The Other Moonlark ( PAUSED)

Chapter 1: Intro

(The picture above is Rayne)

Rayne woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside her window, but a heavy sigh escaped her lips as she groaned and jumped out of bed. Today was her 12th birthday, but to Rayne, it was the most dreaded time of the year. Why, you may ask? Well, on January 17th, five years ago, Rayne was involved in a terrible fire accident that changed her life forever.

It was a cold winter evening, and Rayne was with her family, celebrating her 7th birthday. But to her dismay, her bully, Melaine, was also present. Rayne was never fond of Melaine, who used to torment her at school. As the evening progressed, Rayne couldn't help but wish that Melaine would just disappear or, at the very least, leave her alone. But the next moment, things took a dark turn.

Suddenly, a spark from the fireplace ignited the curtains, and within seconds, the entire house was engulfed in flames. Chaos ensued, and everyone tried to escape the burning inferno. Miraculously, no one was harmed, but the incident left Rayne with a deep sense of guilt and regret. She believed that the fire was her fault because of the thoughts she had before the accident.

Since then, Rayne has been struggling to come to terms with the incident and the trauma it caused her. Every year on her birthday, she is reminded of that fateful day and the consequences of her thoughts.

Rayne was a girl with an extraordinary ability. For some reason, she had a strange gift that whenever she wished for something or imagined it happening in the future, it would come true. The only problem was she had no control over it. She could try her best not to think about anything, but it would still happen. This inability to control her power was something that she despised the most.

As Rayne yawned, she got up from her bed and walked over to her wardrobe. She flung open the doors and scanned through the clothes. As usual, she picked an oversized hoodie and baggy jeans - her go-to outfit. She preferred wearing this attire almost every day as it made her feel comfortable and safe.

After dressing up, she hurriedly made her way downstairs to meet her mother. Her mother had adopted her after she was taken away from her old family, the one she never spoke about. The memories of her past were painful and unbearable. Whenever her friend Charlotte asked her about it, she would just stare at her and then walk away. Charlotte was the opposite of Rayne. She was talkative, cheerful and full of energy, while Rayne was more of a quiet, introverted and calm person. Although they were friends, they hardly got along. Rayne suspected that Charlotte was not her real friend after all, as she never invited her over and never ate lunch with her. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Charlotte was just using her.

No one else knew about her ability except for Charlotte. Charlotte would always ask Rayne to imagine things that she wanted to come true, and when they didn't come true, Charlotte would get mad and shout at her. Rayne knew it wasn't healthy, but Charlotte was her only friend, and she didn't want to lose her. Over time, Rayne had changed a lot due to Charlotte's influence, but she didn't mind.

One weekend, Charlotte had gone to visit her grandparents in California, leaving Rayne to her own devices for two days. It was a relief for Rayne, who finally had some time to herself to do whatever she wanted. Normally, she spent most of her time with Charlotte, but this time she had the freedom to explore her interests.

Rayne's adoptive parents didn't know when her birthday was, and they never bothered to ask. Her adoptive sister Maya, on the other hand, seemed nice on the surface, but she was a bully. Maya would call Rayne names like "freak" and "idiot" behind their mother's back. It made Rayne feel even more isolated and alone. 

 Maya greeted Rayne with a cheerful "Morning Ray!" Rayne glanced at her and muttered a response. She didn't want to engage with Maya, who made her feel small and insignificant. Despite everything, Rayne tried to stay positive and focus on the things that made her happy, even if it meant doing them alone. She couldn't wait to run down to the beach and sit there, on her own, thinking about...life.