(NOTE: This is Brenna's POV, and it is supposed to seem like she's telling the story to someone.)
Time and time again, the world seemed to be against me. There never was a time when I really fit in anywhere. My father left for the war when I was young, leaving my mother to care for me by herself. We were alone, until my aunt came to live with us from Toronto. It was right after my 11th birthday that she arrived on our doorstep, asking us if she could stay for awhile. After a bit, "Awhile" turned into 4 years. I just had my 15th birthday, and it wasn't anything special: Just me, sitting at home in my bedroom, admiring the view from the second story. I could almost see the park; the only thing keeping me from seeing it was the row of houses across from us. I would always go down there through the alley to just sit and think. It seems that I had been doing a lot of that then. But I had a lot of things to think, and worry, about. The school year just started; it was September 19th. My mother had been sick for the past week, with my aunt caring for her. I tried to get out of the house as much as possible; I hated seeing her like that. Little did I know that that would be the last time I would be allowed to see her. I decided to go down to the park for a quick walk; I needed to clear my head. As I was just heading out the door, mother motioned for me to come to her. I went, wondering why she wished to talk to me. When I was beside her, she pulled a small package out of her pocket; about the size of a ring box. She put it in my hands, and wrapped my fingers around it. She gave me a quick smile, and then turned over and went to sleep. I left quickly after that; she looked like she was getting worse by the day. As I walked across the street and down the alley, I quickly forgot about the small package I had put in my pocket. I continued walking down path in the park; watching the kids play for just a few more minutes until the darkness settled in. I also watched the freshly fallen autumn leaves rustle against the harsh wind, with no choice but to bend to its will. I guess that I could have been compared to them. Forever stuck under the harsh pressure of life. I was still walking, but at a slower rate; I didn't really feel like going back home soon. The park was quite beautiful this time of year; the red leaves, brilliant sunsets. But all good things eventually come to an end. It was getting dark now; almost all the children were gone from the park. I pulled my coat tighter around me. As I walked the last bit of the park path before coming once again to the alley, the last bit of light faded from the sky. It wasn't dark in the park; there were lots of lampposts. But in the alley, you had to strain your eyes to see, well, anything. I've never been superstitious, but I couldn't help but to think of the moon. Was it full? I brushed off the thought; I was just going to scare myself. Going through the alley was the quickest way home; if I went around the park, it would take me at least half an hour to get back home. But if I take the alley, I'll be home in less than 2 minutes. I sucked in a breath before walking into the depths of the alley. About a quarter of the way through, I could have sworn I saw something move in the bushes. I ignored it and continued walking, but then I got the weirdest feeling, like I was being watched. I started freaking out a bit; What if someone really was in the alley with me? I started to pick up the pace a little, a light jog. Suddenly, someone, or something, appeared in front of me; about 20 feet ahead. I immediately froze in place, but that didn't last for long. I started backing up, fairly quickly actually, and tripped over who knows what? The last thing I remembered before everything went black was a tall man, wearing what I thought was a black trench coat, with what looked like white hair, leaning over me.