MADE

Prologue

Copyright of A.E. Dell
All Rights Reserved

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Mari sounds like such a sweet name, and she once was a very sweet girl. Her innocence and kindness followed her everywhere she went, much to the displeasure of her parents. It made her noticeable and people gravitated toward her calm energy like moths to a flame.

            She was that girl that you wanted to despise for her perfection, but no one could ever find a flaw great enough to instill hatred. Sure, she snorted when she laughed and sometimes tripped while walking down the street but that is about as far as her errors took her. She was sunshine in the small community, shedding light around every corner she took.

            Her adopted family was more than enough to keep her happy. Her beautiful mother, shining little sister, and her strong-willed father were always by her side. And yet, even with her picture-perfect life, she knew she was different. Somehow or someway something just didn't quite fit.

            As she grew up, kids her age began spending time watching television or texting, but Mari couldn't understand the fascination. She enjoyed less materialistic things. Mari loved swimming and spent hours with her cousin Clair diving under the water. Of course, Clair was always able to swim longer than she could. She could hold her breath longer and was still far faster.

            But the water wasn't the only thing she was enthused with. She couldn't get enough of the heat, especially the flames of the fire inside the wood stove at her house or the campfire her family used to toast summer time hotdogs over. She loved to be outside, where the grass could tickle her feet, and the trees would sway in the breeze. She would even talk to the wind as if it were a person, telling it her secrets. Even though none of the things she enjoyed would answer her, it didn't stop her wild heart.

            In an attempt to calm her raging excitement with the outside world, her family moved inland at a young age away from the ocean she loved so dear. Not only inland but also to an area where the heat was little.

            Canada.

            The trees and grass grew less frequent, and the wind only chilled her. They couldn't afford to expose the secret her birth mother had instilled in them. To keep them hidden - to keep them safe.

            Mari was unique; well that was what her family told her to keep her from thinking something was wrong with her. Near the coast, her gift was getting stronger, and the only way to suppress it was to move away from temptation and seal her gift down within her.

            Although Mari missed the coast, she was still happy with the new life that lay before her. They had moved closer to Clair, able to see her more often than just small, fleeting summer vacations. They were even able to attend school together. Clair, Mari, and her younger sister, Rayne, were inseparable.

            As she grew older, another temptation was introduced into Mari's world. A boy in her class had caught her attention like she was a fish in a net and from the first time his lips met hers she was hooked. They loved each other wholeheartedly and for a long while everything between them was perfect.

            And then something changed within the boy. He became frustrated that she wasn't ready to take the next step, and no matter how many times he asked, she always refused. He became unfaithful, and when Mari found out, she couldn't stand to look at him. Hurt filled her heart; she could never trust him again. However, he refused to let her go and the more she fought the more she broke.

            The delicate flower everyone knew her to be was beginning to soil and wilt.

            The snapping of her stem came when the life was finally beaten out of her. The boy gathered his strength and one day while she was walking out to her car after work, he approached her. He told her she had no choice - that they were meant to be together. She refused and paid the price.

            He left her in an icy parking lot late at night unable to move, bloody and dying. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten so badly that she was almost unrecognizable. No one found her until the next morning.

            The blood had frozen her body to the pavement and she was one step away from death. They said it was a miracle when she lived...

            The once fragile and delicate teenager had been turned into an adult - forced out of childhood and made to face the cruelty of the real world. Anyone who stood against her would pay. She was angry, and the reason because of it was permanently marked on her skin.

            Rebellion flowed through her like a freshwater spring.

            Her adopted mother didn't know what to do with her anymore. Nothing could bring her back to her gentle nature, and it was becoming more of a problem as something else threatened to expose her.

            Near the end of her 17th year, her birth mother, Amara, set a plan in motion. One that would teach Mari how to use her gift, and face the destiny that sat before her. However, no one knew if with all the power she held would be too much for one girl. Let alone if she would choose to save the earth or destroy it.

            This is how the starlight girl was made into something else...