Neurosistale

Chapter One

FADED GOLD

(August 22, 2011) (Av 22) (Monday)

It had always been just her and her father, they never needed anyone else. They had their gardens of wheat and forests of crops of every kind. The air was always clean and the animals loved to play. The wonderful sunrise as she ate freshly made butter on freshly made toast surrounded by golden flowers. . . Chara wouldn't have had it any other way.

But now. . . The gold flowers braided into her hair -- that seemed to never die -- expressed her deep sadness, being dry from weeping. Chara felt suffocated in the contaminated air, and she knew she would be alone when she sat down and saw all the other students wearing city clothes.

Chara's soft green dress, a thick yellow braid serving as a stripe around her waist, her brown pants and long, dark, hair that matched. . . They had never been dirty in her life, if she went to do dirty work, she had a different outfit. But the one she wore was never dirty before. Until the moment Chara had walked in the city; then it was no longer clean. It had been darkened, damped, and dirtied just by the air around her.

This whole place was just dreary, even the outside. The sun was sad and dim, the green grass turning yellow while losing hope as it was continually trod under. No birds sang, and even the crows seemed distant. How was she supposed to be happy like her father said when the world she had known and loved was gone?

At recess, Chara sat from afar and watched the children play, the brightly colored auras around them matched what she used to see with the grass and trees on her farm. Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple. . . They had so many friends around them, Chara was truly doomed to be alone.

"Hey!"

Chara looked up from the ground and made eye contact with a young boy. The boy had blue eyes and black hair. His aura was cyan. Chara quickly took in his outfit, red t-shirt and dirty brown shorts, before smiling. "Hello!" Maybe not everyone was ignorant.

He looked her up and down. "Why do you wear that?"

"Huh?"

"The dress, what are you, an elf?"

"No, I'm not an elf."

"Who made it."

"I did! Well, with my dad's help." She stood up and spun around. "Do you like it?"

"It's dumb. And what's wrong with your eyes. Why are you even here."

The girl was dumbfounded. Her dress? Her eyes? Why was she here? She felt a hatred for this boy, but quickly pushed the feelings away. She was to be kind to everyone. "I'm sorry you don't like it. And there's nothing wrong with my eyes. They're simply different from others. And I'm here to learn! I live on a farm up North but my father decided it would be good for me to meet other kids my age!" She held out her hand. "My name is Chara! What's yours?" She kept a positive energy around her.

The boy hesitated, then walked away. Chara sat back down. Her father had a soul of kindness, she had a soul of determination. This boy had patience.

What's wrong with your eyes.

Nothing. Her eyes were red, so were her mother's. She had a determination soul, after all. But what made them special was the four black lines stemming from the outside of her iris, hooking into her pupil and forming an X. It was the mark that allowed her to see souls in the form of auras.

Why are you even here.

What she had told him was true, that's what her father had said. But she knew there was something he wasn't telling her. He had never kept a secret from her before, why was he now?

Once the bell rang, Chara was the first in line, ready to go inside. She loved being outside, yes, but she wanted to go home.

She walked quickly to her father. She felt so dirty.

The green ring around his head was starting to form again. "Hey, Chara. how was school?"

"It was okay. Can I get a book to bring for recess?"

"Sure, I have some at home. We can go to the library after we finish settling in." He held the door open while his daughter climbed in and buckled up.

They drove for a few minutes, and Chara watched the grey buildings slip by. She hadn't actually seen anything of the city. They had come from the farm, and on the long drive over, her father explained the reason for all of their stuff being in the trunk of the car: they were moving to the city.

It had been a last minute decision by him, so he dropped his daughter off at school and started moving things in. He had made one last trip to the farm to finish getting everything, but the rest was sold to the new owner.

They now lived on the fourth floor in an apartment complex, and looking around, Chara found there was a park just across the street. It looked cleaner and nicer than the school's playground.

Minus the trash she could see, even from the other side of the road. Unfortunately, Chara realized she couldn't see the park from their apartment.

Where they now lived was simple. There was the main room with a sagging couch and a small black screen similar to the one her father used to watch the news on. This was connected to a small kitchen and a table that Chara decided would have flowers on. Then there was a short hall with a room on the right, two on the left, and a bathroom at the end.

Chara took a few minutes to get familiar with the layout of the house, making mental notes of where the natures would be placed. She concluded that they were going to need a lot of natures. And probably an air purifier. She also checked the water systems, concluding the bathroom sink was bad to drink and the kitchen sink was okay.

And now, it was time to start unpacking.