The Magical Girl

Chapter 8 The Beginning

"I remembered that day so clearly for the first time in my life, after thinking that I've disposed of the memory."
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The sun shone brightly, bathing the beautiful grass field with a pure white light. A gentle breeze blew across which made the flowers and trees dance gently. Bright blue sky scattered with soft and smooth clouds, and the sun shone radiantly which blinded Akari as she lay in the grassy field. Attempting to shield herself from the harsh rays of sunlight, she raised her arm onto her forehead creating a small line of shade covering her eyes. A large cloud soared over the sun and another breeze blew which made the tall grass rustle; the sound of running water from the nearby stream was music to Akari's ears. She closed her eyes and listened to the symphony created by nature itself. This large vast field of greenery was Akari's secret and special place where she could just let loose and relax. Far far away from problems, politics, school, drama, humanity, reality and...the truth about the world. Now, Akari was a very smart little girl and knew quite a lot about things that kids her age shouldn't have to think and worry about. Demons regularly visited the town and took the lives of poor unsuspecting and innocent people. Because of this there was a curfew for those under 16, that "all children under the age of 16 should not be out past 8:30pm." Demon attacks were not very common in the morning, but the number of attacks increases as dusk gradually creeps up. The sunlight slowly disperses as a large dark grey cloud encased the bright blue sky into a dark and gloomy world. Assuming that the rain was just a quick drizzle, Akari stayed laying in the grass without realizing that her eyes suddenly grew heavy and soon fell asleep.
Deep in Akari's mind a strange unfamiliar voice called out to her.
"You're a strange one..." It said interested.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Akari asked quickly.
The voice lets out a small sigh before speaking,
"I guess you say the same things as they all do though..."
"What do you mean?" Akari asked confused.
"What kind of weird dream am I having right now" Akari said to herself.
Ignoring Akari's questions the voice went straight to the point,
"Do you want to save them?"
"Pardon me?" Akari excalaimed even more confused.
"You have quite the potential you know."  At this point Akari wondered if this person... or thing speaking could even hear her. Giving up with trying to question it Akari decides to silently listen.
"You might be their only hope...just make a contract with me."
"Do you really think I would fall for something like this?" Akari asked confidently. "This is all probably just a trap, I'm not interested please leave me alone." Upon hearing these words the voice replies
"I won't force you, it is your choice...but I hope you don't regret it..." And with those words the empty space that Akari once stood in quickly faded away. Akari is then suddenly awoken by a large crash. As she heard this she shot straight up and scanned her surroundings. The once sunny cheerful sky now turned to a dark grey, which was almost black; although there wasn't a single star in the sky, the moon shone as bright as ever.
"It's night!" Akari realized in fear. She abruptly got to her feet and reached to clean off her skirt when she realized it was damp.
"Did it rain while I was asleep?" She wondered, thinking it was just a little rain she quickly turned around to head back to the village before she caught a cold, or worse caught by a demon. Akari quietly cut through the trees towards the village, as she started growing near she had the worst feeling in her gut. When she was close she heard the sound of faint crackling, which grew louder the closer she got. Concerned she picked up her pace as her soft jogging slowly turned into a swift dash. When she was out of the trees and the village could clearly be seen, Akari's eyes widened and she collapsed to her knees, she couldn't believe it...her eyes turned dark as tears streamed down her cheeks in disbelief. That terrible feeling she had was right...those nerve wracking noises she heard earlier...were the sounds of village homes collapsing, and the enormous bonfire that feasted on everything in the barricade; turning the village to ash.