Hidden Sight

Chapter 1

Freezing cold rain poured from the sky in buckets. The air was so cold you could see your breath as it came out in puffs of warm air. It was the beginning of winter break. The sky was gray and filled with clouds. Inside the house sat a teenage girl with shoulder length black hair and dusk blue eyes. She was alone, and was slouching on a couch. The wind howled outside, leaves and debris were sent flying the the violent gust. One hit the window with a clatter, but the girl did not even flinch. 

Nothing mattered to Hinami. Not the shrieking wind, or the water flooding the streets.  Her usually bright eyes were murky and dark as she stared at the screen in front of her. The local news was on. Big red letters stretched across the middle of the screen, "35 YEAR OLD WOMAN WASHED UP DEAD ON BEACH'' it said.

In the small title underneath, "Hana Wang" was written for the world to see. A pit seemed to form in the bottom of her stomach as she gaped at the horrifying news. Hana Wang. Her aunt. She went missing around 7 days ago.

Authorities had searched for her for days to find nothing. Nothing, not even a clue on her whereabouts. Now, she washed up on the beach. Dead. Hinami could not stop the tears as she sobbed her heart out, she stared at the screen, which continued to show the crime scene.

The beach that she loved playing on was swarming with law enforcement behind a wall of caution tape as a news anchor described the horrifying event. "This morning at roughly 9:30am in Kyma Village, 35 year old Hana Wang's body was found on the local beach by an elderly couple who reported it to the authorities...judging by the rigor mortis and purpling flesh, this was not a new murder..." the man on the TV reported in a monotonous voice. Waves crashing against the beach and the wind howled in the background.

She tuned out the rest of the news show, as she denied the death of her family member. 'She can't be dead. She has not been missing for that long. Only around 7 days. She cannot possibly be dead ' Beneath her denial, Hinami knew that her aunt was truly no longer in this world.

Hinami could not stop the tears from flowing as she sobbed her heart out. No one was there to comfort her; as like most days, her mother had already left early in the morning, heading out to work.

She bawled, mourning the loss of her best friend, her closest family member, her support in life. Nostalgic memories flashed through her head.

Aunt Hana was the one who did everything with her. They would go to the beach together, splashing each other playfully, floating in the waves. They would go out to ice cream, and go on road trips to see the world. They would admire the stars together at night, and Aunt Hana would describe the places she had been. When her mother was not there for her, Aunt Hana, Allie, and Hinami would hang out together, laughing, and playing. Allie. Allie spent most of her time with Hinami, and by extension, Aunt Hana. She hoped that Allie was faring decently okay. She knew no one would be fine after the loss of a companion, but she at least hoped that Allie was not doing as bad as herself.

Allie (short for Alexandra) was Hinami's only, and best friend. Sure, Hinami had close acquaintances and people who were polite to her, but in her opinion, none were genuinely close enough to be friends.

Allie lived in the home across the street from Hinami. Almost identical to Hinami's own, Allie's house was a two storied terrace house that was painted a pastel teal with white highlights instead of baby blue like Hinami's house. Allie had a small white picket fence with a small daisy filled front yard. Hinami's house, on the other hand, had no fence to her grassy yard, and bright flowers lined the edge of the house. She should visit Allie to see if she is okay. Grabbing a raincoat, she sprinted across the road. She made it to Allie's house safe and dry, as puffs of hot air emanated from her mouth as she caught her breath.