Untold Memories

Okay. Just so you all know, everyone lives in a small village in China. That makes life easier for me and this is a fan-fiction, kay? And please review!

It all started on a hot summer's day. In my small town, there's almost nothing to do. All the kids were gathered at the lake when noon hit. The lake was at the very edge of town, but the center of all activities here. It was the 'it' place to be, which meant you could get the best of everything thing here. Yep. The best gossip, food, and fun was found at the lake.

Then again, that was no surprise. The white sands were amazingly cool if you buried your feet deep enough and the clear, blue water sparkled like sapphires even when the sun wasn't hitting it's surface. On all sides was a forest, tall, dark green trees blocking all the noise from the village. And even though many people visited this place everyday, it was amazingly clean. It was a taboo to litter at the lake, and many thought that we were dirtying the beauty with just our presence.

For me, it started as a normal day. I packed a lunch, a book, and some other items before heading down to the lake. I was wearing a pink sun dress over a black bikini with a white beach bag. I walked through the sleepy town with bare feet. Here we are unbearably clean. Meaning there are no rocks on the dirt streets unless someone purposely moves them there, which is quite rare.

So I traveled through the silent village, unnerved by the silence. When I finally made it to the forest, I could relax. There was sound here, even if it was nature. But I didn't mind that, I actually like the sounds of nature better than those of humans. Sometimes they can be overly noisy.

Since I also had better hearing than most, I winced slightly when sound bombarded my poor ears. I guess you might be wondering why I would go to the lake if it caused me so much pain. Well this lake is large and people only messed around on three of the four sides. Not saying that the lake is square or anything, just that only the north, west, and east shores had towns people while the south did not. Personally, I had no idea why no one was over there. The view is beautiful and the nature surrounding it was practically untouched.

So I causally walked, even though I wanted to run, along the east shore until I made it to the south. There I did the usual routine of putting down my towel, laying down on said towel with a book, and began to read. I remember clearly what book I was reading that day, a bunch of poems by Emily Dickenson. Sometimes I had no idea what she was writing about, but the emotions were always there. I understand emotions and I get the gist of the poetry that way, instead of trying to decode every little word until it makes perfect and total sense.

My concentration on trying to find that elusive emotion was broken when my best friend, and the most 'reliable' gossiper called my name, loudly, before kneeling in front of me.

"Mariah! Do you ever wonder why no one but you is ever over here?" Ray asked excitedly. As much as I love him, like a brother, he's very annoying when he just got the latest scoop.

"I do wonder, since there's a wondrous view over here." I sighed, looking through my pink bangs up at him. At that time, I was thinking about why Ray always got excited when it came to gossip. I mean, he lives and breathes that stuff. Day in and day out, it's all about what he said and she did. Then again, it gets so boring here, people do need a hobby. Maybe I should get one, considering I spend all my time either sleeping, eating, or on this here rock.

"…And that's why you're the only person on this side!" Ray finished dramatically, waving his arms in the air.

"Huh?" I said intelligently. I really have to get better at listening when people talk.

"I said," Ray took a deep breath. "There's a ramshackled house just up that path, you see it?, and inside lives a murderer! You know those kids that disappeared last summer? Yeah well, he killed them! And he stomps around in town at night and if you don't lock your doors, he'll either kill you or eat you alive!" He said all in one breath.

"That's very nice and all, but I doubt that whoever is in that house eats humans, dead or alive." I sighed again, looking up the path Ray had shown me. The house was a nice size but it needed major repairs, if you could even repair it. What interested me was the fact that there were rocks and strange prints on the path. Whoever lived there, either they wore shoes, or they had some tough and crazy looking feet.

"Don't doubt the gossip, it is so totally true!" Ray shook his head at me before standing up. "I'm gonna go see if Hilary has gotten any dirty laundry on Tala yet. Bye!"

"Gossip is rarely true, but highly entertaining." I muttered to myself before flipping through my book again. Before I began to search for those hidden emotions once more, I glanced a look up at the house. Back then I didn't want to believe what I saw, the flickering of the curtains in one window. Since I was in denial about anything that could hurt me, I kept telling myself that it was only the wind, or that it was my eyes playing tricks on me.

But every time I looked away from my book and towards that house, I thought I saw something moving. Every single time. It got so unnerving, I packed up and left early, deciding that I would find some ice cream, or anything else sugary, and eat tons of it before retiring to bed early. Life had other plans for me.

My parents were out, I don't remember why, and my older brother was hiding out upstairs. So I claimed the the downstairs, as usual. I was lounging on the couch flipping through a random book that I had already read when my cat, Galux, jumped up on my chest and began to growl softly.

In this village, we all have pet animals that reflect our personalities. They're not really pets though, considering that I have a mountain cat and Lee a lion, more of a friendly companion that you spend the better part of your life with.

I started gasping for breath, I've had Galux for only a year but she's considerably bigger than the kitten that was the size of my hands cupped together. She's about my height and weighs a little less, so it's like having me fall heavily on myself. Which hurts.

So I took the hint and pushed her off as wiggled off the couch and toward the door, slipping on some shoes. We left the house and I smiled. The sun was setting, turning the sky into a water color painting of reds, oranges, and pinks. I took a nice, deep breath. The air was such a wondrous thing up here.

One thing I know is that fresh air is a rare thing in this world. Up here in the mountains, you can find still find it, but only in places where there are no cars. Thank God that everything is so close we don't need cars. Hell, we don't even bikes, you can just walk to everything. Besides, I've seen cars, and they don't smell nice, not to mention they do nothing for your health.

I followed Galux where ever she wandered. Sometimes she got really moody and all she wanted was some company, so she'd drag me around randomly. Not that I had to follow her, but it was always a good excuse to leave the house and not have to be around my parents. I love them, but they're really annoying.

Before I knew what was really happening, Galux stiffened before running off. Her tawny fur disappeared down the path. Lucky for me, she was making a racket. I ran down the path, in the back of my head I noticed that it was growing dark fast. Sounds of something crashing through the forest reached my ears, causing me to race towards the sounds. I hoped that no one was being disturbed by the noise, then again, they could all suck it up and take it like men.

I kept to the path though I could tell Galux had strayed off, thanks to a decent sized hole in what used to be a thick tangle of plants. Sooner or later, she would go to the lake and wait for me there.

As I passed the last of the trees, two things stole my breath away. The first was the lake. It was simply amazing, since I had never before went to the lake after dark fell. Water was dark on the edges but silvery in the middle, it seemed to be a portal into another world. It was a sanctuary in the midst of darkness and the unknown. The second thing I saw was a man. His silver hair matched the water in the center of the lake, it seemed to move constantly, even if it was still. His back was towards me as he raised one lean yet muscular arm towards the sky. A bird, which I later learned was a falcon, landed on the outstretched arm. Galux leapt out of the bushes, not yet wanting to give up the chase of the bird.

And I shatter the silence with one word. "Galux!"