Shadow's Edge (Shadows Saga bk1)

Chapter 1- Solitude

Mara parked her car and stared out the window toward the middle of the cemetery. She could barely see thirty feet in front of her car in the pouring rain, but there was no way she was about to turn around. Grabbing her umbrella and a blanket, Mara got out of the car and headed in the direction of two dark granite markers. 

Mara held the umbrella close to her head and clutched the blanket tightly to her chest in a vain attempt to keep it dry. The smell of damp earth and the sound of pattering rain on the umbrella's black fabric overwhelmed her senses. Mara's eyes scanned the vast area, taking in the muted, dull colors from the lack of sunshine. The sun always seemed hidden on this day every year, as if even the world was crying for the loss that the two headstones represented. 

When Mara finally reached the headstones, she crouched down and spread the red and blue wool blanket across the waterlogged ground. She then lowered herself onto the center of the blanket, sitting cross-legged and staring up at the headstones. Almost immediately she could feel the water soak through the thick wool, making its way to her jeans but she paid it no mind. Instead, Mara kept her attention on the headstones, staring at the names engraved on their surfaces and coated in jet-black enamel.

"Hi Mom and Dad," Mara whispered to the headstones. "It's hard to believe you've been gone eleven years now. As you know, yesterday was my birthday, the day before the anniversary of your accident. 

"Aunt Natalie took me out for breakfast and then we did some shopping. Natalie reminds me of you, Mom, though I suppose that would make sense," Mara let out a curt chuckle.

"Matt and Sarah met me at the mall after Natalie and I were done so I could hang out with them as well. At the moment, Matt believes he is the best skateboarder to walk the earth. He tried to show us a trick he claims he made up while we were in the parking lot. He ended up getting something wedged under the wheel and his board stopped but he kept going. I don't think I have ever seen someone fly so far across pavement," Mara started smiling at the memory of her friend.

"Matt tried to be tough, putting on a brave face so we didn't know how much it hurt, but Sarah and I could see through his façade," she couldn't help the small bubble of laughter that crept up inside at the image of Matt in her head.

"After we fixed up Matt's knees and elbow we went out for ice cream, we told him it was for his good behavior. Matt and Sarah were making jokes and laughing, they tried to get me to join in a few times but I just sat back and listened to them. Those two always know how to make me smile. 

"Just last week, Sarah told me that she liked Matt, of course I have known for a while now but I pretended like I hadn't. For some reason Sarah seems to think Matt likes me, but I've told her that he's just like a brother to me. Like the brother I never got to have."

Many emotions flashed through Mara as she stared at the engravings on the headstones. Annabelle Collins: Loving daughter, sister, wife and mother 1977-2000. Jason Collins: Loving son, husband and father 1978-2000.

Mara watched as the raindrops gathered in the deep ridges of the engravings until they could no longer be contained. She watched them break loose and slide down the smooth stone like tears before the whole process began again, as if the rock was crying for her. Mara dropped her umbrella and lifted her face to the dark sky, letting the raindrops mix with her own tears until they were no longer visible.

As she kept her face to the sky, trying to let the rain wash away her grief, worry coursed through her as well. "Mom, Dad, I wish you were both still here. I know I say that a lot but there are so many things you had yet to do, so many things you never got to see. What happens if Natalie decides she no longer wants me? What if there's another incident like at the other houses and she thinks I'm too dangerous?"