Raven Saga 01 - Raven

me? Having never made any other friends it was hard for me to imagine meeting people and being all... well... friendly. But then this life was going to be completely different from my old life. Perhaps I'd fit in perfectly. Perhaps I could change. I struggled with the thought.
    It was just after midday and the sky started to cloud over. I hadn't noticed how cold it was. I shivered.
    Ben immediately whacked up the heat without saying a word.
    We drove in silence for quite a while until I noticed we were approaching a ferry terminal. It dawned on me then that I had barely asked any questions, not even the most important one.
    “You know, Ben, I haven't got the faintest idea where we're going.”
    “I love your accent, Lilly. It's so damn cute... just give me a sec while I sort out the ferry ticket,” he wound down his window and while he chatted to the friendly lady with a big grin in the ticket booth and paid for our crossing, I read the signs around us and concluded we were going to a place called Langdale.
    “Is that where you live? Where I'll be living? Langdale?” I asked as he wound the window back up again.
    “No, we need to get a second ferry afterwards up to Powell River – that's where we're going.”
    I felt like such a child asking silly questions. I wish I had known more about this journey before it had begun.
    “Sorry, I just haven't got a clue,” I choked, as I felt as if those tears might emerge again.
    Luckily I managed to hold them at bay, and offer what was probably my most pathetic smile yet.
    “Don't be sorry, Lilly. It's not your fault that nobody shared any of this with you. It's such a shame, really. It would have been great for you and your grand-father if you'd been able to meet each other before... and under better circumstances.”
    Ben was so kind. Just from this short trip, I knew that we would become friends. My first Canadian friend. I also got the impression that he understood me. More than anybody had understood me since the vanishing. Probably more than anybody had understood me at all. Ever. In my life. Why he could possibly understand what I was going through was beyond me, though. But I just had the feeling that he did, probably more than December had done over the past few weeks.
    I hoped that I would find everyone in Powell River as understanding and kind as him. If they were, I would have no problem making those friends I was so worried about.

CHAPTER SIX

    It wasn't until the following day when some home truths finally started to trickle into my head. It turned out that my father and my grand-father hadn't spoken to each other for years. This explained why we never had anything to do with Canada, or why my parents never even spoke of it.
    “You need to sit down and have a proper talk with Lilly, Gabriel. She is totally in the dark. She's been through enough recently. Don't you think she deserves to hear the truth?”
    I could hear the voices through the thin walls. I guessed that both Ben and my grand-father assumed I was still jet lagged. Actually I had barely slept a wink. I had found it difficult to fall asleep with no noise surrounding me. The silence had kept me awake for hours.
    “There is a reason why things happen in this life, Benjamin, and my son must have had a reason not to have told his daughter about our life here. I do not feel that I should break his silence,” replied my grand-father.
    “But she's nearly fourteen years old, Gabriel. What if Jack never comes back?”
    “Don't you say that, Ben... don't even think it.”
    When Ben and I had returned from our five-hour journey the previous day, I felt so nervous about meeting my grand-father for the first time. But I was in for a huge surprise... there was much more to my family than just a grand-father. In fact I soon found out that I had a much larger family than I could ever have dreamed of.
    I needn't have been nervous, of course. I was treated like the long lost grand-daughter, cousin and niece that I was.
    As soon as we pulled into the long gravel driveway, a group of people bundled out of the house and stood on the porch, awaiting my arrival. All looked more nervous than me, if that was possible.
    “Don't worry, Lilly. This is your family. They won't bite. Come on. Come and meet them,” said Ben with a smile and a gentle pat on my shoulder.
    Tentatively, I climbed out of the truck. Ben collected my bags while I walked up to these strangers who suddenly burst into smiles and rushed over to