Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the characters or most of the story plot. i have used J. ideas and interpreted them.

Living on a street like Bramley was like living with a constant headache. I wouldn't be lying when I said nothing happened here. The most eventful part of life was the rare occasion when the sun decided to peek out from behind the clouds. You know once every blue moon. No, we were under a cover of cloud that liked to drop its "gift" into us whenever I thought things couldn't get worse. Not only was I miles from school and proper civilization, but none of my "friends" lived near either, or even wanted to visit me. Sometimes I think my sister is all I have. The neighbourhood was not of the norm though; no one conversed with anyone else, apart from when they made a snide, side remark on a family that lived up the road.

I have no idea who they talked of, but what I did make out was that they were beyond any level of weird I could imagine (or at least that's what one lady said to me). Who knows? Mum and Dad say that everyone on our block is crazy and I should pay attention to them. Makes me wonder why we live here in the first place.

The gardens of the surrounding houses were dry and a sort of puke green colour, showing they obviously hadn't been watered in a while, and some were unruly. Did they even own a lawnmower? Our clean-cut, ripe, vibrant arrangement appeared odd among our neighbours'. I was almost embarrassed and ashamed by our willingness to look after our "home".

Despite it being the beginning of the summer holidays, I didn't vainly wish for the sun which I now knew wouldn't come.

It was a week into the holidays and today was no exception to this rule of boredom. The gloom had set in earlier though and for some reason it seemed dark, not dull and grey but more black and ominous. I frowned and thought about all the books I'd read; were I living in a world like that, this would be a sign – the sign of something amazing that was about to begin.

I waited. Five minutes ticked by and...nothing. I sighed and continued to gaze out of my bedroom window. My sister was here, thankfully, but seemed to be fixated on a doll I had gotten from this weird distant aunt we'd met only once. She seemed to take one look at me and see pigtails and a frilly, girly dress. She could not be more wrong. Well at least Petunia was making good use of it.

"Are you going to spend all day staring out the window?" she asked, not really interested in the answer.

I pretended not to hear her, unable to say anything. My mind had gone numb with the knowledge I'd be here for another five weeks before school began again. But then again I wasn't so interested in going back. Like I said, my friends were "friends" and I felt myself drift from them as each term passed. I needed a new beginning.

My window seat was only about a foot off the ground and half a metre in width, painted white like the rest of my room (save one wall that was a deep sea colour). It was the perfect size for my small frame. I glanced back at the room I'd had since infancy and tried to think of how it had changed. There was that one wall of sea that had previously been a baby pink (previous to my being able to speak my thoughts that is) and my bed no longer a crib. It fitted in well with the calming blue atmosphere of the rest of the room.

My room (of a comfortable size) sat on the eastern most point of the first floor and had windows on three sides. It stuck out from the rest of the house, having an open view of the street below. I could almost imagine some tumbleweed rolling past along the road. It was so desolate.

I didn't own a great deal – I didn't feel as if I needed to – just the bed, a wooden chest of drawers with a hairbrush, a few stuffed teddies and minimal jewellery scattered atop of it, and a desk. The desk held my school books, a small lamp and a couple of novels. A round, sky blue lantern hung in the centre of the room; cut out of it were star shapes that allowed some light to shine out when turned on. At night, this simple papery object managed to turn my plain room into the night sky, stars scattered everywhere.

Analysing my room only took so much time though. I looked at every title on the books, their colours and texture too, watched the slight breeze coming from the northern window ruffle papers on my desk and my duvet. I also got to a point where I was counting the pins on my hairbrush.

I needed to get out!

I couldn't believe what happened next...as if someone had answered my prayer...that was when an odd looking boy came running down the street. He seemed about my age and had, from what I could see, scruffy black hair that fell across his face. I say he was odd due to his attire. The grey trousers and white shirt were normal enough, though creased as if worn a lot, but the jumper (or rather what was on the jumper) and what looked like a...a cloak? What nine year old wears a cloak? The jumper was a darker grey than the trousers and had two green strips running up and around the collar, but it held an emblem over the right breast. I couldn't make it out but for some reason it sparked at my curiosity. As if it meant something important. The cloak was black and had billowing sleeves like that of a university student.

He was carrying a large pile of books as he went and they seemed to grow above his head. "How does he know where to go? And avoid bumping into things?" I wondered to myself.

"What?" My sister was paying more attention than I had originally thought. She tumbled off of my bed and over to where I was on the window seat. We both knelt upright, our elbows at chest level resting on the sill – which was the same width as the seat – as we watched curiously at the scraggy boy. I frowned, suddenly noticing the laces on his typical, black, school shoes were flailing about. His laces were dangerously close to being trodden on by his own shoes.

As if I had predicted, his left shoe lace got caught under his right foot and he went flying forward, landing on his face. I gasped and leapt off the seat, grabbing a coat as I ran out of the door.

If only I knew then that this moment was a turning point in my life. I'd never be the same again.

If anyone reads this then please tell me what you think. Sorry it's not much. I will try to write more (but only if I get reviews =P )