Glimmers: A Family Saga

Chapter One

Caleigh’s arrival in Willow Creek was like a sunrise breaking over the horizon – sudden yet full of promise. One moment, there was nothing. No thought, no movement, not even the swirling black void of consciousness. There was simply nothing. The next, Caleigh was in the world, blinking in the morning sunlight as she gazed at her new home nestled against the riverbank. The house, small yet quaint, seemed to beckon to her, as if welcoming her to existence.

Caleigh gazed down at her hands for the first time, feeling the blood rushing through her veins and watching the skin stretch over her bones. She was standing upright, she realized, and yet she had never learned to stand. She moved with ease, and yet she had never learned to walk. Her thoughts were fully formed – although her memories were nonexistent – and she had profound sense of knowing herself and who she had entered this world to be. She knew immediately that she loved the outdoors, that kindness would define her every move, and that every meal she cooked would stay true to her vegetarian heart.

Willow Creek stretched before her, vibrant and alive with possibilities. The lush grass and towering trees swayed in the wind, inviting her to experience them for the first time. Their leaves rustled, and birds flitted to-and-fro, their melodic songs intertwining with the rushing water of the nearby river. There were people too, Caleigh realized. She could see them from her place in front of her home, walking the sidewalks with all manner of clothing and hairstyles, skin colors and walking habits. Their presence was comforting to her in a way, and she felt a deep need to interact with them. The world had been waiting for Caleigh, and she was more than ready to embrace every experience it had to offer.