Haunting Voices

Ch.1 Meadows and Laughter

12 years ago, Azami is 4

Giggles rang through the silent meadow, covered in wildflowers ranging from a beautiful yellow almost the color of the sun, to the gentle lilac swaying in the breeze. In the middle of it all was a family smiling, laughing as they sat on a checkered blanket. An arrangement of finger foods was laid out in the middle. Sitting on the blanket was a tall, lean man who seemed to emit dominance and demand control yet adorning his face was a warm smile and his eyes twinkled as he watched his family before him. His black hair and hazel eyes, a trademark amongst his family, were clearly passed down to his children. Sitting beside him was his wife showing her daughter how to make a flower crown. Her purple hair tied back into a loose braid, strands of hair free from the hold of the braid. Her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as she watched her daughter fondly.

Running around the blanket with two sticks that had been found were the two oldest children. Both boys, 2 years apart yet almost identical to one another and yet somehow for the rest of the family it was never hard to tell who was who. The eldest son at the time was 15, the easiest way to tell him apart from his younger brother was he seemed to be an exact copy and paste of his father. Except the teenager was still living out his best life as a child with his two siblings. And then there was the middle child, he was 12 and while he had his fathers hair he had his mothers sparkling blue eyes that seemed to always glow with comfort and warmth.

The two were playing knights, protecting their baby sister and parents from the unknown within the meadow and woods. The true goal of the game was unknown even to the boys playing, it had been something they'd always played when bored. Neither strayed too far from the blankets yet their shouts and calls to one another echoed through the meadow.

Sitting across the two adults was a small girl about the age of 4 playing more with the flowers than trying to make a flower crown. Her hair was a mix of the two parents, a beautiful ebony color with violet streaks running through it. She had a flowering blue dress smiling watching everything around her in amazement and awe. It was rare she was able to get out of their home for reasons she still couldn't understand no matter how much her parents explained that it was dangerous to her. She was a naturally stubborn and curious child who loved to wander around without truly knowing why or how. One of the main reasons however was that she was considered a miracle child, after Sean, the younger brother of the two. Her mother was informed that if she were to have another pregnancy there was a high risk of complications and miscarriage after at least 1 miscarriage that the girl was eventually told of she was conceived and survived. As her father would say, she was a fighter before she even opened her eyes. Which is how she had received her birth name Valeria, to show just how strong she was from the start. A blessing who wasn't leaving her parents side.

With a soft giggle, she bowed her head slightly as her mother placed the flower crown on the child's head. Moving her head back up, she stared at the hill to the side of their picnic spot. Carefully standing up, she held her dress up before she ran off heading up the hill, determined to make it to the top before her brothers caught up to her. Once she finally made it to the top she smiled and put her arms out spinning around, a bright smile adorning her features.

"Valeria! Be careful!" One of the girl's brothers called out to her as he followed after his baby sister, not wanting her to get hurt. When she heard the voice, she smiled and waved at her brother in response to him calling out her name. Or well, what was her name back then, before everything happened. Before the worst part of that small girl's life. Heck, this was even way before she has met the root of her problems. When she was still a happy and content child to just be with her parents no matter what. But there were always secret kept in the real world, you were never safe from them, to be frank.

Here's a prime example; her dad's a leader of an organization that encourages vigilantes, and if she ever knew this, all the guilt and blame that small girl had to harbor over the years would've turned to rage and to blaming her father for everything. For being the one to encourage her to stay friends with the commission leader's son, maybe it was to keep an eye on the commission or it was to try to get them off the family's back. But either way, it was something she wouldn't remember whether that'd be from the quirk they used on her as a kid, or her own brain hiding it from her.

Yet here she was smiling and laughing surrounded by the people she loved more than anything else on earth. With a soft hum she ran down the hill to her brother happily tackling him into a hug. He easily caught the smaller girl spinning her around a few times before taking her back to the rest of the family. Once it was time to leave She looked back at the meadow one last time taking in all of it calm and peaceful glory making a permanent image to forever stay in her mind. Something she'd never forget even if she forgot why the meadow was truly important to her.

"Mama we'll come back here right?" Valeria asked looking up at her mother curiously.

Her mom looked down before at the meadow smiling fondly and nodding, "of course baby we can come back for your 6th birthday, now come on we don't want to keep your brothers and dad waiting to long" she laughed softly ushering the small child back down the path to their car. Unbeknownst to the small family a young boy had watched the interaction carefully, from his spot in the woods. His eyes never leaving the small girl. Later on he'd turn her world upside down, literally and figuratively. Looking back one last time Valeria spotted the boy her age in the woods as she smiled shyly before turning her attention to her older brothers. Wondering if she'd ever see him again.