Chapter One: Bali


    Chapter One: Bali


    Holding the handle of my suitcase, I looked back at my small house which I was so gonna miss.


    Turkey was my home away from home or maybe because I was so keen to leave home. I had always


    been a wanderer and a nature person.


    The apartment building in which we lived in L.A suffocated me. I wanted to be close to mother nature.


    And also you could say I didn''t have the best time at my high school.


    So when I got a schrship in one of the most famous colleges of Antalya, I didnt waste a second.


    Here in Antalya, me and my friend shared a small home outlooking the mountains which we had


    purchased after a lot of hard work.


    My dad always wanted me to be a doctor for the military as he himself was in the army, but this girl had


    other ns.


    Through out the years my dad had given us major panic attacks due to his job. I can still picture the


    panic striken face of my mother in the middle of the nights as she tried calling my dads friends when we


    got the news that there had been an attack.


    But his love for his job was just so pure that my mom encouraged him.


    But now he had finally retiredst week and was quiet sad about that. So along with his best pal Uncle


    John, who had just also retired my mom had nned a trip to Bali.


    Uncle John was my dads best friend. We were just like family. He had a daughter Amelia, who was


    currently dating my brother Greyson and a son, Mike who was studying tourism.


    Amelia was studying acting in Los Angeles while my brother was pursuing hisw career in Ennd.


    So they both had a long distance rtionship, but they were literally made for each other.


    My mom had arranged a cottage for us which situated in the one of the forests in Bali.


    Perks of having your husband in the army!


    So this trip was to reconnect two lovers as well as two friends. And for me, the biggest advantage was


    nature. This trip could contribute perfectly to my final year project.


    Some hours and a very tiring flightter, I had finally reached Bali. I was to meet my parents at the


    airport as their flight was tond an hour after mine.


    So here I was having some Starbucks as I munched on my cake pop.


    To be honest, it had been two years since I had met my parents. I had spent all of my savings on


    buying myself a camera and eventhough my dad had insisted on sending me a ticket,I had refused.


    I wanted to be independent.


    Bored out of my mind, I now took out my phone as I scrolled through my facebook, when suddenly a


    tap on my shoulder made me turn back.


    "Watsupp leena Peena!" She eximed, teasing me with my old nickname.


    "Oh my god, you look gorgeous!" I told her as I embraced her into a hug.


    "And you surely have be even more prettier!"


    Trust me I had gained two kgs.


    "Where were you, everyone was looking for you!" She asked.


    "Wait what, wasn''t your flight tond after half an hour?" I asked.


    "Yeah, but wended early." She said as we both made our way towards our parents.


    After greeting them all and listening to a thousandints of me not wanting to spend some time


    with family and with Greyson finally arriving, we made our way to the car which was to take us to our


    cottage.


    ...........


    When my mom had described the cottage, I had thought it would be something extremely adventurous.


    Like we would have to walk through the forest with a map and find our cottage and on the way we


    would find some snakes and insects but I forgot that I was not going into the Amazon forest.


    The forest had a muddy road through which the car drove us directly to the cottage.


    Eventhough, the start of the trip had disappointed me a little but the cottage had amazed me.


    The small cottage was perched on the in near the woods, so old and poor that it was surprising how


    it was still standing. And yet it seemed alive and weing, a warm ribbon of smoke rising from the old


    chimney. The walls were made of the same wood and the roof was clearly stone, so old that it was a


    wonder how it did not yet cave in. The cottage was the only thing there. There were no other houses


    around it, and this one would have looked abandoned if not for the smoke.


    The most beneficial thing for me was the smallke out looking the forest. The cottage also had a small


    porch type area where I nned to read in the night.


    Just my type of ce.


    We were given four rooms. Me and Amelia were to share one, Mike and Greyson were to share


    another and our parents were to share the other two.


    It was not a shock to see that Greyson and Amelia wanted to share a room but there was no way I was


    to share a room with Mike, clearly knowing his flirty nature.


    We had picked McDonalds on our way here, so after eating everyone was currently getting settled in.


    Except me.


    I stood on the porch as I gazed at the forest infront of theke. It looked more realistic to the description


    of a forest. I could see nothing except the dark green trees and bushes which had clearly out grown.


    That forest lifted a curiosity in my mind. It was as it was calling me to go there. I was sure it had some


    animals and beautiful nts which I could capture in my camera.


    I was so lost in looking at the forest, that I didnt realise when Mike approached me.


    "Can I tell you something Leena?" He asked.


    N?velDrama.Org content.


    "Hmm." I replied.


    "Eventhough, I''m not a photographer but I can picture you and me together."


    "This is your seventy eighth attempt today Mike and my answer hasn''t changed." I sighed.


    A day wille when you will beg me to say these pick up lines to you." He said.


    "In your dreams." I replied.


    "Dreams are seen to be true." He sang.


    Well I couldn''t deny that.


    .......


    Night had arrived and everyone had fallen asleep except me. I had ced a chair and a nket on the


    porch as I continued reading my book.


    I was currently reading ''The Notebook'' by Nichs Sparks which my best friend Sarah had gifted me


    because ording to her I needed some romance in my boring life.


    The thing is that after one failed rtionship five years back, I had failed to trust anyone. Being in


    rtionships led to expectations and when those expectations break, it hurts like hell.


    And I clearly wasn''t ready for it.


    After one hour I realised that I couldn''t focus on reading so I decided to give up.


    Just as I was closing my book, I started to hear a distant howl from the forest infront of me.


    Ignoring it, I stood up to make my way inside when suddenly I heard another howl but this one was


    much louder and closer.


    Immediately my eyes nced at the forest and what I saw shaked me to my core.


    In between the trees, two blue eyes stared at me.


    But there was something in those eyes. Even from the distance their deepness attracted me so much


    that I was forced to stop and stare at them.


    Never had I seen a blue so real. They seemed to be holding something deep, something surreal and


    only I know how hard it was for me to stop myself from grabbing my camera and capturing them.