Ethereal | Free Rein [Pin]

Prologue

The rain cascaded from the sky harshly, it bounced off the leaves and soaked into the ground. The ground was muddy underfoot and clouds covered the sky which made it seem much later in the day than it truly was.

There was a small funeral congregation around a grave. Among them, there was a girl with hair that was changing colour due to the rain. Her shoulders shook slightly and if you paid special attention, you could hear the quiet sobs that broke through her lips. It was hard to tell if her face was covered in rain or tears.

Harper Reynolds eyes were transfixed on the gravestone. Her grief drowned out the sound of the funeral processions, to her, it just sounded like white noise. The script on the grave blurred in and out of focus.

Julie Reynolds.
April 9th, 1980 - June 25th, 2017.
Loving wife and mother.

Harper didn't register everyone paying her condolences quietly, they all passed by her, but she didn't have the capacity to acknowledge them. Her eyes rose to her father for a few moments when he walked forward, his umbrella sheltered her for a few moments before he moved past her and the rain poured back onto her.

Throughout the funeral, Harper had clutched a single flower in her hand. It was bent in the stalk due to her harsh grip and the thorns prickled into her skin. When her senses returned to her, she bent down gently and placed the blue flower onto her mother's grave. A Forget me not. It was both Harper's and her mother's favourite flower.

Slowly, she looked around at her surroundings. The storm had made the sea uneasy, it rose along the beach and crashed down like a meteor. Even through the rain, Harper could hear the clap of the waves on the rocks.

She felt as if the world was collapsing around her. So, she did the only thing she could think of, running.

With no thought to where she was going or how she would get back, Harper ran down a gravel lane towards the sound of the waves. Her black dress fluttered in the wind as she ran down the lane, gravel flew around her shoes as she ran. Occasionally, mud sprang from the ground and stuck to her tights and dress.

Harper stopped for a moment when the lane lead into the woods. Her chest burned with the sudden exercise and the wind blew through her hair, which chilled her to the bone. She heard the crash of the waves and started to run. She ducked to avoid branches but a few still caught on her arms and caused small gashes.

By the time her shoes sunk into the soft sand, her heart was beating out of her chest and her pulse pounded erratically. Harper ran out of the clearing covering a part of the beach and skidded to a halt a fair distance from the waves.

The smell of sea salt filled her lungs and fresh air invaded her lungs and allowed her to breath for what felt like the first time. After a few minutes of swaying lightly in the wind, Harper sat down on the sand. The adrenaline in her system made her legs shake, even though she was in no danger and had finally stopped running.

Harper watched the waves crash on the beach from where she was sat. She was certain that she would end up very ill after this, but at the time, it was the least of her worries. Her thoughts were scrambling around in her head, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Why had her mum been taken from her? Why so soon?

Further down the beach, a tall boy with brown hair was heading towards Harper on a tall chestnut horse. He was heading home before he got caught up in the rain and was desperate to get back as soon as he could, even if that meant being in the rain. As he trotted down the beach, he saw a slumped figure sat in the sand dressed in all black.

When he got closer, he realized that it was a girl. The girl was completely oblivious to whatever was going on around her, clearly caught up in her own thoughts. He dismounted his horse and walked towards her slowly. Even as he got closer, the girl didn't register him.

He leant down and tapped her on the shoulder gently.

Harper slowly realized that someone was next to her and jumped backwards before scrambling onto her feet.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, his horse whinnied pitifully behind him.

Harper's eyes slowly focused on the horse he was leading, "are you mad? Your horse could get a cold if you're out here for much longer!" Even as she said this, she felt the cold nip at her bones. The rain had completely drenched everything she wore.

The boy let a bemused smile cross his features, "you're going to get a cold if you're out here for much longer." His blue eyes showed evident concern.

Harper's face remained stoic and the boy asked her again if she was okay.

"Mum's funeral. Ran off." Harper explained as she dug her shoes into the sand to distract herself from the fact that her mum was dead. Her eyes remained transfixed on the ground.

The boy's eyes softened, he pitied her greatly. He slowly took off his green hoodie and draped it over her shoulders. "Even though this is fairly wet, you need it more than I do."

Harper finally looked up at him as she pulled the hoodie on, the top of her head reached just above his eyebrows. She gave him a small smile in thanks as she wrapped her arms around herself to retain warmth.

"Do you know how to get back?" The boy remained concerned, even as goose bumps rose on his own arms as he started to feel the cold through his shirt.

Harper shook her head.

The boy moved his horse a little closer to them, "If you're okay with horses, I can give you a lift back if you don't mind?"

Around them, the rain started to lighten slightly. Some dark clouds had become slightly lighter and less ominous.

"I'm okay with riding. Thank you." Harper looked him in the eye as she said it, she wanted to convey how truly grateful she was as she had no way of telling where she was or getting back but she couldn't get her thoughts to align.

Thankfully, the brown-haired boy understood this and gave her a leg up onto the horse and averted his eyes while she fumbled with her dress to bunch it between her legs. The boy then got on his horse in front of Harper and took up the reins.

"It's probably best if you hold on. You can hold on to my shoulders or my waist, your choice." The boy said as he adjusted his feet into the stirrups. Harper weighed her options, eventually, she decided to just hold onto his waist as she doubted she could hold herself up on her own.

The boy smiled slightly when he felt the arms around his waist, he set off into the woods at a steady pace with the girl he found on the beach.

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[UNEDITED]

So! That's the prologue! It's fairly short but I just wanted to get a few points across.

Thanks for reading!

- Angelica :)