Ficorpio
Chapter 1
I slowly walked home from school with my hands stuffed in my pockets. School was just like any other day: uneventful.
Ever since dad died, things only seemed to go downhill. The friends I had all left as soon as they could, not wanting to be part of the freak show that I was.
I was three houses from mine when I saw a moving truck parked near our house.
I wonder who’s moving.
As I got closer to my house, I saw men wearing uniforms with the same company logo that was on the truck, taking boxes from my house.
I speed walked the remaining steps to my house and almost bumped into one of the men on my way inside. I looked around the living room and saw boxes covering most of the room.
“What’s going on?” I asked to no one in particular.
Deciding to get some answers, I went through the hall way and knocked on my mum’s bedroom door.
“Come in,” came my mum’s voice, slightly muffled by the closed door.
“Are we moving?” Was the first thing I asked when I entered her room.
“Oh hey honey,” she said whilst packing some of her stuff in empty boxes. Not even bothering to answer my question. “How was school?”
“Are we moving?” I asked her again.
“Yes honey,” She replied and stopped in her tracks, “Remember I told you about it.”
“Yeah but you didn’t mention it being this early,” I argued.
“What difference does it make?” she questioned.
“A lot mum-”
“Can we not do this right now,” She cut me off just before I could complete my sentence. “I promise we’ll talk later but can you please be a darling and pack up the little that’s left in your room?” she pleaded.
I begrudgingly sighed and left her room with a silent yes.
“Thank you!” She shouted after I closed the door behind me.
Even if she didn’t tell me, I knew exactly what we were– or at least what she was running from. It wasn’t hard to tell from the ever prominent circles under her eyes. She looked like she was haunted by the memories of Dad hidden in every nook and crook of the house. Even though we never talked about him much after the incident, I could clearly see the pain that she was trying so desperately to keep at bay. She didn’t hide it well.
When I entered my room, I got what was left of my clothes from my closet and packed them in the suitcase that seemed a bit too small to fit all of them. After that, I took my luggage outside and put it in the trunk of mum’s car.
“Is that all?” came my mum’s voice from behind me.
“Uh…no,” I sighed. “I just need to get something then we can go.”
With that, I went back inside, taking my time in looking at the now empty house that I’d called home for as long as I could remember.
I can’t believe we’re leaving.
Guilt kicked in and the memories that I always tried to suppress played like a rile before my eyes. I closed my eyes in an attempt to shut the memories out but that only made tears roll down my checks.
I took a deep breath in and tried to compose myself and grabbed the box that contained some of the clothes that couldn’t fit in the suitcase and left the house that held so many memories both good and bad.
“We’re good to go now,” I announced as soon as I put the box in the trunk and closed it.
Mum came over and hugged me tight. “Don’t worry honey, we are going to a better place,” she whispered. “You’ll see,” she let go of me and went inside the car.
I stared at the house for a few seconds and tried to stitch every inch of the house in mind, from the oddly set up swing set to the freshly cut grass.
“Goodbye,” I sighed and walked towards the car.
I got in the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt. Mum reversed out of the driveway and before I knew it we were driving to our new home.
Could I call it a home just yet?
Chapter 2
It was an eight hour drive to our new house and by the time we reached the place, the sun had begun to make its way down the horizon and the sky was painted with hues of oranges, and pinks.
I’d always loved seeing the sun set. The sight of it brought about a sense of tranquillity and pure bliss. No matter how many times I saw it, it always managed to leave me in awe.
I was soon brought out of my train of thoughts when I bumped into someone and almost lost balance but somehow managed to steady myself, which was truly surprising considering my balance was almost always off, before landing on the paved walkway.
“Sorry-”
“Are you ok-”
We uttered simultanously and laughed afterwards.
“You’re new here.” I looked up to the owner of the voice to find a guy. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. His chestnut brown hair looked like it had been windswept but that somehow made him look attractive.
“What gave that away?” I asked with a smile playing on my lips “the fact that you’ve never seen me here before or the all too obvious moving truck that’s parked outside the house?”
He chulked at that,“Great sense of humour I see.” he said with a smile still gracing his face. He had quite a nice smile. “I’m Abel by the way,” he said as he offered a hand in greeting.
“Lyra,” I replied, placing my hand in his.
“So…” he started off, placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans,“What brought you here?” he asked.
“My mum’s car,” I said to which he gave me an unimpressed look. “I dont know. Just looking for something different I guess.” I did’t know why I was explaining myself to a total stranger. Perhaps I was too knackered from the move to think properly.
