Chapter 1 – Woodvale
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” - Herman Hesse
The doctor approached me slowly, his eyes soft. He looked down at me pityingly as I sat in the plastic chairs of the hospital waiting room. He didn’t have to say it, I already knew what he was going to say and I could feel silent tears rolling down my cheeks. “Emma,” The old tired looking doctor said as he sat down beside me.
He sighed and I could tell he’d done this before, I wondered if this process even bothered him anymore.
I shook my head at him, not wanting him to say the words, not wanting it to be real. The few lone tears that rolled down my cheeks soon turned into uncontrollable sobs and I continued to frantically shake my head at him. “She’s not going to make it.” He’d said his voice just above a whisper.
* * *
I awoke with a jolt looking around frantically, unsure of where I was. You know how it is, when you wake up in a new place, you don’t remember and you feel panic leak into your system through your dazed and confused state until memories come washing over you. I sighed and curled up closer to the small plane window, ignoring the strange looks I was getting from nearby passengers.
It was just a dream I told myself; lied to myself. I’ve found myself lying to myself a lot lately and although I never believed myself a part of me clung to the lies I told myself, not wanting to believe any of this was real.
I could see the thick forest that surrounded Woodvale and I knew we were going to land soon. Woodvale was my new home from today onwards. After the fire which I’d lost my mother to I was sent to live with my dad, the only family I had left.
My father had left me and my mum when I was only 3, I didn’t really know anything about him except he’d left us for another woman. Whenever I asked my mum about him or why he’d left us she’d just smile sadly and say, “He fell in love, Emma.” And I’d pester her with questions like “I thought he loved you?” and she’d reply with “He did, but this was more than that. Something he couldn’t control.” As if there was a whole other meaning to what she was saying, something I couldn’t dream of understanding.
Suddenly the plane violently banged against the runway causing me to jump and I’d realised I’d been tuned out for quite a while. I had a habit of getting lost in thought, oblivious of everything around me, my mum used to laugh at me “off with the fairies again Em?” She’d tease. It still hurt to think about here but I never let her leave my thoughts, scared of forgetting her.
Before I knew it I was standing near the baggage claim in the tiny airport, just outside of Woodvale with the man who claimed to be my Father.
