MISTY RIVER: The Black Prince

Chapter One

Misty River, a small and gloomy coastal town in north-west Oregon. This is where I'm moving, or moving back. This is where I was born and where I lived until about a year ago.

I stepped out of the car and stretched my back after the approximately two hour drive from Portland Airport. I took a deep breath of the crisp early fall air and looked up towards the paved pathway in front of me. I followed it with my eyes up to the familiar white and beige house with a big front porch. It was located on a tree lined street in one of the town's finer neighborhoods. The big maple trees on both sides stretched their long branches over the street, forming a majestic green ceiling of leaves above.

"Alicia, are you coming?" Uncle Luke said while he unlocked the front door to the house.

I nodded and closed the car door behind me. It felt strange to be back in town after almost a year in Georgia. My brother Jake and I had gone there to live with our grandparents after the accident, but now we were back again.

I stepped inside and put the bags on the floor. On the right side of the hallway in front of me, there was a white staircase with cherry wood treads and handrail. To my left was a big doorway into the bright living room, and at the end of the hallway, I caught a glimpse of the white rustic kitchen. It looked exactly the same as when we left, but somehow it didn't feel like the home I had grown up in. It felt different, gloomy, like someone had sucked the life out of it.

I went upstairs and then to the right. There was a short corridor with a door on each side and a tall paned window on the wall furthest away. I hesitantly grabbed the door handle on the door to my right and slowly let it slide open. Even though it had been my room ever since I was born, I was afraid of what was in there.

I stopped in the door opening, scared of how untouched the room was. My eyes swept over the room. It looked exactly as I remembered it; the beige walls, my bed in the middle of the room, my old desk in one of the corners, my bookshelf filled with all my favorite books, my white dresser with my Victorian mirror above, my built-in wardrobe with two white paned glass doors, my upholstered window seat and the door to my bathroom. Even my brown hoodie was still lying untouched on the chair by the desk, where I had forgotten it on my way down to the car that would take me to the airport 11 months ago.

It felt like it was yesterday the cops showed up in school that rainy morning in the beginning of October. I was talking to a couple of friends in the corridor with a big smile on my face, not knowing that in just a moment my whole world would fall apart. I remember throwing a quick glance towards the entrance doors when I saw two cops - a man and a woman - walk inside. I knew right away that something was wrong. The woman instantly began talking to a teacher approaching them with a worried look on her face, while the man was looking around, searching through the crowd of students talking and laughing. However, when he saw me, he stopped and began walking towards me. Fear hit me like a truck and completely paralyzed my body. The loud laughter turned into a dull buzz and I got a numb feeling in my head. After that, everything disappeared. I felt nothing. I was completely empty inside. When we later arrived at my house, all I could remember was Uncle Luke sitting at the dining table with his head in his hands, looking up when he heard us walking in through the front door. His eyes were red and swollen of tears. It was in that moment it dawned on me - what the cops had told me was true. My brother Jake locked himself inside of his room and didn't come out for days. But after the funeral, our grandparents decided to bring us with them to Georgia to stay with them for a while. I didn't care, I just wanted to get out of the house and away from all the memories. So we moved.. Things got better after a while. Jake started to speak again, and I.. I was still sad, but I just learned to live with the pain.

Tuesday, September 8

Dear Diary

Today's the day.. The first day back in high school, junior year. I haven't been there since the day of the accident. I have been dreading this day for so long now, wanting to just skip it, elope while I still can. But I realize it's not of any worth, I'm only fooling myself. I have to go back, I need it, a new start. Today will be different. I will try, really try. I know deep down I need this. It's just the first steps that are hard, the rest will fall into place as time goes by. I just have to get back to my old life, get back into routines, meet my friends.. I wonder what they will say. I haven't told anyone I'm back yet. I only kept in touch with my closest friends the first month. After that, other things came in between.. One year, that's a long time. Right now, it doesn't matter how hard I try to convince myself that everything will be alright, I can't shake the feeling of regret of leaving Georgia...