A crisp breeze rolled off the ocean, sliding over the sand, and up onto the Boardwalk. Its cool whisper lightly caressed the evening crowd, leaving a salty trail in this wake. It carried the amplified sounds of crashing waves, which added to the cacophony of screaming teenagers, clattering rides, live music, and arcade games.
Star's chocolate brown eyes scanned the carnival-goers. Santa Carla seemed frozen in time; an eternal night of partying. At least, that's how it had seemed when she had first been Changed. It seemed no different now, even though a whole year had passed and her life was back to normal. Perhaps normal was the wrong word; she would never be normal. But she did have life back: living, breathing, heart-beating life.
She inhaled deeply, her senses alive with the neon night of the Boardwalk. This place felt like home, and being apart from it had hurt. But there was no way she could have stayed after what had happened; too many memories.
There had been no welcoming party waiting on her return. No familiar faces. Of course, some of those faces had featured in her nightmares. The problem with Star's night terrors were, she knew that monsters did exist; she had been close to becoming one herself.
A pained sigh slipped through her lips as her thoughts drifted. Phantoms swirled around her at every glance: a flash of black leather, jingling chains, and snickering laughter. Her Boys. The Boys who had charmed her and saved her. The Boys she had then betrayed, but not before one had betrayed her.
The visions were so close Star's fingers itched to reach out and touch them. She steadied her trembling lower lip with her teeth, chewing nervously. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. After all, there was nothing to fear anymore. Star forced a smile on her face and combed a hand through her wavy hair, trying to tame the wild curls that were rebelling in the salty wind.
Star strolled to the side, out of the jostling crowd, and to the graffiti covered railing. She leaned against it, looking out over the dark beach to the churning sea. Her long muslin skirt swirled around her legs. She smoothed it down, the soft tinkling of the colourful bracelets on her wrists filling the air. Star shivered and shrugged deeper into her denim jacket.
She tried to concentrate on the present and future, not the past. Now that she has back, it was time to finally settle down into day-to-day life. Running away from the past was draining; a year of trying to escape was enough. In the end she couldn't keep any of the emotional recollections away no matter how far she travelled. Fate and Opportunity had stepped in offered her an excuse to return. If only she could have checked her guilt, fear, and anxiety, along with her broken heart, at the door.
Star had a job and a place of her own now, thanks to an old friend (Marie wasn't exactly Fate, but she had presented Star with an opportunity that was too good to refuse). Tomorrow she would open the doors of 'Gypsy Rose', an eclectic new age store that was hers to run indefinitely. It was nestled between a cafe and a book store, a minute from the Boardwalk. With a studio apartment above it for her to live in, things were starting to work out for her.
Was Fate finally smiling on her, instead of condemning her? Star wondered as she gazed into the night.
"Staaaarrrrr..."
All the sounds around her faded to a dim murmur.
"Star!"
Her white-knuckled hands gripped the railing in panic, as her name rang out a second time. There was no mistaking that voice, with its icy fingers that trailed down her spine. She shivered again, this time not from the cool night.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm her racing heart; blood pounded in her ears. Her mind automatically began to chant: its alright, you are fine, the vampires are dead, David is gone, no one is going to hurt you, just calm down...
Star's pants for breath slowly returned to normal as she steadied herself. She inhaled and exhaled a deep, relaxing breath, and opened her glistening eyes. Tears threatened to fall, but Star blinked them back. The imagination was an overactive machine. She knew this, yet the voice had seemed so real.
Just as she regained control and turned back to the Boardwalk, a sharp wind rushed around her, pulling at her hair and clothes. She screamed with fright, momentarily frozen. David's mocking laugh wove its way through the wind tearing at the very fabric of Star's sanity. Her terrified eyes darted around the crowd, trying to make sense of what was happening. Her survival instinct finally flipped the "RUN!" switch in her brain, and Star launched herself into the crowd.
She fought blindly through the people, trying to swallow her hysterical sobs. Her mind whirled and accused: surely she was crazy, this was proof! Curses rang out around her as she stumbled into punks and children alike. Like a light at the end of a tunnel, Star saw an opening and dashed for it.
Free from the throngs of people Star found herself mindlessly walking into a store. Unseeing she pushed a shaky hand through her hair. She bumped into a rack of books, but barely registered the sharp pain shooting up her shin.
"Watch it lady," someone barked from behind the counter, clearly annoyed she had disturbed the order.
Star opened her mouth to apologise, but no words came. She cleared her throat and tried again, crouching down to pick up some of the merchandise she had knocked over.
"I-I'm sorry about the books," she managed, her voice thready.
"Lady, books are what you find in the library. Those are A grade comics from-"
The disgusted voice stopped dead. The penny dropped for them at the same time.
Star shot to her feet, her body whipping around to face-
"Frog" she breathed, the comics she had retrieved falling back to the floor.
