Chapter 1

Monday afternoon

And so it begins…. Rainie had felt out of sorts all day. Hormones mum would say. She didn’t like hormones, they changed everything. Her body, her mood, her friends. I never asked to grow up, Rainie thought, feeling very sorry for herself. She was grumpy and miserable one moment and cheerful and happy the next these days and she didn’t like it. She felt annoyed most of the time. She wanted kind words to come out of her mouth instead of sneers, but she just couldn’t seem to stop herself. She kicked a few branches, but instead of arching through the air, they just broke. Typical. The worst thing was the rows. Toby had had a huge row with mum yesterday, before her parents had left to go to Wales for the week where mum was invited to do a talk at the Hay Festival. Dad had accepted on her behalf, despite knowing mum had a book deadline in three months’ time. The Festival was very important for her parents. Mum always sold lots of books and loved meeting fans. Dad had a lot of clients to ‘sell’. Both her parents had been just too preoccupied to care about anything except work until Toby had come home with a bad report. Mum hadn’t blamed hormones for that and instead erupted. A lot of words were yelled and doors had been slammed. Even dad had flipped. Their house was such joy to live in these days. Rainie wished she could go back in time and be an eight-year-old again. After school Rainie had gone home to fetch a few things before going to George, her Grandfather, where she and Toby were staying this week. Instead of going home, however, Rainie had walked into the woods to let off steam. She did a handstand leaning her feet against a tree trunk. The world looked better upside down. She listened carefully. There didn’t seem to be any dog walkers or ramblers nearby. She got back on her feet and did a few cartwheels consecutively. She felt a lot better already.

The girl had stepped out of an egg. A teal egg. Despite the imminent dusk making the woods a little dark to see it all clearly Rainie was certain. The egg had been intrinsically decorated. She had been mid cartwheel, on her hands, when she had first glimpsed it. The teal colour had attracted her attention. It had just been off amidst the greens and browns of the woods. She had walked a few steps in the direction of the egg before deciding it might be better to keep her distance. She had been about five meters away. Close enough to see the egg was bigger than your average ostrich egg with stunning curly patterns in different shades of blue and green. Although nothing seemed to happen she kept her distance, something inside her warned her not to get too close.  A sound made Rainie look up. On a branch sat a grey squirrel. Watching her interestingly. Squirrels were nothing unusual in these woods and so Rainie’s attention went back to the strange egg. Rainie wondered if someone had lost it and if so how could they not have noticed dropping a big, beautiful egg like that. Just as she was deliberating stepping closer the squirrel rushed down the tree, climbed on top of the egg and sniffed it. Rainie laughed, which scared the squirrel away. Suddenly, the egg had opened, not cracked, not like a lid being lifted, just opened.  She couldn’t explain it, but then again the sudden rush of fear had had a paralysing effect on her mind.

“Hello Eliza” the girl had said, before turning to face her. Large moss green eyes were looking at Rainie. It felt like they were penetrating the deepest secrets of her soul. The woods were dead quiet. Rainie was certain of it. Like her it seemed to be holding its breath. Unnerved, Rainie watched the girl approach her slowly. She opened her mouth to ask how the girl knew her name but no sound came out. She was beautiful. Her hair was longer and thicker than Rainie had ever seen on a girl and would have blended in perfectly with the bluebells carpeting the forest floor a few weeks ago. The girl’s face was a pale brown and slightly too round, her nose and mouth slightly too small, though her eyes seemed slightly too large. As if she had just stepped off the pages from a manga instead out of an egg.

“Hello Eliza. We meet again.” The girl had drawn level with her and Rainie noticed they were the exact same height. Her voice had been kind, a whisper, as if speaking did not come naturally. The girl moved as if to touch Rainie’s cheek and Rainie took a step back instinctively, crunching a branch underneath. It broke the spell and the woods came alive. A roar of noise hit Rainie. Leaves fluttering, rustling, animals scuttling, calling, branches creaking. Her brain sprung back into gear. Panic flooded her body. Not taking her eyes of the bemused looking girl Rainie took another step back, turned and ran home as fast as she could.

She slammed the door shut and took a few moments to catch her breath. Who was she? How did she know her name? Meet again? Eyes roving the kitchen, taking in the view of the small and crowded counter, the round wooden table and colourful plastic chairs, the painted white floorboards. A solidity returned to her body, but he brains remained foggy. She shook her head. Her nose taking in the familiar, comforting smell of home, clearing her mind and returning it to a state of calm. The house was still. No one home, yet.  Rainie locked the door, drew the curtains in all the rooms and walked up the stairs to her small attic room. She rolled down the blind before switching on the light.  She sat down at her desk and turned on her laptop. Google had always provided the answers to all her questions. From simple homework assignments to unravelling the mysterious appearance of armpit hair. She sighed and closed the screen. “Think Rainie, think!” You couldn’t possibly google ‘who is the girl from the egg’, now could you? No one had called her Eliza in a long time, only few people knew her by that name. The girl had to be connected to one of them. Rainie took a new notebook from the shelf above the desk, skipped the first page and wrote on the next people who know Eliza and underlined it. Next she wrote the names of her parents and older brother Toby. She quickly rubbed his name out again. He’d probably forgotten it. Grandpa Sam was written next on the list followed by Mrs. Tamaro and then Rainie sat back chewing her pencil.  She turned a page and wrote down the questions that were bugging her.

