Stars.

Rose's Curse

Toby woke to an old building in the corner.
He remember that place like it was yesterday.
He saw himself reading in the corner of the backyard, while the other kids made snowmen and played snowball fight.
He was the quiet kid nobody messed with. He had earned respect from even the toughest kids in the orphanage. Everyone knew at least something about hios story, and his looks could kill.
Toby didn't need any friends. He didn't enjoy company. He wasn't aggressive. He was a good kid, but friendship wasn't his goal. Rose knew that, and she never pushed.
Rose was the owner of the orphanage. She was a middle aged woman. She had grey hair, that she always made into a ponytail.
She had a long, pink dress that she loved. She told Toby it was her wedding dress.
Rose's husband was alive, but he had a disease that affected his memories. He remembered stuff that had happened a long time ago, but his recent memories were forgotten.
Rose said he wasn't the same man. He didn't want to do anything, because he didn't want any joyful memories forgotten.
So Rose had opened an orphanage.
Sometimes, she would cook chocolate chip cookies.
All that was when his mother was at jail. Toby didn't want to make friends because he knew he would leave them when he returned to Chicago to his mother.
Rose said he was building walls around himselfhimself, like her husband. Toby didn't want to talk about it. Rose sighed, and kept silence.
Rose had tought Toby how to control his powers.
She somehow knew about them.
"So, Toby."
She was knitting in the living room, while the kids were outside, playing.
"How are your lion powers going?"
"Well, I don't really know how to use them. I can control them, like... I don't suddendly change into a lion in the middle of math class."
Rose nodded, lost in thought.
"Would you like me to reach you?"
"Yes! Do you have powers?"
Rose closed her eyes, and her smile faded.
"Yes. They are the reason why I lost my husband. I loved Leo, too."
Toby hadn't gotten that completely. Her husband was fine. He wasn't dead.
"There are worse punishments than death."
Toby didn't ask more.

After many months of training, Rose was proud.
"Come, I want to show you something."
She led Toby to the kitchen. Most of the kids never went there. It was the misterious place were all the food came from. Rose was really traditional, so when in the 13th birthday of the girls, she would give them cooking class.
Rose opened a top cabinet and pulled out a box.
It was a shoe box, but it was covered with pieces of newspaper.
Rose's hands trembled as she opened the box.
Inside, a pile of photos were piled.
A letter and a piece of simple paper.
Rose pulled it the photos and spread them across the table.
Toby saw a couple in an open field. Nothing but grass and a sky full of stars.
There was another photo of the same couple at the beach.
All the photos were about the same couple. They looked like they were really in love.
In one of them, the woman smiled. She was pregnant.
"Who are they?"
Rose tool a deep breath.
"It's me. And Leo."
Rose decided not to tell him it was his father. It would have been disturbing, the Toby from the future thought.
The woman did look like Rose. The man had blond hair. He had a kind smile. He looked like a superstar trying to hide his beauty.
"He loved you a lot?"
Rose nodded.
"Yes. And I loved him back."
"Who's your child?"
Rose couldn't prevent a tear.
"She's gone."
"Why?"
Rose took another deep breath.
"Let me tell you a story."
She sat in one of the kitchen chairs and invited Toby to sit with her.
"Once upon a time, I fell in love with a great man. He was handsome. He was brave, and loyal. He loved me too. We never got married, but I discovered that I was pregnant. We were very happy. He told me it would be a girl. He just knew. I was so excited. Then, another man fell in love with me. Louis."
She pointed at his husband, who stared at the horizon from the living room window.
"I didn't like him at first. I loved Leo so much. Then, he dissapeared. At first, a few days. Then, months. I missed him. When he didn't come back after three months of waiting, I took for granted he had ran off with another girl. I was devastated, and Louis was there. He confirmed me. I fell in love again. The thing was, when Leo came back, I was no longer interested in him. I was extremely pregnant by then. He was more than devastated. He had loved me, and I betrayed his trust. He transfered his sadness into anger. He cursed me with the Curse of Leo. I was given this powers. And... He took my daughter. He turned her into a star. I never even got to know her."
The woman broke into tears. Toby watched, terrified, as he had never seen an adult cry.
When Rose managed to stop crying, she continued.
"I... I couldn't control my powers. One day, I accidentally transformed into a lion and... And I hit Louis in the head. That's why he is what he is now."
She looked sadly at the man who she had once loved.
Toby didn't get much of the story, since he was little, bit he understood the pain in the woman's voice.
"Toby, listen closely. Your powers are a gift, but they can also be a curse. Don't let your emotions take control of you, or you will loose all control, and transform into a wild beast."
The vision darkened.
Suddendly, Toby was in a prison cell.
A woman sat in the corner.
She had sharp features, with blond, curly hair and beautiful Hazel eyes.
"Mom."
Toby whispered.
The woman didn't even flinch. Toby knew she couldn't hear him.
She was hugging a small, stuffed lion.
Toby opened his eyes wide with surprise.
A guard opened the door.
"You're free to go. Well, you'll be if you pass the basic sanity mental test. Good luck with that."
Wendy stood and the guard scourted her to a white room with only a chair and a desk.
The guard made her sit down on the chair.
An asiatic man entered the room.
"Hello, Ms. Charleston. Welcome."
"Hello."
The man smiled and took a note.
"I am Doctor Zhang. I will ask you a few questions. Do you remember who your son is?"
"Toby."
The man nodded and took note.
"Exactly. Toby."
Wendy flinched when she heard her son's name spoken by another person.
"Now, tell me. Who is your husband?"
The woman was about to say something, then stopped herself. She breathed deeply.
"His name was Kyle Charleston and he dissapeared."
The guard laughed.
"Well, I'm glad that Leo nonsense is over."
Wendy exaled, keeping herself calm.
"You are doing great. Now, could you tell me about the stuffed animal you're holding?"
"Yes. I gave it to my son so he would never forgot me. He returned it when they took me here."
The man took another note.
"I see you are very calm. I like that. Now, I will take you to make a few exams, alright?"
Wendy stood and crossed the room.
The doctor opened a door open.

Toby's vision blurred.
He then saw his mother in a police car.
She was still holding the lion.
"Please, you need to find my son."
The policeman beside her nodded.
"Toby Charleston. No worries. We will find him soon, I promise."
Wendy hugged the stuffed animal and whispered to it silently.
"I will always love you."
Toby passed out.