Raven

Chapter 4

I cried not only for my missing parents and for leaving my home behind, but because I would desperately miss those two ladies who had become like family to me. I would miss them, and I would miss December.

I didn't know how I would live without her, but she had promised to keep in touch. “Lilly Taylor, you're my best friend in the whole world. I can't imagine life without you, but we'll manage... for now. It won't be too long until we're together again. We'll see each other soon,” she'd said the day before as we'd hugged goodbye. It had sounded so rehearsed, but I figured it needed to be; otherwise, we would have just been in floods of tears. She was the brightest star in my life, and I couldn't imagine being without her.

The airport was bigger and brighter than I imagined it to be. It seemed to go on for miles, but after reading my ticket, and with a little help from the taxi driver, we figured out where I was supposed to go. I felt like a very tiny fish in a vast sea, but as soon as I had checked in and asked a few questions, I was told that the airline staff would make sure I was in the right place at the right time.

The next few hours were spent watching people coming and going before I finally climbed aboard the plane that would take me to my new home. Excitement, as well as panic, flowed through me.

Soon after take-off, darkness clung to me, and I felt cold. I shivered.

As I sat there alone, cold and dazed, a friendly flight attendant approached me with a warm blanket and a pillow.

“I couldn't help noticing you shivering,” she said warmly as she handed them to me.

I took them gratefully and wrapped myself up tightly.

“Would you like some hot tea or hot chocolate?” she asked. I opted for some hot chocolate, and she smiled and turned away.

I was pleased the flight was quiet. I had the back row to myself, so I put up all the armrests and stretched my legs out as I watched her walk towards me, bearing the hot drink a few minutes later.

She looked a little like me. At least like me, when my hair had been its natural colour. Jet black hair, bright eyes that were wide apart, pale skin and of delicate build. Her face was pretty and friendly, and I was glad of the attention. It was as if she was taking extra special care of me.

The hours soon passed by and it seemed like no time at all when the pilot announced to the crew that they should prepare the cabin for landing. I must have looked frightened as the kind attendant came over to reassure me.

“Don't worry. You're almost home now,” she whispered.

I smiled and nodded. Perhaps she was just kind. Although I couldn't shake the feeling that she knew of my fate.

So I had landed in Canada. I guessed this was my home now. But for how long? When my parents returned, would I go back to London? What if they were never found? What then?

At least for now, Canada was my home.

As I stepped off that plane, I felt helpless. I felt as if I had no control over my life. Perhaps I no longer did.

CHAPTER FIVE

I didn't have to wait. The moment I stepped out into the arrivals hall with my luggage, I heard someone calling out my name. My eyes searched the crowd until they stopped on a young man who waved avidly at me. I tried to smile but probably failed.

"Lillian? Is that you? I wasn't sure if I'd recognise you from the photo... you look very different! It's the hair, I guess. Although you're a lot younger in the photo. Anyway, Gabriel - I mean your grand-father - couldn't make it as you know and so he asked me to pick you up. I'm Benjamin. It's great to finally meet you," he gushed.

"Hi," was all I could muster as he delved into his pocket and pulled out a photo of what looked a little (and I mean a little) like me from when I was just a baby. He turned the image to show me, and I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

"Er... I'd like to think I've changed a lot. I'm amazed you recognised me at all," I said, starting to feel comfortable with the stranger, but wondering where the photo had come from. It wasn't one I was familiar with. That said, no picture would be one I was familiar with. We didn't have any family photos at all.

Together we laughed as Benjamin quickly lifted my bag from the luggage trolley and asked me to follow him. I stumbled behind him, not sure what to say as we walked through the car park until we stopped in front of a large dark green, slightly rusty pick-up truck.

Luckily Benjamin was the chatty type, so I needn't have worried. All I had to do was listen and give the occasional reply.

"I hope you don't get travel sickness as we've quite a long drive ahead of us," he said as we climbed into the pick-up and he started the engine.

"I don't think so... I was okay in the taxi and on the plane, so I guess not."

"You mean that's the only time you've ever travelled anywhere?" he asked, surprised, as I nodded in response.

"Well then, sit back and enjoy the trip. I'm sure you'll be impressed by what you see. Canada, especially this part of the country, is pretty awesome. There's lots to see."

I made myself as comfortable as possible as he made small talk as we drove out of the airport towards our destination. I listened while I looked out the window at the dramatic ocean views, enjoying the moment until he broached the subject I had been dreading: my parents.

"So, Lillian..." it was coming.

"Please, Benjamin... call me Lilly. Nobody has called me Lillian since, since, well probably since that photo was taken."

He laughed and nodded, "Okay, Lilly, but only if you call me Ben."

