Some mornings are spent wishing for another five minutes in bed once the alarm goes off. On other mornings, I can get out of bed and be ready for the day within seconds. Then there are the mornings like today, that start with only one hit of the snooze button, and yet it's fairly easy to get up. It felt normal, just like any other morning that didn't involve having a lot to do or any places to rush off to be. Yet as I moved about my room, still decorated with unpacked boxes and suitcases full of clothes, normal seemed to fade and the strangest feeling that something big was about to happen followed me around it instead.
"Beth!" My mother calls.
From downstairs, I can hear her fussing about making breakfast for us which was as motherly as she got. We had just moved to a small little county located in the southeastern region of France and to say I was thrilled about leaving my life in London would be a lie, but it was my choice and I had no one to blame other than myself for that. Besides, Vence was a beautiful place that made the fairytales from my childhood come to life. Each fountain was magic, the paths winding and mysterious like the ancient buildings that made up this place. It was the kind of adventure I'd hoped for when I decided to make the move to join my family, though dreams were often quite different to reality.
Heading down the stairs my little brother James raced past me, causing me to trip on the steps to avoid being completely wiped out. I muttered a few curse words at him and luckily it fell on deaf ears. He was six and everything was a race to him.
Taking a seat in the dining room I sighed heavily, not interested in the pancakes that had been set in the centre of the table. The wildflowers in the small vase were new, and most likely freshly picked early this morning while I was still asleep and Mum was on one of her wanders. We'd only been here a couple of days, but the house we were in was old and lacked many of the modern luxuries I'd been taking for granted - like reliable hot water.
"Please cheer up Elizabeth. It's only temporary." My mother was here for some inspiration, whatever that meant.
She had been quite an admired artist in her younger years and her small fortune had been thanks to some of the pieces she had sold. The rest was thanks to my Dads legacy he left behind when he passed. With no need to work and still mourning his death, she had been floating around Europe with James and for the three months, I had been with them. Thankfully I had been able to stay with my grandparents when she first packed up and left, but once I finished school I decided to rejoin my family for a little while, despite not wanting to travel around. I did miss them and now leaving didn't seem like an option. One thing that kept me going was how she always promised we'd be heading home soon, but the more she postponed it the more I was beginning to regret it.
Like now.
Mum often got 'feelings' about things. Apparently, when she started doing her family tree, quite a few of her descendants had been gypsies and psychics, a few even labelled as witches. So whenever she got her 'visions' or whatever they were, she put it down to having magic in the family and went with it as best she could. We had only been in Milan, Italy for two weeks when she declared we had to come here.
Two days in, I was starting to hate her and her stupid 'feelings'.
"Since it's Saturday I thought we could go into town for some shopping?" She enthused, clearly hoping my favourite pastime would get me on her side. Considering what I'd been made to leave behind in Italy, I was already wishing I had stayed in bed. But she was trying and so would I. Maybe.
"We left Milan Mum, I doubt shopping here will be anything too excited about."
If she noticed my sarcasm she didn't let it have an effect on her, but it was also hard to get excited for either of them since the butterflies I'd woken with were more like a swarm of bees within my stomach. Whatever my body was telling me was going to happen, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it.
"Just, try. Please." She forced a smile, and when James looked at me with a little bit of hope on his face, I gave in.
"I will, I promise." It made James smile, and the whole trip in he was glued to my side.
Thankfully it didn't last, and barely an hour later I was idly browsing the small paved streets on my own. The town was quite beautiful with old stoned walls making up the buildings. Flower boxes had been placed about the streets filled with bright colours and all around people were laughing and talking.
I left Mum and James at a fountain that was meant to be one of the main tourist attractions, promising to meet up later at a chocolatier a few streets over. The display in the window had been more than tempting to all of us as we had gone past earlier, albeit very reluctantly. The image of a book on one of the signs poking out from the wall caught my attention and I went in.
It was tiny, like most of the shops here and the musky smell of books was oddly comforting. I hadn't been overly popular at school and wanted to get good grades for whatever I decided in the future; I had learnt to enjoy libraries. Having inherited a love for reading from my grandmother only helped and I couldn't help wishing she were here too.
"Puis-je vous aider?" I looked up from the shelf to see the face of a girl about my age.
She was shorter than me and quite thin. Freckles covered her cheeks and her rich red hair was tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were bright green and she had a smile that instantly made me feel welcome.
"I ne parle francais. Any English?" I asked hopefully.
She nodded, "Oui – Ah, desole - Yes! I speak English. Can I help you?"
I laughed, more out of embarrassment and returned her smile. "I'm just looking, merci!"
She looked at me for a second before extending her hand, which I lightly shook. "Andrea."
"Beth, well Elizabeth, but I prefer Beth."
She nodded as if she completely understood, and despite how friendly she was, I suddenly felt lonely. I missed home and my friends, more than I thought I would.
"You are new here non?" Andrea asked curiously.
"Oui, I came here with my Mother and brother." She seemed to appreciate the odd word of her language I added, my French went as far as yes, no, do you speak English, how much and where are the toilets.
"I work here most days, if you ever want to hang out I would be happy to friend you." She pulled out a card from her pocket and handed it to me. Most of the writing I didn't understand, but her name was in bold and the phone number below told me all I would need to know.
"Merci, Andrea Flon." I read out her full name causing her to laugh. It seemed to amuse her for some reason.
She left me alone and I continued to browse, heading towards the back of the store the books were now second-hand and old. Amongst the brown leather, a strip of red caught my attention. Pulling out the worn book the image of a black wolf head with a red-cloaked girl silhouette beside it had me in awe. My finger traced the wolf shape and a shiver ran down my spine as I closed my eyes, I was positive I could hear a sad, broken howl in my mind.
