[Genre: fantasy]

*unedited.

Ignore typos/errors and enjoy!

•••••••

"Miss Lewis, I can't spot your name on the list."

From afar, Mr Tybalt observed me, eyebrows raised, hands neatly posed on his desk. He was waiting for my response,and so were the twenty five pairs of eyes. My brain stopped working. I stood up from my chair, as expected to when addressing your teacher.

Mia and Laura giggled behind their hands, bracelets glinting in the ray of the sun. If only i could melt into the earth and disappear forever. I picked the fluff of my sweater and blinked rapidly.

"Miss Lewis...?"

Great. A couple of people were snickering.

"Daia, I don't have all day. Why is your name not on the list for the class presentation?" He asked, pushing his chair back and writing with chalk, today's date.

"I was going to add my name to the list," I lied.

"Very well. What will be your topic?"

I widened my eyes. My topic? I didn't think of anything. I had planned to avoid this presentation as much as I could. The idea of standing in front of twenty five pair of eyes gave me nausea. Taking a deep breath, I glanced at the poster hanging on the wall beside the chalk board.

It stated the subjects we could talk on. It was a wide range of options and most topics were allowed. Everything except politics and religion. I quickly scanned through the options on the poster, avoiding my Tybalt's inpatient stare.

I could talk on...literature? No. That would bore the whole class and get me mocked. Fashion? No, that seems like a lot of girls would have picked that. Maybe agriculture? Well...I guess I could go with that.

I opened my mouth to respond but my eyes spotted an option: crime. The wheels in my brain started to operate. Who says crime says death, who says death says investigation, who says investigation says mostly fail. We live in Crexe after all.

"I'll be talking about a crime case that's been unsolved."

"Ok which one?"

"The Michelle Dondera case."

The chatter in the classroom reduced. It was a very famous case that often appeared on the cover of the newspapers (30  years ago] and was still occasionally talked about today.

"Wow! I can't wait to hear about your theories. Although, if there is any theory involving the government in her death-"

"I know, sir."

"Very well. You may have your seat."

I sighed. The presentation was in two weeks, it would be best if I start mapping out my theories.

Mr Tybalt had started class, talking about the meaning of liberty but all i could do was stare at the boy with short ginger hair in front me. Wayne Crowe. He was handsome. He had brown eyes, a defined facial structure and a charming smile. All the girls had a crush on him. I tried to be different and ignore his presence but in vain. He was just another thing I couldn't have. I sighed again.

It was noon and I was done with school. I would usually go to the cliff and sit on the edge, watch the sun hit the waves, the rocks glimmer, the turtles or dive in despite the cold weather but I had to start my 'investigation' on Michelle Dondera.

Curse Mr. Tybalt.

I sat crossed legged alone on the floor of the old library, bits of newspapers scattered in front of me. It was calm and quiet. No one ever visited the library except old people, of course. And i wonder why. The library is like another universe. You sit, you open a book and suddenly you're transported to a different world. It's almost like a drug. You're addicted; once you start, you can't stop and that was one thing I had in common with Michelle.

She loved to read. She spent a lot of time in this exact library, according to her family.

She was a brilliant student, friendly too.

My hand skimmed over one of her pictures. I traced the outline of her hair then her face, then her eyes... My God, she was an ethereal being. She stuck out like a sore thumb in her family photos too. She had the lightest skin amongst them. Even in her yearbook photos, she was different.

I grabbed another portrait of her. This time, she had the faintest smile etched on her small down turned lips. The most captivating feature on Michelle's face were eyes. They were big and wide, disproportional to her face. They also had the most unique color of blue I had ever seen. The skin around her eyes had a natural bluish pigment to them, contrasting with her rosy cheeks.

A bizarre thing about her face was how well her hair and her skin color almost blended in. Her hair was platinum blonde and her skin almost as white.

She looked like a porcelain doll.

So, I grabbed my notebook and wrote a couple of the things I'd observed: her pale skin, her huge eyes and the color around her eyes. Michelle and I weren't so different. I had the same eyes she had. Big and disproportionate to my face. Nothing special like her blue eyes or platinum hair though. And maybe that was why my classmates didn't like me. Because I looked weirder than them and had big boogly eyes.

I skimmed through the numerous interviews her parents had with journalists. She liked reading, swimming and singing. She didn't have a lot of friends either. They also added the fact she hated snails.

That was all her parents said about her. It was disappointing. One would expect a parent to ramble on and on about what their dead child loved. But with her parents...it seemed like they knew little about Michelle. Maybe just like mine's, her family was dysfunctional.

Another possible similarity between us.

Now, on the day she disappeared, witnesses claimed that she was last seen going into a forest. She wasn't just walking towards the forest, she was skipping there like a child who was going to get candy. That was how they described her when she was last seen. 'Skipping like a child...'

I noted that down.

The forest.

Why would she be going to the forest alone? Why was she happily skipping there? That was the most logical question that everyone must have asked. However, there were no answers in the documents that laid before me.

"Great." I sighed, leaning my head backwards a little too fast and banging it against the wall.

You clumsy fool.

I blinked rapidly as an idea sparked in my mind. I should research what was in the forest. The use of the forest. I stood up and grabbed some local textbooks, flipping through the pages.

It was nicknamed the Death Forest after parts of Michelle's limbs were found a couple of days after she disappeared into it. I knew the location of the forest, I usually walked past it on my way home. There was nothing specific written about the forest. Only that everyone, must avoid that forest at all cost. Obviously.

I slammed the textbook shut and grabbed my notebook, turning the pen in my hands.

I had five options.

1) she was lurned in by someone close and murdered.

2) witnesses were lying and saw something but refuse to talk.

3) she was on drugs: hallucinations. Then got butchered by a random person.

4) She got killed by wild a animal

5) supernatural occurrence.

None of this made an ounce of sense. They could easily by argued.

I groaned and leaned back my head on the rough wall, bringing my knees to my chest and deciding to take a snooze.

●○●

I woke up a couple hours later with a headache and it was getting really late. The sun had almost set and the librarian was getting ready to leave. Deciding to leave my investigation till the next day, I grabbed my bag and stumbled out of the stuffy library.

The light breeze caressed my face as I stepped out. It was refreshing but the scenery before me was anything but. The library was in the secluded area of the village surrounded by abandoned buildings. I could hear the crickets already, the mosquitoes, the frogs and other unpleasant creatures.

I vaguely precipitated towards the direction of my house. My head was spinning and weirdly my body was aching too. I shut my eyes for a second and inhaled deeply.

I continued walking, passing few people on my way until,

"Daia!"

I turned my head to the direction of the sound. It came from behind me. Leaning on the fence, a girl glanced up at me as I walked to her. She must've called my name.

"Hi. You called me?"

I tucked my dark hair behind my ears.

"I...did not. I'm sorry you must be mistaken."

I nodded. She pushed herself from the fence and left me. I was staring at the forest behind the chain link fence. The more I stared at it, the more obscure it became.

"Daia."

The voice came from the other end of the fence. It came from the forest. This was the forest where Michelle died.

I clenched my teeth and continued walking straight ahead, the forest still at my side. Nope, I heard nothing and therefore will do nothing.

"Daia!"

I turned my head to the left as the voice called me again. This time, I saw the silhouette of a girl in the forest. She dropped to her knees and reached out. Although I couldn't see her face, I knew she was in pain.

"Daia!" She screamed.

I gripped the fence, my knuckles turning red as I stared wide-eyed at her petite figure.
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Scroll for part 2, the continuation!!