Prologue
All love stories have a basic outline. Two people meet, fall in love and live happily ever after. Mine follows this to a certain degree, but it goes a little deeper than that. A lot deeper actually, so much so that I'll never forget it, and I'd much rather I did. My nightmare brought me something that I wouldn't exchange for the world, and for that I am eternally grateful. It also brought me a load of crap that will haunt me until the day I die. For that, I'm not so crazy about. It will haunt us both, as we both suffered. That's what makes my love story different. We met each other in the most twisted of circumstances, so twisted that I wouldn't wish it upon my darkest enemy. Without realising, we fell in love – and then we were separated. Snatched from one another's presence before we knew what was happening.
But there are silver linings, no matter how grey the cloud may appear to be. My silver lining was a life saver. A beautiful, tremendous life saver that rescued me when nothing else could.
I suppose I better start from the beginning, as this can't be making a whole lot of sense.
I love nature. The colours and the sounds, the animals and the plants – all of it. It's just beautiful. I love the thrill of discovering a hidden paradise, a place saved from the destruction of human activity, left the way it was really meant to be seen. I become part of it, I become engrossed in the scenery and the atmosphere and I never want to leave. Science fascinates me, the way beautiful flowers evolve from a tiny seed and the way a newborn bird eventually takes flight. The sky and the trees are my hideaway, they make me see clearly. For me, there is nothing more relaxing than the sound of nothing. Absolutely nothing. When the wind has ceased, and the birds are sleeping, that's what I thrive on. Knowing that no matter how hectic and manic the day may have been, there is always the peaceful silence to calm the storm.
This may seem really extreme and particularly weird, but this trip means so much more to me than they will ever know; this is a trip of a lifetime – just waiting to be unravelled.
Chapter One
Alice is my best friend in the entire world. I would go to the end of the universe for her and I know she would do the same for me. We have been friends ever since our parents began dating way back when we were 5 so in a way, we're sisters. She's been there through it all, and I can't see that changing any time soon. We're roommates in University, and we have the best time.
At a first glance, you'd be slightly wary of her. She is the smallest, most fragile built person I know, but she could take me on. She could take half of the people on our campus on without breaking a sweat. She has jet black spiky hair, which accents her amber eyes perfectly. Her fashion sense is... unique. She is stunning without a shadow of a doubt, but when it comes to clothes she likes to make an impression. Her mother Esme, comes from a long line of wealthy businessmen, so naturally she inherited every penny earned, and spends the majority on Alice. She has all the latest designer shoes and handbags, and weird scarfy shawl things that would make me look a fool. She is constantly on my case about not making an effort, and this I can understand. It just doesn't bother me.
Alice has been with Jasper for 4 years. You couldn't find a more perfect couple if you tried. They're beautiful, intelligent and utterly crazy about each other, and I couldn't be happier for them. But it does make me long for a tiny fraction of it for myself.
I'm not pretty or athletic, and I certainly have no admirers chasing me around like puppies the way Alice does. I'm average. I wear average clothes, and carry an average conversation and have average, plain features. It sometimes makes me wonder how I have a best friend like Alice. What lies beneath, eh?
I've never had a boyfriend, as no-one takes much interest in me. Actually, I tell a lie. I did have a very determined admirer back home. His name was Jacob Black, and he was my best friend. He became a little too comfortable with the closeness we shared; until I finally had to tell him that we were never going to happen. I broke his fragile heart, and I don't think he will ever truly forgive me. But I've moved away and moved on now, so it's all in the past.
When me and Alice were ten, we had a sleepover. We had a million sleepovers, but this one held significant importance in the outcome of my life. We were watching TV with my dad Charlie and Esme, when I accidentally sat on the remote. The channel changed to some travel programme that I can't remember the name of. On the screen however, was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. They were advertising package deals to a small town in South Africa that looked like heaven. We were transfixed on the small screen, oblivious to the instructions to change the channel from our parents.
That night, we stayed awake until the early hours of the morning researching and scrapbooking the majestic town. We compiled all of our findings into a battered old scrapbook we found lurking in my loft, annotating everything in detail. When we were done, we had produced a thick mess of photo's, glue and glitter - but we swore to it like a Bible. For years we took it everywhere with us, adding to it whenever we could to make our dream become more like a reality.
We began saving when we were 14. Every spare coin we found lingering on the bench would swiftly be taken away and kept in our jar. We got Saturday jobs, and we washed cars and windows. We did anything we could to raise our funds. Much to our parents' disbelief, we were adamant we were going to make it.
And by my 22nd birthday, we had.
We were going to South Africa, and we were going soon.