.·:*¨ Chapter 1 ¨*:·.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
Lena Carter stared at the notification on her phone and resisted the urge to groan.
Location shared with Mom and Dad.
Again.
Not that she could do much about it. If she turned it off, her mother would notice within minutes. If she ignored a text, she’d get a call. If she missed a call, she’d probably get three more.
It had always been like that.
Well, not always.
Lena shoved her phone into her pocket and looked out the living room window. Across the street, a group of kids rode their bikes down the road, disappearing around a corner. A few years ago she would’ve followed them without a second thought.
Instead, she’d spent most of her teenage years dealing with curfews, check-ins, and rules.
Lots and lots of rules.
Don’t go too far.
Tell us where you’re going.
Be home before dark.
Answer your phone.
Share your location.
The list never seemed to end.
Most people would’ve hated it.
Honestly, sometimes Lena did too.
But she couldn’t really blame her parents.
Not after what happened.
Her gaze drifted to a framed photograph sitting on a nearby shelf.
The picture showed two girls standing in a park, both making ridiculous faces at the camera.
Lena barely looked older than a child.
The older girl had an arm around her shoulders and a grin that somehow managed to look both annoying and confident at the same time.
Evelyn.
Lena’s older sister.
Missing for five years.
Gone without a trace.
Lena had been thirteen when it happened.
One day Evelyn was there.
The next she wasn’t.
No answers.
No explanation.
Nothing.
Everything changed after that.
The house became quieter.
Her parents became stricter.
Fear settled into every corner of their lives and never really left.
Lena understood it.
She really did.
But understanding it didn’t make living with it any easier.
Which was why she’d made a promise years ago.
A promise she’d repeated so many times her parents could probably recite it from memory.
Lena - “When I turn eighteen,” she’d told them countless times, “I’m moving out.”
Her mother always sighed.
Her father always looked concerned.
Neither of them ever believed she’d actually do it.
Lena smiled slightly.
Well.
Today was one week after her eighteenth birthday.
And she was finally keeping that promise.
Cardboard boxes filled most of Lena’s room.
Some were neatly taped shut.
Others sat open on the floor, waiting for her to decide whether certain things were worth taking.
Lena stood in the middle of the mess with her hands on her hips.
After years of talking about leaving, it felt strange that it was actually happening.
Exciting.
Terrifying.
A little sad.
Mostly exciting.
A knock sounded against her bedroom door.
??? - “Lena?”
Lena - “Come in.”
Her father stepped inside, immediately reaching for one of the heavier boxes before she could stop him.
Lena - “Dad, I can carry that.”
Dad - “I know.”
He lifted it anyway.
Lena rolled her eyes.
Lena - “You’re proving my point.”
Dad - “What point?”
Lena - “That you and Mom think I’ll spontaneously explode if left unsupervised.”
A laugh escaped him.
Dada - “That’s not true.”
Lena - “Dad.”
Dad - “Okay,” he admitted. “Maybe a little.”
Lena - “A little?”
Dad - “You did try climbing onto the garage roof when you were ten.”
Lena - “It was a good view.”
Dad - “You fell off.”
Lena - “I survived.”
Dad - “Barely.”
Lena grinned.
Her father shook his head, though a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
For a moment everything felt normal.
Then the smile faded slightly.
The box suddenly seemed heavier in his arms.
Neither of them said anything.
Neither of them had to.
Leaving wasn’t just exciting.
It was hard too.
Because despite all the rules and worrying and endless check-ins...
This was still home.
Dad - “Your mother’s making lunch,” her father said eventually.
Lena - “Trying to distract herself?”
Dad - “Very obviously.”
Lena laughed.
Lena - “Sounds about right.”
They carried the box downstairs together.
The rest of the afternoon passed surprisingly quickly.
Boxes disappeared from her room.
Furniture was loaded into the car.
Her mother fussed over things that didn’t need fussing over.
Her father carried far more than he probably should have.
By the time everything was ready, the house felt different.
Emptier.
Like a chapter had already ended before Lena had fully realised it.
The three of them stood beside the car.
No one seemed to know what to say.
Years ago Lena had imagined this moment differently.
She’d imagined celebrating.
Being relieved.
Maybe even feeling victorious.
Instead, her chest felt strangely tight.
Her mother stepped forward first and wrapped her in a hug.
A proper one.
The kind that lasted longer than usual.
Mom - “Call us when you arrive.”
Lena - “I will.”
Mom - “And if anything happens—”
Lena - “I know.”
Mom - “And don’t forget to—”
Lena - “Mom.”
Her mother laughed through suspiciously watery eyes.
Mom - “Right.”
Then it was her father’s turn.
His hug was shorter.
But somehow felt heavier.
Dad - “We’re proud of you.”
Lena blinked.
Lena - “Really?”
Dad - “Of course.”
Lena - “Even though I’m running away to live in the middle of nowhere?”
His expression softened.
Dad - “Lena.”
She looked up.
Dad - “You aren’t running away.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because maybe part of her had wondered if she was.
Leaving the city.
Leaving the memories.
Leaving the constant reminders.
But her father simply smiled.
Dad - “You’re starting your own life.”
For a second Lena couldn’t think of anything to say.
