Not My Choice

Prologue~Talking to the Moon

When I was five years old I used to sit on my bed and stare at the moon. I always loved the moon. It was such a mystery to my little five-year-old brain. How did it glow? Why did it change shape and size? Why were there dents in it? But the most fascinating thing about the moon was that sometimes when I looked at it, late at night, I could hear someone talking to me.

It started late one clear November night. I wasn't tired (as usual), so I sat up in bed and stared at the quarter moon hanging in the sky. I was trying to find out if I could see the man on the moon from earth when I heard a voice. "I wish I already knew you" it said. I whipped my head around to find the person talking to me. There was no one. I shrugged my little shoulders and went back to studying the moon.

"I hope you don't break our Bond when we meet."

It was the voice again! "Who's there?" I squeaked. Too scared to turn around, I kept my eyes on the moon.

"Oh my gosh! It's you!" The voice said excitedly.

"Where are you?" I whimpered, "I'm scared."

"Oh no, don't be scared, I won't hurt you. My name is Anthony. What is your name?"

"Sasha. I'm five years old!" I said proudly.

"Wait you're only five! Oh no..." Anthony said.

"What's wrong with being five?" I asked indignantly.

"Oh, it's nothing sweetie. I'll tell you when you're older." He responded.

"That's what everyone says!" I sulked.

"Well... It's just that I'm eleven..."

"Cool! I'm friends with a sixth-grader" I giggled.

"Not just fri-" Anthony cut himself off.

"What are we then?" I asked. There was no response. "Anthony? Anthony?! Don't leave!" I begged. It was too late, he was gone. It was if my closest friend had left me without a single goodbye, I cried myself to sleep. I didn't know why, I didn't even know who he was.

I didn't look at the moon for almost a year after that, my love for the moon had waned dramatically, but one night my mom had gotten mad at me and I was up late at night crying when I glanced out to the moon. "Please talk to me Sasha..." I heard the voice again! "I will be just friends with you if you will only just answer me..." Anthony sounded as if he had almost given up on me.

"Anthony?" I asked my imaginary friend, as my mom had called him.

"Sasha! You're here!" Anthony exclaimed happily.

"Yeah." I stated sadly.

"What's wrong Sasha?" Anthony asked.

"My mom said that you weren't real. She said you were my imaginary friend!" I cried.

"Oh, no. Sasha I am very real! I'm Anthony, I'm twelve years old and I play basketball. My birthday is August 1st and my favorite animal is a dog" Anthony sounded as if he were reading off a list. I asked him about it. "Over the year that I wasn't able to talk to you I made a list of thing I thought you might want to know" Anthony had a smile in his voice.

"Sorry Anthony. I should've talked to you sooner, but mommy said-" I started to apologize.

"It's alright Sash. Can I call you Sash?"

"Sure Ant!" I giggled.

Anthony laughed, "Sash, just promise you'll talk to me at least once a week?"

"Sure, Ant!" I giggled again.

"Alright, sweet dreams my little Sasha" Anthony said.

"Goodnight!" I went to bed smiling that night.

One night, about a week later I remembered our first, odd conversation. What's a Bond? I wondered. And why did he say we were more than friends? So after dinner I rushed upstairs to bed and called for Anthony.

"Ant?"

"Yeah sweetie?" He answered immediately.

"When I first met you, what did you mean when you said the thing about the Bond?" I asked.

"You have never heard of the Bond?" Ant asked.

"No, what is it?"

"It is when two people are destined for each other. They have a Bond and when you turn seventeen you start your Hunt for your Chosen" Anthony explained.

"What's a Chosen?" I asked.

"It's your soul mate."

"What's a soul mate?"

Anthony chuckled, "ask your mom tomorrow."

"Ok! Also, what did you mean when you said we were more than just friends?"

"Oh sweetie, you are too cute. I'll tell you some other time. Sweet dreams my little Sasha."

"Goodnight!" I laid down and fell asleep.

I kept my promise to Anthony for six years until my fascination of the moon disappeared entirely, I had convinced myself that Anthony was just a figment of my imagination. So on my twelfth birthday I vowed to stop talking to my imaginary friend.
I need to grow out of this childish obsession! It was probably my imagination acting up from reading all those fairy tales.
I never even glanced at the moon again.