1. Downpour.

It was raining.

A little yellow car, barely a blur in the pouring rain, was speeding down the mud road. The tires seemed to skid a couple of times in the rolling dirt, but the driver righted the steering at the last minute, every time. It screeched to a halt next to the bus stop, right behind the bus that stood ready to depart to Clover City.

Two people got out of it. One, taller and more frantic in their movements. The other, perhaps older in contrast to the person who sprang out of the passenger side and hurried to open the trunk and pull out a bunch of suitcases.

The older lady stood leaning against her car, watching her daughter cussing the weather in creative words, and dragging her suitcases over to the bus driver so he could add them to the luggage.

After exchanging a few words with the driver, that involved a lot of head shaking and hand waving, the young girl ran back to her mother, who was still waiting near the car, despite the rain.

"All set?"

The girl nodded, and then pointed to the car.

"You should get in, ma. Stay out of the rain. Drive back once it lets off a bit."

Amelia Gustin raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

"If this is how it's going to be, you might as well come back home with me. I don't want you going away, only to have you worry your head about me all day."

"Oh, fine! Whatever. I was only saying." She crossed her arms and looked away, into the rain.

Amelia stepped up to her daughter and cupped her face in her hands. Somehow her face seemed to never have grown. It felt as tiny as it used to be when she was only a baby.

"Get out there and live your life, my lil Wisp. Forget about this dreary old place and it's people. You have a dazzling new city waiting."

She then hugged her daughter tight.

"I'm so proud of you, Willow."

"I love you, mama." Her voice wavered slightly, as she hugged her mother back.

The bus honked right then, one long annoying honk that signalled that her time was up.

Willow turned back to her mother.

"I'll visit soon, mama."

Amelia smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I'll be right here."

Willow had her face as close as she could have kept it to the grimy bus window, without actually having to touch it, until her mother's car faded into the curtain of rain along with the rest of her small town.

It was only then that she faced forward, in the direction of her destination, her new home and her future.

A future that was well protected from her past, by both distance and dissociation. As if taunting her with a reminder, Willow felt a sharp chill travel down the centre of her chest. Her hands flew to her shirt, clutching at the "reminder" that lay beneath it.

The old lady in the seat next to hers, noticed her sudden movement and tapped her shoulder in concern.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

"Yes? I mean, yes, I'm alright. Thank you." Willow gave her a small smile, loosening her grip on her shirt. But the lady seemed to have more to say.

"Nervous about going to the city, are we?"

"Just a little."

She gave a little chuckle, that sounded more like a cough, and patted Willow's shoulder affectionately.

"Don't you worry about nothing. I've been up and back several times. It's just another city, that's all it is. As long as you stay away from it's darkness, you've nothing to be worried about."

It took Willow a moment to process what the lady had last said, and when she went to question her about that statement, the lady had already moved on to the next passenger closest to her and started a whole other conversation.

Small town people loved their stories, her mum used to say.

Clover city was a solid 5 hours away and the bus driver was going at 40kmph given the weather, which meant you could add an hour or more to the estimated duration.

Willow made herself as comfortable as possible in her poorly stuffed, slippery, partly wet seat and plugged her earphones in. She'd stayed awake last night till she heard her alarm go off. She hadn't wanted to risk any nightmares that were fully capable of ruining her day, after.

Now that she was exhausted, the probability of her getting one was low, which made her all the more eager to catch up on sleep. Bad posture or not.

Outside, the rain was starting to calm a bit. Thunder now a mere purr that vibrated from cloud to cloud, almost a lull. The winds went from ferocious whips to lazy caresses.

The bus picked up speed, slightly jostling the passengers inside it. But Willow hardly stirred. She was lost to sleep, her mouth slightly agape, and one hand loosely clutching her shirt.