Chapter 1

The sky was dark... no, it was overcast.  I could see it through my bedroom window.  There were no traces of either blue or while in the sky.  It was just plain gray while at some other parts, it was black.  I think there would be a storm coming up.  What's new?  In the small town where I lived, this was just one normal day.

I fluffed my pillow and placed it on my back.  I picked up the book I was reading when I heard the kettle whistling in the kitchen.  I put the book down and wheeled towards the noise.  Oh yeah!  Didn't I tell you that I was on a wheelchair?  Oh well...

I wasn't born like this as I was told.  I couldn't quite remember but my grandparents told me that when I was about four years old, my parents and I were going some place and I was at the back seat of the car.  I think we were going to my grandparents' house by that time which was at the other side of town.  We then stopped somewhere along the way and spent the night in a cabin not far in the woods.  We left a little bit late by that time because, as far as I could remember, Dad just came home from the hospital.

The cabin where we spent the night was a small log cabin with two to three lamps at the patio.  I still could smell the fragrance of the flowers surrounding the cabin.  I also remembered that night was very cold.  I think it was around November.  Maybe this was the reason why we stopped by and rest there.  Whoever owned the place was still a mystery to me.  I couldn't remember that event clearly but just some parts of it.  By that time, I was only a tyke.

All I could recall was the very bright light coming from outside of my bedroom door that night.  I was very frightened because of the tension felt in the air.  The bedroom door suddenly burst open and my mom was frantically running towards me.  Her pretty face was covered with tears.  I touched her rosy cheeks with my small chubby hands and new set of tears came flowing.  She kissed my forehead and said,"Baby, whatever happens, remember, Mommy and Daddy love you so much."  She kissed my forehead again and placed a leather necklace with a silver crescent moon pendant.

I unconsciously touched the pendant while I removed the kettle from the stove.  Twenty-six years had passed and still I relived that moment in my dreams.  When I had these dreams during my teenage years, I woke up screaming and Grandma Nana would run towards my room and hugged me tight.  I sighed as I pour hot water into my cup.  Nana died almost five or six years ago because of old age.  She passed away in her sleep one day.  Grandpa died two or three years after my parents reported deaths. 

My grandparents told me that my parents died that night because of some wild bear coming inside the cabin but I did not believe their story.  As a child, I believed they went with the bright light I saw from my bedroom door.  I tried to follow Mom that night after she gave me the necklace and lost consciousness just right before I reached the door.  When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital with Nana and Papa at my bedside.  Instantly, that day, they became my guardians.

Nana stayed with me at home and patiently home-schooled me.  She was also the one who accompanied me with my doctors' and therapy appointments, while Papa continued to work hard as a carpenter for our family but still had enough time to spend with us in the evening and during weekends.  Until one day, he was gone because of heart attack while at work.

I smiled and at the same time felt sad at the memories of Papa.  He had this infectious lopsided boyish smile that made Nana melt when they were still young.  I smiled at myself thinking about my grandparents getting smoochy and sweetie with each other.  I really missed them a lot.  I sometimes found myself crying whenever I dreamt about them... my family.

I reached for my tray at the kitchen table and put it on the armrests of my wheelchair.  I slowly put my cup of hot chocolate on the tray and went into my bedroom again to continue my reading.

The Beginning

I could hear the birds outside my window chirping endlessly and happily. I slowly opened my eyes and had an immediate shock of temporary blindness as the sun's rays were shining directly on my face. Irritably, I covered my face with my pillow and turned to the opposite direction then I saw my desk clock and the numbers 8:30 were blinking happily.

Consciousness was slowly creeping back to my vegetative state of mind. When it did, my body suddenly jerked as if a bolt of lightning went in it. I sat up on my bed with my pink and blue pajamas and slapped my forehead. Argh! How could I forget? I promised my friend, Nicole, to help her shop for her parents' anniversary today! I promised to meet her around 7AM.

I grabbed my Samsung touch screen cellphone and checked to see if she already called up or sent me a message. I touched the screen of the phone and saw nothing but the wallpaper of Spongebob smiling silly at me. I smiled at the cartoon character and text Nicole.

I put the cellphone on my wooden study table just between my two windows with French doors as I went to my medium-sized white-tiled bathroom to do my morning rituals. I wasn't even starting when my cellphone alarmed. I quickly ran out of the bathroom and checked the incoming message. It was a text from Nicole saying she would meet me at the nearby Starbucks from our house around 10AM. I sighed with relief. I replied OK and went again to take a bath.

I was about to start my everyday activity when I stopped and stared at my face. I could see my heart-shaped face with high cheek bones, small button nose, full red lips, and brown almond eyes. Everybody said that I was gorgeous but I did not think so. I am already 30 years old and still looked like I was studying in college.

I sighed and shook my head to remove all the thoughts that were coming to my mind at that time. I sighed again and for the last time, I looked at the mirror.

I, Cheryll Lopez, was just an ordinary person that you see running or walking fast on the street as if she knew nobody. I, Cheryll Lopez, was not special.