Born from the ashes

Colourful lights were illuminating the room. Elaborately decorated chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling. Vibrant, abstract shapes were scattered across the walls and contrasted with the marble floor. The venue that was meant to accommodate a hundred people was now filled to the brim with at least five times that amount. The guests were enthusiastically chatting, some even loudly debating the main event. Tonight was the moment a little girl's dream finally came true. This fateful evening, the blonde managed to achieve her goal, after years of hard work. Her best paintings were currently put on display for people to marvel at. By the looks of it, the audience more than appreciated her creations. Artists and investors from all over the world had gathered in the medium-sized gallery room with one objective in mind. To catch a glimpse of her masterpieces. For a while, the blue-eyed girl mingled with the crowd and answered their questions to the best of her abilities, but eventually got drained from the neverending conversations and went to find her husband. After some time, she spotted him observing the event from a balcony and quietly joined him. There was no need for words between the couple. The pride and encouragement in her lover's sparkling green eyes said everything. Tonight a dream born out of a tragedy finally came true.

Rhea Mitchell was a cheerful, charismatic sixteen-year-old with wavy blonde hair that reached her shoulders, perfectly tanned skin and the most vibrant sapphire eyes one could imagine. The girl was a literal walking ray of sunshine. She was always optimistic and chose to see the good in people. Rhea was passionate about a lot of things, but most notable was her appreciation for the arts. To be specific, the blue-eyed teenager was quite fond of painting. Ever since she could remember, the cheerful blonde was constantly sketching something. It didn't matter whether it would be a pencil sketch on a white sheet of paper or simply a doddle on a forgotten napkin, her mind was frequently coming up with new ideas for her to create. The tanned girl has never shown interest in anything else other than painting. It only made sense for her to pursue a career in this field. Rhea, however, knew that becoming a successful artist wasn't easy at all. Many have tried and failed, but she was determined to give her best and to never give up on her dream. Her efforts were proving to be worth it, as she was currently on her way home, after winning her town's contest about modern forms of art. The girl was bursting with excitement and joy, and she couldn't wait to go home and show her parents her small but meaningful victory. Both of her parents had always been supportive of her talent and kept encouraging her to chase her dreams, no matter what others said. The young painter still remembered the proud smile on her father's face when she gave him her first award. He wasn't an overly emotional person, but his facial expression that day made her feel like the most important person in the world. As she was reliving those happy memories, the teenager was nearing her home. However, she was filled with worry when she smelled smoke in the air. When Rhea reached her destination, she was stunned. Her family's cosy, wooden house was engulfed in flames. They had spread throughout the entire estate. Rhea ran towards the building, hoping to find her parents, but was stopped when a firefighter wrapped her in a tight embrace and whispered soothing words in her ear. At first, the girl kicked and screamed, begging to be allowed near the nearly destroyed structure, but eventually calmed down. When she hesitantly asked what happened, there was so much fear in her voice that it sounded foreign. The taller man considered his words carefully and after a moment cautiously explained that there had been an accident which started the fire and by the time the first responders got to the scene, there were no survivors. Hearing this, Rhea's throat constricted, choking back a sob and closing her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying. She couldn't breath, the information she received was too much for the young girl, and she felt her vision blurring. The last image in her mind, before losing consciousness was her father's proud smile. Then everything went dark.

Waking up in a hospital bed felt strange. Rhea wasn't used to spending time in hospitals. Throughout her life, the young girl has never had any health-related issues and only went for her annual check-ups. The room she was currently lying in was painted white without any colour in it. There was a bright, fluorescent light that was irritating her eyes. Besides, there wasn't much furniture. Only a small table, placed next to her bed and a chair in the corner of her room. There were also several machines that she assumed served different medical purposes. Rhea tried to remember what happened, despite her painful headache. Her last memory was passing out in the firefighter's arms, after learning that her parents were no longer among the living. Tears started to prickle her eyes again. Deep down, the young artist hoped that all of this was just a nightmare, a scary dream that she was going to wake up from. As the minutes passed, however, the understanding that her situation was as realistic as ever, was becoming apparent to her. Her world had just crumbled to pieces. Rhea was distracted from her thoughts when two people entered her room. The first one was an older-looking gentleman who wore a medical coat and had a stethoscope hanging around his neck. Following behind him was a younger woman with chocolate-brown eyes and a folder, tucked under her arm. As they introduced themselves, Rhea discovered that these people were, in fact, her doctor and a social worker. The older man explained that the girl had passed out as a result of the immense distress she had experienced, but with some rest, she would be physically fine. When he finished retelling this information, he said that he was going to leave, so that the blonde could have a proper conversation with the other woman, who was still quietly standing in the room. As the social worker spoke, Rhea understood that now she had no choice but to be adopted by another household. There was also the option to be put directly into an orphanage, but the brown-eyed woman advised her against it as there already was a family willing to take her in. The thought of living with people, who were not her parents, both frightened and saddened the young girl. She didn't want to spend time with strangers. All she wished for was to be back in her old home with her loving relatives. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible. Rhea wasn't aware that she was crying until the older woman began to comfort her. When the girl had finally calmed down, she considered her options and decided that she should at least give the people who wanted to adopt her a chance. After all, it was better than going to an orphanage. The kind woman said that the couple who volunteered to take her in would be able to come for a meeting later in the afternoon. When the chocolate-eyed woman was sure that the blonde understood every detail and wasn't doing anything against her will, she offered to leave the girl to rest for a while. As she left the room, the woman gave her a warm smile and reassured her that everything was going to be alright. The word sounded almost foreign to the young girl. Hours ago, she was filled with excitement. Now there was nothing but crushing sadness brimming in her chest. All she could do was hope that whoever these people she was going to meet were, will accept her for the person she is. Rhea wasn't going to pretend to be someone who she isn't just to fit into a certain standard. She remembered the lessons her biological family had taught her. The blonde was going to remain true to herself and will continue to chase her dreams even more determinately than before. She was going to do her best to make her parents proud.