Dusk – Chapter One

The bright sunlight blinded me for a moment as I tumbled out of the dark mineshaft. The stifling air in there had me gasping for breath. It was hard to tell, but hopeful the route described in the map had come out in the right place.

Looking up, I realised that the map hadn’t failed me: the bright mountains of Sugar Valley towered above me. Hope stirring inside, I began my trek to my new home.

It was a long walk, and the sun was beginning its descent when I finally made it to 15 Sugar Hill Court. The walk didn’t bother me, though. Just being outside was a privilege I’d never had before, not in the entire 19 years of my life.

 However, when I laid eyes on the house, I was less than thrilled. In fact, I was terrified.

It was like a reminder of the past, chasing me. Stone, dark, forbidding. But as much as it frightened me, it was all I had now. Trembling, I went inside.

It wasn’t at all bad, but the red and black furnishings burned with an awful familiarity that tortured me to look at.

The memories came flooding back, each one like a knife into my brain. I had to get out, away from this place that reeked of pain and terror.

Maybe it was time to go get a job. There had to be something in this town for me to do. I’d always wanted to work with kids, to make sure that their lives were nothing like mine.

With that in mind, I set off to the Strawberry Shortcake School.

They had a position for me! Just as a playground monitor, but if I showed effort it might turn into a more permanent position. By the time I left, the sky was beginning to turn dark and I thought a walk through the park would be a good way to delay returning to the house.

Just one thing – don’t go walking in the park if you’re me and have no sense of direction. Pretty soon I had to admit that I was utterly lost. There was no-one around and it was getting darker… what if they came for me?

Footsteps behind me sent me into a full-on panic attack. This was it, then. To come so far only to have them catch me again.

“Are you okay, miss?” came a kindly concerned voice from behind me.

“Sorry, you look a little lost. Do you need some help?” said the stranger when I turned to face him.

“Um… yeah, actually. I can’t find my way back to 15 Sugar Hill Court,” I replied awkwardly.

“I could show you the way if you’d like,” he offered. “What did you say your name was, by the way?”

“It’s Dusk, and thanks, that’d be great.”

Before I knew it, I was sitting at one of the little tables chatting to my new friend. I could’ve just asked him to show me the way home straight away, but there was something about him that made me want to stay.

“You don’t look like you’re from around these parts… New in town?” he asked.

“Yeah… just moved here from… a long way away,” I said quietly, rubbing my hands together to fight off the bit of chill in the air.

I’m not really sure what we talked about after that… it was mostly just little things, like what I did for a living, what I thought of the Valley so far, etc. While we talked I found myself studying his eyes… their bright green was something I’d never encountered before… there was a very bewitching quality to them.

Eventually he stood up.

“I should probably go… it’s getting late,” he said before giving me some simple directions to my house.

I was just about to wave goodbye and go, when I did something incredibly stupid.

I leaned my head in and wrapped my arms around him, pressing my face into his shoulder. I thought I heard a small sigh… probably just imagining things.

“Thanks… really,” I mumbled, my voice muffled.

“Don’t mention it…” he replied when I stepped away, embarassment starting to creep over me.

Just as he was walking off into the night, I remembered something.

“Hey…how do I find you again?” I called out to his retreating figure.

“You don’t. I’ll find you,” he replied, before disappearing into the darkness.

When I got home, the decor barely bothered me, my head spinning with confused thoughts about my new friend. All I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and escape from the world for a while.

As I drifted towards sleep, a realisation hit me.

I never even asked his name.