Raven (9 page)

He
smiled again and was silent for a few moments while he came up with
another question.

“
How
are you enjoying school here?”

“
Honestly? I love it. I always liked school because it was
so good to get out of our flat... I mean apartment. I didn't feel
as restricted there, and here... well it's a whole new ball game.
For the first time in my life, I have more than one friend at
school. Respect from everybody, if you know what I mean,” I said as
I looked at Oliver's confused expression.

“
You
don't really understand what I'm talking about, do you?” He shook
his head.

“
Let's
just say I lived a very lonely life in England. I was naïve. I
didn't know anything about life. Yes I learned a lot in school, but
school doesn't necessarily teach you about life, it just teaches
you facts about life. I'm sorry, I'm rambling now.”

“
Don't
be sorry, Lilly. I think I understand what you mean. I'm just sorry
that you had such a lonely upbringing. If you had grown up here, it
wouldn't have been like that at all. I would have made sure of
that,” he added shyly, “I would have liked to have known you before
now,” he said, colour creeping up to his cheeks.

“
I'd
better go,” he said suddenly as he stood up. “Thanks for the Coke.
Maybe we can see each other again soon?”

I nodded
and smiled and before I knew it, he was gone.

As I
went to sleep that night, I still had butterflies. Oliver liked me.
And he thought I was cute!

CHAPTER TWELVE

The
following evening, Oliver unexpectedly turned up again. It was
almost a re-enactment of the previous night. I was sitting on the
couch comfortably reading a book, full from eating a hearty dinner,
when in walked Oliver wearing a shy grin.

“
Hey
Lilly. I hope you don't mind be popping in to say hi
again.”

“
Of
course not,” I answered, as I made a mental note to make more of an
effort with myself in future.

I
offered him a Coke and he said yes. I ran into the kitchen, via the
bedroom again, brushed my hair and put on some lip gloss before
rushing back in.

But this
time, as I handed him the can and we both sat down, he said, “You
know what. Why don't we take a walk instead?” Standing up he placed
the can on the coffee table almost as soon as he'd sat
down.

Relieved
to have something else to do, I jumped up and grabbed my coat,
gloves, hat and scarf.

He
laughed at me as I wrapped myself up and we stepped outdoors after
I yelled to Meredith that we were going for a walk. She appeared
briefly with a cheeky smile and winked at me before closing the
front door.

“
So...” I said.

“
So...”

“
Here
we are again.”

“
Yup,”
he answered as we walked slowly down the road.

I waited
for him to say something to break the ice. We walked for a few
minutes until he finally said, “Lilly?”

“
Yes?”
I answered hopefully.

“
Last
night when we spoke, you mentioned that you were falling for
Canada... well, I wanted to ask you if... if it is just Canada that
you're falling for? Or whether there might be something, or
someone, that you're falling for too,” he asked. But before I could
answer, he blushed and added, “Sorry, you don't have to answer that
if you don't want to.”

I wanted
to answer his question; after all, I knew the answer. I was falling
for him, without a doubt. I felt like we had a
connection.

“
Can I
ask you a question?” I asked hesitantly.

“
Shoot.”

“
Why
did you really come to see me tonight?” I asked bravely.

This
time, his face turned pink before he replied.

“
Honestly... I was hooked the second I laid eyes on you,
Lilly. It's weird really, because I've always hung out with girls
my age, but I almost feel like you've put a spell on me. Not that
I'm calling you a witch or anything,” he laughed, “but I've never
been bewitched before.”

During
the silence that followed, I swear I could hear his, and my own,
hearts beating.

I was so
glad that I'd wrapped my scarf around my face... because I was
blushing so much and grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

“
And
even though I barely even know you, I feel like I've always known
you,” he laughed, breaking the silence, “and I can't believe I'm
actually saying all this. Out loud. To you.”

“
Well,
I'm kind of glad that you are saying it out loud. To me. I know how
you feel, Oliver. I like being around you. It just feels... right.
But I guess we'll just have to get to know each other better won't
we?” I replied happily, “but now... it's so freezing. Why don't you
walk me back home?”

As we
turned to walk back towards the house, I looked up at him and
smiled. He caught me watching and he laughed.

“
In
answer to your question... Canada isn't the only thing I'm falling
for,” and I laughed cheekily as he took my gloved hand in
his.

As we
approached the front door, Oliver asked me out on a date, “a proper
date,” he said, the following Friday night. I happily accepted and
he leaned in and gently kissed me on the cheek. My first
kiss!

“
I'll
pick you up at seven,” he said and then he was gone.

That
night I drifted off to sleep happier than I had done for a long
time. But my dreams were strange and vivid once again.

I found myself flying freely with the ravens while I was
looking down at the cats below. Only this time they weren't small
cats, one was a white mountain lion and the other a black
panther.

They were stalking something. I couldn't quite see what it
was but as I flew closer, I saw that they were stalking Oliver. I
tried to get his attention but he couldn't see me, he could only
see and hear ravens squawking at him from above. “Oliver, Oliver
watch out!” I yelled, but as hard as I tried to get him to
understand me, I knew that all he could hear were the
incomprehensible noises of a bird.

