CHAPTER 1
THE REUNION
Whispers Of Shadows
Chapter one
The Invitation~~
The past had a cruel way of finding people who spent years trying to bury it.
Alora Hart had learnt that lesson a long time ago
Every morning began the same way
She woke before sunrise, made herself a cup of coffee she rarely finished, and stood by the window of her small apartment, overlooking the sleepy street of Brookhaven. The city was quiet at five in the morning. It was the only time she felt safe.
Peace had become a luxury.
Not because anyone was chasing her anymore.
But because memories never stopped.
She could still hear her father's voice
"You're useless"
"You'll never be enough"
"Stop crying before I give you something to cry about"
Even after four years away from Raven'swood,those words lived rent free in her mind.
Some scars faded.
Others learned how to whisper.
Alora wrapped her cardigan around herself and closed her eyes
"Not today" she whispered
She had spent years rebuilding the pieces of herself.
A new city.
A new job at a small publishing company.
A tiny apartment filled with books instead of shouting.
Plants instead of broken glass.
Silence instead of fear.
It wasn't a perfect life.
But it was hers.
No one could take it away again.
Or so she believed.
The office smelled of fresh paper and coffee
Alora loved that
Books had always been her escape.
When life became unbearable, stories reminded her that darkness never lasted forever.
"Morning Alora"
Her coworker, Mia, leaned over the cubicle wall with a grin.
"Morning"
"You look like you actually slept"
Alora laughed sofly
"That's rare"
"You deserve it"
If only she knew.
People often mistook Alora's quietness for shyness .
They never guessed it was survival.
When you spent years trying not to anger the wrong person....
You learn to speak softly.
To apologize even when you weren't wrong.
To make yourself invincible.
Invincible people stayed safe.
At least.......
That was what she had believed.
~~~~~~~~~
The mail arrived shortly after soon.
A stack of manuscript.
Several invoices.
One cream-colored envelope.
There was no stamp.
No return address
Only elegant handwriting
MISS ALORA HART
A strange feeling settled in her stomach.
She opened it carefully.
Inside was a black invitation embossed with silver lettering.......
RAVEN'SWOOD HIGHSCHOOL
CLASS OF 2016
TEN-YEAR REUNION
Some memories deserves a second chance
Saturday, October 17
Raven'swood Grand Hotel.
*********
Her smiled disappeared.
No.
Her breathing became shallow.
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too warm.
Too familiar.
She hadn't spoken the name Raven'swood aloud in years.
She had promised herself she would never again.
Her hands trembled.
Then slipped from inside the envelope.
A photograph.
Old.
Faded.
Eight teenagers stood in front of Raven'swood high, laughing into the camera.
Alora recognized every faces.
Ashyln
Jared
Chelsea
Matthew....
The photograph fell from her fingers.
Matthew McKinney.
His smile looked just as charming as it had been ten years ago.
Everyone else saw kindness.
She remembered cruelty.
She remembered the apologies that always came after the bruises.
The flowers that followed the insults.
The promises that were broken before sunset.
She remember believing it was love.
Until she learned that love should never hurt.
Her chest tightened.
She shoved the photograph back into the envelope.
She wasn't going.
There was nothing waiting for her in Raven'swood except ghosts.
*******
That evening, as rain tapped gently against her window apartment, Alora curled up on a sofa with a book she couldn't focus on.
Her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Instead.....
She answered.
"Hello"
Silence.
Then....
A familiar voice.
Soft.
Careful.
"Alora?"
Her heart stopped
".......... Ashyln"
A laugh escaped the other end.
"I was beginning to think you changed your number"
"I almost did"
"It's really you"
"It is"
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Ten years of silence filled the space between them.
Finally Ashyln sighed.
"You got the invitation"
"How did you know?"
"Because I got it too"
Another pause.
"Are you going?"
Alora looked at the envelope lying on the coffee table.
"I don't know"
"You should"
"No"
"Alora..."
"I can't"
"You don't have to face it all alone"
A tear rolled down Alora's cheek.
"You don't understand"
Ashyln's voice broke
"I think I do"
"I know about Matthew"
Silence.
The room seemed to stop breathing.
"You.. knew?"
"I didn't know everything "
"I only knew enough to know that you were hurting "
Alora closed her eyes.
The words she had buried for years escaped before she could stop them.
"Then why didn't anyone help me?"
Ashyln didn't answer immediately.
When she finally spoke.
Her voice was barely a whisper
" Because we were sixteen "
"We thought adults would"
"They didn't"
Alora couldn't hold back the tears any longer
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Finally, Ashyln said
"Come home..... not for the reunion, but for yourself, so the past stops deciding your future"
The call ended.
Alora remained motionless
Outside.......
The rain grew heavier.
She looked at the invitation one last time.
For years, she'd believed the hardest part was surviving
Maybe.....
The hardest part was going back.
