Chapter 1

My little feet led me across the cold tiles as I ran. I was giggling and playing, not realizing when my little legs took me to the kitchen. 

There I found my mother cooking breakfast, she was humming to herself as she steadily stirred the mixture in the pot. I giggle as I waddle towards her, wrapping my small arms around her leg. She stops and looks down at me with surprise in her eyes. 

Slowly, a smile appears on her face, but mine is wider. She picks 'little me' in her arms, and kisses my forehead. I chuckle, "how's my little River doing?" She asks, her nose nuzzling my cheek.

I laugh, and after some time she gently places me on the floor. Her attention back to her food.

I clap my hands, as I play while she rounds up her cooking. I hear father come out the room, nose sniffing the air. "Oliver stop sniffing, River will imitate it." She scolds him from the kitchen. 

Dad's face goes slack for a moment, and I burst into a loud pearl of laughter. His eyes suddenly glisten with mischievousness as he picks me up.

"You laughing at me, tiger?" He teases, a smile on his lips. Then he turns his attention back to mother, "how did you know I was sniffing?" He asks her. Amusement clouding his eyes, she turns to him with a blank look. 

He shrinks back a bit, as mom sets the table.

"It's your habit." She said, taking me from his arms. "Now come on, it's time to eat, we have a long day ahead." Mother urged us both, sitting me on my little chair. I smile at her, before eating up my food and father does the same.

----

Slowly, this beautiful memory begins to fade into a gray one. I blink, tears swelling up in my eyes as I stare at the empty dining table. 

Mom is dead, and dad is no less an alcoholic, and it was all surprisingly my fault. She had died two years after that memory, and my dad couldn't bear to lose her.

I clear the dishes, and set to work. I begin washing out the dirty plates, my mind zoning out once more. 

I was only seven when she had died, but dad couldn't help but blame me. Father was almost never home, and it wasn't helping with this empty hollow feeling I felt inside.

After her death, father had abandoned his responsibilities. I had no choice but to sell food in a restaurant to earn a living to support myself. I trained myself to school till high school level. 

Things were getting more difficult, and father didn't miss any chance to try to strangle me whenever he returned drunk. 

I began to hide in my room, whenever he came home to protect myself. I would always cry myself to sleep, wondering how it all fell apart this way.

I quickly gathered all the things I needed, before making my way to the restaurant I worked at. Where I sold the food I cooked. While I set up, I hear a familiar voice call out to me. "Hey River! How are your sales going?" I lift my head to see an average heighted guy, my age. 

I recognized him as Gilbert. "It's going just fine, Gilbert." I reply softly, to which he smiles.

Just when I'm done setting up, I hear someone scoff. About twenty minutes after Gilbert had left to tend to his business. I didn't need anyone to tell me who it was. "What do you want?" I ask with gritted teeth, eyes narrowing at the annoying yet familiar figure.

It was my arch nemesis, who didn't seem to miss a chance to irritate me, Gina.

"Hello, I just wanted to see how bad things were going for you here." she says with a glazed stare and I clench my jaw. Trying my level best to not lose control. "Well, as you can see Gina; things are making progress." comes my clipped reply, then it hits me. 

"Don't tell me you came to seek advice from me. If that's the case, then I'm sorry. I don't give advice to people like you, I'm sure you're aware of that." I taunt, and she fumes. Her face was already red, I can't help but smile. She angrily turns around and stomps away.

Now that has been taken care of, 'Get your meal here! Hot and delicious!!' I wrote on a board which I placed in front of the restaurant. Staring at the people passing by, hoping to catch their attention. 

Soon, the restaurant opened in full swing. People began to trip in, and I must admit, this made my boss extremely happy. I immediately set to work on the cooking, and behind me Gina was busy with washing the dishes.

I'll admit it was a miracle we both hadn't strangled each other yet. Though we knew it would affect our salary, and so we wouldn't dare. 

The bell rings from the counter, a few seconds later; Gilbert is shoving a paper with a scribbled request on it at my face. "Another order from Mr. Arnold Knot." I hear him say absent mindedly. My eyes scan the paper carefully, before I immediately set to work.

Within twenty minutes I was done and ready to serve. Gilbert directs me to seat number twelve, I let him lead the way. I gently place the tray of food on the table.

 I don't miss the way he stares at me, it was anything but comfortable. "Your order sir, please let me know if there is anything else you need." I say in dismissal, turn on my heel and head back to the kitchen. 

Something about the way Mr. Knot had stared at me was unsettling. "You okay?" A familiar voice asks me over a shoulder. I nod my head, still slightly dazed, "I am." I lie. Trying to convince myself, not Eva. Whatever it was, I couldn't shake it off.