Of course, she made friends. Although she spent 16 years of her life trying to get close to those friends, it never worked. She guesses she was just different in a way. They all arrived at a later age and knew how they really got there. They were also okay with staying in the same place their whole life. She, however, was not. During the summer, she got a bunch of little jobs and saved up her money. At the end of the season, she would take little trips to anywhere that looked interesting. Every time she had to go back to the orphanage, it felt like being plunged underwater so far that she couldn't see the surface. The head of the orphanage, Ms.Cavalin, made it her mission to make life for Mara miserable there. She never knew why. So, that left her counting the days until she could leave for good. That day came exactly a month ago. Her eighteenth birthday. She had all her belongings packed the minute she turned a year older. She also had her ticket to London safely in her backpack. She never had an idea what she would do when she arrived, never had a plan. I guess it will play itself out, she thought.
