Chapter 1~ Arrival

"Peaceful and free from disturbances." In bold lettering, these words caught my eye as I gazed upon the brochure I had received in my mailbox. "I wonder if this is real or a hoax." I say outloud. Nausea rises and I heave on the side of the boat. I've never been on a boat ride before, but I really wish this wasn't how my first time would have gone.

"Oi! Lass, ye seem to be havin' some sea sickness!" The boat's captain, Pascal, calls down to me from the steering wheel. "We be almost thar, lassy. Hold yer food in jus' a bit longer." The word food causes me to heave overboard again. I close my eyes, hoping this trip will soon be over and I can rest easy until my stomach calms itself. I try to open my eyes but they feel too heavy. My head hits the deck and my body is too numb to feel it. Cold air blows my hair around and I feel as though my body... is slowly.. drifting to sleep...

"..."

"..."

"Mom! Look! Her eyes opened!" A high pitched voice rings though my sensitive ears.

The room is blurry but comes into focus after a few minutes. A light brown haired woman is standing by me and a young blonde girl dressed in pink is standing in the doorway with a glass of what looks to be water. "What.. where am I?" I croak out.

"Relax dear. You're alright. It seems you passed out on the boat. Pascal and a few others brought you here to the inn to rest. We've brought you some water." The young girl brings the water over and I weakly reach out for it.

"Here, I'll help." The girl holds the cup up to my mouth and tilts it slowly, allowing me to take small sips of the water. My throat rejoices as the cool icy water journeys down.

"Thank you." I say with more ease.

"How are you feeling? You were very dehydrated when you arrived. Our town's doctor, Jin, had to inject you with a few hydrating shots. He said that you were close to being comatose and even worse." The woman looks down on me with her motherly eyes, causing a yearning for my own mother to be here.

"How long have I been asleep?" I ask.

"A few days. We've been giving you some shots just as the doctor told us. He said the best we could do was wait for you to wake up on your own."

I lay my head back down, still feeling tired. "Thank you for your kindness." I try to smile but it comes off weak. I feel my body fading again and I give in.

I open my eyes to sunlight peaking in through shaded windows next to my bed. I sit up and stretch out my aching body. I must have slept for another whole day. I felt tired but I had to get up and move around. I'm about to step out of the room when I remember to check my clothing. My suitcase is sitting at the edge of my bed on the floor. I'm still in the clothes I arrived in. I quickly change into sweat pants and a white cami. I grab a hoodie and zip it up over my clothes. I open the door to a vacant yet homey hallway. Doors align the wall and a stairway leading to downstairs awaits me at the end of the hall.

Downstairs a few townsfolk are eating at tables and the young girl who gave me the water is talking to a couple at a table in the back. I look around and my eyes catch a tall boy with peach toned hair, delivering meals to certain tables. The girl in pink notices me and walks over to greet me.

"How are you feeling?" She asks with concern lurking in her eyes.

"I feel a lot better." My eyes fall back on the boy with peach colored hair. I watch him gracefully carry plates of food to awaiting customers.

"My name is Maya. I work here with my parents." The girl's voice brings back my attention.

"Mine's Sora." She smiles and bows. "Hi, Sora. Welcome to Waffle Town." I respond with a smile and half a bow. My back aches and I quickly straighten back up. The peach haired boy walks over to us and I feel my face getting hot. He was gorgeous. His body was perfectly toned. He was slender and tall, his arms not too muscular. I couldn't take my eyes off his face. He had eyes the shade of a light purple. I couldn't help but become jealous.

"It seems you've awaken. Hope you're hungry. I can make you some soup if you'd like." His voice was smooth and melodic almost. I nodded and he held out his hand. "Chase."

I lift up my hand and rest it in his palm and we shake. "Sora."