“Well then I should inform you that you have chosen the right place for that.” He spoke up." It’s a small town but everyone here is quite friendly."
“Thank you.” I smiled at him.
“Sure thing. So…I’ll see you around then?” he questioned.
“Of course since it’s a small town. See you around,” I replied and he walked away after that and I chose that time to take in the full sight of house. It was about the same size as our former house.
“Honey, can you please come help me out with unpacking?” mum called from inside the house.
“Who was that?” was the first thing she asked when I entered the house.
“Abel. He was just welcoming me to town.”
“Oh that’s nice of him.”
“Yeah.” I replied and just as I was turning my head, I noticed something was sparkling outside the sliding doors that led to the back yard. It was only after I had seen the pool that I noticed that the sparkling was caused by the lights reflecting on the surface of the water in the pool. I walked around it carefully trying to take note of how deep it went but then realised I couldn’t fully do that unless entering the pool.
“Mum,” I called out after I was back in the living.
“Yes dear.”
“Did you know that there’s a pool in the backyard?”
“Yes. I figured it would be great since the place is hot most of the year.” I then realised how silly my question was. Of course she knew.
“You still haven’t told me why we moved earlier. What was the rush?” I wanted to hear from her mouth. To hear her confirm my suspicions.
“Look Lyra, we are here now. This place is definetely better than the last one. Don’t you think so?”
Right. She wouldn’t outright say what it is that made us move. No matter how many times I tried to ask her. She just wouldn’t budge.
“I think it’s a little too early to tell for sure.”
“I did look up the place and I learned that the people around here are really nice.”
“If you say so.”
Hours later, most of the work had been taken care of when we decided to call it quits for the day. We sat at the kitchen counter and had some of the takeaway food that we got from a restuarant on our way here.
“I would have gone to say hi to the neighbours but I’m too exhausted to do that so maybe we can do that tomorrow? Wouldn"t want to come off as rude”
“Sure,” I agreed.
After talking with mum for a couple more minutes, I bade her goodnight and made my way to my new room.
The walls in my room were painted a pastel lavender and it had an adjoined bathroom with colour identical to the one in bedroom.
I had yet to unpack my clothes and the room was mostly filled with boxes of all sizes. I sighed and took my toiletries from the suitcase and went to take the much needed shower.
I don’t know how long I had been in the shower but when I got out, the bathroom was filled with steam and the tips of my fingers resembled prunes.
After dressing up in my flannel pyjama, I crawled in freshly spread out sheets. Although I had slept most of the ride here, it wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up to the sound of clattering coming from down the hall probably somewhere between the kitchen and the living room.
I tried going back to sleep but to no avail. Groaning loudly, I got out of my very comfortable bed and made my way to the kitchen and found mum trying to place cups and plates in the cabinet.
“Morning.” I cloaked to mum who was hunched over one of the boxes.
“Morning sweety.” she responded then looked up at me once she had some plates in hand. “How was your night?”
“Good. What are you baking?” I questioned, taking note of how the kitchen smelt like a bakery.
“Just some cupcakes. Remember that we are going to introduce ourselves to some of the neighbours.”
“I didn’t forget. I’m just going to have my breakfast then I’ll go take a shower.”
“You better hurry up because the cupcakes are almost ready and I want you to help me out with the icing.
After showering and changing into some comfy clothes, I helped mum ice the cupcakes and put them in seperate tupperwares. Soon, we were out the door and making our way to the first house which was adjacent to ours.
Mum knocked whilst I stood aside with the tapperware in hand. A minute or so went by and out came a woman who looked like she was somewhere in her sixties.
“Hello there,” she greeted with a broad smile on her face.
“Hey,” my mum replied with an even brighter smile, “My name’s Clarissa and this is my daughter, Lyra,” she motioned with her hand and I gave the woman a tight lipped smile and waved my hand in greeting.
“Oh. You must be our new neighbours, my name is Pauline. Please come in,” she opened the door wider and motioned with her hand as a welcoming gesture.
The door opened up to an open plan kitchen/living area. The ceiling which had open beams were painted white while the ceiling itself was painted a redwood type of colour bringing about a beautiful contrast. A fan hang from the center of the living area. The sofa were a light grey and on top of the love seat was a turquoise throw over strewn across it. A white rug carpeted the hard wood floor in the centre of the living area.
The place was all in all, gave off cosy vine.
“Please, make yourselves at home,” She said and I sat down next to mum on the love seat.
“Sorry I almost forgot, we brought this for you,” Mum handed over the tapperware that was in my hands.
