CHAPTER ONE

"Aren't you joining us?" Gena, Claire's only friend, asked her sassily.

Staring around the shiny blue-lightened club, people who were mostly their classmates dancing and having fun, Claire smiled softly.

"No, I love observing from a distance," she answered. "Besides, I'm leaving very soon." She slowly sipped the champagne in her glass while eyeing her gorgeous Japanese friend she'd known throughout the college years.

Claire and Gena were more than just besties; they were sole sisters who had each other's back for thick and thin. Neither could imagine life without the other.

"Why now?" Gena cried, pursing her lips into a pout. "Are you in the mood to fight with your witch stepmom or something?"

Claire scowled. "Not really. She's the least of my concerns right now. By the way, I'm spending the weekend at the beach house. Would you like to come?" she asked, eyeing Gena hopefully.

As if she was going to say no, Claire chuckled inwardly.

"I'd love to!" Gena snapped gleefully. "You know that I love having a good time, don't you?"

"I was just making sure. Who knows?" Claire shrugged.

"Oh please! We both need a break, girl." Gena dropped on the barstool with a sigh, untying her dark, straight hair with a stout pull of the hairband.

"Well, let's do it then," Claire uttered. "I've got something important to do there." Her look was suddenly rueful, her eyes on the glass she was tilting nonchalantly.

Sighing, Gena pulled her face closer to Claire's. "Are you finally going to visit your father's grave?" she asked, and Claire nodded softly. "It will be fine, don't beat yourself."

"I hope so," Claire breathed, the feeling overwhelming her until today. "Anyways, let's forget about that." She tried to enjoy the graduation party that she only attended out of Gena's conviction.

The two had just graduated from college, a week ago.

"I can't believe we're done with the school shit," said Gena, beckoning for a drink from the bartender.

"I know, right?" Claire sighed, staring at her glass as if it was something interesting. And suddenly she looked at Gena with a bright, hopeful smile. "I wonder what awaits us," she uttered.

All she's hoping for is to bury the emptiness in her heart. Was there anything out there for her? Should she take a vacation or something? Claire couldn't decide, for she had a lot to think of now that the school was over.

"Hey." Gena snapped her fingers, disrupting Claire's trance. "What are you thinking of?"

Claire chuckled. "I want to feel alive, Gena," she said, making Gena frown bemusedly. "Even a little bit I want to feel like I'm really living."

"What?" Gena grabbed her tequila from the bartender.

"Never mind, it's nothing to stress about," Claire said dismissively. "I'll just go home now, I'm very tired. I'll see you tomorrow, huh?" She yawned while saying this.

"Sure," Gena uttered.

Claire didn't waste more time at the party; she immediately hopped into a taxi and rode back home. Today had been a bit emotional for her, and partying was the least of her needs.

The taxi pulled over in front of her house.

"Thank you," she told the driver, and immediately strode towards the gigantic gate.

Her house was a large two-story: electric fence and enormous gate made it utterly modern. Walking inside, Claire was welcomed by a well-trimmed garden, a vast swimming pool, and a pair of swings that always visualized her childhood.

A soft smile escaped her as she made her way inside, thanking the heavens that her stepmother wasn't on the loop to ruin her evening further. She was probably cooking her deadly potions somewhere, Claire thought, for she always considered her a witch.

Feeling emotionally exhausted, Claire kicked her golden heels, and then peeled off the white strapless dress she was wearing. She climbed on the bed right away, as though afraid to catch a cold. She just texted Gena about the time of their departure, and closed her eyes to rest her mind.

The next day, just as agreed, the two began their journey. They arrived in Montesby around one in the afternoon. It was a beautiful town with attractive natural scenery, where the green met the blue. The sea and the vegetation were hand in hand adorning the place. Claire smiled with mirth as they stepped out of the taxi right in front of the beautiful beach house.

"Claire?" An old man regarded her in awe. "What a surprise, my girl! You have gotten so tall that I nearly forgot you." He was around seventy or so.

"I will take it as a compliment, Grandpa. How are you?" Claire returned happily, her smile brighter as the golden sunlight nourishing her blonde hair.

"Very fine, my child," he said, throwing a curious glance over Claire's shoulder.

Gena was watching them without a word, smiling.

"Um . . ." Claire moved aside wittingly. "This is my best friend, Gena. And Gena, this is my grandfather," she introduced them.

"Nice to meet you, young lady." The old man smiled with politeness.

"Same." Gena grinned.

"Well, why don't you come in? I'm sure you must be hungry, right?" he said urgently, leading the way inside.

"You bet I am," Gena muttered.

A while later Claire was taking a little walk with the old man, hand in hand. She hadn't been here in ages, and the only reason she decided to come this time was to finally find peace for herself; after spending a long moment despising her late father.

The burden of hatred was too heavy to carry around for longer.

"What took you so long?" The old man asked tenderly, his steps slow.

Claire had no definitive answer for that. Maybe she was afraid?

"I was just waiting for the perfect time, I guess," Claire answered in a small whisper.

Or maybe she wasn't ready to accept some facts in her life, she thought to herself.

"Do you still resent your father?" her grandpa asked carefully, and Claire swallowed hard. "You can cry if you want to, and curse him out loud if you want to. But your father never forgot about you, trust me."

"I don't know about that." Claire laughed bittersweetly, trying hard to fight the pricking tears. "If he did . . . he wouldn't have left me believing otherwise."

"Not true, Claire. All he wanted was to prepare a better future for you," her grandfather insisted.

"Future?" Claire scoffed with incredulity. "What future is there if I'm now all alone? This is not what I wanted, Grandpa. I wanted a family!" She sniffed, her anger exploding. "I just wanted to go home and find people who would hug me, ask how my day was, and whether I'd want to join them for dinner. But he denied me that! He had the chance to do it but he didn't! All he cared about was his work!" She allowed the tears to swim in her eyes, and slowly slid down her cheeks.