Raven (7 page)

Even
though he was 10 years younger, Oliver was taller than Ben and was
as blonde as Ben was dark with strong features, a slightly pointy
nose and a chiselled chin.

“
Hi.
You must be Lilly. It's great to finally meet you after all this
time,” he said with a smooth voice that belied his young
years.

It was
the first time that the sight and sound of anyone had taken my
breath away and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say
either, so I quickly mumbled 'hi'. With my cheeks burning, and
before I could make even more of a fool of myself, I turned around
and walked as fast as I could, away from him. I didn't even give
him a chance to reply. I just carried on walking, without a
backward glance. Away from the other guests. Away from the party. I
rushed back into my room and sat on my bed for a few minutes,
trying to catch my breath. But it wasn't enough. I needed to get
out. I needed some fresh air. So I grabbed my coat and, careful not
to be seen, opened the front door and ran away from the
party.

CHAPTER NINE

I felt
like such a fool. An idiot. I hoped that nobody had noticed me but
I was sure that Oliver's first opinion of me was not a particularly
good one. How could it possibly be? I was rude and then I ran away.
If I'm lucky, I thought, perhaps everybody would just think it's
too much for me to cope with. All those people. Yes, it is a lot to
deal with in such a short amount of time.

Before I
knew it, I had run to the edge of the tall dark trees. The forest
Gabriel had told me not to enter. I turned briefly to see if anyone
had noticed. I appeared to be alone. What the hell? I thought. What
have I got to lose? So I walked beyond the trees as I zipped up my
coat and put on my warm gloves.

Adrenaline coursed through my
body, just as it had when I'd chopped off all my lovely long hair
and bleached it. It was the first time I had gone against someone's
wishes. Although I did feel guilty, I couldn't shake the fact that
I was being kept in the dark about something important and it
wasn't fair. It was my life and I deserved to know. And so I felt
free taking those steps into the unknown.
If they won't tell me what I have a
right to know, then I won't go along with their wishes, I
thought.

I
started to walk a little faster, breaking out into a run and as I
approached each tree the branches seemed to welcome me in. As my
breathing quickened, my face began to become gently scratched by
the foliage around me.

I
stopped to catch my breath and to look around. I was surrounded by
beautiful tall green trees and wide thick tree trunks but no
footpath. What did drift into my ears though, was the sound of
trickling water. I strained to hear where it was coming from and
followed the gentle, soothing sounds.

Moments
later, the trees gave way to a large open expanse and I stood
beside a gently flowing river. The water was crystal clear and
revealed pebbles and stones of all shapes and sizes laying on its
bed. I sat on a huge smooth boulder and enjoyed the moment, leaning
backwards so that I was flat on my back. I looked up into the blue
sky and noticed some dark clouds rolling in, but I didn't care. In
fact, for the first time in a long time, I didn't give a
damn.

The
sounds of the forest and the water beside me gently lulled me and
so I closed my eyes, feeling restful, wondering why on earth my
grand-father had tried to stop me from walking into the forest.
There was nothing but beauty and peace. I felt myself slowly
dropping off to sleep and even though my fingers and toes tingled
in the cold, I drifted and drifted until sleep overcame
me.

A woman dressed in white appears from nowhere in front of me.
She is very pretty with long black hair down her back. Her smile
lights up her face and she sits by my side. She says nothing while
we sit in silence. Suddenly she lifts her arm and a raven lands on
her hand. She looks at me and nods. She's trying to tell me
something. I try to ask her what it is but nothing comes out of my
mouth. I try to speak again but there are no words. I begin to feel
a little frustrated. Why can't I speak? Suddenly the woman
disappears and a large cat is sitting by my side, with the raven
perched on its back. It opens its beak, “Lilly... Lilly,” it says.
I'm frightened. The raven speaks? “Lilly... Lilly.” It becomes
louder and louder and suddenly it is shaking me.

CHAPTER TEN

“
Lilly!”

I woke
up and noticed Jo standing beside me, gently nudging me and calling
my name, “Lilly, wake up.”

“
You
had me worried for a little while, then,” she said. “I saw you
lying here and, well, I didn't really know what to
think.”

“
Sorry... I just had to get out of the house and I guess I
was much more exhausted than I thought. The sound of the water
must've sent me to sleep,” I answered guiltily with a
yawn.

“
How
you can sleep in this cold, I've no idea,” she laughed, “You know,
Gabriel would be so disappointed to know that you came here... but
don't worry, I won't tell him. After all, I come walking in the
forest all the time and I know he'd go nuts at me too,” she added
with a guilty giggle.

A
feeling of relief flooded through my veins. Earlier, I had been
intent on rebellion but thinking about it now, I didn't want to
hurt my family.

“
I
haven't been gone very long, have I?” I asked.

Jo
reassured me that my nap was only a short one and she had, in fact,
watched me leave the house and had followed me ten minutes later to
make sure I was okay.

Sitting
down beside me, I noticed she had a small rucksack on her back
which she took off as she smiled at me. “I figured we might need
sustenance, so I grabbed a few bits before coming after you.” She
opened the bag, revealing scones, sandwiches, fruit and cans of
what she called 'soda'.

My
stomach rumbled in response.

“
I
guess I was right,” she said as we delved in and enjoyed our own
mini banquet out in the cold as we listened to the peaceful sounds
of the river.

As we
ate and drank and got to know each other a bit better, we knew that
we would become good friends. Jo was a few years older than me and
would be celebrating her eighteenth birthday in a few
months.

