Ember

The Change

Is it as simple as just leaving? I'm the type that does rash things, but leaving everything behind to start from nothing somewhere else. Alone. It seemed a bit too rash for me, but they wanted me dead. They were looking for me and they would find me if i stayed here. I was dead unless I fled. I don't see why they hated me so much. I had never harmed anyone and never wanted to unless it was me or them. I understood their fear of me, but hatred from where? I know people do stupid things when they are afraid and  when they didn't understand. Why did they want me dead?

   Let's start from when I was born. August 7, 1997 seemed like a fine day to be born, so I did. My mother was always a little more loving towards me my entire lifetime and I know I'm not supposed to think anything bad of it, most of all when we lived in the city. Every year that August 7th rolled around she would get somewhat anxious, like if she were waiting for something to happen at the end of the long day. Every year it seemed as if things were getting a bit more out of hand, at 16 she didn't allow me out for the day and she just sat and watched me. I know I'm not a toddler to be watched so i thought it was extremely odd coming from her to act as if so. From age 6 I wore gloves, I didn't find it odd then because I love gloves and I still do. We would always go to this amazing store that sold herbs, at least I thought that was all they sold. My mother would take so many precautions with what I touched and saw. She would hide things in her room very often and when I went to look they would always be gone. I know she could have changed the place to hide them, as soon as she walked out I would sneak in, but they would just be gone, like as if they had vanished into thin air. That was one thing that always hit me as scary, I had no doubt in my mind that my mother had something to hide.

The night before my  18th birthday I couldn't sleep, trust me it wasn't because I was excited about anything except growing older a year, but I was tired to an extreme and I couldn't keep my eyes open and still I wasn't able to get to sleep around 3 A.M. I got up and went to get a glass of ice water. When I stood at first i felt as if I was going to be sick, so I waited and nothing came. I kept walking and every step I took felt as if my feet where being stabbed by a thousand needles. I landed face first on the floor, and i curled myself into a ball and tired to scream. I couldn't. I couldn't move. I was paralysed. I thought my life was over then and all that ran throughout my mind was: she is going to be alone. A sudded ache started in my back, like if someone had gotted a red branding iron and branded me, as if my skin was being torn and burned and ripped at. Hot tears were beginning to form in my eyes, I couldn't breathe from the pain. And suddenly it was over and all that was left of me was a body convulsing.

   I layed on the cool floor for what seemed like hours, when I could finally get up I walked to the bathroom. Yeah yeah, I know some of you would have called for help, but whatever had happened was over and I wasn't dead. So I didn't want to wake up my mother. As I walked into the bathroom everything felt weird, but after what had just happened I thought it was the aftermath. I lifted my shirt over my head and pulled it off. As i turned to see if what had happened left any marks and sure as hell it had.

  At the back of my neck there was a faint black circle. Then I saw it the beginning of a somewhat faint line that ran down my back. That wasn't the thing that cought my eyesight, it was a circle, blue in color and what looked like flames coming from the darker lines. A similar line ran down both of my arms and another circle was at each of my wrists.

What the fuck is happening to me?

It took me longer than it should have to stop starting at myself in that mirror. I didn't recognize myself. When I finally came to, I yelled.

"Mom, something isn't right. MOM!" I was yelling while I walked towards her room. I shook her until she woke up and pulled a fucking knife out and pointed it at me.

"What the fuck mom!" I yelled as I pushed myself off of her. "Why a knife? Wait why the fuck did you have a knife on you while you sleep?"

"What is it Anala? What happened?" She said exasperated as she was looking me up and down making sure I wasn't hurt. She didn't notice the marks. Was I seeing things?

I looked at her in disbelief. I looked at my arms again and I saw it the black like and a blue circle at my wrist. It was there. I wasn't seeing things.

"Mom look!" I exclaimed as I raised my arms to show her the marks that had appeared. She smiled. "Why are you smiling?" I said in shock.

"You went through the changing." She looked like she had lost her mind. Her eyes were full of joy and excitement for a second and then I could see her eyes darkening. "We have to go. Now."

"Mom, I need you to tell me what is going on. Did you know about this?" I asked as I stepped away from her.

"Anala, honey I will explain everything to you, but right now we have to leave. We need to get out of here the Council must of already felt you going through the change." She said as she reached under her bed and pulled out a small chest. "Honey I need you to put these on, ok?" She said as she handed me a pair of lace gloves.

I took them and put them on as fast as I could. I trust my mother and I didn't know what was going on, but she sure as hell did and I was going to follow her directions. I looked at her as I finished putting them on. She was pulling things out of the chest. As she did I could see small golden sparks coming from her hands. What the actual fuck. She was making something in with the items in the chest. She walked past me and towards my room and she was waving her hands around and as she did the sparks got a little brighter and I noticed she was gathering my clothes into a suitcase. I couldn't believe my eyes. She had powers. I stepped back a few feet and leaned against the hallway corridor.

She made her way back into the room with a small box in her hand that she handed to me as she looked me in the eyes and softly squeezed my hand. She collected the chest and put it in a duffel bag. From inside a book she pulled out a pretty thick envelope with what I presumed was cash. She looked at me as she put the envelope in the duffel bag. She was smiling a worrisome smile at me. She was trying to make me feel ok. My head was spinning as I tried to wrap my mind around everything that had unfolded in the past 2 hours.

As my mother stood close to me she held my hand and handed me a hoodie and my phone. I didn't even notice that she had taken it from my room. I smiled a small smile as I put it in my pocket. As we walked out of our home for the past 16 years I couldn't help but think of every special moment that we had spent there. My mother closed and locked the door and waved her arms once again and as those golden sparks flew out of her hands I smiled. She was special just like I always knew and even more than I could have ever thought.

We got into our car and as we sat there before leaving our home for which I knew we wouldn't be returning to. I looked at my mom and I could tell she wanted to tell me so many things at that moment, but she knew this wasn't the safest or the best place to do so for some reason.

"I'm so proud of you baby. I know things are difficult to understand right now but as soon as we are in a safe place I will tell you everything. I promise." She said as she looked at me with concern in her eyes.

As I looked back while we drove away I took one last glance at my childhood home and instead of out beautiful home stood a crumbling house with overgrown grass and dead rose bushes at the door. I turned my gaze forward to the road ahead just hoping I would soon get some answers to all the questions brewing in my head.

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I'm not sure if this is going to get far but I love writing and I'm giving this a shot! Tell me what you like and what you don't!

Thank you lovely!