Chapter 1: (The Raven's Hollow welcome)

MARY'S POV

I used to believe that I had it all figured out.

I loved Texas. It was loud, bright, and bold; just like me. There were fast cars, loud music, and bonfires that lasted until dawn. And then, there was my friends that had become more like a family.

Life at Texas was just perfect for me. I knew who I was in that world, and I had a wonderful set of routine. My school, where I was even the cheerleader for our basketball team. Movie marathon nights with my clique, a lot of sleepovers, and summer parties at my favorite beach house. I had everything I could ever want.

Until the accident happened.

It wasn't just any regular kind of accident, or the type seen in Hollywood movies. It was a horror-filled accident that had cracked something in my parents.

We were out on a sunday like every other family. We visited the park, rode in the rollercoasters, and saw a movie. It was the perfect family time for a perfect family.

With music playing aloud from the car radio, we danced to the rhythm as dad drove us back home. Mom said something funny, and dad turned to look at her. He shouldn't have done that. That one moment of distraction took everything away from us.

I still remember the metal screeching, the shattering glass, and my screams cutting through the chaos, as our car fell off the bridge.

We were lucky that the truck driver we had collided with, felt a wave of guilt, and called 911.

We were rescued, and for two weeks, Dad was in a coma. During this time, I couldn't go to school, and Mom was almost going crazy. She blamed herself everyday for the accident.

Yes. We had survived the accident, but the scars ran deeper than we admitted. Physically, we were fine. But emotionally?

Not so much.

Mom always cried in her sleep. Nightmares from that day haunting her non-stop. Dad was distracted, and he kept going to work late. At mealtime, he rarely finished his plate, and this was bothersome.

They must've discussed it, but probably held back for the fear of how I'd feel. But I saw through their pretense. I felt their pain, and whenever I looked at them, I saw the distant look in my Mom's eyes. She was getting thinner by the day. Dad always had a sad expression on his face.

I watched them for long, waiting for them to come clean, but they didn't. So, I decided to ask what the problem was, and regretted doing that almost immediately. They broke the news that broke my heart in an instant.

"Mary, we have to move." Dad began slowly, and quietly. "This place has become haunted, and quite uncomfortable."

"Okay... we could get another house, right? We don't have to leave Texas entirely." I argued.

The thoughts of leaving my friends behind was unbearable. I had created memories, too good to be left behind. I was born here. I learnt everything I knew here. I had a perfect life here.

How could I just leave everything and go away?

"Mary, please.... understand our pain." Dad said.

"We just need the quiet." Mom whispered, tears clinging to her lashes. "A place where nothing ever happens. A place where no one knows our past, where no one knows the horrors we've had to endure."

I didn't buy their idea, but my parents were right. Texas had become too uncomfortable. Everyone pointed fingers at us. They stared at us with pity, and at school, I couldn't even jump without someone telling me to be careful, so I wouldn't get hurt.

So, we packed our lives into boxes, and left Texas behind. And that was how we ended up in Raven Hollow.

I wondered how Dad was able to find this eerie place.

Even the name felt like a warning. The air here was different. It was a small town, where everyone knew each other.

There was no malls, no cinemas, no bustling traffic, not even a proper café. It took just thirty minutes for me to sum up the entire town, and this wasn't cool at all. The town had just two corner stores, a dusty diner, a rusty gas station that left me wondering if people ever got gas from it, an old antique bookstore, and rows upon rows of ancient homes that seemed to whisper secrets.

Even the schools were nothing compared to the ones at Texas. The classrooms were small, and I doubted anything was ever taught here.

Our house was perched near the edge of the woods. Dark, towering trees pressed in from behind the fence at the backyard, like silent sentinels. The realtor called it 'charming' and 'secluded', but I thought otherwise. The house was old, and smelled faintly of mothballs, and mildew. It creaked when no one was moving, groans when the wind touches the roof, and the basement?

I'd keep that out of the picture. I swore to avoid it forever.

"A few hours of cleaning will leave it all sparkling, and beautiful." Mom said, grinning from ear to ear.

I wanted to argue. To tell them that I was going to return to my perfect life, and a perfect house at Texas, but the satisfactory look on their faces wouldn't let me. They had wanted the peace, and quiet, and it didn't seem fair, wanting to take that away from them.

The townfolk weren't any better also.

When we arrived, we were met with stiff smiles, and wide curious eyes. They stared at us like outsiders weren't meant to be here. There was something about them.... I couldn't tell if it was fear.... or maybe, they were just being weird.

I knew in an instant that I wouldn't make any friends here. Because, there was no absolute way that I could be friends with such deluded people.

They told us the usual small town things. Where to buy eggs, and groceries, how to avoid deers at night on the street, what radio station played the best music, et cetera.

But then, the warnings and the stories came.

"Don't go into the woods after dark." Our neighbor, Mrs. Sanderson said. She had a fearful expression as she whispered like she was scared someone.... or something might be listening in on us. "There are strangers in there that do not take it kindly to people.... especially, strangers."

When I went with Dad to get gas at the gas station, we met a man with a deep scar, slicing across his face, and he warned us too.

"Don't go up to the mountains. People never return from there."

The stories were exhausting, and I was tired of hearing them.

"Dad, is it safe to be here with these weirdos?" I asked him on our way back from the gas station.

"My darling, it is just a townlore." He replied, laughing nervously. He probably thought I wouldn't notice he was scared shitless too."With time, we'll get used to them."

When we got home, I told Mom the stories the gas man had shared, but she shrugged it off.

"It's just a harmless superstition, baby. Nothing is happening here. Can't you see? This place is amazing."

Well, I guess she was right.

But the way the townspeople told the stories, with wide eyes, and hushed tones.... it made it feel like more, than just bedtime stories.

But despite all that... I never believed in monsters.

Ghosts? Maybe. Witches? Of course. But vampires and werewolves? Please.... what a laugh. I may have a flair for the dramatic, but I had my limits.

I was a girl of logic and reality. Myths never scared me. What scared the hell out of me, was people. They were the real monsters, not some century old creatures from old storybooks, and horror movies.

I had brought my journal with me, so I began writing again, as the possibility of making friends here, reduced to zero.

My entries were mostly about the things I missed. Our old house, my friends, school, and all the fun of Texas.

I also write about this new creepy place. The wolves I think I hear at night, even though the sheriff assured us that there hasn't been a wolf in the town for decades.

That sounded like a lie, but I had no proof that it was.

Next week, I'd resume school here, and be the 'new girl' all over again. I hated that the most. But maybe what I needed was the reset..... starting all over here, on a clean slate.

I knew it might be tough... but I promised myself not to be scared. I had already gone through hell, and my life didn't end then. So, it wouldn't end in this small town of Raven Hollow.

So everytime, when I miss my old life, I'd stand at the window of our too-quiet house, watching the woods breathe in the dark. Somewhere deep inside them, something howls, and I tell myself that is it just the wind.

Just the wind.

Right?