“
I'm
so glad you came out to find me, Jo. My life has been so weird over
the past few months and so it's good to have someone to confide
in.”

Cocking
her head to one side just like the ravens on my windowsill, Jo
smiled inquisitively and I continued, “After my parents vanished, I
felt like I didn't belong anywhere, you know? Actually, come to
think of it, I guess I've never felt like I belonged. But coming
here... and meeting all of you guys, it's just incredible. I can't
describe it, really. Well, it's like, like I've finally come home,
you know?”

She
nodded sadly.

“
But I
feel guilty about it. How can I feel like that when my parents are
gone?” Tears threatened to erupt down my cheeks.

“
You
have nothing to feel guilty about, Lilly. You have come home. You
clearly belong here. It's not your fault your parents disappeared.
We will find them. I'm sure they're okay. Why don't you tell me all
about your life in England. I'd love to know more!” she said in an
attempt to cheer me up. I knew she would be horrified when she
learnt the truth, but she insisted on hearing about it.

So I
told her how I had grown up. In a strange and lonely world, trapped
in a home with no love, no joy.

“
Lilly, that is so sad. All of this proves that you really
have nothing to feel guilty about. You deserve some happiness now.
I wish you had grown up here with us though. We would probably have
been the best of friends from the day you were born. You know, for
someone that never had a loving family, you're very grounded. If I
had to guess, I would have said that you grew up happy and loved,
judging by your personality.”

Jo's
upbringing couldn't have been more different from my own. She had
always been surrounded by the most loving family, the Tulugaqs, and
it showed. She was happy and delightful to be around.

“
If
you had grown up in Powell River, you'd know that it is wonderful
here. Of course there's always going to be your typical
neighbourhood gossip but everyone always rallies round and makes it
the most wonderful place to be. But at least you're here now. We
can enjoy it together from now on.”

I was so
touched that I hugged her before she asked me a little more about
England.

After
telling her of the little I knew of the country that had been my
home, I expressed how upset I was to be kept in the dark about
something within the family, about something that I believed I had
a right to know.

“
I do
understand, Lilly, but Gabriel never does anything without giving
it a lot of thought first. He must have a very good reason not to
tell you... yet, anyway. I'm sure he will tell you soon
enough.”

“
Don't
you know anything, Jo? Is there something you can tell me?” I
asked, hoping that she would at least be able to give me just a
hint of something... anything to put my mind at ease.

She
looked away then and sighed and I knew I was wrong to ask her. She
was obviously torn between her love for her family and her newfound
friendship with me.

I
decided not to push it. It wouldn't be fair. So as she looked back
at me, I smiled and changed the subject.

“
Tell
me about school, Jo... I guess I'll be attending the same school as
you. Can you give me an idea of what to expect?”

Relieved
to have a change of subject, she smiled at me with thanks and told
me all about the local high school, how it was like any other
American or Canadian high school – with popular kids and geeks and
football and cheerleading. She told me I shouldn't worry though.
She knew I would fit in well. I certainly hoped so. I just hoped
that I was at the same level as the other kids in my class; it
would be so embarrassing to be behind them. Jo just had one school
year left, whereas I still had a few to go. I wished we were the
same age so I would have at least one person to go to class with.
But she reassured me that I would get on with everyone. There
weren't really any awful kids there, she'd said.

Didn't
every school have their fair share of awful kids?

“
Come
on, Lilly. We ought to make a move and get back to the party.
Everyone will be wondering where we are. We don't want them to
worry. Plus, Oliver was asking after you.”

Jo could
tell I was mortified, so I explained about my reaction to him and
she smiled. “Well, he seemed interested to know more about you so I
wouldn't worry if I were you.”

I told
her that I'd rather give the party a miss altogether and she
suggested we at least go back and show our faces. We could always
sneak off somewhere else if we felt like it.

Reluctantly, I joined her and she led the way back through
the forest, until we reached the footpath I had walked on
earlier.

It was
then that I realised I could have so easily become lost within
those trees and so I was truly grateful to Jo for following me.
After voicing my thanks, she became a little more serious... “If
I'm totally honest with you, Lilly, it was Rose that saw you leave.
She asked me to make sure you were okay and it was her that gave me
the bag with the food. Of course I would have followed you had I
known you'd ventured out into the forest alone but I hadn't
actually noticed.”

“
Well,
I am grateful to you both,” I said, gently punching her on her
shoulder as we approached the log home that was full of the sounds
of music, voices and laughing.

Although
gratitude enveloped me, I knew it wouldn't be the last time I
ventured out into those woods. Although I knew I could easily get
lost in there, deep down I had the feeling that the forest held the
key to this secret and if nobody would tell me, I would have to
find out for myself.

That
night after everybody had gone home and I lay there in the
darkness, I thought about Oliver and how stupid I must have looked
on our first encounter. Fortunately Jo had assured me that Oliver
wasn't the type of person to think of anyone as stupid. Apparently
he was a great guy, loved by all and she was sure my initial
reaction had just left him curious to find out more about
me.

When
we'd returned to the party, albeit briefly, I'd scanned the crowd
for him and he'd looked up and seen me. I blushed like an idiot but
he waved and flashed those beautiful white teeth at me in what can
only be described as the most stunning smile... ever. My stomach
had flipped before I'd disappeared back into my bedroom.

I was
fully aware that I was beginning to look like a lovesick puppy and
I felt stupid. Although I had never had a boyfriend, I'd had my
share of crushes at school. None of them were like this though.
Perhaps it was just an after effect of losing my parents and I was
looking for someone to love and to love me back.