Random Rambles: New chapter! New OCs will be introduced as the story progresses as well as super obvious fictional places and businesses, bear with me guys orz... Comments are appreciated (^-^)!

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Okay, so, when I said that I was ready for life to sweep me off my feet in awesome excitement, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Seriously, stars, when I asked for a little oomph in my mundane existence, this wasn't what I meant...

"Are you guys for real? This is a joke, right? This isn't actually happening, right?" I asked my parents as we stood in line to get on the airplane. "I mean, wow, you guys really had me going here, but the jig is up. So, can we go back home, like, now?" I added, seeing as they were both having a discussion about passports. 

Here's a brief recap of what I'm still aware of that happened the last couple of weeks. I came home one night after falling asleep in my meadow and get a scolding of a lifetime, of course. Not only had I broken my curfew, I blasted it to smithereens, since I casually walked through the front door at 2 AM in the morning. My parents were both ballistic, but after some reassurance from my part that something like that won't ever happen again, they let me off the hook. Well, sort of. Naturally, I was grounded and banned from going to the forest by myself, but I thought that would blow over soon. As an only child, parents tend to go easy on you. 

Anyway, the next day I come home from a dreary day of school and the house was suddenly cluttered with cardboard boxes and two overly excited parents who seemed to have forgotten their anger towards their curfew-breaking daughter. 

"I got a phone call from work!" said my overjoyed father. "We've been given the opportunity to start a better life at a magical, faraway place," he continued, as though he was walking on sunshine. My mother had been clapping her hands the entire time, and I, never suspecting my parents to be the type of people to get drunk in the middle of the day, only lifted my eyebrow at them. Was I judging them? Oh, yes. Yes, I was. 

"Uh, okay..." I muttered, pointing at the stairs. "I'll be in my room then." I was too late to make my escape as my father grabbed me by the shoulders and twirled me around to meet his gaze. 

"Jade, baby," he started, making me cringe only slightly at him using his nickname for me, "my precious gem, I don't think you understand what this means here. I got promoted! You're looking at the new CEO of Extraordinary Technologies!" 

"Oh, wow! Hey, congratulations, Dad," I said, as we embraced each other. I knew how long he'd been working his off to get that promotion. There was one time where we hadn't seen him for over a month because he was always working overtime. I was glad to hear that all that hard work paid off. 

"Thanks, sweetheart. But hey, this promotion isn't just my thing, it's for all of us," he said. I bet no matter how hard you'd hit him right now, there was nothing that could knock that huge grin off his face. However, the way he said those words, caused me to sense a bit of foreboding. Especially when my mother joined his side and he placed his arm over her shoulders. When I had two widely grinning parents in front of me, I knew that I was in trouble. 

"Uh, maybe you should sit down a moment, baby," Mom suggested, carefully. 

"What's up?" I asked, sitting on the armrest of the couch. 

"This promotion I got is a pretty big deal. The firm has opened up another building for scientific research and innovation- on a small island in the Pacific called Ookami Shinro. It's a beautiful place with a mild climate and lots of forests, isn't that so, honey?" Dad said, looking at Mom. 

"Oh, Jae, it's gorgeous! There's a lot of nature there, it's peaceful, it has an amazing, top-knotch school- you'll love it!" she chirped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa- wait." I stopped them when my mother whipped out a stack of brochures from the drawer. "Why would I love it?" I asked, blinking at them.

They looked at each other a moment before putting on those bright smiles again. "Because we'll be moving there, Jade. I'm going to run the company there. It'll be a great opportunity for all of us; new adventures, new beginnings. You said yourself that we got stuck in a rut, right? Well, this will be a great way for us to start something new," Dad announced, absolutely convinced of his case.

I, however, was too stumped to even protest. We were moving? To a place no one has even heard of before? 

I lived the following weeks in somewhat of a blur. I remembered numbly packing my belongings and sneaking out of the house to visit the meadow as often as I could. It was strange looking up at my twelve stars and realize that I may not be able to see them from the new location. People often say that this world, despite of its variety of inhabitants and vastness, shared the same sky. Was that really true? I didn't particularly looked forward to it having to find out once I get to this new island.

Another thing I remembered, was tears. Not even my own, but that of friends and relatives that sent us on our way at the airport. I think I promised my friends to stay in touch, but there was still a part of me that just could not believe that we we're actually doing this. That we were really at the airport, about to board the plane and start our lives anew.

"Jade, baby, I know things have been hectic lately, but this will be good for us. It'll take some adjustments and perhaps some sacrifices, but you'll find your place there," Dad suddenly said to me, snapping me awake from my daydreaming.

"Huh?" I replied vaguely, following them when the line moved.

"Jae, get your head out of the clouds, you can dream all you want once we get on the plane," Mom commented, rummaging through her bag. "I had the passports in my hands, I was sure of it," she said, starting to panic.

"They couldn't have sprouted legs and run off, darling," Dad remarked.

"It's not in my bag," she exclaimed, looking around. She clacked her tongue derisively and rolled her eyes at me. "Jae-In, give me those," she huffed in exasperation, holding out her hand towards me.

"Huh, what?" I asked, wondering what I did now to have upset her. My father turned to look at me and sighed.

"Jade, if you had the passports all this time, why didn't you say so? You gave us a heart attack," he grabbed the passports from my hand and I watched as they were snatched away. Funny, I didn't even realize I was holding them. 

"Blockhead," Dad mused jokingly, lightly patting my head with his passport. 

"We're really leaving?" I asked quietly, my mouth dry. I was feeling it again. Sudden anxiety. It was the feeling of being unrooted from the earth and being abandoned somewhere you've never been before. I was searching again. I felt lost again. This time, to my horrid realization, I couldn't escape to my meadow. If I stepped on that plane, I'll never see it again. 

"Yes, baby, we are. It's okay, it'll be okay. I know it's scary at first, but you'll like it eventually," Mom soothed when she saw the tears stinging my eyes. Dad was rubbing my back. 

Biting my lips and refusing to cry in public, I waited until we boarded the plane and ascended into the clouds. The sun had slowly started to set, creating amazing colors in the sky. Further away, the horizon was a deep cobalt blue and I swore I could see the first shimmers of stars about to grace sky.

I had once cried because I saw my stars falling, but I never thought that I'd cry because I was the one that left them. Only when I was sure that no one was watching me and that both my parents were sleeping, I let my tears fall freely.

No. This was definitely not what I had in mind.