[1811] Little Dark One CH 1

Hello everyone, I’ve been writing about almost everything but mostly poetry and fiction, would like to get some honest feedback on any of my writings, feel free to check them here For reference, here’s the first chapter of one my short stories called: Little Dark One ————————————

CHAPTER ONE: Her first years.

Ciara was 15 years old when her classmates started calling her "little dark one" and that's when she found out that it wasn't just a random nickname but what her real name meant, Ciara, little dark one, it wasn't just a random one, the world is not a random place and everything happens for a reason, or so she thought. But it's not only about her name, Ciara's 15th year on earth was also a turning point in her life.

Until she turned 5 years old, Ciara had been her parents' only child, they loved her as any young married couple would love their very first beautiful child whom they finally got after two years of marriage. Not only she was loved by her parents but she was her grandma's favourite child, her neighbours' favourite kid and the family's little walking joy. She received so much love and had always been a happy smiling kid.

On her 5th year on earth, Ciara's little sister was born, she was so happy to be the older sister, she'd take care of her baby sister despite her young age, and she would always play with her, try to feed her, and watch over her as if she was her own child, she had always been responsible and a person whom anyone can rely on regardless how young she was, which made her mature even before she was supposed to.  

Ciara would always think before she says or does anything, and unlike her little sister Naomi, Ciara's parents never had to bother telling her to study or wake up in the morning to go to school, she always knew what she had to do and done it without needing anyone to tell her so. And that's what made her "the perfect girl", she was the perfect sister, the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect friend. She had always loved her parents and sister, always done her homework, and had always been there for her friends, little did she know that she had never actually been there for herself, the person who truly needed her the most.

Ciara's 15th year on earth was when she realized many things, when she learned a lot about life, probably more than it was necessary. And as they say, ignorance is bliss. 

 For some reason, Ciara's parents stopped being as loving as before, in fact, they got so far from being the "loving" kind of parents as time passed by, her mother loved money more than anything in the world, her father loved power. However, she was still the closest to her father, although they wouldn't spend hours talking as they used to, they would still have a small conversation now and then. As for her mother, she was closer to her little sister, Naomi. Ciara and Naomi's mother wasn't exactly the typical kind of mothers who'd sacrifice everything for the sake of her daughters, she was selfish, blunt, and really strict. Nevertheless, she still had somewhat of that motherly instinct inside her, so even if her children weren't the first on her top priorities' list, they still made it to the list, so of course, she had some love for her sweet little girls, or maybe lots of love for them, or so did Ciara believe. 

The little family lived in an English small town called Bibury, they were one of the most powerful families in their small town, everybody knew and respected them. Ciara's father was the manager of one of the greatest clothing companies in the country that was located in the capital. Which made him only spend less than half of his time at home, therefore most of that time was spent in the middle of unavoidable fights with his wife always accusing him of cheating on her.

Unlike what everyone thought, the Lawson family wasn't exactly as perfect or noble as they always pretended to be, and the only victim was Ciara. She cared, she cared way too much, about everything.

Growing up, Ciara wasn't just like the other kids in her age. She never actually went outside to play with other kids, she has never visited her friends' houses, nor did she hang out with the girls in her age, she only used to see them at school, and as a consequence, she never got to make long-term friends, which meant a friendship's expiry date equalled the end of a school year. Ciara's only friend was nature, birds were her alarm, trees were her besties, the rain was her happiness and flowers were her inspiration.  She'd wake up every morning by the sunrise making sure she's the first person to greet the beautiful warm sun, then she can carry on with her day.

Ciara's school life wasn't really lonely, she had a few friends who would be there for her and make sure they all had the greatest time. She had never actually fallen in love,  however, there was "that guy" in her life. That guy who had always watched her even while she plays with her girlfriends, he had always had an eye for her. Jason was in the same class as her when she was in the 5th grade. He was very nice and loving, probably not the smartest nor the neatest but he was one of those guys who were popular around girls back then, he also lived a few blocks away from her.

Jason and Ciara eventually became friends, Jason would always show impressment to anything she says or does. He thought that she's a very unique soul who thinks differently from any other girl out there, she loved music, books, and her only friend, Emily. Ciara once wrote a letter to Emily telling her that she's the best friend she ever had and wouldn't be able to live without her, she never actually sent this letter to her best friend, simply because Emily was a doll.

Since the day she wrote that letter, it had never left her pocket. It was her lucky charm, it felt like Emily was with her the whole time since she couldn't take her to school, so she kept that letter with her instead.

Being the playful boy Jason was, he was teasing his friend Ciara and playing with her as usual, until one day, the letter fell from her pocket, Jason quickly picked it up and didn't hesitate to read it. While Ciara was feeling embarrassed though she never shares her writings or any other similar things with anyone, Jason was astonished and surprised at how a person can feel all of these things for a certain lifeless doll. He knew she had so much love in her heart, and that made him even like her more, so instead of making fun of her, he complimented her beautiful and heartfelt writing style.

Ciara Developed some really special feelings for that guy who has always appreciated every little thing she ever did or said. It wasn't " love", they were too young for that, but instead she opened up to him more and even started relying on him and waiting to see him first every Monday morning and last every Friday afternoon, their friendship was pure and full of love, she inspired him and he used all his popularity and strength to protect her from every evil guy and jealous girl. That was one beautiful chapter of Ciara's life.

Jason wasn't the only person who was by her side at that time, she had a best friend, Hannah, they were almost inseparable, they shared the most beautiful laughter and had always supported each other, Hannah had always understood how Ciara is different from other people and she accepted her as she is, which made Ciara spend two of the most amazing school years of life. But as we all know that every story has an end, whether it was a happy one or a sad one, it has to end.

As Ciara had finished elementary school, two of the most beautiful friendships had to get to an end as well. Hannah had to move to London, and Jason wasn't going to stay there as well, not only that but he also had to move to another quite far town.

That's when Ciara had to start another season of her life all alone. It was middle school, people were getting more mature, more popular, and more reckless, everybody was new, although she was still in the same school. Of course, she met other people here and there and probably made a few friends, but were any of them as interesting as the old ones? Never.

Once she turned 15years old, it was her sister Naomi whom she spent her special day with, they were home alone, and by 10 pm her sister went to bed and Ciara never felt lonelier. She felt nostalgic and lonely, she remembered her 10th birthday when her father came home after spending a whole month away and celebrating her birthday with her, she remembered her mom singing for her on her special day, it was heartbreaking, but she has gotten used to it. It's been 5 years since she'd been spending her birthday either alone or with her sister for at least a few hours. Things in her father's company were only getting worse, which was affecting the whole family, and things at home were getting more and more hard to deal with.

As she was on her nostalgic memory trip to her 10th birthday, she passed by her father's office, which was as empty as her soul at the time. She entered it trying to remember when was the last time she did, probably months ago. She stared at the huge bookshelf, then at the desk, then she held the photo on the desk, there were two of them, hers and her sister's. "Do we really still mean anything to you, daddy?" She mumbled, "Is the company, and the money more valuable than our family?" She added, breaking down into tears without realizing that her tears soaked some of the papers on her father's desk, she then remembered how her mother would warn her every time not to get to the office unless an adult is there.

She quickly tried to fix the mess she caused until that one document caught her attention, Ciara's grades were dropping one year after the other, but that didn't mean that she wasn't incredibly intelligent. She carefully read the document... and to her shock, she realized that her father got involved in some illegal business with some famous drug dealer gang she'd only heard of from tv, to save the company.  

She was so shocked she couldn't even stand straight, she stayed frozen to her place not knowing what to do nor what to think until her mother suddenly showed up.