PHOENIX

Chapter 1

Chloe Goodwill and her mother--Emily Goodwill--were the occupants of the secluded house in the forest. Mrs Goodwill had been living in the house with her mysterious husband, before he disappeared around the period of time Chloe was born.

Chloe and her mother lived perfectly normal lives in Metroville, well, at least Chloe was living a normal life, but Mrs Goodwill seemed to have some sinister things going on. For example, she had her cupboard stacked with protection spell books and herbs, not to talk of how the house was fashioned to repel sunlight-- unless Chloe opened up the windows that is.

Mrs Goodwill was somewhat in her late thirties, petite and beautiful. She had clear blue eyes and a bright smile, she also had brown hair which was usually held up in a bun. Chloe however, was a blonde, with blue eyes and light freckles around her cheeks. Chloe was a student in the local community high school while Mrs Goodwill worked in the daily news newspaper organisation.

  It was a weekend, and the bright sun shone down on the city in hot sufficiency, causing the surrounding temperature to increase by a degree. The afternoon was adequately warm and the hot breeze seemed to be awfully appreciated by the citizens- seeing as they came out for walks in sparingly worn casual attires. An old lady who was passing the path closest to the forest came to a halt when she spotted the lone house in the middle of the forest. She visibly shuddered and hastened her steps as she walked past.

Nothing about the refreshing weather could have reminded Dear Mrs Goodwill that her daughter was going to be eighteen on the next full moon, which was actually the next day.

Chloe was going to be of age and lots of secrets had to be revealed before the night of her eighteenth birthday- the secret behind the bedtime story, the truth about her father, her real identity, the hidden powers she might unintentionally unlock on the night of her birthday and probably many more.

 Chloe had her favourite song blasting from the speaker in her room. she danced and sang along, with a plastic bottle for a microphone, while she jumped on the bed repeatedly as she continued to swing her hair to the rhythm. Mrs Goodwill hummed along to the tune of Chloe’s favourite song as she worked in the kitchen, she already had the tune in her head, since Chloe played it almost all the time.

A chirping bird flew past the street, and into the forest, resting gracefully on the front window of the large house. A shrilling voice rang out of the house, causing the bird to shriek in resonance and immediately flying out of its makeshift window shed.

****

“Why on earth did you scream like that? Are you trying to kill me?!” Mrs Goodwill yelled from the kitchen.

“Mum!” Chloe called out as she ran down the stairs. “I’m sorry, I saw a spider, eww I hate spiders.” She said, as she scrunched up her nose.

Her mother shook her head and continued with the dishes.

“Anyway, why do you have that book with you?” She asked.

“This supposed bedtime story?  I was just about to throw it out in the garbage. Seriously mum, how could you read this to me as a kid. It’s really creepy.” Chloe said, eyeing the book carefully as she made to walk out of the house.

“Wh- what...w- wait…” Mrs Goodwill stuttered. She frantically wiped her hands with a napkin and rushed out of the kitchen. In her haste to stop Chloe, she suddenly crashed into a heap of plates and cutleries. The piercing sound of clattering utensils and crashing plates caused Chloe to stop abruptly. She turned to her mother and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, you’re okay.” She said, as she walked over to her, she caught sight of the shattered plates and misplaced cutleries. “What happened?”