Who is the girl from the egg?

How does she know my name?

Where / when did we meet before?

It was always disappointing, Rainie thought, to discover that writing down your worries didn’t seem to solve them. With a sigh she flicked back to the first page and started sketching the girl and the egg opposite her list. Her name wasn’t really a secret now was it, probably lots of people knew it; it was just that everyone had always called her Rainie. Eliza felt alien to her ears and to her being. After an hour Rainie’s tummy started to rumble. Not having heard anyone return home, Rainie decided to cook dinner. Everyone would be surprised. By the time she had set the table Toby had come home. Rainie thought he was acting a bit odd but then again she was still feeling a little out of sorts. 

“Knew I’d find you here” he said kindly.
“What do you mean?” Rainie asked suspiciously. Where else would she be, she thought
“You were supposed to be back hours ago.” Rainie could hear the concern in his voice. Had she forgotten something? With a pang she remembered she was only supposed to go home after school to fetch her note books and pillow. The fog seemed to clear. Instead of going home she had gone into the woods because she was upset about mum and dad being away and having had a bad day at school. She loved being amongst the quiet trees, listening to all the little sounds, reflecting on the day. Admonishing herself, she was usually so in control, she briskly said: “Well, you’re here now and dinner’s ready. We might as well eat it before going to grandpa’s.” She looked at her brother’s worried face and tried to placate him. “It’s all canned food. Your favourite.” She smiled an exaggerated TV hostess smile, waved her arm across the table and sat down. She picked up her cutlery and looked at her younger brother expectantly, then at the chair opposite. Toby took the hint and sat down. He looked at Rainie, a smile emerging on his face, he shook his head and started eating.  Rainie considered telling her brother about the girl and the egg. It seemed too weird. A feeling of foreboding crept up on her and she pushed it away quickly. She suddenly remembered her parents were at the Hay Festival all week. How could she have forgotten something so important? She looked at Toby, his worried eyes seeking reassurance from her. She felt awkward and tried to form a simple question to start a conversation with him. Toby was doing the same thing. They were like fish, gasping for air, opening and closing their mouth without a sound coming out. Then almost simultaneously they spoke.  “What have you been up to today?” Toby asked, while Rainie wondered out loud: “Did mum leave a note?” Toby sighed and put his hand on hers. “Let’s not talk about mum now, okay?” Confused, Rainie thought mum always leaves notes, for every day she would be gone. It was a tradition no matter how long or short their journeys were. Rainie remembered the argument she’d had with Toby. Him arguing that they were far too old for those silly notes, mum being quite upset that her efforts and show of love were no longer appreciated. Rainie pretended all was well. Mentioning mum had clearly upset her brother and she told Toby about her afternoon, her record breaking attempts at walking on her hands and sketching in her room, keeping the conversation light and leaving out the girl and the egg.

After they’d cleared the table and washed the dishes the ease with which Toby and Rainie talked had returned and she’s learnt that Toby had helped Grandpa George in the garden. Weeding the vegetable plots and trimming the grass with the ride on mower. Rainie could sense his pride. She quickly collected her things and they left for Sunnyside. Although her slightly eccentric grandfather had loved the house, he despised the name and for the past ten years had been unsuccessful in getting it changed. Much to George’s chagrin Rainie never failed to call for a celebration each time George received a letter turning down her request. She felt the name suited any place where Grandpa lived. Grandpa George was dad’s father. He had grown up here, but his parents decided to move to the city after his sister’s disappearance. According to dad, grandpa had loved the move to the city. He enjoyed the hustle and bustle, the people around, all the shops within reach. He was a real cityman and loved traveling. He would often go on trips around the world, visiting the many friends he had made on his travels. Rainie had once overheard grandma Rose say to grandad he wouldn’t know what Ruth would look like so it was foolish to keep looking for her. At the time she had asked mum if Ruth was a dog and why grandad was still looking for her, as she had never seen him with a dog. Her dad felt he had disappointed his father when it turned out he preferred long walks in the country side to touring big cities. Apparently George had even tried to stop her parents from buying their house, on the edge of the woods, close to where grandad grew up. They thought he’d be pleased by the nostalgic gesture, but had clearly underestimated how deep the loss of his sister was still affecting him. Grandma Rose had kept him more or less around and made sure there were frequent visits to the countryside. When grandma Rose died ten years ago, dad had expected George to up sticks and move somewhere exotic, out of their lives and burying himself in charity work. He did indeed up sticks and moved two miles down the road instead. Surprising everyone by saying it was his job to look after his grandchildren. Rainie knew mum and dad suspected George had ulterior motives, but never spoke of it. 

“She was drawing you” the grey squirrel said, after climbing down from a tree and running back towards the egg.

