Hello! This is my newest novel, and I have been working on it for the past few weeks. I hope you guys enjoy it, because it has started to become very close to my heart.
Before you read: WARNING: This is only a FIRST DRAFT. That means that there are going to be a few typos and grammatical errors here and there.
This story is about a supernatural creature. I have recently decided to announce it in the summary. Otherwise, I think it takes away from the suspense.
IMPORTANT: THIS STORY IS WRITTEN IN A MALE'S POINT OF VIEW. Jesse=Boy.
THIS STORY IS ALSO NOT A RE-WRITE OF THE LITTLE MERMAID. Sorry, no Flounder here.
I hope that you enjoy!
Summary: I expected to have a generic vacation with my family the summer before college. I just didn't expect to meet a mysterious girl under a waterfall in the forest.
CHAPTER ONE
I looked out the train window as the trees went flying by. I leaned my head on the cold window and set my iPod in my sweater pocket. I rested my left hand on my younger sister's shoulder as she huddled closer to me. Our parents were sitting across from us on the train while Katie put her head on my lap covered by my sweater. I tried not to move around too much to let her rest for the train ride.
I was about to close my eyes and get a little more sleep as well when I heard my mother faintly call out my name. Immediately, I tugged my headphones out of my ears and listened to what she had to say.
"Jesse, can you please wake your sister up? We'll be there in five minutes."
I nodded my head and unplugged my iPod completely before shoving it in my backpack. I nudged Katie's shoulder gently, which caused her to stir.
I leaned down. "You have to get up," I whispered into her ear.
She let out a tiny groan, which let me know she was awake, but she still didn't get up. "No, I don't want to."
I smirked and shook her shoulders gently. "If you don't get up, I'm going to tickle you."
With those words, she shot up straight away. "I'm up! I'm up!"
I couldn't stop the little laugh that left my mouth. She did a little stretch before yawning and retreating back to her side of the train seat.
"Why did you wake me up if we're not there yet?" she asked.
"Mom said we'll be there in five minutes."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "I could have gotten five more minutes of sleep."
I shrugged my shoulders. "You sleep way too much for an eight year old anyway."
She stuck her tongue out at me. Just as I was about to make some witty remark, the conductor made an announcement and the train came to a steady halt. Dad smiled widely at the both of us before he got up and started getting our bags from the storage area above our seats. I stretched and let out a small yawn. I looked down to see Katie doing the same.
For the summer my parents rented a house on this little cove somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Apparently it was where my grandparents met and fell in love…or something cheesy like that. We would have driven, but it was faster to take the train, and my mom said it would add to the "experience". Oh, brother. My grandparents owned a house on the cove, and were kind enough to let us stay there for the summer while they were traveling. I didn't mind spending the summer in some secluded part of America; just as long as it didn't involve any work on my part. Katie was looking forward to her first experience on the beach.
Once we got off the train and grabbed all of our bags, we got on the bus that would take us near enough to my grandparents' house. I let my sister sit by the window as she bounced in her seat. She wasn't sleepy anymore, and seemed over-excited for our vacation.
"Your grandfather tells me there are a few kids your age that live around this cove. They usually drive to school during the school year. Maybe you'll get to know them," said my dad.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. It wasn't that I was uncomfortable with other people, I just wasn't that good with making new friends. I already had my friends back home, so making a few friends for just the summer seemed a little pointless to me.
"Yeah, if I see them around I'll try to be friendly."
He seemed satisfied with himself and nodded his head before he patted my mother's knee gently. I wasn't going to be anti-social for the entire summer, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to make friends. I needed two months to just lay back and relax. I just graduated high school, and was going to start college in September. I wanted to spend as much time with Katie as I possibly could, knowing that she would miss me while I was gone.
Once our bus stopped a little walk away from our house, we got off and started walking. One thing I noticed, which surprised me, was the amount of forest there was surrounding the few houses that were scattered around the area. The bus ride was only about fifteen minutes away from the town, and there seemed to be quite a few people riding bikes along the roads. There weren't that many houses, but the area seemed to be populated enough. It was no busy city life, but it wasn't as isolated as I thought it was at first.