We smiled and were both silent for a moment, but I knew he was going to try and ask me again.

"Lilly. I just wanted to say how sorry I am about your parents going missing. I can't imagine what you must be going through. It must be absolutely awful..."

I didn't really know how to respond. So I chose not to.

"It's okay. I get it. If you don't want to talk about it, that is. You barely know me after all," he said with a sad smile as he pulled onto a busy motorway.

Feeling a little guilty, I nodded, "Why don't you tell me about you, then?"

"Not a heck of a lot to say, really," he took a breath before continuing, "my name you now know. I'm twenty-seven years old. I've lived in the same town pretty much all my life. I've recently opened a vet practice on the outskirts of town. Yes, I'm the local vet, in case you were wondering why the truck is covered in dog hair. What else would you like to know?"

"Brothers, sisters?" I queried.

"Oh, yeah. I have a younger brother, Oliver, who'll be seventeen," Ben looked at his watch, "in about thirty-six hours," he laughed. "I think your grandfather is hoping you'll join the party the day after tomorrow. Nothing grand. Just family and a few friends. I guess he's hoping you'll make some friends of your own."

I cringed slightly, and Ben noticed. "Sorry, too soon, I guess. You know, everyone will completely understand if you'd rather not join in. You need some time to settle in and chill out and... er... never mind."

I nodded. I didn't think Ben had the slightest clue how grateful I was. At the same time, I wondered who he meant by 'everyone', but I didn't ask. I thought about what he said about making some new friends, and I sighed quietly, remembering my sheltered life in England with so few friends. What if people didn't like me? Having never made any other friends, it was hard for me to imagine meeting people and being all... well... friendly. But then this life was going to be completely different from my old life. Perhaps I'd fit in perfectly. Maybe I could change. I struggled with the thought.

It was just after midday and the sky started to cloud over. I hadn't noticed how cold it was. I shivered.

Ben immediately whacked up the heat without saying a word.

We drove in silence for quite a while until I noticed we were approaching a ferry terminal. It dawned on me then that I had barely asked any questions, not even the most important one.

"You know, Ben, I haven't got the faintest idea where we're going."

"I love your accent, Lilly. It's so damn cute... just give me a sec while I sort out the ferry ticket," he wound down his window and while he chatted to the friendly lady with a big grin in the ticket booth and paid for our crossing, I read the signs around us and concluded we were going to a place called Langdale.

"Is that where you live? Where I'll be living? Langdale?" I asked as he wound the window back up again.

"No, we need to get a second ferry afterwards up to Powell River – that's where we're going."

I felt like such a child asking silly questions. I wish I had known more about this journey before it had begun.

"Sorry, I just haven't got a clue," I choked, as I felt as if those tears might emerge again.

Luckily I managed to hold them at bay and offer what was probably my most pathetic smile yet.

"Don't be sorry, Lilly. It's not your fault that nobody shared any of this with you. It's such a shame, really. It would have been great for you and your grand-father if you'd been able to meet each other before... and under better circumstances."

Ben was so kind. Just from this short trip, I knew that we would become friends. My first Canadian friend. I also got the impression that he understood me. More than anybody had understood me since the vanishing. Probably more than anybody had understood me at all. Ever. In my life. Why he could possibly understand what I was going through was beyond me, though. But I just had the feeling that he did, probably more than December had done over the past few weeks.

I hoped that I would find everyone in Powell River as understanding and kind as him. If they were, I would have no problem making those friends I was so worried about.

CHAPTER SIX

It wasn't until the following day when some home truths finally started to trickle into my head. It turned out that my father and my grandfather hadn't spoken to each other for years. This explained why we never had anything to do with Canada or why my parents never even spoke of it.

"You need to sit down and have a proper talk with Lilly, Gabriel. She is totally in the dark. She's been through enough recently. Don't you think she deserves to hear the truth?"

I could hear the voices through the thin walls. I guessed that both Ben and my grand-father assumed I was still jet-lagged. Actually, I had barely slept a wink. I had found it difficult to fall asleep with no noise surrounding me. The silence had kept me awake for hours.

"There is a reason why things happen in this life, Benjamin, and my son must have had a reason not to have told his daughter about our life here. I do not feel that I should break his silence," replied my grandfather.

"But she's nearly fourteen years old, Gabriel. What if Jack never comes back?"

"Don't you say that Ben... don't even think it."

When Ben and I had returned from our five-hour journey the previous day, I felt so nervous about meeting my grandfather for the first time. But I was in for a huge surprise... there was much more to my family than just a grand-father. In fact, I soon found out that I had a much larger family than I could ever have dreamed of.