Like a River Running

Chapter 1: Early to Mid 21 February 1039474 ME (2016 CE)

Flashes of green flew past and a roaring sound appeared. Knowing that the sound meant happiness, I ran and lept faster, anxious to get to the tumbling, clear blue waters I could hear just ahead. Reaching my goal, I bent down to get closer-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Swearing, I groped around my nightstand and hit snooze on my alarm clock. I moaned and pulled the covers over my head, searching for those last precious moments of sleep.

"Natalie! Get downstairs, breakfast is on the table!" Sarah, my adoptive mother, shouted up the stairs. "If you don't get a move on, Craig will have eaten everything!" I moaned. Craig-my 'sibling'-was an eating machine. If you left him alone with food, it would be gone in the blink of an eye. Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my eyes before taking a deep breath. "I'm coming, just give me a moment," I yelled downstairs, "and don't let him eat all my bacon!"

Craig and I had been thrown together at one of the group homes I had lived at before being adopted by Sarah and Steve. Craig had found me sitting alone on the ground in the corner of the lunchroom playing with my food and had instantly cajoled me into eating. Soon after, we were inseparable-in almost all the senses of the word he was my big brother.

"Ugh, why are we up so early on the weekend again?" I rhetorically asked before slamming my head down on the counter.

"Nat, it's your birthday! You know what that means!" Craig exclaimed, beginning to dance around my chair.

"That I can sleep in?" I snarked back.

"No! That we get to see Jessica and celebrate!"

"Craig, seriously. If I didn't know better I'd think you were five instead of seventeen. Can you stop with the dancing?"

"Oh, shush, Nat. Here's your coffee." Steve chided as he put a steaming cup of dark coffee in front of me.

"Thank you!" I said, jumping on the mug. I close my eyes, inhaling the wonderful smell of caffeine and losing myself in it as it slowly woke up my tired brain.

After my first few heavenly sips of the thick brew, I opened my eyes to the weakly shining light of late winter sun. I sighed heavily before heaving myself off the chair and going upstairs to get ready for the day ahead that promised to be a long one. Carefully setting my full cup down, I began my morning routine. Instead of simply running my brush through my long wavy blonde hair, I took the time to straighten it as it was my birthday.

I was never a huge fan of my birthday, as it marked the day that my biological parents got tired and left me at a gas station. It never made sense why would I want to celebrate that event. But, that's what the caretakers decided when I was brought to them, and so that was how my years on this planet were marked-by how many years to the day I had been abandoned.

A light knock sounded on the front door of the house, and I hurriedly unplugged the straightener before running a hand through my newly straightened hair and rushing downstairs to greet Jessica. Slowing down as I approached the door, I spotted a woman of short stature, with brown hair thrown up in a tight bun.

"Jessica!" I yelled excitedly, picking up speed again and rushing to hug her. "I haven't seen you in such a long time! How are you? What have you been up to?"

Jessica Marconi had been the one constant in my life for eighteen years. She was my case worker until I got adopted, but because we had formed such a close bond we kept in contact and she always visited on my birthday each year.

"I'm wonderful! How are you? You look so well and you've grown another couple of inches since last year!" she said with a big smile. She reached up to sling an arm around my shoulders and gave me a strong squeeze. "I swear! Last year I could use you as an armrest, and now look at you!"