A new beginning

Prologue

A new beginning

"If they do it often, it isn't a mistake; it's just their behavior." -Dr. Steve Maraboli

I took a deep breath as I stared at my reflection in the dim light of the motel's bathroom. It wasn't me. Well, it was me, but it wasn't at the same time. Dark hair, leather clothing that I usually wouldn't have worn beforehand, and a new attitude. I needed that change, but it was still shocking whenever I saw the reflection, enough to make me skip a beat. Enough that I had to focus on breathing to cool myself down. Even the brand-new tattoos across my skin were a surprise whenever I noticed them.

But it was all worth it.

For the sake of starting anew, it was required. And in fact, I felt quite proud of how drastic the changes I did were. I would pass incognito with ease now, from the wardrobe to the body to the personality and even the voice. Oh, the voice! So, high, and irritating it was. Olivia Balliol was dead. Only Mariana Silva lived on.

Flashbacks of those horrid nights were cursing through my mind as I came out of the bathroom, reminding myself of where I was how the past is the present is two different things. "The mind is the only thing connecting your past and your present," I whisper to myself. I sat on the weak bed mattress, hyperventilating, and focused on the current time: 19:32, blaring in red light from the alarm clock that sat on the wooden bedside table. " What is three things you can see?"the old TV with an antenna... one deep breath in... sat on the dresser of the room... one deep breath out... beside it was the door of the bathroom with the door slightly ajar and the foggy light sparking out enough to cause an epileptic convulse.

Another deep breath in... hold... 2...3...4... deep breath out...

I was petrified, well, to be honest, am petrified that my past will run up on me. Or more likely, HE will run up on me...

I am excited to start life as Mariana Silva but also terrified of the unknown. So that was the last panic attack I allowed myself for a while, so I could start anew. As I grabbed my backpack, the sudden loss of my belongings brought the actual realisation of everything I was leaving behind.I head out the shabby motel room to my motorcycle, another new item to my identity, since Olivia was terrified of motorcycles and against them. I sped off down the street leading out of this small town. Absorbing the fresh humid free air brought from the woods around me as I was heading to the next chapter of my life, exhilarating, right?

Well, Victoria, BC, here I come!