The Secrets of Whitelea

|Chapter One|

Chapter One

There were only five cars parked outside the church - one of them being the hearse that had brought the coffin. The sight of them made any onlooker a little bit sad - sad that only a few people had bothered to turn up to the funeral and sad because it was a funeral. The sadness seemed to leak the colour from its surroundings, causing the world to be painted grey as if the colour had been sucked out of the world. As if affected by this lack of colour and this intense feeling of sadness, the birds refused to sing, choosing instead to hide away out of sight. Only seven magpies were to be seen, pecking at the ground in the graveyard and ruffling their feathers. The only sound was the sound of leaves rustling as the light breeze breathed through the branches of the trees, causing a few leaves to spiral from their perch down to the ground, ready to be crunched into smithereens by the next passer-by.

The service was just beginning, all those attending were sat in the pews, eyes trained to the front, none leaking any tears except for one woman sat at the very front. She was dressed in a smart black dress that came to just below her knee. She wore a black coat, fastened up against the chill of the church. Her lanky, dark blonde hair was swept into a bun, held up by numerous pins and bobbles. The hat she wore was large, covering her face in shadows and it drooped slightly at the back. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her hands clutched a handkerchief shakily. On her right, sat another girl, a few years younger. Black hair tied into braids and allowed to dangle down her back, cascading down the back of the black dress that matched the first woman. This girl had not yet shed a tear. The first turned to the second and forced a tearful smile onto her face. The younger simply continued to look straight ahead, refusing to break her gaze with the brick wall opposite her. Finally, the elder turned her face away and joined the staring at the wall with such intensity her gaze could have burned a hole in it.

There was the clearing of a throat at the service had begun.

After an uttering of about ten words, the church doors were opened, creaking slightly on their hinges. The sound of heels echoed, the only sound to be heard other than people's breathing. The noise belonged to another woman. Her resemblance to the first woman was recognisable to even a stranger and yet even a stranger could tell they were nothing alike. The new woman had died black hair, cut raggedly to her shoulders, tight black trousers and a tight black top covered by a long black coat, and skin almost as pale as death itself. She made her way towards the front of the church and sat, far too close for anyone's liking, to the woman on the very first pew. Without looking at the two women next to her, the new one leant her head towards the blonde.

"Thanks for the invite," She muttered. There was an even louder clearing of the throat and the service began for the second time.

~*~

"What are you doing back here?" The blonde woman demanded. The other woman just smirked and continued to smoke. The church had cleared out, people hurrying towards their home, not bothering to stay and say their final goodbyes.

"I'm your sister, Lizzy, I'm allowed to come back." The black-haired woman rolled her eyes.

"It's been three years, Anna."

"Four."

"I'm sorry?"

"Four years," Annabelle looked over at Elizabeth. "Not three." Finishing her cigarette, she dropped it to the ground and stomped on it, only stomping once it had been ground into the floor. She began to walk away, not looking behind her. Elizabeth hurried after her.