CHAPTER ONE- The snow was almost completely untouched, other than the small path that had been trampled by winter boots leading to a log cabin in the distance. The snow that wasn’t used as a path was glittering like diamonds in the moonlight. Continuing down the path of footprints was the door to the cabin, which had a large rusted lock on the entrance. On the walls of the building, there were many windows.The window at top, most likely a loft or an attic of some sort had a patched quilt being used as a curtain. All the other windows were closed or had closed curtains. It might have even looked empty, if it weren't for a dim glow coming from the loft window. Inside the house, a pale young girl was working on a cross stitch in her bed, which was covered in quilts and crochet blankets. The overall environment of the loft was cozy and warm, but even though she was safe, the girl was shivering with fear. It had been hours, and her father had not come home. The girl thought of all the things that could have happened: A car had hit him on his way home, a bear had dragged him into the woods to make him dinner or he was kidnapped by someone and planned on hurting him! So much could have happened! It was almost strange how worried she was. Her father had gotten stranger and stranger within the past year or so. He used to always want to comfort and spend time with his daughter, and would have never, ever been late from work. But it’s changed. HE’s changed. All of a sudden, he began to act differently. He was more distant and cold. A week after this sudden shift in personality, he decided to move to a new house in the country. His wife had been missing for three days when he left without her. He insisted he left the girl’s mother, his wife, at the old town rather than staying to find her or wait for further notice of her location. As strange as it is, the little girl knew that there had to be a good reason for this…right? Suddenly, there was a knock at the cabin’s door. The girl thought it might be a package, but she had not ordered anything, and neither did her father.The girl hid under a quilt as soon as she heard the sound echo through the small house. The girl's insides burned along with her face feeling like fire. There was another knock, this time, followed by a strong, comforting voice.
“Anyone home? Dove Downey, are you in there?” However, The voice did not belong to her dad. The girl’s mind was racing with terrified thoughts: “who are they? How do they know my name? Am I going to die? I’m in trouble.” These questions began to turn into fear. “ I’m going to die. Please, please let them move on and not hurt me. I can’t die now. Where’s my dad?!” Just then, a click could be heard from downstairs.The door creaked open. How could this person have gotten inside the house without the key? More calls could be heard from downstairs. “We don’t want to hurt you, Dove. we are here to help you find somewhere to go.” The girl was scared, but came up with a plan to buy some time. Quickly, she grabbed stuffed animals and pillows from her toy chest and shoved them under the quilt, then dashed towards the chest and closed the lid. All the noise the girl made scrambling about had been heard by the person, or people. Footsteps could be heard on the creaky stairs, getting louder and louder. From a lock on the chest that the girl used as a peephole, she saw a man enter the room. He was wearing a navy shirt made of denim underneath a thick, black vest with pockets holding a pen. Below the vest, there was a black belt with pockets holding a walkie-talkie, a pair of handcuffs and what appeared to be a taser. The overall outfit could only mean one thing: this man is a police officer. The girl was more scared than ever now that the man was in her room, with her and watching for her. What did you mean by helping her find somewhere to go? She lives here with her dad, everything is fine! The girl’s fear turned into heavy breathing, and then crying. The police heard the sound of the child’s sobbing and found her hiding in the wooden chest fairly quickly. Was this the end? What will happen? The girl’s body felt as if it were on fire, burning up her flesh and lingering near her face, where it burned like molten lava. The police tried calming her down, and eventually, said this: “Hello, I assume your name is Dove, right?” The girl- Dove tried to nod, but her body felt paralysed with terror. “I have some bad news…your father had done something he shouldn’t have done…and he’s going to go to court next friday. Until then, you need supervision, so we’ll get you comfy for a little bit until we can know for sure if you can stay with your dad.” Dove managed to talk, but it came out as more of a squeak. “W-what do y-you mean by t-that…?” The police officer's face suddenly looked sad. He responded after what seemed to dove an eternity. “Well…if he’s proven innocent, then yes, you can live with him. However, there are multiple witnesses with very similar descriptions of his crime. If he was let free, most likely he would lose custody of you, and not be allowed to care for a child. And if guilty, he will most likely serve 25 years in prison.” the police continued, in a slightly more uplifting tone. “But, you do have a relative that will be your caretaker if your father does have to be put away, you would still have a wonderful life with your cousin! You’re lucky, some kids don’t have a place to go when things like this happen. So until the trial, you can live with your aunt.” Dove had no clue what to say, how to respond to that. The police officer escorted her to the car and drove off towards the car.The following week was uneventful, as Dove insisted on staying at the station until her dad’s trial. Unfortunately, her father was proven guilty, and the next day, Dove found herself in a plane, taking her to her new home. When the plane landed, the first thing dove noticed was how warm it was. There was no snow anywhere. The ground was covered in dead, yellow grass and the sky was gray and cloudy that day. It seemed fitting for what had happened to her recently. The weather could have been better, but it was warm enough to go outside with sweatpants and a sweater. After arriving at her destination Dove found herself in front of her new home. Her new life in Downey manor.
