Drawn

I come from a small town named Dims-Wood. Its firmament is completely covered in clouds; no one there has ever seen the clear sky due to its unending overcast weather.

Many residents have chosen to leave because of its suffocating weather. Others stayed because they had no other place to go, and the remaining amount chose not to abandon their birthplace.

I remembered seeing the clear sky for the first time. I was six years old, and Mom had taken me to see her sister in Provis-Ville.

I also remembered how bright the day was in Provis-Ville compared to the forever dull and gray days back home. The cloud at Dims-Wood blocked most of the light, allowing little light to reach the surface.

Mom instructed me to stay on the porch while she went in to talk to Aunt April. As I overheard her plead with her sister to take me, I looked into the clear sky. Too young to understand my mother loathed me for being the reason why my father left her, and she wasn't asking her sister to take me because she had lost her job and thought her financially stable to support me for a while. Like my dad, she too didn't want me.

The sky was so blue; it was as though the sea was above me.

I never again saw the clear blue sky that day, for neither did my aunt want me.

**Chapter 1**

Saturday Evening

"I'm forever amazed at how dogs are easily attached to you." Sara came to see me petting one of the dogs.

I smiled as it started to lick my hands from its cage.

"Rottweilers are the most dangerous and aggressive dogs, and yet you manage to tame this new and wild one with little human interaction within the moment you've gotten here," said Sara, still in wonder, watching me from behind.

The Rottweiler barked as she drew closer, and immediately, she drew back.

"Calm down," I said softly, and instantly he listened to me.

"Mr. Dave is making the biggest mistake thinking this Dog Pound doesn't need you anymore. You have a gift in winning over the dogs' hearts, Amara, which is very handy for this business."

Scratching the dog's head, I hide my sadness with a smile.

I enjoyed working with the dogs here; they were the only beings that didn't make me feel alone and unloved. It hurts that I'll never get to be around them anymore, nor could I take one home, for pets were not allowed.

The dog started to make a soft, goofy moan. Sara and I broke out into laughter.

 As I stood up from its cage, Sara gave me my last payment.

"I'm going to miss seeing the dog's interaction with you," she said.

I nodded and then said goodbye to her.

She watched as I went on to say farewell to other dogs as well. Tears filled my eyes while doing so.

"Be free to stop by anytime you wish to see the dogs," Sara yelled as I walked out the door.

I halted to wipe away my tears with the sleeve of my pink sweater as I was outside. My stare went across the road as I did, and immediately my heart started to race to meet Connor's gaze over at the gas station. He averted his head as soon as I noticed him, and quickly removed the nozzle from his motorcycle, scurrying into the convenience store as if he didn't want to be seen by me.

Connor and his family moved here a month ago into a mansion near the woods. Their move was the talk of the town. Dims-Wood hasn't had a new resident for over 80 years because of its unending overcast weather. Why others are leaving, it was strange that a family thought this place was fit to dwell.

 Connor and I go to the same school, as well as his triplet brother and cousin.

At school, he spoke only to them, and when he didn't, he kept to himself.

I remembered his first day at school here; every girl flocked to him, eager to claim him as their own. One by one, he rejected them all. Leaving us to believe none of us was good enough for him.

Like every girl back at school, I too was drawn to him, but not because of his godlike beauty. All I know is that whenever I see him, I strangely don't feel like I do every day before he moved here, unwanted, and like some terrible mistake that should never have occurred.

Strangely, I felt like I came from my mother's womb solely for the purpose of him.

Connor had turned down the most beautiful and popular girls at school; there was no possible way there was a chance for someone as unattractive as me to end up with someone as beautiful as him.

All the dogs inside the pound started barking. Shortly after, I heard a loud, clanging sound. I took my eyes off Connor through the glass of the convenience store, lifting an item from the shelf to look up. My eyes widened to see the building sign falling straight towards me.

At that most terrifying moment, I thought that was the end of me. I'd be gone, and my mother would finally be content without me, but a strong arm pulled me from the sign before it could strike me.

All dressed in black and towering above me, I stared, surprisingly, into my savior's black eyes, the darkest I'd seen. He stared back into my brown eyes with an unreadable face.

"How, how did you get across the road so fast?" I asked, still in shock, remembering how far he was from me.

The incident happened within the second I'd taken my eyes off him, so how could he have gotten across the road just in time to save me? I was baffled.

Ignoring my question, he removed his arms from around me, and I noticed a scrape on his right arm, likely caused by the accident.

"You're hurt," I said out loud, worried.

"I'm fine." He immediately stepped away from me.

I watched his long legs move quickly as he returned across the road.

"Oh my gosh!" I looked away from him to see Sara staring in fright at the bent dog pound sign lying on the ground.

"Thank God you're safe and no one is hurt."

I nodded.

"Vroom!" I heard a motorcycle, and my head spun from Sara to see Connor riding swiftly down the road.

I watched him, still bemused at the questionable speed he'd saved me, which is impossible for an ordinary person, until he was out of sight.