A Different Descendant: Freshman Year 1

Chapter 1

Mystery Falls, a city known for many things: its spirits' festivals, history and many more. It's bound by Starling City in the east, Central City in the west, Draconia City in the North and Star Falls in the South.
My family and I moved here recently. No doubt, Mystery Falls is a very beautiful city. It has an ancient river known as the River of Memories or its name in Iyes, Sanhuwe River which was my favorite place in Mystery Falls.
Iyes is the local language spoken in Mystery Falls and Starling.
Over the years, this language has evolved to include modern Iyes, along with the ancient tongue. Although, only a few understand both ancient and modern Iyes.
My name is Henry L. Collins, and this is the story of my life since I moved to Mystery Falls.
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My story really begins with a beautiful morning. The wind blew the trees and the dried leaves along the roads. The birds chirped their songs, the mailman went about his daily business and the trees sway back and forth as the cool breeze blows against their leaves.
The cool breeze blew my curtains open and blew against my well combed and gelled hair while I sat in front of my dressing mirror. In my hand was a picture of me and my late father which was taken five years ago on our special guy's night out.
It was dated November twenty-fifth, two thousand and fourteen; my eighth birthday. That day out was the last birthday gift I got from my father before he left earth.
With the framed picture in my hands, I reminisced in a rather sad moment.
It was my ninth birthday. My mom always made all our birthdays a big deal. Back then my family and I still resided in Draconia; a town not too far from Mystery Falls.
My dad was spending some time off in Mystery Falls with my sister. He promised he was going to be there for my party. He constantly called when he was on his way so I would be rest assured that he was going to show up.
After a while, no one could reach him. Even with all the party fun, I still felt uneasy and worried.
A few moments later, Alexis was at home. I had no idea when she arrived, but one thing was certain. She wasn't her usual cheerful self. She was smiling, but it definitely wasn't genuine.
My party ended and my dad was a no show. The gifts, hugs and birthday wishes didn't matter to me. All that mattered to me was his absence that night.
The next day, I asked Alexis about dad. She told me he had to handle some business to handle in Mystery Falls. Whenever I asked about the bruises on her arms covered by band aids, she always said it was a bruise she got from the park.
Though my little sister and I were in the dark about what really happened, we both knew something was wrong, considering the way my mother and older sister behaved.
About two weeks later, my little sister and I were finally let in on what really happened. On their way back from Mystery Falls, the car my father drove in was hit by a truck. Alexis miraculously survived, but he did not. It was a disheartening occurrence for the entire Collins family. An event that left a hole in our hearts
About a year later, my mother met a certain Mr. Eric Gudjohnson who worked for the FBI. He brought her home one night when she was out drowning her sorrow in the comfort of alcohol. In a matter of months, I was in a suit at their wedding.
It took a few months for my siblings to get used to him. But I was different. I didn't like Mr. Gudjohnsen. He just couldn't compare to my old man. While my sisters addressed him as dad, I was the only one who addressed him as Mr. Gudjohnsen.
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"Henry!"
My mother's voice brought me back to earth.
"Hurry down or you'll be late!"
My sisters and I have joked about how sometimes my mom yelling out our names sounds more like a cat stuck on a tree, crying for help.
I placed the picture next to some books on my desk, slung my bag over one shoulder, turned off the lights and headed downstairs for breakfast.
My mother already set up the table with food in three plates. Pancakes; the perfectly simple breakfast.
"Good morning," I said and placed a soft warm kiss on her left cheek.
"Morning, Henry. What took you so long? You usually come down for breakfast earlier than this. Don't tell me- "
"No, I wasn't," I immediately responded.
She was against me constantly thinking about dad. But I couldn't help myself. He was my closest companion before his demise.
Dr. Hayden Collins, my mother. With her blue eyes, short stature and mellow beauty, it was hard for anyone to believe she was in her forties. She's not that short, but I am taller than she is.
"What is taking your sisters so long?"
Walking hurriedly towards the stairs, she yelled;
"ALEXIS, HEATHER. You two........"
"I'm already here," said Alexis as she came downstairs.
She kissed her on the cheek and came to the table for breakfast.
Alexis Collins, my older sister. She possesses dark colored eyes, average-sized pink lips that glisten with aid from her lip gloss, average height, and has raven-black hair with dimensional waves.
It was going to be her senior year in high school. During her previous years as a high school student, she stayed here, in Mystery Falls with a family known as the Hathaway's.
My mother and Dr. Hathaway are both doctors that work in the hospitals my mother owned. I knew the Hathaway's. We were next door neighbors while we were still in Central City. I never contacted any of them since they moved away as I never felt the need to converse with any of them.
"Last year in high school," Alexis said with a tiring sigh.
"Now, that doesn't mean you should slack off," mom cautioned with a warm, proud smile on her face.
"I know, I know," she whined.
Then, my younger sister came downstairs together with Mr Gudjohnsen.
Heather Collins;
The youngest of our family; the hetero-chromic girl with a blue left pupil and black right pupil. Some girls and boys in her age bracket teased her when she was little. Some said she was a cat that takes the form of a human in the day and causes mischief at night. She also has black dimensional waves like Alexis, but hers have delicate highlights of brown at the tip. Alexis and my mother went over to say good morning to him, but I stayed put.
After they exchanged greetings, I dropped my plate in the sink, picked up my earphones from the table and headed out the door. I just couldn't stand being in the same room with him. To me, he was a stranger playing dad in our house.
With my earphones plugged in and the volume just a tad away from my phone's loudest, I walked down the street on the path to school.