Prologue
Round and ‘round Adrina twirled, her arms held from her sides. Her face was tilted up, her eyes closed and the corners of her mouth tipped up in a gentle, relaxed smile. Rain fell from the sky like tears, seeming to wash away her own pain as each drop hit her pale skin and soaked her long red hair. She loved the way it felt, the cold bursts that seemed to linger, raising gooseflesh on her arms. She had been doing this since she was a little girl. Dancing in the rain, her mother used to say.
The only sound that came from her was the soft squish of her bare feet hitting the plush wet grass over and over again. Her pale green dress was soaked and clung to her small body like a second skin. But she didn’t mind. No, not at all. In fact, it was almost comforting. Thunder rumbled above and around her, and lightning flashed shortly after, lighting up the midnight sky and revealing the beautiful patterns of the clouds. At least, Adrina thought they were beautiful. The way they seemed to engulf one another, and allow their crystalline tears to fall as one. It struck her as magical.
As she spun, images from her dreams passed before her eyes. Pictures of him smiling, of him laughing. She could see the two of them dancing, she could practically hear her own laughter as he twirled her around before pulling her back into his arms. His eyes gleamed as he lowered his head and kissed her lightly. But, as always, the image faded. It always did, when it reached that part. Instead, it was replaced by one of him frowning as she told him of something that had her in tears.
She squeezed her eyes shut a bit tighter and tried to force the image away. She hated seeing him upset by anything. But as the image faded, she stumbled. Her eyes flew open to reveal green orbs, littered with silver flecks. Her lips separated and she let out a short gasp as she flailed her arms a bit, out of instinct. But she couldn’t quite keep herself balanced, and inevitably tumbled to the ground.
She turned as she fell, landing on one leg with her arms out in front of her, bracing her upper body against the blow. She winced slightly when she moved her leg. But nothing was broken. She’d most likely just have a pretty bruise in the morning to show for her late night activities. That would be fun to explain to her father. Well, you see, I was out dancing in the rain and daydreaming about a boy…
She let out an unlady-like snort at the thought. Yes, she could see the reaction to that clearly. Her father would choke on his coffee, drop his newspaper, and proceed to lecture and interrogate her until he knew every detail of her life for the past four years, down to whether or not she changed her underwear everyday. And, while she loved her father dearly, that was not a conversation she wanted to have. Ever.
Instead of standing up and moving inside to dry off, Adrina chose to lay out in the yard, letting her arms give out so that she fell gently her head resting on the grass as she stared up at the sky. The rain picked up, falling faster and harder. It sent chills down her spine, and she closed her eyes, trying to hear his voice once more. She allowed herself to be swept away once again into her thoughts. As per usual, her thoughts consisted of one person. The one person she knew for a fact she would probably never meet.
She didn't know how long she'd been laying there before she felt the rain lighten some and, to her surprise, someone lay a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly, incase it turned out to be her father, only to gasp as she was met with a smiling face and bright hazel eyes. Sitting up slowly, she continued to stare at the boy before her.
She had to be dreaming. She was only dreaming... wasn't she?
Uncertain, she reached out a hand and brushed the backs of her fingers over his cheek. The warmth of it surprised her immensely. But what shocked her the most, what proved to her that this was not yet another of her dreams, was the smile that lit up his face, and the sound of his voice. She didn't even register what he was saying before she felt her head spin. The last thing she saw was a frown appear on his face, before her world went black.