“I know” Dheera said self-assured. Despite remaining at a fair distance, she could sense what Eliza was feeling and doing. The meeting hadn’t exactly gone to plan. The girl had been taller than expected and more resolute in her actions. But she was here now and would stay here for the foreseeable future.  “Is Kiera still around?” The squirrel looked up and appeared to nod. Dheera stood up, brushed a few dead leaves off her dress and walked south.  

Toby’s bike was parked next to the shed, Rainie put a box of books on the panier rack and her pillow in the basket of her own bicycle. They set off ringing their bells loudly as was their habit. George swore she could hear them and it would signal to her it was time to put the kettle on.  Rainie had never known George not to have a freshly brewed cup ready for them by the time they arrived. The path was too narrow to cycle next to one another, so she followed her brother’s trail. She had to concentrate hard to keep up with her brother in the dark on the uneven path, which helped to block out any thoughts about the girl and her parents. Toby looked back periodically, checking she was still following her. They arrived at Sunnyside five minutes later and George pretended not to have been worried in the slightest when he welcomed them and ushered them in. However, Rainie could hear the sigh of relief after he’d locked the door behind them. Toby had brought in her box and pillow and made his way upstairs to her room. Grandpa George gave her a big hug. “Next time you plan on going home for a while, just let me know okay.” Rainie returned the hug and kissed George on his cheek and smiled, earning herself a pinched nose.

“Something’s bothering you.” George stepped back to have a better look at her, still clasping Rainie’s arms. It was a statement, plain and simple and needed an answer.

 “Hmm” Rainie nodded. You couldn’t keep a secret from George. “Can we talk about it later?” Rainie asked, knowing full well that her grandfather wouldn’t let it rest. Gesturing for Rainie to go upstairs he said: “Go see if Toby is not messing your things up and sent him down will you?” No need to ask twice. Rainie winked and went up, feeling much better already just being near her grandfather.

George had felt uneasy all day. When he had stepped out into his back garden early in the morning he noticed the woods had been quiet. No birds had been singing and he had only heard a few young ones chirping for food. When he had walked into the woods later in the day he noticed the squirrels hiding quietly in the trees, instead of darting around, jumping from branch to branch. He had feared then that something he fought hard against many years ago was about to rear its ugly head again. When Rainie didn’t come home on time he had become nervous and had send Toby out to look for her without sounding overly worried. He had told herself the girl was probably just sketching up in her room at her house, which wouldn’t have worried George at all on any other day. But looking at Rainie upon her return seemed to confirm his suspicions. Something had happened. He just hoped it wasn’t too late to stop it. 

Rainie and Toby had had many sleepovers at Sunnyside. Their parents often had to travel far and wide, researching, writing and promoting their books. Rainie felt just as much at home here as in her own house, but preferred her room here. It had straight walls going up to a proper ceiling for a start so felt much bigger than her attic room. Unlike at home she had been allowed to paint the walls any colour she liked, anytime she liked. At the moment they were a pale, old English green and white. Rainie’s mind flashed back to the girl from the egg. Her eyes had been green. Proper green. Having a feeling someone was watching her she drew the curtain and lay on her bed.

“Eliza…”

The girl from the egg stood in her room. Somewhere far away there was a knock on the door. Rainie tried to open it but couldn’t. She tried to run to the back door but just couldn’t seem to move. Then there was a crash, a beautiful teal egg had fallen through the roof and landed on her bed. Her parents were dead. How could she have forgotten?

With a start Rainie woke up. Cold sweat broke out. The girl had been here. Rainie looked around. No trace. The fog had lifted and she had remembered. No wonder Toby had looked worried when he’d found her. Rainie stood up, straightened the duvet and quietly left her room. On the landing she overheard Toby talking to George. She took a few steps down the stairs.

“It was almost as if she’s blacked out, you know like when she was little. She didn’t even remember mum and dad weren’t home.” Rainie stood quietly, holding her breath. She felt angry towards her brother. Who did he think he was tattling to George. “She shouldn’t be left alone”. It took all of her willpower not to run down the stairs and punch him. Why did he feel the need to play dad when their parents were away, but ignore her existence completely when they were around? If only they knew what was bothering her. Better not, Rainie thought, they’d probably force her to see a doctor. She heard George move about and quickly took a few steps back up the stairs. “Don’t worry about her Toby. She’ll be fine. Now what I’d like to know is: have you spoken to your mother yet?” Rainie didn’t fail to notice the sharp tone and deemed it safe to go further down stairs and into the room. She saw George giving Toby a look. Toby shrugged his shoulders. “Right, get your coats on you two.” George said, then turning towards Rainie. “Let’s check in with your parents.” Of all the eccentricities her Grandfather had, not owning or even allowing a phone in her house topped it all.

Dheera watched them leave the house. The grey squirrel perched on her shoulder. She wasn’t pleased with herself. She had found a way in. But Eliza’s brain was full of barriers and she would have to break many too get to the core. It would leave them both vulnerable. She’d have to find a better way.