<div style="text-align: justify;">"Happy birthday, Ellie".<br/><br/>"Thanks, mom".<br/><br/>Those simple words marked a very important day for Ellie Peterson. The day she turned 18 years of age. There wouldn't be a car as a gift - they couldn't afford it. There wouldn't be a big party, with lots of people. They didn't have that many friends.<br/><br/>They were just a mother and daughter, trying to survive without a father around. And they were doing pretty well, thank you very much. Ellie's father had never really been around. He had left before she was even born, and Ellie's mother din't talk about him. It was clear he hadn't wanted her, though. There wasn't a father name in her birth certificate. There wasn't any surname other than her mother's. They were on their own.<br/><br/>It hadn't been such a bad life, though. Samantha Brooke had been an excelent mother. She had brought her girl up and done her best to give her a good education. As soon as Ellie was able to, she started working odd jobs as well, to help her mother. And they had made it work.<br/><br/>The struggles had built a really strong bond between mother and daughter. They had no secrets to each other. Well... almost.<br/><br/>"I have something for you", Ms. Brooke stated. She handed her daughter a little box. In it, there was a bracelet with a charm. The charm was a notebook. Ellie lifted it up and smiled. "It's great, mom. Thank you."<br/><br/>She looked at it and held out her arm. "Can you, mom? Please?" Samantha smiled and nodded. "It's not expensive, or the great gift you deserve. But this means a lot to me. It's a family heirloom". Ellie waiter for the bracelet to be on her arm and hugged her mother. "I love it, mom. Even more now".<br/><br/>After these words, Ellie finally got up. "I have to go on my route, mom. Those newspapers won't deliver themselves". Picking up a towel, Ellie went to the bathroom. Another regular day... Once ready, the girl ate something quick and left the house on her bike. It was her usual route, her usual life. And she didn't expect anything to happen. But something did happen. The scare of a car nearly hitting her - it seemed to have lost the brakes - was enough to make her pass out for a few seconds.<br/><br/>And wake up at a completely different location. A location she had never seen in her life, she was sure. And yet, it felt... familiar. Looking down at her bracelet, the girl frowned. There was now a second charm - a peace sign.<br/><br/>"What the hell...?", the girl murmured to herself, trying to find anything that could help her know where she was.</div>