-Chapter One-


Her ears popped as the jet changed altitude. She never really liked flying, unless she was going somewhere that excited her. It sort of made the trip worthwhile if she had something to look forward to as the plane slowed down on the runway. This was not the case now. She wanted to go, yes, but there was a certain aspect of her future surroundings that she absolutely detested. But, here she was, on the plane anyway.

Her ears got worse, and she squirmed around in her seat. What were those tricks to get rid of popped ears? She tried yawning, but it didn't work. She tried taking a drink of her Pepsi the flight attendant brought her with her dinner of teriyaki chicken, but to no avail. Finally, she plugged her nose, and tried to exhale sharply out of it, and her ears reverted to their normal state, although it left a nigh inaudible ring in her ears. She sighed, but the rumbling of the plane drowned it out.

The man in the seat next to her was apparently a businessman, because he had a large briefcase and a tie. He was fast asleep, and snoring loudly, but thankfully she couldn't her it that well because of the plane. Underneath the food trays, the corner of the briefcase was digging into the woman's shin, and she feebly tried to move it. There must have been some sort of project, or display, made out of metal inside the case, because it wouldn't budge. The woman sighed again. It was once more drowned out.

She reached up and turned on the reading light above her head. It was not a strong light, but it was sufficient. She pulled out her carry on, a large box, secured with yarn tied around the sides and top of the box. She undid the yarn, and opened the box. For the first time in hours, she smiled. A large book was inside the box, entitled "The Complete Works of Shakespeare." She opened to a marked page, and sighed for the third time. Such memories contained within these pages, and they reminded her of other memories. What a fool she had been to give it all up.

She read over the pages of Romeo and Juliet, as she had done countless times before. She relived in her mind the swordfight where Mercrucio was killed, the balcony scene with the many goodnights, and the tomb scene at the very end, with the two lovers having killed themselves in anguish of each other's apparent deaths.

The woman looked out the window to her left, and gazed down at the beautiful city before her. Puget Sound stretched out to the horizon, and houselights flicked on and off. A voice announced that they were soon to be landing at Sea-Tac airport, and to fasten seatbelts. The woman sighed for the fourth and last time, but this time it was in relief that the trip was finally over. Unfortunately, the hard part was yet to come.

As she left the plane and got into the connecting "hallway" of sorts, she noticed the temperature change from the sweltering hot cabin of the plane to the cold, wet atmosphere of Seattle, Washington. She could hear the rain pattering on top of the makeshift hallway, and sighed. For the first time that evening, she heard her voice, without it being drowned out by the droning of the jet engine. It sounded strained, broken. Far from what it used to be, back in the good old days. There was too much disappointment in her life for her voice to sound happy. Sure, she had good employment, some of the best you can get, but she never quite got over -

Best not to dwell on those thoughts. The woman shook her head, and listened to the rain again. How…stereotypically Seattle. Her friends had told her many times that Seattle wasn't as wet as people make it out to be. Some people told her that it rained all the time. Either way, she knew it was going to be a lot different from Hilwood, the last place she saw -

No. She mustn't. That was all behind her. At least until she got…there. All that mattered now was to get…there…and leave the emotional breakthroughs to the others. She was strong. She could get through this mentally unscathed.

She passed through customs, not even thinking about the inconveniences it caused, almost floating.

BEEPEEP.

The metal detector. It awoke the woman from her mental stupor temporarily.

"Miss, if you would please empty your pockets?"

She hardly ever put anything in her pockets. It didn't seem necessary. But some items…she wanted to keep close to her heart. She sighed for the fifth time and pulled out the object from her breast pocket. It was a locket. A golden, heart-shaped locket. Slightly scuffed, but also treated with great care. It was almost inconceivable how both could be perceived on one object, but it was. It was as if someone had half beaten upon it, and half loved and polished it. She hesitated before handing it to the customs official, and went through the gate. No beeps this time.

That locket…so many memories locked away inside of it. It was one of the only things left that reminded her of…well, that wouldn't matter now. She'd be remedying that soon enough. It was the other hole in her heart that needed a remedy…but that would never come.

"Oh, there I go again with those thoughts…" she mumbled to herself. She soon returned to her floating state, and picked up her bags and went outside.

Immediately she realized her folly in not bringing an umbrella. It hadn't connected before, on the plane and in the connecting hallway, that she would have to face the rain, face to face. Oh well. It suited her mood, anyway. Maybe that's why people are able to live here…they're all miserable wrecks.

"No, that's just my cynical humor kicking in again."

She never really was a cynic before…she left. Sure, she was pessimistic sometimes, but never a true cynic. She stepped out into the rain, and walked to the bus stop. It wasn't too far away, but it was raining hard. She felt relief when she boarded the metro and found a seat near the back.

Her hair was wet. She ran her fingers through it, disgruntled. Wet hair can bring down even the lightest of moods. When she finished "drying" her hair with her hands, she suddenly felt something near her neck - ….a hood.

"Figures I'd forget my own coat has a hood when I need it most…"

The bus took her to the general area of her destination. When she got off, she was in Magnolia, which was mostly on a large hill. There was a nice view at the top…it figures that's where she'd find them. She looked at a piece of paper that she pulled out from her pocket, and followed the address printed on it.

"Well, here goes."

This was the hardest part. It would seem that something like knocking on the door would be simple, but not when you don't know what you'll find behind it. Sure, she knew WHO, but she had no idea how they'd react to her arrival. They'd invited her…but why? She walked up to the door…and knocked.

There was a short pause. The door slowly opened, and revealed a tall woman of good build, who had a wide eyed expression on her face.

"P-Pheebs?" The wide-eyed woman asked, incredulous.

"Helga?" the woman in the pouring rain asked, equally incredulous.

"Come in…It's…been too long."





Well? Do you like it? Did I surprise you? HAHA! Heh. Well, r/r, and maybe I'll write more....heh. I hope you like it, cause I love writing it. I warn you, however, I won't be the quickest to update, because I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, if you know what I mean.
-I. Krag