"Nice to meet you, Sora." He smiles shyly and walks off towards a room. I feel my cheeks warming up and I gradually follow him. I arrive in a kitchen that's hiding in the back of the inn. I glance around at all the pots and pans hanging up on shelves and spice containers scattered over the counter space. I lean against the cold tiled counter and watch Chase steadily begin preparing the soup. He opens a can of chicken broth and pours it into a pot over the stove. He walks over to the fridge and pulls out a piece of what seems to be meat. He lays it on a cutting board and chops it into little pieces using a knife. He scoops up the pieces of meat and drops them into the pot. I watch as he stirs the soup's ingredients together. He turns off the burner and starts rummaging through some cupboards. He pulls out a bowl and pours some of the soup into it.

"Chicken noodle soup." He holds the bowl out to me and the smell of it makes my mouth start to water. I don't remember the last time I've eaten! I grab the bowl and follow Chase out into the main lobby where I slurp down my soup. "You must've been really hungry" He chuckles. He grabs the empty bowl and walks back into the kitchen. He brings me seconds and I eagerly finish it up. He smiles at me as he collects the bowl and takes it to the kitchen to clean. I sit at the table looking at my surroundings. Pictures and ribbons cover the walls.

"Good morning." I hear a soft voice coming from beside me. I turn to see the woman who helped me the first day I was here. "I never got to introduce myself, I am Colleen. My husband, Jake and I own the inn here. I'm so glad to see you're doing okay." She smiles softly at me and I return the favor. "Do you have a place to stay yet here in town?"

I shake my head slowly. It still throbs when I move it too fast. "No ma'am."

"Hmm, then how about you stay here with us. You can help out around the inn in return." Her eyes show she's serious about this offer.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother."

"Oh, don't say that. I wouldn't offer it if I felt you'd be a bother!" She softly laughs and smiles. "You need a place to stay so you can rest and I don't mind a new face staying here. We rarely get any new customers."

"Well, in that case I'll do it!" I smile at her and she holds out her hand.

"Welcome to your new home, Sora."

I shake her hand and she walks off to go tell her husband the news. I smile and look out the window and think about how kind these people are, offering me a home to live in when I just barely met them. I'm starting to like this town.

I watch Maya as she delivers drinks and plates of chicken tenders and spaghetti to awaiting lunchtime customers. The aroma of food fills my nostrils and I feel like I'm going to start drooling. I just ate not too long ago and I'm already hungry. My stomach growls in agreement.

"Still hungry, huh? Soup not enough for you?" Chase walks up from behind me and sits in the chair across the table. "I'm on my break right now, I can cook you up something more filling if you'd like. Since you're getting over being sick it'd have to be something your stomach can handle." His eyes look into mine and I glance away, feeling my cheeks start to warm up. He is so freaking cute.

"Something wrong?" he asks softly.

"No, I'm just embarrassed you heard my stomach." I mumble.

He laughs quietly and stands up. I notice the apron he had on earlier is now missing. Laid out before me is a tall young man with in a white button up nylon t-shirt and black pants. For the first time I realize he has on sandals.

"How about a sandwich with some tea?" he asks.

"I don't like tea but the sandwich sounds fantastic!" I reply.

"I'll be back in a few, shouldn't take too long."

Ten minutes pass and Chase comes back with a ham sandwich that has tomato slices and lettuce on the side. I gladly put the veggies inside the sandwich and take a bite. My mouth rejoices at how tasty this is. I think a small sound of pleasure escaped from my throat because Chase smiles and chuckles a bit.

I look at him in question but he doesn't say anything. I continue to munch away on my delicious sandwich and thank Chase when I'm finished. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to keep in mind that you like ham sandwiches."

It's quiet for a while until Colleen's presence breaks the silence. "Sora, you're not familiar with our small town yet are you?" She asks me.

I think about it for a while, and I reply with a no. I haven't met anyone else since my arrival. Nor do I know of any shops.

"Chase, since you're here could you show Sora around town? Take the rest of the day off until Sora's seen most of the town."

