Chapter One

Shira.

 

Patchy golden sunlight stabbed through her eyelids and sliced into her eyes like a sharp knife through soft butter. Frowning, she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to block out the jabbing light that sent small jolts of pain racing through her skull. The rough bark of a tree dug sharply into her back and the hard, sun-baked earth beneath her was warm even through the soft material of her shorts. She could hear the faint sounds of laughter and shouts of small children in the distance, and the sharp splashes of running water nearby.

 

My name…

 

Her hands brushed against the velvety and damp blades of grass, the ice cold raindrops from the earlier drizzle soaking into her skin. The sun beat down upon her in relentless waves, filling the air with a dry and fiery heat. Sweat soaked the tips of her unusually spiky and short, charcoal black hair and lined her forehead in a thin and shiny film.

 

My name is…

 

Her eyes snapped open with a gasp that riveted through her aching body, yanking her from her once peaceful and tranquil state. She sucked in air in short, ragged gasps and her heart hammered painfully against her ribcage as though she had just finished a hundred metre sprint. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins, awakening her once dormant and sleepy muscles with a new found energy.

 

The sunlight fell upon the floor, broken and jagged by the outstretched limbs of the tree. Small rainbows flashed in the raindrops for a fleeting moment as shadows danced and swayed across the emerald grass. Her loud gasps began to slow and each gulp became shallower as she calmed and once more gained control of her fear and emotions. The fierceness of her racing heart gradually descended until each beat was no longer painful against her ribcage. Little by little, she came to her senses, allowing the sounds and the colours of the place to wash over her. She found her eyes widening in astonishment at the scenery in front of her.

 

My name is…

 

Around her, white petals twirled in the air with the same grace as elegant ballet dancers, teasing her and challenging her to catch them. These petals were the summer snowflakes, although they did not burn with the same fiery iciness that always arrived in the winter. They were…

 

Her hand shot out with surprising speed and deftness for someone who had just woken from their dreams. As quick as a flash, she had caught several of the dancing summer snowflakes in her grasp. For a few moments, she held her arm out straight as though she were holding a trophy aloft. Then she brought to her hand level to her face, gazing intensely at her tightly clenched fist. Slowly, with a burning and strong curiosity that only a child could muster, she carefully unravelled her fist to reveal three of the dainty and now crumpled white petals. With her other hand, she gently pinched one of the petals between two fingers and pressed it against her top lip, rubbing the summer snowflake onto her skin and closing her eyes.

 

…so soft and silky against her skin, a feeling that she would never forget and the first moment that would embed itself in her mind. Hours could have passed as she found herself immersed in the beauty and tranquillity of nature, surrounded by the calls of songbirds; and the rustling of leaves as they brushed against one another in the slight and refreshing breezes. She had become lost within time itself, swallowed in its endless depths and another to fall prisoner to the quickly passing seconds and minutes.

 

She had never felt so alive before.

 

Then it came to her through her still foggy mind as she continued to sit beneath the blossom tree.

 

My name is Shira.