[Perspective: A Strange Girl]
I don't understand this feeling. This strange, unfamiliar warmth deep inside me, like a ray of hope trying to bloom in the darkness.
I should have died back there—alone, forgotten, like I always thought I would. I had given up. But then he appeared.
Why? Why save someone like me?
It didn't make sense. I've spent my whole life learning one truth: people hate me. Yet, for some reason, he didn't. He looked at me like I mattered.
I shifted in my sleep, the crackle of a distant campfire blending with my thoughts. But the warmth wasn't enough to keep the memories away.
I don't remember much of my earliest days. But I remember having a loving family.
We were happy once. A caring mother, a hardworking father, and… my sister, Lyla. Her name feels fragile in my mind now, like a whisper I'm afraid I'll forget. She was the one who took care of me, the one who made me laugh when no one else could.
I remember her in the glowing autumn light. Long, wavy brown hair. Golden-brown eyes that made you feel safe. She was my anchor, the steady one who kept us together.
My mother was the heart of our home. She'd hum softly while baking, her voice calming any storm in my heart. She called me "mommy's little girl." Every time she said it, the world felt untouchable.
Father wasn't as talkative, but his presence was strong. He'd wake up before the sun to go fishing, his hands rough from the ropes. Even after long days, he'd sit with us, sharing stories about the sea.
We lived in Aloria, a small village near the shore of the Celestine Realm. It was peaceful, with cobblestone streets and tiny moss-covered cottages. The beach stretched endlessly, golden sands meeting the rolling tides.
I used to wonder what lay beyond the horizon, but the question always felt too big. My life in Aloria was enough.
How could I have known that everything I loved would change so quickly?
Our village was a lively place, full of faces I once adored. I had a whole group of friends. We were inseparable, dreaming of adventures we'd one day share.
It was winter. Snow blanketed the ground as we sat by the lake.
"One day, I'll leave this small village and travel beyond the mountains," Mira declared, tossing a rock into the water. "I'll find magical cities and forgotten treasures."
"Oh, sure," Toby said, crouching to pick up a stone. "You'll be off hunting treasure, and who'll be here building our fort? Me. Like always."
"You call sticking a bunch of twigs together a fort?" Elise smirked, threading a small flower into her braid. "Not exactly dragon-proof."
"Let's face it, Toby. Without me, you'd all be lost." Ronan leaned against a tree, trying to look important. "That's why I'm the leader."
Fiona rolled her eyes, bolting toward the river with a laugh. "First one to the shore is the real leader! Last one does double chores!"
I yelled, taking off after her. "That's not how this works!"
By the time we all reached the river, Toby was panting, Mira was glaring at her soaked boots, and Ronan had slipped and fallen face-first into the water. Laughter filled the air. We were just us—perfectly imperfect, with a kingdom made of laughter and dreams.
Then there was Kiel. While the rest of us were racing, he barely looked up from his book. He just strolled along, unaffected.
"You all just wasted a bunch of energy," he said calmly.
I rolled my eyes. "You're not even trying."
He gave me a subtle smile. "I don't see the point in rushing. You'll all just end up out of breath, and for what?"
There was a flicker of warmth inside me. Kiel was the one who never needed to prove anything to anyone. He just was.
"Lia!" Lyla came rushing toward us, laughing when she saw Ronan dripping wet. "What happened to you guys?"
Ronan shot her a glare. "The river got a little too enthusiastic!"
The sound of their voices was comforting, like a song I knew by heart.
Lyla sighed softly, her gaze drifting toward the horizon. "I really miss those happy days."
In our village, children received their names only after their tenth birthday. Naming a child too soon invited misfortune. Curses could slip in before the name could shield them.
Kiel had explained it to me once. "Curses can cause sickness, pain... or worse. Sometimes, they can take over someone's body entirely."
Before I turned ten, I had no true name. My friends called me Stella. It meant I was a part of the stars, something constant and bright.
It felt like a promise.
But everything started to break during the Firebloom Festival.
Lyla's condition had worsened beyond imagination. Each day, her breath grew weaker. The sound of her laughter was fading. I stayed by her side, holding her hand as if my touch could keep her tethered to this world. Smiling for her sake felt like breaking.
The medicine she needed was far away. I couldn't sit and wait.
My father appeared in the doorway, lantern in hand. "I'll go through the forest and find the medicine myself."
"No." The village chief blocked his way. "It's too dangerous. The forest is filled with curses and monsters. You won't make it."
"She's my daughter!" my father yelled.
