RAINBOW FALLS

PROLOGUE

"BANG, BANG" Someone was knocking on the front door. Ruby took her time to roll out of bed and put her robe on to answer the door she quickly gazed over at the alarm clock beside her bed. Who would be coming over at this time of morning ? mum always has her keys, she said to herself it was 7.00am on a Sunday.

Ruby yawned as she unlocked and opened the door, to find a lanky looking guy with glasses and face riddled with bad acne. "Ruby Oconnor?" the guy asked. "Yes that's me" "Oh great, the guy proceeded to pass over a bunch of white roses Ruby's favourite flower. "Please sign over here" the guy pointed to the screen on his little courier blackberry. Ruby signed and the guy left running down the stairs to her front door and back to his corrier van the thudding of bass music slowly faded as he drove down her street and out of sight.

Ruby closed the door and walking towards the kitchen pulled out the card that acompanied the flowers it read: To my gorgeous Ruby Rose, On the eve of your 16th birthday. See you next week when you come stay. Love you heaps Dad.

Every year dad would send a bunch of roses for Ruby's birthday always a week early since she was 10. Ruby's paents had divorced when she was two, her mum raised Ruby in New Zealand while her Dad moved back to Ireland where he was originally from in a small little village called Rainbow Falls. Ruby's dad would usually come and stay twice a year to see and spend time with her. It was always a weekend after her birthday and Christmas for a week. But this year Rubys mum Dawn was allowing her to go and stay with her Dad for two whole weeks in Ireland and she was flying there by herself. Ruby had been looking forward to this ever since her 15th birrhday when her mum had announced she could go to Ireland.

Ruby went ramaging through the cupboards in the kitchen looking for a vase for the flowers. Finding one she ran the water and popped the flowers in and displayed it in the middle of the dining table. Rubys mum was a flight attendant and was working that day on a few international flights somewhere around the world Ruby had been so use to her mum flying all over the place and not being home much.

Ruby ran back upstairs to her room and jumped back into bed. Receiving the flowers from her dad got her so excited it was hard for her to get back to sleep. She turned on ger t.v and decided to have a lazy day. Flipping the channels there wasn't much she wanted to watch, but it didn't take her long to drift off to sleep with the t.v bleering in the background.

The faint sound of the phone ringing over her t.v woke Ruby as she stumbled out of bed to answer the phone in the hall way nearly tripping on the end of her robe draped off the end of her bed. As she reached the phone it stop ringing damn Ruby thought as she just missed it. She turned to go back to her bed and then she heard her cell phone on her bedside drawyer ring, she stared at her screen to check and see who it was. The screen said Private Number.

Muting her t.v, catching her breathe she inhaled and answered "Hello?" "Hello, it's Shirley Taylor here from Wellington Airport Flight Staff management, is this Ruby Oconnor?" Shirley asked. "Umm yes this is Ruby but I don't understand why your calling me?" Ruby replied a bit confused. " I understand that your mother is Dawn Fraser, it states on her empolyee file you are her next of kin, is that correct? Shirley then tried to confirm. "Ok." Ruby managed wiping the sleep from her eyes and was trying to focus on what Shirley was trying to explain to her.

Well with deep regret it is my job to inform you that Dawn Fraser your mother I understand was on flight number 29980 flying from Rome stopping off in Australia and landing in Wellington experienced some turbances north of Austraila and had to make emergency crash landing in the Pacific ocean. More than 3 thousand passengers that boarded the plane are now missing at sea and emergency services are now putting together a search team to recover any of the survivors. Now this doesn't confirm any fatalities as yet but please, I will keep in contact and let you know of any more information as I get it. I urge you to get some support around you at this time Miss Oconnor. And with that Shirley hung up.

Ruby was in shock and sat still staring into the blurry centre of her bedroom floor, she didn't even know for how long after, she couldn't really think or do anything but just sit there at first. One of Ruby's childhood memories starting flashing through her mind of her and her mum and dad like she was watching a movie play off in her head.

RUBY'S FLASH BACK:

Ruby was a little girl about eight years old, it was a hot summery Christmas day, her Dad was in her back yard pushing her on the tyre swing hanging from the tree, Ruby's fierce red curls blowing in the breeze her mum smiling face as she brings out a tray on it freshly baked lemon pie and a jug of home made lemonade with ice cubes flowing at the top of the jug. One of Ruby's favourite foods to eat over hot summer months. As she mum placed them on the outside table and sat under the umbrella attached to the table, calm, cool and relaxed.

END OF RUBY'S FLASH BACK.