Fearless

Prologue

I was asleep when it happened. I was five, dreaming the things a five year old would dream- beautiful humans with butterfly wings attached to their backs, singing melodically as they shimmered in sky. Until suddenly, the sky turned dark and I awoke with a scream as I felt a fire scorch through me. It was as if every cell in my body was alight with an uncontrollable flame, consuming me from the inside out. I vaguely remember the rush of footsteps into my room, echoing the panicked sounds of my father over the sound of my cries.

"Amarina! Amarina! What is it?" He shook my shoulders lightly.

"Someone is burning me!" I remember crying in a voice foreign to me.

He embraced me in a comfort only a father could provide. An unspoken promise of protection and healing from the fire within.

"Shhhh Amari, it's okay, it's okay, oh God I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. It will disappear I promise I promise."

And that was when I heard it. My own father choking back sobs. My father, my symbol of strength and unwavering determination, weeping, his tears drenching my nightgown.

"What have I done?" He whispered, "What have I done?" I felt him place a cool hand on my forehead and I shuddered under the icy touch, clenching my eyes tightly as a new wave of pain pulsed through me.

My father gently lowered me back onto the bed, whispering words of reassurance and comfort. The fire had begun to subside and I was breathing heavily, my muscles tight and contorted. It was as if I could feel every single cell in my body rearranging themselves into something entirely new. He placed a wet cloth over my forehead. I could feel the sweat trickling down my back and I groaned in exhaustion.

I opened my eyes and through the darkness I could see my father standing over me, tears staining his weathered complexion. He leaned across the bed and shut the curtains tightly, only allowing a small sliver of the full moon's light to gaze in one line across my sheets.

I saw him raise his hands and in one swift flick of the wrist he had removed the water from the glass beside my bed and began to spread the water over my arms and legs. I sighed in relief, the burning had completely dissipated and a cool sensation was put in its place.

"Thank you father," I sighed, slowly slipping back into the magical dreams of people with butterfly wings. As I closed my eyes I heard my father whisper.

"No one can know. No one must know. Oh God what have I done?"