Disclaimer: Characters not mine, but you already knew that.

Chapter 1: Clara

Clara sits by the window sill watching as the rain travels down the window. Today is another boring day, as it always is. The air inside her room is still the smell of mothballs and today it seems stale. It always seems that way when it rains. Clara hates the rain. For such a young girl, around the age of 20, she has always felt this way. Her stomach feels like a deep pit, the same thing when it snowed really. Snow was even worse than rain. If she saw one flake of snow she would shudder and refuse to go outside. It was a strange phobia to have, snow couldn't hurt you. But something in her told her it could. How strange,but whoever said strange was bad? With a sigh and a huff, Clara continues to watch the rain. Each droplet seemed to be different in her opinion, none were the exact same size or shape. Natural science was beautiful.

Absently, Clara begins to play with the key that hangs from her neck on a piece of tight black string. If only she knew what this opened. She's had the key forever, so why can't it unlock anything. She peers down at it, twisting it around in her hands. All it is is plain and silver, yet it opens nothing around her. Maybe she could find something today... But she has already tried each and every door in her house. Nothing works and it never will, yet she still holds the key hoping that maybe one day she will find what it unlocks and be surprised with the chance of a lifetime.

A knock on her door is the only thing that gets her to move from her spot of dread. "Come in," she says, quickly standing up from the chair that sits by her window. The door slowly opens to reveal a woman who is middle aged. Her hair is long and bright blonde. Completely different from Clara's silky brown hair.

Clara smiles, "'Ello mum." It's obvious that this woman is not her mother, but Clara refuses to call her anything else. Its better to pretend that she has parents.

Her mother returns the smile, and wrinkles appear on her pale white face, but her clear blue eyes shine. "I wish you would do something other than just staring outside, Clara."

"I wasn't-" Her mother gestures to the chair by the window and a blush works across Clara's tanned skin.

"I just wish you could find joy in things like rain."

"Of course you do, but I'll always want to run and be free, mum. The rain stops me from exploring." Clara wishes her mother would understand that she doesn't want to help clean or do housework. She doesn't want to do anything but to run. To learn. To find new things.

Clara watches her mother with large brown eyes. "I know. I was the same way, Clara." Her mother sighs, and Clara knows she has won this continuing argument over her life. She feels like she will always be trapped and like she was meant for so much more.

"Mum," Clara says. "I think I'm going for a walk." She looks outside at the down pour of rain. Maybe there is an adventure in it after all.

"In this rain? Do you want to catch an pneumonia?" She replies exasperatedly.

Clara laughs at her mother's tone of voice then shrugs. "If its an adventure, then sure," Clara says this as she pushes past her mother who still stands in the door way. She hears her mother's low chuckle and knows she wasn't mad or anything like that. A smile spreads across her face and she goes down the stairs of their small two story house. She grabs a rain coat off the rack that stands just by the ornate mahogany front door then pulls it open and goes out into the storm.

The strong wind is the first thing that hits her after she forces the door closed. Across from their house she sees the small diner that her mother runs, it's lights off since its Sunday. She contemplates going to get a bite since she knows how to get in, but she decides she would rather go the cemetery of the town. She goes there often with her friends and she's never been there before. As she makes her way the wind blows off the hood that sits over her head. It releases her hair into the wind and allows the rain to soak it. She can feel it beginning to tug on her scalp when she finally gets to the crooked metal fence that guards the cemetery. She forces it open then steps onto the cobblestone path that leads straight through the dark twisting headstones of the area. For the normal person this might be scary, but Clara only sees untold stories covered up by six feet of dirt.

In the distance she hears the rumble of thunder and starts to think maybe she should have stayed at home. Then she hears something else and freezes. A sort of... Wooshing sound? She doesn't know how to describe it, but she has heard it before. She knows she has. What is it? Clara takes a deep breath in then looks around her. She doesn't see anything at first, but then she spots the colour through the rain. A deep kind of blue blur behind a large stone statue.

"Oh this is just grand! The same cemetery, of course you would bring me here. I'm highly doubtful she would be here, though old girl," she hears a voice and her eyes go wide. The voice sounds boyish and also... Familiar.

She sees movement of a shadow and she quickly rushes behind a big willow tree. Another crash of thunder shakes her stomach and she slowly sticks her head around the tree again. Right by where she crouches is a man. He is tall, probably a foot taller than her she decides. Wet brown hair falls over his face and a strange feeling bubbles in her stomach. He wears a bow tie and she sees him straighten it quickly. Then he reaches into his coat and pulls out a strange metal object with a green tip. He presses some kind of button and she hears something that sounds like a screwdriver. She has no idea what he is doing but then she sees his eyes get wide and he looks straight at her.

With a sharp intake of breath Clara falls backward, then quickly rolls back up to a standing position. "Hello, there," she hears the man say and looks at him.

"Hello," she says in a sing-song voice, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Who are you?" This man asks. Starting to walk around her peering at her at each angle. She purses her lips then puts her hands on her hips.

"I think the better question is who are you and why are you looking at me like that?"

The town Clara lives in is small and everyone knows each other. It is strange for this man to even be here. Also she feels uncomfortable with him looking her up and down. Examining her. It seems he has stopped paying attention to her words and is now right by her. Looking her straight in the eye. "How are you even possible?" He comments then laughs a strange kind of laugh. Almost like an 'aha' moment kind of laugh. She's decided he is a loon.

"I'm sorry?"

He doesn't even acknowledge her words but does take interest in something else. He lifts his arm up then points to something on her chest. She looks down and sees her key. It must have fallen out as she was running. "Where did you get this from?" He peers at her, squinting his eyes as if something isn't quite right about it.

"What? My key? I've always had my key. It doesn't fit into anything, but..." She trails off to be met with another laugh from him. This man is quite peculiar and she is trying to avoid the fact that he seems so familiar. Almost like someone in her dreams. His hands suddenly grasp her shoulders and she takes in breath at a strange sensation that quickly travels up her neck and leads to a reddening of her cheeks.

"Oh, but it does, Clara!" He exclaims and her eyes widen.

"How did you know my name?" Her voice shakes as she asks this.

"I... Didn't say a name," he states coughing, and she nods.

"Yes you did. You said my name. Clara. How did you know that?"

The man stares at her as if she just spoke a foreign language then quickly runs away.

"WAIT!" She calls out, taking off after him.