"And you'll be no good to her dead. Stay where you are."
Lyla's frail voice drifted from the house. "Papa… Don't leave me, please."
My father froze, tears falling as his resolve shattered. But as I watched him, a quiet determination built in me. If it had been me, Lyla wouldn't have hesitated.
I couldn't wait any longer.
I packed a satchel with bread, a canteen, and all my saved silver coins. My hands shook. Tears kept falling, but I wiped my face. Fear gripped me, but the lantern cast long shadows on the path ahead.
"Stella! Where are you going alone?"
Mira shattered the stillness. She was the first to catch up, her breath ragged.
"I have to buy the healing potion," I whispered, my voice cracking.
The others arrived, their expressions hardening.
"You can't just leave on your own!" Toby burst through the underbrush.
Ronan crossed his arms, his usual lightness gone. "You're not going alone, Stella. We won't let you." He patted the hilt of a stolen sword. "Besides, I 'borrowed' a few of these."
"We're your friends, Stella," Elise said softly, reaching for my hand. "Let us come with you."
"I can't ask you guys to risk your lives."
Fiona cut me off. "You don't have to ask. We're coming."
Kiel stepped forward, his quiet presence a steady anchor. "Stella... You don't have to carry all of this alone."
Looking into their eyes, I knew they weren't going to let me go alone. They believed in me, and now I had to believe in them.
We set out into the dark. Mira spun tales of the stars, Elise hummed softly, and Fiona cracked jokes to push the shadows back. Ronan led the way, alert and tense.
Then, I felt it.
An unnerving, oppressive presence hung in the air. A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Something was watching us. Its eyes were dark, unblinking, hungry.
"Do you feel that?" I whispered to Ronan.
He stopped, his hand hovering near his sword. "I don't like this. Stay close."
The trees loomed taller. The darkness deepened. Then came the first attack.
A grotesque creature lunged from the shadows, its jagged claws aiming for Ronan. His blade deflected the strike by mere inches.
"Toby, light!" Ronan shouted.
Toby swung his lantern, the flickering light momentarily pushing the creature back. But it snarled, lashing out and sending Toby sprawling.
Fiona hurled a rock, distracting it. Ronan slashed across its side, but the wound only angered the beast. It slammed into Ronan, knocking his sword away.
Kiel stepped forward, his blade flashing in the dim light. He struck true, but the creature staggered and turned its attention to me.
My heart thundered as it lunged.
But just as it reached me, it stopped.
Its expression twisted from ferocity to sheer terror. Its body trembled violently, its claws hovering inches from my face. It couldn't move.
The others didn't waste the chance. Kiel darted in, delivering a final strike. The creature crumpled.
I looked around the shadows. The monsters weren't attacking. They were scared.
Not of our swords. Not of our numbers. They were scared of something near me... or around me.
Whatever it was, it wasn't just scaring them.
It was protecting me.
We didn't stop. When we finally reached the village and bought the medicine, a wave of ecstasy washed over me. I had the power to save Lyla.
We rushed home. My parents bombarded me with questions, but I ran straight to her room.
Lyla was pale and trembling. "Don't come too close... the illness... you might catch it."
"I don't care," I told her, my voice full of conviction. "All that matters is you."
I helped her swallow the medicine. As I pulled away, I saw a glow in her eyes. The pain was fading.
I had saved her.
That night, I realized my friends weren't just friends. They were my family. We were going to travel the world together.
But everything changed.
A month before my tenth birthday, my hair began to fade to snow-white. Then the pain came. My eyes burned so intensely I couldn't even cry.
My parents rushed me to doctors, but nothing worked. Slowly, my vibrant eyes turned grey. The light in them was dying.
And the village noticed.
"Have you seen her eyes?"
"Grey, like a colorless world."
"Maybe she's cursed. The grey-eyed ghost."
Their words stung like needles. I fled their laughter, my heart pounding.
One day, I stood alone in the relentless rain. I cried quietly, my grief soaking into the earth. The villagers watched from their windows, their words cutting through the storm.
"Look at her. What's she doing out there?"
"Crazy girl. Maybe she is calling curses."
I swallowed the urge to scream. I let the silence take me in, fading with no one to pull me back.
I locked myself in my room, keeping my eyes closed to ease the pain. My friends visited daily, trying to coax me out. My parents came too.
But I told them all to leave me alone. Slowly, one by one, they stopped coming.
But Lyla wouldn't leave.
Every night, she sat outside my door. "It'll get better," she'd say. "I'll be right here. Always."
