Edge of the Sky

Chapter 1

Psithurism- (n.) the sound of wind through the trees

The house is silent. No sound is heard but the howling of the wind through the trees. The moon makes shadows on the walls and in the stillness of time, the children finally sleep. All the children except me because I'm still wide awake at 11pm sitting through this caffeine fueled writing session flop prompted by the one and only Mr Trohman. THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT!

I looked down at the keyboard and back to the screen. Probably not the best way to end my end of term paper for creative writing but it's all I had. Sighing in relief I shut my laptop and moved it as far as I could without tossing it off the bed. Ezra, my brother, was spending the entire weekend at a friend's house and my dad was working the night shift at the hospital. Which meant I'd be alone for quite some time.

My mom had died in a freak accident when I was eight and Ezra was around five so my dad had to step up his game and play the role of both parents. Before that she was an aerospace engineer and might I add the best in her field. She loved her job and while it stole her heart, in the end it stole her life as well. We moved to Ashbury Falls about six years ago and since then it's become home. Dad moved us up here because of his job but I think it was because everything in Willowstead reminded him of my mom.

I hated being home alone. The house was usually so noisy and I always had company but now the boys were out and I was left here. The house was so eerily silent especially at night and it didn't' help that Riot either made no sound at all or imitated a sketchy serial killer. It didn't help.

Bored, I closed all my notebooks and with a flick of my wrist and levitated them perfectly to their spot on my bookshelf. It never ceased to surprise me how my powers had improved greatly over the last few years I've had them. Ezra was yet to see if he had any whereas I had been dealing with mine for years. Just three years ago I had to move schools because I brought down the entire school hall. Whoops.

I grabbed a hair tie from my jewelry box and tied back my almost uncontrollable curls as I jogged down the stairs. I walked past Riot who was asleep on the rug by the living room. My dad go him as a companion for me and Ezra when he was working late and he was the cutest border collie in town.

Riot looked up at me for a moment and went back to sleep. Sometimes he was just as lazy as I was, but me leaving the house at night alone was the norm by now.

I made sure to lock the front door before I carried on. The complex we lived in was always quiet due to its large population of old people but you could never be too careful. I walked through the winding streets twisting my hands in my pocket, taking in any details I could've missed before. Highly unlikely. There was something about walking around at night that was more exciting than during the day. It was the same area, the same houses, the same trees- but something about the dim light and unpredictable shadows made it all the more thrilling. Which I loved.

I wandered around aimlessly for some time before deciding to go to the pool house. When I got to the back gate I checked to see if anyone was watching before quickly hopping over the gate. I shook out my body before climbing up the tree that would lead me to the flat roof. I made it to the roof and sighed, resting my head against the wall. I closed my eyes for a brief moment to settle and collect my thoughts.

"Fancy seeing you up here stranger," came a male voice beside me.

Yelping I jumped back, almost falling off the roof. Whoever it was grabbed me by my arm and pulled me back.

"Woah there! Relax! I don't bite!" he laughed as I clenched my chest in fear that my heart would fly right out.

I looked up to see who the a-hole was and I was met with unfamiliar grey eyes that pierced through the darkness. He looked young, which was strange for this complex because apart from my family most people were over the age of 65.

"Who are you?" I asked, shifting away slightly.

He stopped laughing and sat up, "How rude of me. I'm Dean, Dean Blanchard." He stuck out his hand.

I shook it wearily, "Korir, Zahra Korir. Have we met?"

"No I don't believe we have. I just moved into house number 17 about two days ago."

Before I could say anything he reached behind him and pulled out a can of Coke from his bag. "Soda?"

"Sure," I replied uncertainly but accepted anyway. "What brings you to my roof spot, Dean?" I asked, emphasizing on his name just to see how it felt on my tongue.

"Your roof spot? You have a nice ass as far as I can see but I don't think it's big enough to cover the entire area of the roof."

I rolled my eyes, "Are you always such a dick?"

"Only on weekends," he winked, taking a sip from his can.

I rolled my eyes again but remained seated. A soft silence followed afterwards, the both of us just looking out at the sky and the bustling city below it.

Then I felt it.

A sharp strange sensation jolting through my head followed by a dead radio buzz as if my brain was out of frequency. I shook it off at first but when I could faintly hear a voice I could only identify as Dean's I freaked out.

Wide eyed I turned to him to see him just as shocked as I was.

"I-I'm so sorry," he stuttered, "It's never like that I swear."

"How did you do that?" I asked fearfully, getting up from my spot on the roof.

"You could hear me? It only ever does that with other freaks," he mumbled before looking at me, realization in his eyes, "What are you?"

His words stung in my chest. I'd heard them so many times before and it never went well afterwards. I was a "what" not a "who" now.

He narrowed his eyes at me, "You and I are the same aren't we."

In the heat of the moment I threw the can at him and jumped off the roof. My brain told me to, so I did. I landed on my feet, swaying slightly. I could hear him calling me from the roof but I didn't dare turn back. I basically flew over the gate and ran home.

When I got home I hastily unlocked the door and slammed it shut behind me. I sank down to the floor, knees to my chest, head to the wall. My chest was heaving from all the running but mainly from the shock.

Paranoid I checked my bedroom window to make sure he hadn't followed me home. He hadn't. I groaned and flopped onto my bed. Why today of all days?

A/N: Highly anticipated (not) and finally here. This is chapter one and I hope you like it and that it makes sense. Do comment and like and I'll see you pretties soon.

xoxoxo

Madame Unicorn