We got to the house within five minutes, and dad unlocked the front door, letting us put our heavy bags down to look around. Katie tugged at my hand and pulled me upstairs with her. I cast a glance to our parents, who were already looking around the house in awe.
The house wasn't too big, but it was very nicely decorated. I should have figured that, being that my grandmother was an interior decorator before she retired. As Katie pulled me up the stairs, I saw a few pictures of us and other family members hanging on the walls.
Once we reached the second floor, I realized that there were two bathrooms and four bedrooms. That left a bedroom for our parents, a bedroom for Katie, and a bedroom for me, with one to share.
I was pulled out of my slight trance when I heard Katie yell, "I call this one!"
She ran into one of the rooms and started jumping on the queen-sized bed. I joined her as we started jumping up and down on the bed together. I knew it was a bit childish of me, but I guess that's what little sisters are for. She started giggling before she stopped jumping and just sat down on the bed. I followed her suit and sat next to her.
"Jesse?"
"Yeah, Katie?"
She shifted around so that her head was rested on a pillow. "This is going to be the best summer ever."
I let out a small chuckle. "You think so?"
I saw a wide, toothy grin appear on her face. "I know so."
After we started unpacking our bags and settled into our rooms, I decided to look around the house a bit. There was a tiny attic that was a little creepy with its dark dustiness. Katie, however, was not afraid of the attic and took out a myriad of photo albums containing different members of the family.
We found a few more hidden rooms, which Katie found pretty exciting. After a while, she got a little bored with looking around the house, and started watching some television. She asked me if I wanted to watch anything with her, but I shook my head and explained that I wanted to look at the backyard.
Once I stepped around the house, I was pleasantly met with a large covered pool. My dad told me there was a pool, and we would need to set it up once we arrived. Obviously we were all too tired to do it as soon as we got home, so I figured we would set it up another time during the week.
I walked around the pool, taking in my surroundings. Because it was already summertime, all of the trees surrounding the backyard were completely green. Despite the lack of people living at my grandparents' house before us, the backyard looked well taken care of. The flowers were in bloom, and the grass looked healthy. On the side of the backyard, there was a swing and a table with chairs. I figured my grandparents often entertained before they left for vacation.
I walked to the edge of the backyard. It was fenced in with a detailed white fence. There was a little door leading to a path that led into the forest. It seemed to be a path not taken, because there were no footprints. I could see the fences of our neighbors in the near distance. I wondered if this town was social and friendly, or cruel and silent. I prayed it wasn't anything like the town of Stepford Wives. Wouldn't that put a damper on my last vacation before college?
I looked back at the forest out of curiosity. I squinted my eyes, trying to see the end of the forest, but all I saw was more trees.
Interesting, I thought. As far as I knew, Peter's Cove was located on a relatively small island. I didn't expect for it to have such a large forest.
Slowly, but surely, I opened the little part of the gate that led to the forest. I hesitated at first. They have a fence for a reason, I realized. Were their dangerous animals on the island?
I decided to throw away my common sense, and continued into the forest. I walked slowly, and kept alert for any harmful animals. I was about to walk further along the path, when I heard my mother call out.
"Jesse?"
I turned around and called back to her. "Yeah, mom?"
"Honey, where are you? I don't see you!" she yelled in a worried voice.
I started walking back towards the house. "I'm in the forest. Don't worry, I'm fine."
"Well, dinner's on the table. Please wash your hands before you sit down."
I heard the door slam as my mom walked back inside the house. I noticed the sun start to set, and I realized I probably shouldn't go into an unknown forest when it's about to get dark.
Before I walked back into the house, I stopped. I looked back at the forest, determined to find out what was beyond that path.
The first chapter was a little short and I'll admit, boring, but the rest of the story shall pick up shortly.
I hope that you enjoyed the first chapter so far.
I would love to hear what you guys thought.
Thank you so much for reading!
- Morine (6/30/10)