Chapter Two

Shira leaned against the rusty metal railings that surrounded the lake to prevent small children from falling into the deep water. Dragonflies skimmed across the water, their razor thin bodies flashing for a split second in the light as they flicked this way and that. Faint calls came from coots as they glided between clusters of lily pads, their sleek bodies sooty knives in the water. A small waterfall fed the lake with running green-blue water that crashed into the lake’s depths at the other side. Weeping willows were scattered along the banks, their tangles dipping sorrowfully into the slowly shifting water.

 

It was a rare and beautiful sight.

 

Shira closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a deep sigh of annoyance and frustration. Nothing came to her mind, no matter how hard she tried to summon memories of the past. She had no memories of any friends or family nor of her own history. Nor did she have any recollection of how she had even arrived here in the first place.

 

Where am I?

 

Gazing around at her surroundings, Shira had worked out that she was inside a large park somewhere in London since many of the people spoke in crisp London accents. The air was filled with the sound of laughter and shouts as children chased one another; and families sat in the shade of the many trees attempt to escape the intense heat of the day, chattering to one another as they ate their sandwiches.

 

But where in London?

 

Shira dropped her gaze to the water’s surface to observe her features once again: a shock of short, charcoal black hair concealed and squashed beneath a flat cap; large and sorrowful, haunting blue eyes �" the type of eyes that people could easily become lost in as soon as they gazed into them, oceans of never ending sadness; and a thin child-like face that had yet to shrug off the childish roundness that softened the edges and the slightly pointed chin. Shira guessed that she couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen years old from her small figure and height, and her childish face. With her shorts, shirt and trainers, she could easily pass off for a boy if she wanted to.

 

The fiery orange sunset illuminated the park and bathed the surroundings in a blazing glow. Soon, it would become nightfall and the park would succumb to the darkness. Shira knew that she had to find somewhere to stay before darkness fell upon the London streets. Her instincts warned her that danger lurked within London streets once day gave way to night.

 

Frowning, Shira dug her hands into her trouser pockets, feeling the soft and velvety inside material with her fingers. She swore softly under her breath when she found nothing, not even the hint of a penny. Shira could feel the desperation beginning to build up, a tiny bubble in her chest that was starting to swell with each passing moment.

 

I must stay calm.

 

Shira glanced up at the lake in time to spot a small family of swans passing silently through the water, specks of white brilliance against the trail-blazing sky.

 

Swans in a lake.

 

Shira's eyebrows knitted together as if she were in deep concentration.

 

Swan Lake.

 

It was almost as if the two words were a rare key to a lost memory.

 

Shira was peering over the heads of the people in front, swaying from side to side to catch a glimpse of the sight below, eyes wide with anticipation and an eager hunger. Music soared through the air, filling Shira’s ears with the racing of percussion and strings. Her heart lifted and pounded with the music, her emotions rising and falling. She had to see them, she had to see them…

 

Ah, there they were!

 

A silvery blue flashed for a fleeting moment before it disappeared back behind the back of the head of the person in front. But it was enough to send waves of intense excitement crashing through Shira. Laughter escaped from her mouth as she jumped in her seat, her tiny plaits bouncing against her cheeks.

 

They twirled and leapt into the air with a practised and precise timing that flowed with the music. The dancers pirouetted and glided with a rare beautiful and elegant grace that could be found nowhere else in the world. Their costumes sparkled rainbows in the soft glow of the stage lights, their dresses snow white against the dark ocean blue of the floor.

 

"Shira,"

 

The voice broke the spell, shattering the trance that the ballet dancers had cast over Shira. Shira swivelled her head in the direction of the voice to find an unfamiliar woman standing beside her, a smile upon her face and lit in her stormy blue eyes.

 

"I got you chocolate ice cream,"

 

With a small squeal of delight, Shira reached out and snatched the tiny tub of ice cream from the woman's extended palm. Ripping open the lid of the tub, Shira's concentration was focused entirely on obtaining the tiny plastic spoon provided that would allow her to dig into the ice cream. Shira stared at the glittering chocolate ice cream yet to be prised apart and shoved into an eager child's mouth. The sharp coldness of the ice cream stabbed through the plastic and into her hands, but she didn't care. Ice cream was what she had wanted and now she had it.

 

The ice cream was surprisingly easy to dig into, soft and gooey - just how Shira liked her ice cream to be. She shoved the tiny spoon into her mouth, coating her tongue and slowly filling her mouth with the indelible flavour of chocolate ice cream. Shira relished in the taste of the ice cream as the woman gently began to run her hand through Shira's hair.