Forest Of The Lost, Celeste *** [books to read in a lifetime txt] 📗

Prologue
My name is Vanessa Ovine and the world you know is a lie. The world you know is scientific, realistic, and peaceful. But that is a lie, this world is a dangerous place man has come to live. The most dangerous thing on here…us; the humans.
We begin on October 31, 2000 on the day of my birth, with my parents. My mom scared and excited for her first child, my father exactly the same. Waiting in the hospital room for the nurse with the pain medications, wondering what was taking so long. But as the start of my new personality, I must come at the most inconvienent of times. An hour later the nurse holds me up and tells my parent they have a healthy girl, and puts me in my mother’s arms.
“She’s so small” my dad whispers to my mom, “and beautiful…. just like her mom”. My birth was like any other child’s but my life ahead will be different from most children. While they looked down at they’re little girl the most important thing in their lives, I opened my eyes for the first time.

16 years later…..

“Liz look!!!! It’s Michael!!!!” I point in his direction, Liz flips her hair and giggles “is he looking?!!” I scan the room looking for my friends crush wondering where he went. “There he is. Wow, I can’t believe it he looks taller than he did before the week end. Talk about a major growth spurt.” Just as I finish my sentence Michael looks over and spots us, and rambles over. Before we know it he is standing in front of us.
“Hey ladies, how was your weekend” he winks; He turns to talk to my overly happy friend. As I’m watching her face brighten I notice trouble coming our way.
“Oh great” I mutter as Megan a blonde with attitude, and a great reputation struts over with her cliché of cheerleaders.
“Hey Michael, how was your week end” she says in a singsong voice wrapping an arm around one of his, her friends giggling. Liz gives me a pleading look, then turns to glare at Megan.
I clear my throat then turn to Michael “so about tomorrow, Liz and where planning on going to the movies and I was wondering if you would like to go.” He turns his attention away from Megan who was still glued to his arm and looks at me “yeah sure do you mind if I bring some friends?” I giggled and winked at him “of course the more the merrier.”
Liz quietly thanks me under her breath knowing she owed me big time. “So Michael we’ll see you later at lunch ok, bye” and to make Megan even angrier, we blow him kisses and strut off to class. If you could kill by glaring I would’ve been dead.
“Oh . . . my . . . gosh . . . did you see her face! I’m surprised she didn’t explode”, I nodded not paying attention to my best friend as she chatted about our most resent clash with miss ‘perfect.’
Thinking about the day ahead, I had a feeling something was going to happen, not sure if it is good or bad. When I make it to my homeroom a group of girls were in the front talking quietly about someone. Not caring about the gossip, I pick a spot in the back of the class room. I sit quietly and start doodling in my art book, when Mrs. Lindon walks in. suddenly every one instantly is quiet and sits down and looks up.
We all have dealt with her, she can be nice but if you talk while she is talking you get severely punished. “Hello everyone, I hope you had a good weekend.” I grin knowing my parents were going to ask me what I learned in science today, since they are scientists. By the end of class we learn what our next study will be for the month, not too exciting.
After science I head to all my other classes that go smoothly, so I start walking to the lunchroom. But as soon as I step into the lunchroom I’m swept into a tornado of excited chatter. As always Liz can’t wait to tell me about her classes. “Whoa!!! Slow down I can’t understand what you saying” I grab her by the shoulders and tell her to take deep breaths. “Much better, let’s sit down before you continue, ok?” she laughs and takes a deep breath
As we’re munching on chips Liz explains how in second period she sits behind Megan and next to Michael. Apparently when she turned around to talk to Michael the teacher had yelled at Megan. “Also Michael totally-““Hey what are you girls talking about?” Michael bursts into our conversation as he sits down next to Liz, and looking back and forth between both of us. “Oh you know the usual girl stuff, you wouldn’t understand” We looked at each other and burst out laughing.
After lunch we go to our next classes, when I got to my 6th period is when everything went downhill. “Vanessa Ovine please come to the office, Vanessa Ovine come to the office” I look up from my notebook glance at the teacher and gather my things. As I’m walking down to the office I wonder what’s going on with a sick feeling in my stomach. As I step into the office I see the principal, a police officer, and my neighbor Ms. Greory, “what’s going on? I didn’t do anything!”
