chapter 1

Rachel's hands gently traced the outline of the picture.Her best friend's picture.five years later and she still couldn't believe her best friend was dead.

Dead.

the world had a terrifying ring to it , reminding her that she was alone in this big world.

She put the picture away as two teardrops soaked the thin photograph. she hid it in it's usual place between page 41 and 42 of her favorite book.anybody else would have gotten over a friend's death after five years.but Rachel wasn't like everybody else.she was different,she was weird. and those were the top two reasons to be hated.and being hated meant she didn't have any friends.she tried.she tried so hard to change but after sometime her real self would show and she would be abandoned again.so she liked to cling to the memories of her friend, believing that she didn't need anyone else.

a low throaty caw broke through her train of thoughts. she turned her head to the window and glared at the big, black raven sitting on the window sill. the moonlight making it's feathers look like shiny leather as it puffed it's small chest in her direction."Arecno! how many times do I have to tell you not to startle me like that" Rachel drawled angrily. Arecno, choosing to ignore her, invited himself inside and landed on the bottom of her bed. Arecno was by far the only real friend she had after Lara. some would say a bird couldn't be a friend but Rachel liked to believe otherwise. it was on the day of Lara's funeral as she was riding her bike home with her eyes still tearful that she found him.it seemed like he had fallen off the tree and out of his nest because he was so tiny .Rachel liked to believe this was a sign Lara was sending her. so she took the raven home with her and ever since, Arecno had been a part of her family. ravens are extremely smart and it didn't take Rachel long to notice that, for he had a habit of bringing home jewelry and the fact that he never lost his way and always came back made Rachel love him even more. but at times he annoyed her too. like how he was sitting on the edge of her bed and cleaning his feathers with his beak without a care in the world. "stop that!" Rachel hissed out as she shooed him off her bed. Arecno, angry about being disturbed made a loud cawing sound and he flew to the other side of the room.

'honey, is everything okay up there?'

Rachel jumped up at the sound but answered back the moment she regained her composure.

'yes mom, everything's fine I was just coming down for dinner'

Jumping off the bed, she slowly made her way to her mirror. her reflection looked as messy as always. she ran a hand through her shoulder-length black hair and she put on the happiest smile she could manage. making her brown eyes shine more than usual. she always felt they were way bigger than needed for they gave away all of her feelings. 'c'mon Arecno, i'm starving'

Rachel went downstairs as fast as she could so she wouldn't worry her parents. they had a habit of worrying about the smallest things, even her delay for coming downstairs. the smell of baked chicken filled her senses the exact same time she caught sight of her mom taking off her apron. her mother looked as cheerful as always despite the fact that she was very tired.'finally! what took you so long?' she said in her usual bossy tone.

'mom, it just took me 2 minutes to come down' Rachel replied as she rolled her eyes. taking some French fries from the dish, she pushed some in her mouth while feeding some to Arecno. her mother glared helplessly at the sight, shaking her head in disapproval. 'Hector! dinner is ready.'

There was a loud thud when hector moon hit his toe to the sofa and yelped in pain. but even with the pain he made his way to the dining room still limping slightly .Rachel suppressed a giggle and kissed her father on the cheek. Arecno making a noise as if he was saying hello.

when they were all seated and helping themselves with some chicken and fries, an argument broke out between her parents. A friendly one of course.

Rachel only glanced at them while smirking. she loved them. they were everything she could ever ask for.'I told you Mary. french fries are better if you deep fry them! this tastes like mashed potatoes!'hector moon said before taking a handful of fries and shoving them in his mouth.

'if you're such an expert why don't you make them yourself?'mary moon spit back while pouring herself some water.

Rachel shook her head as she watched them roasting eachother, munching on her food calmly. Arecno flew off after he was done poking Rachel's food. after a while Rachel excused herself from the table too, walking back to the stairs. she looked back at her parents one more time with a soft smile on her face before disappearing into the dark stairway.