"Beth? Beth? Are you well?" Opening my eyes everything was blurry, including Andrea's face, which was frowning. Her green eyes were wide with concern though I didn't quite understand why.
"Huh?" I asked, blinking a few times to clear my vision.
"You are crying." She pointed out; I felt my face and realized my vision was blurry from tears.
'Why am I crying?' I thought feeling more than embarrassed.
"Um, I have no idea why. Sorry!" She looked at me for a few more seconds and nodded, heading back to her counter.
Deciding to buy the book I followed after her and once the transaction was complete said goodbye.
"Please call me, I like a new friend!" She seemed hopeful and I couldn't help but be too. I hadn't made any effort in the last few months to make any new friends. The way Mum had us moving didn't leave much reason to and instead emailed my old friends constantly.
I smiled back at her, her good mood infectious. "I will. Merci, Andrea!" I gave her a small wave and picked up the bag.
"Andi. Everyone calls me Andi!" She called out as I left.
Finally starting to feel optimistic about this town I strolled along the street when goose bumps broke out over my skin. I stopped and looked around, feeling as though I was being watched. here was nothing out of the ordinary and shrugged it off. Whatever was wrong with me today, I just wanted it to go away. Thankfully Mum and James were nearby in a café and I quickly rejoined them, deciding some coffee was a good idea. The chocolate smell that greeted me as I walked in helped ease my mind too.
"How was your morning darling?" Mum motioned to the spare seat for me to sit down on and I ruffled James' hair as I passed him.
"I think I just made a new friend. Her name is Andi and she works in the bookstore over that way." I pointed around my head trying to remember which direction I had actually come from.
"I'm glad honey. Maybe now you'll start to feel more at home?" I nodded slightly, trying to stop any sarcastic comments from coming out and picked up a menu.
"I ordered you a coffee and chocolate tart." She doesn't look up from her phone and rolled my eyes as James started complaining about the fact he hadn't made any friends yet and I had.
I soon got lost in my own thoughts and I didn't realize a man now stood between Mum and James. Glancing up, all three were staring at me.
"Beth, this is Pierre Cassel our neighbour. C'est ma fille Elizabeth and fils James." Pierre smiled, shaking our hands before he and Mum started a quick-paced conversation in French.
I had no chance of keeping up. Instead, I took the time to look at the man. He had on an old brown suit with a white cotton shirt. His hair was thinning and his skin was tanned. His hands were calloused with dirt lining his fingernails and he obviously knew about hard work.
"Au Revoir!" He smiled at us before leaving.
"He grows onions and olives on his property," Mum spoke more to herself, seeming to be amused by this fact. It wasn't long until my coffee arrived, but it was nothing to chocolate creation I scoffed seconds later.
By that night I was more than ready for bed. The afternoon of being dragged around the many art museums Mum had managed to just, walk past had left me exhausted. Leaving the bathroom I headed into my room, mumbling to myself the whole way about only having one bathroom in the house being a nightmare.
At my grandparent's estate, I had my own ensuite and I was feeling homesick thinking of the large claw bathtub that had been the centre point of the room. Closing the door I looked around what was now my bedroom. My own bathroom had been the size of this room, which didn't include my dressing room either. The walls were off-white and the hint of fresh paint still lingered. Walking to the double bed the floorboards creaked with every step and I couldn't help but groan.
As Mum wasn't sure how permanent this place would be she had picked up the first rental she saw online and well, it was hell. I was living in a farmhouse and at this point, I wondered if camping would be an improvement. Sighing I found my hairbrush and started to brush it before getting into bed. The photo on my bedside table caught my attention, my Dads smile was so clear in my mind now though without the photo to remember him by I was constantly scared I'd start to forget him. My reflection appeared in the glass of the frame, my eyes as bright blue like my Fathers and James always teased me they changed from grey to nearly black depending on my mood. I hadn't told him that his eyes did that too.
Sadly eyes were the only part of me that came from my Dad. The rest of me was all Mum, starting with our blonde hair. We both stood at 5'10, and while we had a lithe frame, my body was more toned and agile than hers from years of doing gymnastics and dance at school. James had a lot more of Dad in him; his hair was darker, his chin squarer. I set the frame back down and climbed into bed. I had just closed my eyes when I realized I hadn't turned off the lamp.
Groaning I reached out to my bedside table and stopped as I saw the worn red cover of what I had figured out to be Red Riding Hood sitting beside the photo and my hairbrush.
'How did I miss that sitting there?' I thought.
Suddenly feeling wide awake I picked it up, smiling as it made a slight cracking sound as I opened it. Clearly, it hadn't been opened for a while and the musty smell that greeted me was the same as the bookshop. On the second page, I stopped to read the dedication.
"To the man in my dreams and to the wolf inside. Find me again." I didn't realize I had said those words out loud until the lump in my throat made me feel like I was choking.
My heart started to race as I repeated them again in my mind, the last part haunting me yet I read the line, again and again, unable to look away. It was an odd dedication, what did the wolf inside even mean and who exactly was this author?
Wiping away tears, I set the book down and closed my eyes, wondering if maybe I'd spent too long with Mum and some of her woo-woo was rubbing off onto me as some instinct tried to tell me this wasn't an ordinary book. It was void of any author names, printing information or even a copyright notice. Shaking my head, I then took a deep breath. I was homesick, lonely and oddly emotional today. It was just a book, yet the more I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach the worse it became.
Finding chapter one I sighed, pulling myself back together and began to read.