"You don't understand," I whispered through the door. "I just want to disappear."
"Lia, no... you are not alone in this." Her voice trembled. "I see your pain, and I'll stay here—every step of the way. I need you just as much as you need me."
I screamed at her to leave. But she stayed. Through the nights I sobbed into my pillow, she stayed. Her persistence was the closest thing to warmth I could feel.
The night before my birthday, I finally opened the door. When I saw her sitting there, arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes swollen from crying, I broke.
Lyla wrapped her arms around me, holding me close. She didn't judge me. She just loved me.
"I'm weak," I choked out. "A crybaby who can't handle anything!"
"You're wrong," she said gently, wiping my tears. "Do you remember when I was sick? You never gave up on me. You kept me alive. And now it's my turn. I'll be the strength you need when you don't have any left."
I leaned into her, letting her love fill the cracks in my heart.
"I'm scared," I whispered. "What if I'm never okay again?"
"Then I'll keep being here, one day at a time. I'm not going anywhere."
For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself to believe her.
The morning of my birthday was the happiest I'd felt in weeks. My parents threw a party to give me my name. I kept my grey eyes hidden, closing them tightly.
Mother wanted to name me Celestara, a name of divine blessing to protect me from curses. Father wanted Anastasia, meaning rebirth and hope.
Lyla wanted Selene, the calm and protective moon.
My friends wanted Stella, the constant star.
For the first time in a month, the pain faded entirely. I opened my eyes, the bright sunlight almost too much to bear. They said my white hair made me look like an angel.
But when I looked at my mother, everything changed.
Her face turned cold and hard. "Who are you?" she asked sharply.
I didn't realize it yet, but my eyes weren't grey anymore.
They were glowing red. The color of the Queen of Curses.
"I'm Mommy's little girl!" I said, forcing a smile and stepping forward for a hug.
Her hand slapped me across the face, sending me to the cold ground.
"LIES!" she screamed, her voice venomous. "How could I have given birth to someone who looks like Her? You're not my daughter... you're a monster."
The weight of her words crushed me.
The villagers' cheers turned to gasps of terror. My friends backed away, their faces stricken with disbelief.
"She's the Queen of Curses reborn!" a man yelled.
I trembled, not understanding.
I hadn't done anything wrong. But their eyes bore into me, full of fear.
Lyla was the only one who stood firm. "She's just a child! She's not a curse!"
My father turned away in disgust. "She's a monster! We can't let her stay here!"
"Please, Chief!" Lyla begged. "She's just sick!"
The village chief's voice was cold and indifferent. "If she doesn't change back by tomorrow, she'll be sacrificed. We can't take the risk."
"She needs help!" Lyla cried.
"She's a curse," he growled. "Stop protecting her, or I'll do what needs to be done. Why should I let everyone suffer when I can just kill her right now?"
Lyla froze. Slowly, she wiped away her tears. Her face settled into a mask of cold resolve.
"Why don't you try it?" she said, her voice like ice.
The villagers gasped. Lyla's gentle aura vanished, replaced by a dangerous, lethal energy.
"I've mastered ice, water, and fire magic. No one here could even come close to stopping me."
A grid-like pattern formed in her brown irises, locking onto her targets. Heat radiated from her, the crackle of fire magic promising destruction.
"Try to hurt Lia," she warned the chief, "and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do."
The chief paled, stepping back. "You will not destroy this village over one mistake."
"Stay far away from my sister," Lyla commanded, utterly devoid of emotion.
From that moment on, there was no turning back. My life in the village was over.
That night, my father came for me with his hand raised to strike. Lyla fought him, blocking his every move.
"She's possessed," my father spat. "A vessel for the Queen of Curses."
"She's not a curse!" Lyla screamed.
My mother stepped forward, her face a mask of disgust. "Your sister is gone. She's a monster, and we have to get rid of her. I wish I could erase her from existence."
Her words sliced through me.
Lyla turned on them, her body trembling with anger. "You're all disgusting! You loved her when she looked normal. Now you turn your backs on her? You're trash." Her voice broke. "She's still my sister. I'm not going to let you do this."
My father gave a curt nod, his face unreadable.
Lyla knelt in front of me, resting her forehead against mine. "You're not a curse, Lia. You're you, no matter what they say."
That night, Lyla led me out into the dark. The village fell silent behind us.
"Everything will be okay," she said softly. "I'll keep you safe, Lia. Always."
We walked into the night, the world ahead uncertain and dark.
But with her hand in mine, everything felt a little less cold.