Prologue

"Urghhhhh" an ungodly sound emitted from my throat as I leaned backward, weary of idly kicking pebbles around the fountain until the toes of my shoes were dirty with dust. Anticipation of my mother's inevitable scolding weighed on me; I could almost hear her reproachful words. What did she expect from these dull summer days?

"URGHHHHH" I exclaimed with exasperation, slumping further backward in the hope of being swallowed by the world, only to be met with something.. wet.

Drenched, I grimaced, trying to wring out the soggy hem of my skirt in the futile attempt to dry it. My mother wasn't going to be mad; she was going to be livid. The impromptu cold bath had washed away the dirt from my shoes, leaving behind only damp clothes and a lingering scent of stagnant water. There was no escaping her fury now. I could hear her shouting my name in my ears already.

"AAAAHHHH!" I froze, hands pausing in their attempts to salvage the clinging wet fabric, as my head whipped around. The scream was coming from the bridge.