Chapter One: The Small Town

The wind was blowing softly when I arrived there, in front of Granny’s big, traditional ranch house. I stood solemnly, feeling the warm breeze embracing my cheeks, liking the fact that I am now in Waitsburg, Washington, far away from the crowd of New York City. The weather was nice, no rain, no drizzle, no lacking of sunshine. I was ready for anything.

Granny May’s ranch house was much bigger than our luxurious flat on Manhattan. It was made mainly by old, dark-colored woods and red bricks. The roof was brownish red, covered with ashes from the chimney. From the place where I was standing, I could hear the sound of mooing cows, chirping chickens, bleating sheeps and barking dogs, mixed altogether. I had always loved farms, especially the animals.

Behind the building was an extremely wide meadow, decorated with such colorful trees. A green house stood solidly on the middle of the meadow, surrounded by fences made of grey stones. Some horses were grazing the grasses peacefully.

I saw red and blue tractors, resting beside the barns and chicken coops. Some farmers who worked for Granny were taking a cup of coffee under a kind of tent near the barn. Maybe it was break time. Life in a farm must be great; almost nothing to worry about beside the weather and harvest, nothing to argue about. At least I thought so.

Living in the farm wasn’t like living on Manhattan. No traffic jam, noisy sounds of honking cars, or tons of busy businessmen and women rushing on your way to school. And I bet, the teens are much friendlier there. Unlike kids in the city who think that their lives aren’t complete yet if they’re aren’t accepted in any of the cool cliques.

“Here we are.” Dad said, scattering my whole day dream. He was carrying our bags from the car He wore jeans and a t-shirt, not a business suit that he has always worn on normal days. Mom followed behind him with her Chanel tote. Actually, the tote didn’t really fit the circumstance.

“Nothing has changed, right sweetie?” she asked, messing my hair. It was in the same color as hers, red. Not fire-red, just a normal kind of red.

“Well, I think so.” I answered. Though the last time I went here was 5 years ago -when I was still in the elementary school- and I’m now 16, I still remember it all clearly. My closest cousins, Jane and Jake. I wondered how they look now. Granny May, Uncle Patrick and Aunt Drew, all were my closest relatives.

After minutes enchanted by the beautiful scenery, I heard sounds of so many rushing footsteps from inside the house, and after some seconds, I heard voices.

‘Hey! Let me open it!” said a girl. I was sure it’s Jane.

“Nooo! I’ll open it!” said a guy. He was obviously Jake.

“Kids! Relax! You don’t wanna scare your cousin, do you?” that must be Aunt Drew.

“Just let Granny open the door, won’t you?” that was Uncle Patrick’s voice.

The second after that, the wooden door was opened. Five figures came out.

“Granny!” I shouted, hugging the first figure. Granny was still the same, grey-haired, wearing flowery dress and an apron with laces on her skinny body. She had the same smile like 5 years ago, and the same age details. She hugged me back with such warmness.

“Well, look at you! You are a beautiful, young woman now!” she said, still hugging me tight.

“I miss you, granny!” I said.

She let out a warm, happy laugh. “Ohoho, Me too, sweetheart. You haven’t been here for a long 5 years! Oh, we’re so happy to see you!”

After letting me go, she hugged Mom and Dad, I hugged Aunt Drew and Uncle Patrick. Then, I turned my head to the last two figures behind them.

“OMG! JANE! JAKE!” I ran to give a super-huge hug to the two teens my age. Jane and Jake: my kind, funny, amazing cousins. They didn’t change a lot, Jane with her freckles and curly dark brown hair, Jake with his good-looking face and light brown hair. Only they’re now 16 and 18 respectively.

“ALYSON! We’ve been waiting for you! Ooooh! I really miss you!” It was Jane. She’s as friendly and as pretty as usual.

“How you’re doin’, Al?” That was Jake’s calm voice. He messed my hair with his right hand while the left one was in his jeans’ pocket. Didn’t want to lost his cool, just the same as usual.

“Fantastic. How ‘bout the two of you? Anything new? Anything cool?” I asked. They let out a kind laugh.

“Of course! You’ve missed so many stuff! Bella already have a couple now, his name is Harvey!” Jake said. Helen is one of our family’s house. We played with Helen on holidays when we were kids. I almost had forgotten about the gorgeous horse.

“Wow! Really?!” I said in amazement.

“Yup.” They answered together. Jane continued, “Today’s such a special day. I mean, the whole Gauch family gathering and having a holiday under the same roof again, it’s just unbelievably great.”

“Yea, I’m very happy, too. This whole holiday is going to be fun, trust me.” I was very sure that it’s going to be one of the best things happened to me. They nodded.

“Well then, off to the house!” Jake said, pointing to the ranch house. “We’ll show you your room!”

“Yea! It’s so great! You got the one that’s facing the twins!” Jane yelled.

“The twins?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, they are the cherry trees behind our house.” Jake pointed to a bunch of green leaves with ripen cherries soaring from the back of the house. “They’re both facing opposite directions, weird isn’t it?”

“Really? So they don’t grow straight?” I said, feeling a little shocked.

“Yea, weird yet cool, you’re gonna fancy those two!” Jane convinced me.

“Cool. Right after you two, then!” I said. The two started to enter the house to show me my room while the adults were still busy chatting, hugging, comparing and contrasting about Waitsburg and New York City.

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