Chapter 1 - Final Farewell Poem

The corridors of HighGate Academy were deserted. A lone form strode silently, her bare feet careful to move without the utterance of the slightest sound.

Another tear sacrificed it's life.

Her hazel eyes blinded by her own tears, she took yet another step ahead; an uneasy amount of confidence over-riding her entire being. She shivered as the morning breeze brushed past her; a wave of the cold reality her life truly was, washed it's way through every part of her. She found herself wishing to evaporate to nothingness, allowing the wind a victory in it's battle against her petite frame.

Who was she? Qi Yue. Undoubtedly, one of the most envied students on campus. The beauty, the brains & above all, the money. She had it all. Yet, she didn't really have much.

Being raised single-handedly by a grandmother that believed her to be the cause of the death of her beloved daughter, she never received the warmth & comfort of a real home. She guessed that's why her grandmother sent her off to a boarding school such as HighGate Academy so she could spare herself the torture of having to watch the murderer of her only daughter bloom into a full-grown flower before her very own eyes.

Despite all of that though, Qi Yue was still the subject of envy at school. The spoilt rich kid was what they all assumed her to be & her reluctance to alter their views didn't help either. Who'd believe her anyway? She chose instead to fuel their beliefs. Pity was the last thing she wanted or needed.

Living at a boarding school for the most of her life, her room-mate & best-friend - Yi Chen, seemed to be the only person that truly cared for her existence & had accepted her for exactly what she was. Faults & all. But she too, like everyone else on campus, remained oblivious to Qi Yue's less than perfect life back at home.

The luminescent rays of the rising sun got brighter with every passing second. She'd have to be quicker for within a matter of minutes now, students would flock these very same corridors.

~
He was early, he knew it. The eerie emptiness & the resonant silence engulfing the hallway he found himself at was a clear give-away that he'd woken up a tad too early. On the other hand, it was probably a good thing. He'd transferred here just the other day & hadn't really gotten the chance to explore his new home.

The muffled wails of a girl resounded in the darkness. He looked around, his interest piqued.

He took a few slow steps behind. It was now that it all hit home. The eerie darkness even this early into the morning, the chilly air……...'Is this place haunted?', he thought.

His breathing quickened; the wailing was getting closer. The closer it got, the closer he was to wetting his pants. A wimp, he wasn't for he'd fought stronger elements for his freedom, a natural fear of the unknown was more than enough to send the strongest of men cowering in fear.

Then like a random flash of light, a girl dressed in a plain white noodle-strap dress that flowed easily with the grace of a wedding gown from the chest below right down to her ankles, ran past him. The back of her hand simultaneously wiping the tears away as the onslaught of tears fought ruthlessly to make it's way down her face, she disappeared into the darkness just as soon as she appeared.

He blinked. Was that a ghost?

~
She was getting closer. This would be the end of it all. This life she didn't want to live out anymore, the fiasco she called her life……

A few moments is all it would take before she'd reach the end of the line. A dead end - one that she'd graciously accept.

~
Turning to see her retreating back, he hesitated about whether or not he should follow her. The only way he'd know for sure if she was a ghost or not was to follow her, but fear froze him where he stood. Feeding his curiosity was not worth risking the safety of his life. But then again, his curiosity had an annoying flip-side to it that ached to get to the root of everything.

With much hesitance, he took step after step; following the same path she took & before he even grew conscious of it, he was sprinting to keep up with her. His long legs easily gave way to his tall frame, so he managed to tail her without making his presence too obvious. For if he were caught, there'd be a whole lot of explaining to do as to why he was busy chasing a girl around campus.

The elegance with which her dress fluttered in the wind was wonderful to watch. Her fair porcelain skin exuded a bright glow. Her long, auburn hair danced in the breeze, revealing a silk-like texture every time the sunlight reflected off of it. She was captivating in every sense of the word. Never had a woman looked so pained, so simple, yet so breath-taking all at the same time.

His heart pounded in his chest, not from the early exercise, but the plain excitement of her proximity.

She rounded the corner & for a second, he thought he'd lost track of her. Feeling his fears resurfacing, he looked frantically from left to right, wondering which side she'd taken. He was forced to use a free hand to shield his eyes from the sudden exposure as he noticed a door opening to reveal an almost blinding amount of sunlight.

She ran straight ahead, not bothering to close the door as she did so. It was the open terrace of the school building & if he weren't mistaken, they were on the top-most floor.

'She's going to kill herself', the thought hit him like a thousand bolts of lightning. His eyes widened as she neared the edge.

"Stop!", he yelled out, but to no avail. She wasn't conscious of anything around her right now except that beam of light that was shining from off of the edge. In it she saw the only answer to her dilemmas - death. Eager to take that last step before she found eternal relief, she closed her eyes as she muttered the words. "Mother, I'm coming back to you. Don't leave me behind again...", was all that escaped her lips before............

(To Be Continued....)

A/N: I accept criticism of all sorts. Thanks for reading =D