It was nearing midnight, but Caila was still awake, she always had a hard time trying to fall asleep. Her mother had said once that her absent father, Drake Von Countaine, had the same problem. Caila's mother had told her that her father had died in a car wreck shortly after she was born, and she would cry every time Caila would ask about her dad. Caila stopped asking.
Tonight was different, she wasn't asleep because she couldn't, and she wasn't asleep because she didn't want to be. She would be sixteen at midnight, and she couldn't wait.
Too fidgety to sleep, she got up, leaving her black kitten Lucius on her bed, and strolled around her room. She had posters on every inch of her walls: My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, and so on. She walked to her window, her hip-length black hair swaying, she pulled open her thin blue-gray curtains, moonlight flooded the room, illuminating her desk—which was covered in Cd's and magazines—her stereo and silhouetting her shadow on the carpet. She saw streetlights flickering, darkened houses, and the silver full moon. Her eyes drifted to her front yard where she saw a peculiar-looking man standing. He had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he was wearing a long black jacket.
Rudely torn from her trance by the grandfather clock in the living room, Caila looked at her alarm clock. It was midnight. She looked back outside, but the man had vanished without a trace. "It must be the light playing tricks on my eyes."Caila thought to herself. She closed the curtains and plopped down on her bed, Lucius jumped on her stomach, purring softly, she lay for a while, slightly disturbed by the disappearing man, until she fell asleep.
Caila woke with her mother's big blue eyes staring down at her from her bedroom door.
"Happy birthday honey bunny." Caila's mum said in a singsong voice.
"'Mornin' mum." Caila said with a yawn.
Lucius jumped from her stomach and ran from the room.
"Caila, wake up and get dressed. I want you to open up the present I got you before you leave for school." her mum said, she then turned on her heel, her graceful, long brown hair wavering as she left the room.
Caila looked at her alarm clock and groaned. It was only 6:40 in the morning. Caila rubbed her silver blue eyes as she got out of bed and went to her window and opened the thin blue-gray curtains. The sun was extremely bright, and she could barley see.
"I'm gonna have to wear sunglasses today." Caila told herself. After showering and getting dressed, Caila walked down stairs in her Green Day t-shirt, black jeans and her green Chuck Taylor's, carrying her book bag and a My Chemical Romance hoodie. Tossing them to the couch, she went, and sat down at the kitchen table, Lucius jumped onto Caila's lap. Her mother was already there waiting for her. She was holding a present wrapped in comic strips and a huge green bow. In the middle of the table was a small black box with a note attached. Caila started to reach for it, but her mum handed her the present she was holding.
"Here honey, open this first." She said with a vast smile.
Caila took the box and tore off the paper. It was a green camera phone.
"This is awesome, thanks mum!" She stood and hugged her mum.
"Thanks honey. Now open this. I found it in the mailbox this morning."
"Who's it from?" Caila asked.
"I don't know," she said handing Caila an envelope, "This was attached."
Caila took the note and read it aloud:
Caila,
Darling daughter, I know that this is the first time I have contacted you, but this year is out of the ordinary. You are now a young woman.
Enclosed is a necklace that was, at one point in history, my mothers and a plane ticket to my home in Romania. I would love you to come and stay with me over the summer. If you do not wish to come, you do not have to and you will not hurt my feelings. I am sending Jackson to the airport, if you come or not.
Love,
Drake Von Countaine
Caila, shocked by the note, looked at her mum.
"I thought you said he died in a car wreck."
"He told me to tell you he was dead so that you wouldn't ask questions about him. I didn't know he was going to ever contact you."
"Should I go?" Caila asked giving her mum the note. Her mum took it from her and read it through many times, and each time her face darkened. Caila opened the box and inside was a transatlantic ticket and a stunning pendent. It was a black diamond in the shape of a miniature bat. She placed it around her neck and turned to show her mum.
"It's up to you if you want to go or not, and that necklace looks wonderful on you..." Her mother ended with forced enthusiasm.
"Thanks mum," she said turning to the clock, "Crap, I gotta go. Livia's waiting on me at the bus stop."
"Mum can we talk bout this later?"
Caila's mum looked at the plane ticket, "The plane leaves tomorrow."
"Mum, I've got to go now. The school bus is going to be here. Bye! Love ya!" she said, she putting Lucius on the floor and went to get her things from the couch.
"Have a good day dear." her mum called after her.
"Bye Mum, Bye Lucius." Caila replied.
Caila slung her book bag over her shoulder and ran across the street to where Livia was standing; secretly glad she forgot her hoodie. It was the middle of May and nearly 70 degrees already.
"Happy Birthday Caila," Livia said, "cool necklace!"
"Thanks Livia." She replied.
"So what are you doin' for your birthday?" Livia asked
"Nothin' really."
"Are you glad that the last day of school is on your birthday?" Livia said with a huge grin.
"Yeah," she said, "Guess where I'm going for summer vacation."
"Where?" Livia said without even trying to guess.
"Romania," Caila said, "to see my long lost father."
"I though your mum told you he was dead" she replied.
"Well--." The bus arrived, cutting her off.
"Mum, I'm home." Caila said as she walked through the door. Caila's mum was talking on the phone so she dropped her bag on the couch and went to sit at the kitchen table. She picked up Lucius and sat him on her lap, he was purring softly, and petted his head. When her mum got off the phone, she sat across from Caila at the table.
"Hun….You should go," Caila's mum said slowly, "I think this will be a nice chance for you to meet…your father."
"Mum, thank you so much." Caila said as she jumped from her seat.