Chase looks at me and I nod my head. "Sure. We'll leave when you're ready."

I stand up and he grabs the empty plate off the table. I walk up to my room and change into a black skirt. The hoodie I have on is a light blue so it sorta matches. I walk downstairs to find Chase patiently waiting. He notices me and starts to walk towards the front doors. I follow hesitantly. I'm a little nervous on meeting everyone.

"We'll start with the town itself first." Chase says. He points towards a few shops to the left of us. We both walk to the house on the corner, a sign out front says "General Store." Chase holds the door open and I quickly walk inside. No one's around but there's noise coming from the other room.

I can't quite make out what they're saying. The voices are all muffled through the walls. The door suddenly opens and a man with light blue hair walks out. He notices us but doesn't say a word. Chase is the one to break the awkward moment.

"Hey Simon, this is Sora. She's new to the town." I try to smile but my face tenses up and I know I must look pretty stupid right now. "Hello." I mumble.

"Hello. It's not everyday someone new shows up." His voice is gentle and kind. I feel my body relax a little bit. Another body enters the room and it's a woman. She has a soft green color to her hair and a blue bandana holds it back in place. She smiles towards me and walks over to shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Barbara, I overheard that you are new to this little town of ours. I hope we can see you as a future customer, Sora!" The woman's eagerness causes me to smile and I shake her hand back with more enthusiasm. I feel silly for being so shy, these people are friendly and I can't help but enjoy being in their presence.

"We should head out, I need to show Sora more of the town. See you guys later." Chase escorts me out of the shop . "Sora wait! I think I should give this to you, I don't know if you need it now, but hopefully it will help you out in the future." Barbara holds out a book towards me and I look to see what it says. "Island guide, Vol. 1." I grab the book and thank her. I follow Chase as he walks to the next building, "Clinic." We walk inside to see an older woman standing behind a counter. "Good evening, Chase." Her soft voice echoes into the medium sized lobby.

"Hey, Irene." Chase replies. He walks over towards the counter and I stand still near the door.

"You've brought a pretty friend with you. I don't blame her, you are quite handsome." Irene winks at me, and I feel my face heating up.

"Irene, she's new to the island and I'm showing her around town." Chase rubs the back of his head with his hand and I can't help but blush even more at the thought of how cute he looks.

"I'm Sora, ma'am." I blurt out.

"Sora. Like the sky." She says. I nod my head and she smiles at me. "Such a beautiful name. If you're looking for Jin he's upstairs. I don't believe he has any patients today so you should be able to talk to him." I look over at the stairs and slowly follow Chase up them. When we reach the top of the stairs, I notice all the "rooms" are curtains attached to poles with small beds in each one. A large open area with a desk is near the end of the 'hallway'. A young man with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail sits in a chair behind the desk. He doesn't look up from his paperwork until we are about two feet away from his desk.

"Hello there." He smiles when he says this. "So glad to see you're awake and healthy. My name's Jin. I am the doctor here at the Clinic. I took care of you when Pascal brought you in unconscious." He holds out his hand and I shake it. His palms are very smooth.

"My name is Sora. Thank you for all that you've done. I owe you." I say to him.

"Staying healthy and active is the best way you can repay me, Sora. " He smiles.

"Chase, I believe you're being Sora's escort around town?" says Jin.

"Yeah, Colleen asked me to. Plus I wanted to get out of the Inn for a while." Chase shrugs and inserts his hands into his pockets. The more I watch him the more I find the things he does to be cute. I look away fast before he can notice me staring.

"Well, we should get going. Lot's more to see." Chase turns away and waves casually goodbye to Jin. We exit the Clinic together and the sight of the ocean catches my eye. The small breeze coming off the salty waves feels wonderful. I take in a deep breath to find the air fresh revitalizing. Chase slows down his pace as he figures I'm not following anymore.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He says.

I don't reply but keep looking out into the ocean. I'm really glad I decided to move here.