I had to blink and when I looked more closely, I recognized a tower on the other side of the water, a few miles away...or was it a church? Wait...

And then I saw that there, in the middle of the changing nature, was a whole city with a harbor, a church, and two modern skyscrapers.

Even further in the distance, in the middle of the needle forest, I spotted a gigantic gothic tower rising out of the woods. Deep forest stretched around it, kissed by the colors of autumn. But it was too far away to recognize everything.

“Is that…?” I began, but I had forgotten the name of the town.

“Yes, my darling, that's Blairville.”

Mum smiled at me, and now I understood what she meant by idyllic. The sun turned the water's surface into a shining mirror, and the curvy road we drove beside the railway tracks led us further and further into a magnificent forest of tall trees. The forest along the road became denser as we drove around a long bend, and the town disappeared from my view.

About two minutes later, a large, noble - though already very old - wooden sign appeared at the side of the road, on which Welcome to Blairville was written in elegant capital letters. A noble black bird sat on the edge, brushing its feathers. A raven.

Mum's radio began to buzz, and I was beginning to think the signal was gone again, as it was so often on this endless drive, but to my surprise, the tune of a News Station rang out, and shortly afterward, a man began to speak.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Blairville Daily with the Bexleys and the latest local news so you will always know what's going on in our beautiful hometown!” the newscaster began far too enthusiastically as if he had been waiting for us to come to Blairville. It was a wonder that a small town even had such a thing. “Today with Joe Bexley and...” He stopped so a woman could announce herself, “Harriet Bexley!”

“Oh God, so those two have actually taken over Joe's parents' radio station...”

I looked at Mum in surprise.

She knew these people?

“And yet again, gigantic wild wolves have been spotted in the Copelands' woods.”

I tried to concentrate on the words of the over-motivated Joe as the sky above the forest closed in with thick gray clouds.

Wild wolves? In Blairville? And why did the name Copeland ring a bell? Wasn't that the name of Mum's doctor?

“First, near Vanderwood University, now, even at the abandoned Psychic Fun Fair, according to neighborhood teens. Harriet, with more details on the wolf reports.”

Harriet, who had a calmer voice, began to speak as raindrops settled on the windscreen of Mum's Jeep.

“What particular species the wild wolves are, and whether they are just regular wolves or a serious threat to Blairville residents, is unclear. However, the witness statements speak for themselves.”

A frantic girl began to babble, and I turned the radio up louder as the rain became heavier.

“I had been out with my boyfriend and his guys in the woods near the abandoned Psychic Fun Fair. It was just a night hike, and the guys had already drunk a lot, which is why they wanted to continue toward the amusement park.” The girl was getting more hysterical. “The fact that this one is closed and abandoned didn't put them off as much as it did me... It was dark and strangely quiet. But suddenly, there had been this cracking sound behind us. I had turned around. And there it was. A huge white wolf, bigger than me, with a beastly mouth, bared teeth, and yellow glowing eyes. I've never run so fast in my life.”

I felt a chill run down my spine.

The pleasant feeling of seeing the town so fairytale-like in the distance was gone now, washed away by the girl's words and the rain on Mum's windscreen.

Just the thought that oversized wild animals were living out there in the woods around us, daring to get so close to people, was massively unsettling.

The woman, Harriet, began to speak again, “Head of the police, Sheriff Bardot, gives the warning that wolves do not attack people unless they feel threatened. However, another witness reports...”

Mum abruptly turned off the knob on the radio station.

“Hey...”, I started and went to turn the radio back up, but Mum slapped my hand away rudely. “That was interesting.”

“It's just town gossip. Nothing that should worry you unnecessarily.”

Of course... She dragged me off to nowhere in Canada but didn't want me to face reality. I wanted to know damn well if I was going to walk in those beautiful woods or be snatched away like Little Red Riding Hood.

But I left it at that. If the wolves in the woods were really problematic, I would find out in time anyway.

I leaned back in my seat and decided to do research later, even though everything about the thought of dealing with this new town turned me off.

It wasn't long before the rain stopped, though the sky remained covered in massive dark blue clouds, and I saw the first houses along the roadside – large houses with old facades. A few seemed like older mansions to me. Others reminded me of the farmhouses I had seen on the way through the States.

At some point, the forest disappeared completely, and the houses slid closer and closer together until we found ourselves in front of the center of the city.

Many small shops, whose names I couldn't read fast enough, were spread out along the streets. Streets filled with...people.

At first, I thought we were really arriving in the middle of nowhere, but it seemed like there was actually something going on here. Quite a few people were out and about on this sunny day, and not only were curious tourists making their way past the fish and ice cream stalls, but there were also young people out and about.

Three girls - about my age - were crossing the street toward a department store. They seemed to be making fun of something because one of them pointed at something with a giggle, but I couldn't see it quickly enough because we were already moving on.

A group of young university students was strolling across a small square toward a diner where even more young people were hanging out.

“There are so many young people here...” It slipped out of my mouth, half suspicious, half amazed.

“I told you Blairville is a university town. On weekends, most of them are at home or meet up here downtown or near the harbor and diner, which is why it can quickly get lively down here. And especially since there's another week of semester break, it's normal to see so many people your age here.”

“You mean Vanderwood? The University where I'll be going?”

Unfortunately.

“In 1800, the city had the university built specifically so all the young people here could eventually study. Believe me, this place was busy back then, too. As it was when I was your age.”

Slowly but surely, I could no longer remove the image of my mother making the town unsafe on colorful motorbikes with some youngsters from my mind, even though Larissa had made up this image of my mother, which did not fit at all with the image I had of my mother.

“The university has a really good reputation, which is why you don't have to worry that no one will let you work afterward.” How comforting... “Besides, you'll like it there, I promise.”

Mum smiled at me, but I still couldn't share her joy. I would not finish my studies here - come what may - which meant I would only be stuck here for half a year.

We passed the skyscraper-like towers, which looked much more elegant than Sacramento's skyscrapers, even if they were no taller than the Renaissance Tower or the Wells Fargo Centre.

It was a wonder there were any of those here...

One of them was a bit taller than the other and oval in shape. It was completely mirrored on the outside, and its size ensured that the other side of the city center was bathed in a huge shadow.

Ravens circled the skyscrapers, perching on their antennas, which, combined with the dark wall of thunderstorms overhead, created an eerie image.

“Those are the DeLoughrey prestige buildings.”

The what? Who on earth were the Loughreys?