“Honey you aren’t in trouble, it’s about your parents.” Mrs. Greory tells me with a sympathetic look. “W-what do you mean my parents, what happened!!!” My voice rising by the second, the police officer stepped closer and cleared his throat. “Your neighbor reported loud crashes coming from your house and by time we got there we found your house a mess, there is a sign of struggling but no sign of your parents.”
I stood there for a moment processing everything when it hit me my parents were gone, and everything went black. When I woke up I didn’t remember fainting, the nurse had her back to me and was talking quietly on the phone. I laid down processing what had happened again; I started crying knowing I may never see my parents again. The nurse looks up realizing I’m awake, “your grandma is on her way to get you” she says in a sweet voice.
At least I get to see my grandma, she live on the coast. On a reserve, oh yeah did I forget to mention I’m part Cherokee. So I wait in the office for my grandma wondering what’s next. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry” my grandma whispers as she pulls me to a tight hug. “Grandma I’ve missed you so much!” I squeeze her not wanting to let go, afraid I might also lose her too.
She tells me on the way to her home that I will love it there, and about the people. She reminds me of customs, and tells me Moonlight is waiting for me and has missed me. I’m excited to see Moonlight she’s like my best friend; I’m also reminded how my mom and I were always with her I remember the times I would braid her hair and how she listen to everything I would whisper. We pull in to my grandma’s small two bedroom house; I look around and take in the familiar smell of spices and roses.
I head out to the barn knowing that’s where I will find her, “Moonlight I’m back! Did you miss me?” I peek around stall doors wondering which one she was in. Suddenly a beautiful silver gray mare pokes her head out from a stall in front of me. ”Hey girl, how are you?” I asked the horse giggling as she nuzzles my pocket “yes I brought carrots.” I felt better being around the mare, I remembered how I found her in the woods showings signs of abuse. Grandma had another horse at the time, a gelding called Checkers.
Moonlight and him hit it off and became close friends, until he passed away 3 years ago. I miss the chubby old bay, but you can’t reverse time. After giving Moonlight a good brushing I headed back to the house, when I opened the door I found my grandma talking to an older couple. “Ah Vanessa how good of you to join us, these are my neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Kalaki.” She turns towards them “this is my beautiful granddaughter Vanessa.” She looks back at me and smiles.
“They have a grandson who would be happy to show you around tomorrow, after the party though but we need to find you a costume.” Oh great I forgot my birthday is tomorrow, what kind of person forgets their birthday. “It’s okay grandma I have a costume picked out, I’m going to be an waiter.” It should be hard to forget your birthday when it’s the only thing people talk about; I was undoubtedly born on Halloween night. Yay for me: for being born on the creepiest night of the year, Liz always teases me for being a pumpkin baby.
We always went together to Halloween parties, but this year Liz and I will have to be going with someone else. I call her in tears telling her everything, she cried with me. “I’m so sorry it must be awful I’ll come over as soon as I can, I promise.” She was feeling really sorry for me it was easy to tell, and strangely annoying. But she was my best friend I wouldn’t tell her that her sympathy is annoying, that would crush her feelings.
After we were done talking I hung up and started towards the kitchen, “grandma I’m done on the phone and I’m going to hit the sack.” She laugh from the couch were she’s reading a book, “Are you sure you’re ok sweetie?” she says without looking up from her book. Jeez my grandma is obsessed once she starts a new book, but I’m kind of like that to so I can’t complain. When I made it to my room and hopped on my bed. I remembered why I was here instead of my bed at home, hot wet tears stream down my face as I let my guard down and cried. People may think I’m a happy person with no fear, anger, and sadness, but I just hold it in. When I finally lay down is when I realized how tired I was, because as soon as my head hit my pillow I was out.
When I woke up in the morning I felt kind of funny but it probably was the birthday jitters, so I slowly got out of bed wondering what the day was