Stage 1: Sixteen

Blue eyes. Midnight blue hair. Pale skin.

Everything about my mother was beautiful. She was always a good soul, and she was the life of the party. Boys adored her beauty everywhere she went. She always had a smile on her face and she was a person you could always rely on. Her whole life was beautiful, you could even imagine. She was always like a princess.

Until that dreadful day…

Even before she passed away, she dropped me off with my stepfather, Jeetu. He was um…one of my mother's friends from childhood. So, I thought it was a good plan to stay with him rather than be placed in some orphanage.

It's been almost four years since I've lived with him, and before I could even recognize it, tomorrow's the day that I first moved in with him.

But knowing my stepfather Jeetu, he was a great man. You gotta love the guy. I mean, he's very easy to make friends with, but he can be a bit paranoid (even forgetful at times).

But enough about my past life, I almost forgotten I was supposed to meet Toboe at his apartment. He lives not very far, it's almost like we're neighbors. He lives in this apartment complex called 'Tiny Creek' and it's very close to where I live. He promised to do something with me.

I grasped for my bookbag, since my house keys are already inside. Oh yeah, I forgotten to mention, I'm a teenage girl with my own place. Pretty cool huh? But it's just for rent since I attend Red Moon High, so it's quite all right that I have some sort of my own place to stay. Gosh, I feel like such a loner.

'Course, I'd never leave my journal and other important stuff lying around, so I just take it with me instead.

Just as I rang the doorbell, I toyed with the little red and white cross choker that sat there upon my neck. I cherish this choker with all my heart, since my mother gave it to me since the day I was born. It used to be a necklace, but it snapped in half. So, I just took the charm and made myself a choker. Necklaces seemed a bit too ordinary.

"Anari! What a surprise!"

I blinked for a split second. There was Toboe standing at the door. He's a year older than me, but either way, we're still pretty good friends. It's funny how we were both born on Falls Island, but we barely knew each other until two years ago. Yeah…two years ago…

"Geez, it's cold out here, you should come inside." He said with a smile.

A very cute smile… I thought out loud. Among all of my friends, I found Toboe to have the most beautiful smile in the whole world. So beautiful, not even Aladdin would sweep me off my feet. Wow, just think…I used to love that story. But there's no way Toboe's in love with me.

No boy has been ever in love with me. Ever.

If you think I was one of those girls who doesn't have that big of a social life, you guessed correctly. Let me tell you right now, the only thing I've gotten close to love is when my stepfather took me to some kid's birthday party and a boy gave me a kiss on the cheek just to impress some friends. Boy, I was being used big time. Since then, I promised myself I'll never be in love unless if that love's true.

"Anari, come and look at this, I must show you something."

I dropped my stuff on the ground and hurried up the staircase. I couldn't help but think about what is he going to show me.

When we reached his room, he showed me a huge book. Great. I have one of those, actually…a lot of those.

"Open it." Toboe declared, "Trust me, you'll be surprised."

I gave him a smile, "Sure."

I opened up to a random page in his book. Turned out, it was Toboe's sketchbook. He drew a picture of the two of us. It was so pretty, I couldn't even explain it. This picture showed the both of us sitting on a staircase having a bowl of cherries. It was picture perfect…well, that was my opinion anyway.

Toboe leaned and gave me a surprise hug. "Happy birthday Anari…"

I widened my eyes, completely. "Oh! Um…thank you…" I couldn't think of anything else to say after that moment.

As he let go of me, I continued to blink. "How did you know today was my birthday?"

Toboe shrugged and placed a long strand of hair behind his ear, "Well I," he began, "Remember when you asked me to have a snack at your place a week ago? That's when I saw your planner. You marked your birthday on it."

I looked at him with such a blank expression. Then said, "Oh."

The next thing I knew, I returned the hug, "Well, thank you so much for the present. I…I mean, nobody actually remembers my birthday except for you and mom. That really means a lot to me."

Toboe whispered into my ear, "Of course I'll remember. You're my friend Anari." He looked up at me this time and continued, "You've always have been my friend since the day we met."

Suddenly, I heard the doorbell just ring and Toboe and I went out of his room and on the ground floor of his little apartment house. Toboe peeked through one of those little security peepholes and opened the door.

Turned out, it was Tsume and Hige at the door.

Hige's a person you could also rely on. He's more of a carefree spirited person and he just loves food. When I mean loves food, I mean loves food. That's just how he is. He's got short, scruffy light brown hair, wears a yellow sweatshirt with the design of a sun at the bottom. He's got one pocket on it, and he wears blue jeans and gray loafers.

Tsume…wow, he's one heck of a guy. He's really complicated if you want to earn his trust. I would just explain how long it took, but that would just take forever. Believe me.

This guy has squinty eyes, since he's so negative all the time. Well, he's got long silver hair, tanned skin, wears black leather, and a gray shirt. Not that bright of a person, let me tell you. But he stands up for his friends, which gives him his positive side.

"Yo, Toboe. Anari." Hige said, chewing on a hot dog…as usual. "So, I heard today's your sixteenth birthday Anari."

"You guessed right." I said. Then all of a sudden, Hige dragged me across the room and the next thing I know, we're waltzing all around Toboe's floor.

"Congratulations Anari!!" Hige chimed, he sounds like my mom already. Although, no matter how many times you celebrate my birthday, they still felt a bit lonely. Like something was missing. But I guess this was okay…

"What's the matter Anari?" Hige asked, the smile dying away from his face. "You seemed not too thrilled about your birthday."

"It's not that…" I answered, "It's just, nobody actually remembers my birthday. Not even my old friends on Falls Island. So, actually…I feel so happy."

"Oh yeah, I know how you feel." Hige smiled again, which made me smile also. "When I turned sixteen, all I got on my birthday was a package of hot dogs. But I was sad that I didn't get any ketchup with it."

"Oh, that's lovely." Tsume replied sarcastically. Hige shot him a glare in response to his comment.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the last time I checked my mail I ordered packages of hot dogs." I said with a smile.

"Wait, really??" Hige started drooling.

I hate to break this moment but I ended up saying, "No."

Toboe and Tsume burst out laughing. As for Hige, he sat there looking dumb as a post. I love the guy, but it's only a joke (sorry Hige).

"Shouldn't we go and get the stuff out of the car?" Tsume answered back to Hige.

Hige smiled, "Indeed we shall." Just as Hige and Tsume went towards the door, Tsume kept going and Hige looked back at us. He said, "Anari. Toboe. Stay here, we will be back with the stuff."

Just as Hige had left the room I whispered over to Toboe's shoulder and said, "I think I know what stuff they're talking about."

All Toboe did was sit there with a pretty smile on his face. The same smile that I liked so much.

Then, we both heard the doorbell ring again. Could they be back so soon already??

"Could you get the door Anari?" Toboe said to me, going up the staircase. "I need to put a few things away."

"Sure." I said, returning the smile. I looked through his peephole this time and there stood a blond girl. The same girl who had the same face as mine, despite the fact that she was my cousin. It was Leilani.

I wonder if she came for my birthday or for some other reason. Anyways, I let the girl in anyway…she just won't stop talking these days.

"Hello cousin." Leilani said with one of her charming smiles. She was a cute girl, but there are times when she scares me. Like, I'm more of a tomboy and she's girlier. We act so much like twins, it's not even funny.