htmliRunning. Always running. Trees were a green blur as she passed them. Searching. She looked at the woods quickly, always searching; never finding. The only sounds were that of her own breathing, the thud of her feet on the soggy leaves on the ground, and, seemingly even louder, her heart beating wildly. She got the impression that she was running in circles, but she did not stop, she continued on restlessly. Now running straight, her heart beat even more quickly... this was it... she was going to find what she had been looking for.../i

Lenore woke up with a gasp. Sweat drenched her and the knotted sheets. The late afternoon sun shined brightly through her window and glared off her small alarm clock. Lenore looked at it and groaned. It was 5:00; her mother would be home soon. She had not meant to drift off into sleep; she was only going to read for a few minutes... She sat up and then slowly stood. She still had to make dinner, and, glancing at her now sweaty clothes, would have to change, too. In her bathroom she wet a small washcloth and wiped it across her forehead, the coldness refreshing. It was always the same dream, running through the woods, searching, almost finding, and then waking up to in a clammy sweat. The girl shook her head slightly as a brief image of the forest came to mind and walked slowly down the stares. She paused at the mirror in the hall, studying her reflection. Piercing icy blue eyes and a grim set mouth were partly covered by her ebony hair that hung limply down to her mid-back, contrasting with her fair skin. Overall, she was a tall and lanky 15 year old who looked closer to the age of 13, despite her height. So different from her mother and brother... It was strange, Elena, her mother, claimed it she got her looks from her father, who had died when she was two. Questions about him were avoided, and she had never found pictures. And how could she have gotten all her looks from him? She didn't share any of the rest of her family's characteristics. People even questioned whether she was actually part of the same family, and she didn't blame them -- even she did./html