A Little Secret | FanFiction

Chapter One

"Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?

"Because you will never be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you're thinking about life and about the world."

-Paulo Coelho

16 / 08 / 1994

Allison Black

—Happy birthday to me. —That was the first thing I muttered to myself without any kind of expression as I opened my eyes.

It was my 14th birthday, but as usual, I didn't feel excited or anxious for my "perfect party", as I never really had one.

I would spend all day in bed today, but with my father as my father, it would be practically impossible. I got up, sitting on the bed, and before I could even stand up, I heard a knock on my bedroom door. It was my father, without opening the door I could tell it was him.

Sirius used to do that every day, to wake me up. What I should do right now would be to open the door and let him know that I woke up, but no, I didn't feel like it.

—Nothing will happen for once either, right? —I thought, but apparently I was wrong, because a couple of minutes later, the door rang again, but this time a louder knock echoed through the four walls of my room.

—Father stop! —I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. Couldn't he at least leave me alone on my birthday?

I managed to hear a grunt from behind the door, and from there, footsteps walking away, it seems father was not in a very good mood.

Furthermore, I stood up, moving away from the bed and reluctantly approaching the bathroom.

・・・

When I came out of the bathroom, I looked at my bed one more time before heading downstairs.

My bed was adorned by 5 stuffed animals, these are my only friends, an elephant, a cat, two bunnies that look the same to anyone, but different to me, and an owl.

My father has always been telling me that this is something very childish on my part, but... I don't see anything childish about it, anyone can have a cuddly toy, right?

Of these 5 stuffed animals, only 2 have names, because I only name them after people or animals that are very important and special to me. For example, the elephant is called Sirius, and that is because even if he is sometimes cruel to me, or makes me angry, he will always end up being my father. Whatever he does, he will always be my father and my example to follow.

The owl, on the other hand, has the name of my deceased mother. Marlene McKinnon. She, even though she never spent more than a year with me, was and always will be the most significant person in my life. The truth is that I don't really know how she died, and my father hasn't told me until now. I'm not sure if he knows why and how she died either, as whenever I ask him about her, his face pales.

Right next to my bed, there is a bedside table, on top of it is a lamp and a ring in its box. My mother's ring. It's the only memory I have of her. I only wear it on days that are special to me, or whenever I feel unwell, because a strange sense of peace overcomes me when I put it on. One of my biggest fears would be to lose this jewel.

・・・

I went down to the dining room, finding my father sitting at the table. There was a coffee in front of him, but he had barely touched it.