“Oh my. You really shouldn’t have,” Pauline said but took it after mum assured her that it was no bother.
Pauline brought in some cookies and a jar filled with lemonade and placed the tray on the table.
“Please help yourselves,” she said and soon afterwards, her and mum were deep in conversation about what exactly, I had no idea.
I was staring outside the floor to ceiling windows that looked over what appeared to be the backyard and I saw that there was a pool. Upon closer inspection, I realised that there was a slightly obscured figure in the pool.
“That’s my grandson. He’s about the same age as you,” Pauline said after she noticed what or more like who I was staring at. I looked at her and was mortified at being caught staring, “You can go ahead and say hi,” she added.
“It’s ok really. I’m sure he doesn’t want to disturbed.” I assured her.
“Dont be silly, he won’t mind.”
“Yes honey. Don’t be rude,” mum decided to pitch in at the worst time possible. I nodded my head although a bit stiffly and made my way through the sliding doors.
I already regretted being here.
I awkwardly waited a meter or two from the pool for Pauline’s grandson to come out of the water and stared at the pool area. It was adorned with vibrantly coloured flowers here and th-
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” came a gruff voice from behind.
Chapter 3
I was a little startled and abruptly turned around only to see that the boy who had been swimming moments ago had already made his way out of the pool. He had a towel strawn across his broad shoulders and was in black shorts that reached just above his knees. His hair was tosed every which way probably from having run a towel through it.
“My name’s Lyra, your new neighbour. I was just looking at the flowers…” I trailed off with a smile on my face that probably looked more like a grimace. I expected him to say something but instead he just stared at me with a blank face.
“I didn’t get your name,” I said trying to clear up the awkwardness that was slowly building up.
“I don’t remember giving it to you,” he answered all too rudely. I opened my mouth about to throw in a comeback of my own when Pauline came over.
“Owen that’s no way to treat a girl. Where are your manners?”
Probably left them in the pool to drown.
“Now apologise to her this instant,” I stood there all too smugly and waited for his apology that never left his mouth. Instead he stormed away and went inside the house.
“I’m so sorry for his behaviour my dear,” she apologised with a worrisome look on her face as if not believing what her grandson had just done.
“There’s no need to apologise. I’m sure I must have taken him off guard. I mean its not everyday you see a stranger in your backyard right?” I laughed a bit awkwardly.
I should get out more.
I was lounging on the sofa in the living room, in my pyjamas, flipping through channels with the remote in hand in search of an interesting program. I was a little tired from today’s events.
After mum and I had left Pauline’s house we had gone to some of the other neighbouring houses. Then later went to buy some much needed groceries.
“Lyra, can you come help me make dinner!” Mum called from the kitchen just as I had settled for watching a rom-com. I resisted the urge to groan loudly and stood up from my resting position.
When I walked in the kitchen I found Mum cutting up some veggies. “Can you take care of the rice?” she asked as she took the steak from the fridge and placed it on the counter that was in the middle of the kitchen.
“Sure.”
I took the bag of rice that was placed next to the steak and took enough and poured it in a basin. I took it up to the sink and washed the rice and later placed it in a pot with enough water in it. Then I placed the pot on the stove and turned it on.
“How are you liking the neighbourhood?” she asked me whilst placing the marinated steak in the oven.
“I don’t know. Apart from that Owen guy, the people we met seemed nice,” I said “but I think its because there was no one my age in any of the other houses we went to.”
I could tell that mum was about to say something but a shrill ringing coming from the livingroom made her save her comment. Mum came back in the living room a few minutes later, phone in hand.
“That was Bridget. She was just asking how everything went with the moving.”
“You’re not travelling again are you?”
“No. Well, not yet but I will have to eventually because it’s my job,” she said softly.
When the food was ready, Mum and I had our dinner making small talk here and there. When we finnished eating, I offered to do the dishes and Mum wished me a goodnight.
The plates weren’t a lot and I had managed to finnish cleaning them up earlier than I thought. I made sure to turn off the lights in all the rooms before I went to bed.
Just as I was about to close my bedroom window, I saw Owen dive into his pool. There was clearly something up with that guy because it was almost mid-night, a time when most people chose to sleep but he decided to swim. If it was hot at the time I would have totally understood him but it was chilly outside.
Or maybe he was working out and chose to cool off in the pool.
I didn’t even know why I cared, the guy had practically embarrassed me today. I drew the curtains close and took a book from the bedside table. I had only read two pages when my eyelids became droopy. I put the book aside and decided to call it a night.