Read Raven Saga 01 - Raven for Free Online

fact that there was still no trace of my parents. Even after all these weeks, there was still nothing. We had been in touch with the British authorities but it was looking more and more like this case would be shelved. It would continue to be unexplained. An unsolved mystery.
    Instead of dwelling on recent life-changing events, I attempted to fill my head with the beauty that surrounded me. From the deep blue ocean to the bright blue of the cloudless sky and the startlingly beautiful green islands off in the distance, I was left truly breathless by its utter magnitude. Having little chance to appreciate it before now, I thought of how narrow-minded I must have been while living within London. Why my mother and father had never told me of the awe-inspiring landscapes to be found here, I will never know. It was like stepping foot inside the most magnificent giant oil painting – a true masterpiece that no artist could ever imitate.
    Had I grown up here, I would never have wanted to leave and everyone I knew would have been told of its breathtaking magnificence.
    Suddenly something jumped high out of the water and back again with a loud plop. I was startled but curious. I searched for more movement but there was nothing other than the gentle lolling of the soft waves lapping against the shore.
    Finding a huge piece of driftwood on the little beach, I sat and waited patiently for it to happen again. I was determined to see what was capable of jumping right out of the water before my eyes.
    I didn't have to wait long. Another splash and a plop, and a large fish revealed itself to me. Having little experience of such things, I had no idea what type of fish jumped like this – actually, I had no experience of fish at all – not to eat, nor to catch or even to look at, other than in school books.
    I had never been in the ocean, nor had I even been on a boat prior to my arrival in Canada. Narrow-minded, lacking in experience of all kinds and naïve is probably how the people here must see me, I thought, sighing. If only my parents knew what I was going through. I didn't blame them, of course I didn't. I just wished they had been more forthcoming with so many things. And now... perhaps they would never get the chance.
    On the other hand, had they not disappeared, I would have continued on that same path. The same boring road with no twists or turns. The only 'fun' I had ever had was with December, and even then that was only ever at school. There had never been any excitement, unless you count the day when some kids had tried to blow up a school toilet. That was the extent of the excitement in my world. Until now.
    Not even the stories from the fairy tales I was so fond of could match the magic that could be found here in British Columbia. Even though I'd only been here a day or so, I hadn't even realised I was in British Columbia. I had noticed it on the licence plates of some of the cars in the area... 'Beautiful British Columbia'.
    So I'd found an atlas in Gabriel's huge book collection and pinpointed Canada and discovered how vast a country it was. A country that was divided into a number of different provinces. British Columbia was the one the furthest to the west of the country and Powell River, I discovered is right on the west coast, right by the Pacific Ocean. I was also amazed how close it seemed to Asia and how far from England.
    Clearly, had I known when I was younger, I would have taken a lot more notice in my geography class. Now though, I would simply have to learn myself. I decided that I would start with Gabriel's ample book collection, once I had settled in.
    As I admired the giant oil painting that surrounded me, I took a deep breath, breathing in that lovely scent of the fresh country air, the ocean and the pebbles around my feet. I could hear the faint squawks of birds in the distance where they flew from tree top to tree top and then soared overhead, eye-balling the fish below. But the breathtaking scenery could