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towards the water. I didn't have to
go far.
    As I
wandered along the edge of the ice cold blue waters of the Pacific
Ocean, I tried not to dwell on the 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