I tried to reach him in time but it was no good, the cats had
already pounced and as I landed nearby, I saw that he was covered
in blood. As I approached the bloody scene, the cats seemed to bow
down to me and skulked away as I picked him up with ease and
carried him to the waterside to try and clean his wounds, but as I
looked down into the water, my reflection wasn't that of a raven or
a girl... it was that of a mountain lion. I screamed.

I awoke
with a start. My face was soaked from tears streaming down my
cheeks.

“
Lilly, goodness me,” said Meredith as she rushed into my
room and switched on the light. Sitting down on the bed, she
cradled me in her arms. “It's all right. It was just a bad dream.
Just a dream. Shhhh. It's over. It's over.”

The
tears wouldn't stop as I tried to tell her that Oliver was in
danger. “The cats, the cats,” I sobbed.

“
No,
it was just a dream, sweetie. Oliver is fine. Calm down.”
Eventually, I realised that it had been nothing but a nightmare –
triggered by the memory of the words I had learnt just days
before... that Oliver and Ben's parents had been killed by wild
mountain lions. It was nothing more than my subconscious mind
playing horrible tricks on me.

Meredith
had been kind, assuring me that all was well. She even made me a
cup of sweet cocoa to help soothe me back to sleep. The rest of the
night went by quietly.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The
following day I was awoken by the gentle sound of Gabriel's
voice.

“
Another dream, Meredith? I guess I have no choice now but
to tell her the truth. I had hoped the dreams wouldn't have started
until she was at least eighteen. I understand now that it is a
sign. She must be told. It's such a shame that this is all
happening now. She is so young,” he'd said.

I could
hear the sadness in the way Gabriel spoke and that made me feel sad
too, even though I had no idea what he had to tell me. I finally
felt relief. Relief that, at last, I would know the truth. But
along with the relief came the dread. After all, it must be bad for
there to have been so much secrecy in the first place.

Now that
I knew he planned to tell me, I waited for him to broach the
subject, so that day I just acted as normal, I went to school and
completed my homework before dinner. It was after we'd eaten and
washed the dishes that something finally happened.

He had
summoned my father's brother and sister, Wyatt and Meredith, who
had arrived just as we had finished washing the dishes.

“
Lilly. It is time,” said Gabriel, as Meredith took my hand
and led me into the living room where we all sat in silence before
Gabriel produced an old battered shoe box and took off the lid. In
it were photos and letters. He handed me a picture of a very
beautiful young woman with long black hair. There was something
vaguely familiar about her. In her arms was a tiny newborn baby.
Clearly the photo had been taken in a hospital immediately after
the baby had been born.

“
Who
is this?” I asked.

“
Her
name was Serena,” answered Meredith with a sad smile, “Lilly. This
is your mother.”

I gasped
and shook my head.

“
No,
my mother is Vivian. This isn't Vivian.”

“
No,
Lilly. Vivian isn't your mother. Serena is. And this little child
is your sister, Neleh,” said Gabriel as he passed a number of
different photos to me. All were the same little girl at different
ages. One was the photo Ben had taken to the airport to identify me
with. Gabriel told me it was the closest image he had of me. “You
two looked so alike when you were babies.”

In
another the little girl was about four and was being cuddled by my
father on a beach on a lovely sunny day. He looked like a
completely different person, so happy. I had never seen him happy
before. Another pictured her aged around 10, posing happily for the
camera in this very living room with Gabriel laughing to her side.
The most poignant image was that of her as a teenager pictured with
Serena and my father. The image of a very happy family – it was
then that I noticed Serena was pregnant.”

Wyatt
spoke. “She was carrying you in this picture, Lilly.”

I shook
my head but deep down I knew. It was obvious to see. I looked very
much like Neleh and Serena. And as I looked at the photos, I
realised that Serena was the woman from my dream. I didn't know
what to think. For so many years I had grown up believing Vivian
was my mother yet I had never felt any kind of bond with her. She
had always made it blatantly obvious that she didn't care for me.
It made sense. I felt my eyes welling up so I blinked hard to try
and get rid of the tears before they spilled down my
face.

“
Lilly,” said Gabriel, “this is just the beginning. There
are things we need to tell you that you are going to find hard to
believe.”

I
nodded, unable to say a word.

“
Just
after you were born, Neleh was killed,” said Wyatt.

I gasped
and gulped back the tears as it hit me that I'd once had a sister,
but now she was dead.

“
And
shortly afterwards... Serena died too. I'm so sorry, Lilly,” he
said sadly.

“
What?
But how? Why?” I cried, looking down at the picture of the happy
family, ripped apart by two deaths.

“
Nobody knows exactly what happened, dear. All we know is
that Neleh was murdered in the forest. By who or what we don't know
for sure – although there were suspicions at the time,” said
Meredith as she held my hand tightly in hers.

“
Suspicions?” I asked.

Gabriel
looked so angry, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by
Wyatt, “Lilly there is a man in that forest who is believed to have
been responsible for Neleh's death. His name is Sammy
Morton.”

Gabriel
gave me another photo showing Neleh probably a couple of years
older than me, pictured with a handsome young man with olive skin
and black hair and even darker eyes. They looked so happy
together.

“
Is
that him?” I asked.

Meredith
nodded.

“
But
they looked so happy. Why would he kill her? I don't
understand.”

“
Nobody understands. But he hasn't been seen since. There
was a lot of talk. But we can't be sure,” added
Meredith.

The
angry look on Gabriel's face suggested he thought Sammy was
guilty.