Starbound

Chapter 1

"You have never even met Aunt Raven before," Evie shook her head while stuffing my favourite red sweater in the overflowing blue suitcase suitcase.

I was supposed to tuck away the last 16 years of my life in neat little bags.

"And where even is Kettle Falls? I can't find it anywhere on the map or on Google."

"It's supposed to be an island couple of hours away from here," I shrugged trying not to think about Gram Pearl. The pain of losing her was still fresh.

Gram Pearl had told me that my father had soon disappeared after after my mother had died during a difficult childbirth. I had grown up listening to stories about my parents but I was never given any information about Kettle Falls.

"You should have seen the way Marie and Kaizen lit up each others faces," Gram used to say. "They were both made from the same cloth. One could not live without the another."

But I knew the truth now. Harsh reality has teeth, fairytales only existed in stories and tales told by kind grandmothers. Loyal men like my father did not exist anymore. Somewhere within the world of Tinder and Instagram, true love had disappeared. A month back, I had found that Chris had been cheating on me with Kyle Denvers. We had been dating since a year. It had been a shock to find that the golden boy who was a quarterback of the football team could be capable of such betrayal. It hadn't been his popularity which had attracted me. He had seemed perfect, Chris volunteered regularly at the old age home and despised bullying at school. Everyone loved him.

"I swear I didn't mean to kiss her," he seemed genuinely surprised by what he had done. I had caught Chris and Kyle red-handed.
"We are over," was all I could come up with at that time.

Chris had tried to convince me endlessly that he had never hooked up with Kyle before the kiss. Kyle agreed with him but it was too late. I could not be with with him anymore. Evie had made me burn all the photographs and knick-knacks like old movie tickets that I had saved from back when we were dating. We had almost ended up burning the carpet in the stark white apartment in which Gram and I stayed.

"When is Aunt Raven coming over?" Evie asked me as she tucked her short brown hair behind her ear, zapping me out of my deep thoughts.

"Early morning, tomorrow. We have to take a ferry to the island," I explained.

"I am going to miss you Lyssa," she hugged me. "We have known each other since we were babies. It will strange here without you."

"I know...I wish I could take you with me."

I have never been to Kettle Falls and Gram had left after my father had disappeared. She did not talk much about Moonshine Manor, her old house at the island. Gram, my mother, father and aunt had stayed there before the catastrophes happened. There had been fleeting moments when Gram had told me about the beauty of the Isle. The sparkling ocean visible from the manor and the surrounding lush green gardens. About the natural hot sprints on the Isle that banished all aches from the body and gave glowing skin.
***
I had done my best to add add colour to pale face by rubbing on some pink lip tint on my cheeks and lips. Since I wanted to look presentable for Aunt Raven I had brushed my thick chestnut colour hair till they shone. There were many things that Gram had taught me and one of them was to respect myself by doing self-care.

"I love you sweetheart," she kissed my forehead after reading me a bedtime story. "I hope you will always remember to love yourself too." I had been around 8 years old but the memory was still imprinted in my mind. "Even if the works says that you're too silly, or you're too loud, or too much, always be proud of yourself."

Aunt Raven was a beautiful woman with midnight black hair, blue eyes like Gram Pearl, a straight nose and trademark Lockwood lips same like Gram Pearl and me. My eyes were doe shaped and hazel in colour like my father's, I was told. Even my hair resembled my father's, a man I had not met. Sometimes, I wonder, did Kaizen not feel love towards me? Any will to stay back after for his daughter after mother died? He not even tried to contact me in sixteen years.

"That will be 40€," the woman at the counter told us. "Are you sure you want a one way tickets for the ferry?"

"I swear the ticket becomes more expensive by each passing day," aunt Raven lamented. "Yes two one way tickets only."

The ferry ride was 2 hours long. I couldn't help but gape at the view around me. It seemed otherworldly and quite different from the city I was used to living in. I was surrounded by soft cotton clouds and sparkling blue water. I couldn't imagine Gram leaving this for the dull city life. There were around 10 people on the ferry including Raven and me, and they all kept looking at us curiously.

"Kettle Falls in a small town. We are not used to having new people visiting. Not many people know it exists after all and we prefer it that way," Raven sipped on her steaming coffee as she gazed at the sky. "You look just like him you know, Kaizen"

We were interrupted by an old lady with silver hair and kind brown eyes, "Well, hello there. Who have we got here?"
"Grace, come join us!" Raven smiled. " This is Lyssa, Marie's daughter."
"It's great to see you after all these years. Last I saw you, you were 14 years old," Grace stated.
"This is my first time visiting Kettle Falls," I felt goosebumps rising.
Raven gave a pointed look to Grace.
"Off course, I might be mistaken. It must have been someone else," she laughed. "I hope you settle well in the isle. I am heartbroken to know about Pearl. She was a dear friend of mine," her eyes grew misty.
"Thank you for your condolences, Grace," Raven's voice hitched a little. We are all going to miss her."

"I have been here before," I said softly once Grace left.
Raven sighed, "Yes, you have but it's best to forget about it."

I felt my world crumble around me. Everything that I had known was a lie. Gram had lied to me. The person who I had trusted the most on earth had kept me in the dark.