The Secret Circle

Chapter One: Chance Harbor

It's been a two months since that night. I try not to think about my mom too much because it all feels too unreal still. A part of me is hoping that she will appear one of these days and tell me it's all a dream, but I know that's not the case. She's gone--taken in that fire. I can't help but think that if I hadn't gotten that stupid flat tire, I could have saved her. Anything of hers that I could have held onto was lost in the fire, along with all of my belongings. For the past two months, I've been staying with my friend, Annie, but my grandmother insisted that I move to Chance Harbor to live with her. I have to make all new friends, not that I had many to begin with, buy all new clothes, and try to be a normal person without my mom.

I'm sitting on the hood of my car at a rest area just outside of the town that I will soon call my home. The sky is grey, but appears bright against the dark, shadowy mountains that decorate the horizon. Besides the mountains, there's nothing but trees and water. I know where I lived before wasn't a city or anything, but it at least had a mall near by. I take another look at the view as I wipe a tear from my cheek and get into my car. The back of my Subaru is empty apart from bag of clothes I bought this summer. I pull out of the rest area and back onto the winding road to my new life.

It's not a long drive before I reach the downtown area of Chance Harbor. The brick store fronts line both sides of the street as I drive through slowly. There are a lot of people out today to spite the overcast weather and, according to the weather man, chance of rain. Before coming to Chance Harbor, I did some research about the area and apparently, it rains all the time and there are flash floods every once in a while. The downtown is right on the water where hundreds of boats are docked for the day. I like what I see for the most part, but I can't help but wonder why my mother never actually brought me here. She always had some excuse for why we would "have to do it next year". There doesn't seem to be anything inherently wrong with the town, but maybe it was the people she didn't like.

I pass through the downtown and take a right onto a quiet street filled with huge, Victorian houses. These people must all come from money if they live here. Every single house looks to be 100 or more years old, but kept in perfect condition. All of the trees are draped over the street like a canopy, making it feel very mysterious. It's as if time stopped here 100 years ago and then began again last week.

I continue down the street looking for house number 174--my grandmother's house. Just five houses down on the right, I see it. The house is massive with huge windows wrapping around all three floors. It's a grey-ish green color with burgundy paneling on all of the windows and doors. The porch seems to wrap around the majority of the house and is filled with plants and brightly colored flowers. The yard is big and surrounded by an old brick wall covered in vines. I can't believe my grandmother lives here.

I hop out of the car and grab the bag of clothes from the backseat. I slam the car door shut and make my way to the stone stairway that leads up to the porch. Before I can knock, the door flies open revealing a tall, red headed woman in a purple printed dress. Her red hair drapes over her shoulders in large, natural curls that frame her nearly wrinkle-free face. Her eyes are a piercing green shade with golden specks in them. Her nose is slender and resembles a beak, but not in a bad way at all. She looks like my mom, but my mom had darker, brownish red hair. She looks more like an older sister to my mother rather than a mother. It's as if she was frozen along with the town a 100 years ago.

"Cassie!" She wraps her arms around me excitedly. "You're so grown up!" She points out, leaning back to take a look at me.

"Hi, Grandma." I say with a smile. I'm happy to finally know her, but she looks so much like my mom that I feel sad again.

"I should have never let you drive all that way alone. You look exhausted!" She grabs my bag with one hand and leads me inside the house with the other.