So she hugged him again.
Then she got into the car before anyone could make the moment more emotional.
A few minutes later she was pulling away from the house.
Her parents grew smaller in the rear-view mirror.
Then disappeared entirely.
The city slowly stretched around her.
Busy roads.
Tall buildings.
Traffic lights.
Places she’d known her entire life.
Eventually those gave way to quieter roads.
The buildings became smaller.
The traffic disappeared.
Fields replaced concrete.
Open countryside replaced crowded neighborhoods.
Lena rested one arm against the window.
For the first time since leaving, her thoughts drifted back to Evelyn.
Little memories surfaced one after another.
The stupid arguments.
Fighting over television channels.
Fighting over snacks.
Fighting over absolutely nothing.
Then the good memories.
Building blanket forts.
Late-night movies.
Exploring places they definitely weren’t supposed to explore.
A small smile appeared on Lena’s face.
Evelyn had always been the brave one.
Or maybe reckless was the better word.
Lena wasn’t entirely sure there was a difference.
The smile faded slightly.
Five years.
Five years and there were still no answers.
No clues.
Nothing.
The road curved gently.
Lena pushed the thought away.
Today wasn’t about loss.
Today was about moving forward.
Outside the window, forests began appearing between the fields.
Mountains rose in the distance.
The scenery became wilder.
Less touched by people.
More alive.
And for the first time all day, excitement completely replaced sadness.
This was exactly what she’d wanted.
The small town appeared around a bend in the road.
Lena slowed slightly as she drove through it.
It wasn’t large.
A handful of shops lined the main street.
A café sat on one corner.
There was a grocery store, a gas station, and a few buildings that looked older than she was.
People walked along the sidewalks at an unhurried pace.
Nobody seemed in a rush to get anywhere.
Compared to the city, it felt almost frozen in time.
And honestly?
Lena liked it immediately.
Beyond the town sat what had truly caught her attention when she first found the listing online.
Nature.
Mountains rose in the distance like silent giants.
A river wound through the valley, its surface glittering beneath the afternoon sun.
And surrounding everything was forest.
So much forest.
The trees stretched farther than she could see.
A seemingly endless sea of green.
Lena couldn’t stop smiling.
A few minutes later she turned onto a smaller road.
Then a dirt road.
Eventually her new house came into view.
It wasn’t huge.
Just a simple countryside home with a porch, a small yard, and enough distance from neighboring houses to feel private.
The nearest home sat far enough away that she could barely make it out through the trees.
Perfect.
Lena parked the car and climbed out.
Silence greeted her.
Not complete silence.
Birds chirped somewhere overhead.
Leaves rustled softly in the breeze.
Water flowed faintly in the distance.
But compared to the city, it felt peaceful.
For a moment she simply stood there taking it all in.
Her house.
Her own place.
No roommates.
No parents.
No one telling her what she could or couldn’t do.
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
This was actually happening.
After years of talking about it.
After years of planning.
She was finally here.
The rest of the afternoon disappeared surprisingly fast.
Box after box found its way inside.
Some ended up where they belonged.
Others were dropped wherever there happened to be space.
Lena quickly realised unpacking was far less exciting than moving.
Every few minutes she found herself wandering back to a window.
Or stepping onto the porch.
Or staring toward the forest.
The trees seemed even larger now.
Closer somehow.
Inviting.
As if dozens of trails and hidden places were waiting to be discovered.
Eventually her phone rang.
Mom.
Lena smiled before answering.
Lena - “Hi.”
Mom - “Did you arrive safely?”
Lena - “Yes.”
Mom - “Are you sure?”
Lena laughed.
Lena - “Mom, I would know if I crashed the car.”
Mom - “You know what I mean.”
A second voice immediately joined the call.
Dad - “How’s the house?”
Mom - “Dad, are you listening in?”
Dad - “No.”
A pause.
Dad - “Maybe.”
Lena rolled her eyes affectionately.
The conversation lasted longer than she expected.
Her parents asked about everything.
The drive.
The town.
The house.
The neighbors.
The weather.
By the time she finally hung up, the sun had already begun sinking toward the horizon.
Darkness settled slowly across the valley.
Lights appeared throughout the town.
The mountains became shadows.
The forest became a dark wall beyond her property.
Inside the house, boxes still occupied nearly every room.
There was plenty left to do.
Plenty left to unpack.
Lena looked around.
Then looked toward the window.
Then back at the boxes.
A minute later she grabbed her phone.
The boxes could wait.
Stepping outside, she locked the door behind her and started down the road.
The cool night air felt refreshing after spending hours inside.
It didn’t take long to reach the trail entrance she had spotted earlier.
A simple wooden sign stood beside the path.
The trail disappeared between towering trees.
Lena stopped at the edge.
For a moment she simply stared.
Tomorrow would probably be the smarter choice.
She had spent all day moving.
It was getting dark.
Most people would head back inside.
Lena had never been particularly good at being most people.
A grin spread across her face.
Ahead of her lay miles of forest.
Hidden trails.
Unknown places.
Possibly the greatest amount of freedom she’d ever had.
Lena - “Now this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime.”
With that, she stepped toward the trail.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
