The Black Teardrop

Chapter 2

I cried into my hands as I sat in the jail's hard dirt floor. I was going to rot in this jail. I knew it. I looked through blurred tears at my arm. It was covered in bloody scratches from where I had been clawing at myself while I cried. I did that often. I didn't mean to hurt myself. When I cried, it just happened. It never hurt though. Every other pain was so much more than the little scratches.

You really shouldn't hurt yourself. You need to be strong for tomorrow. A voice in my head said.

I jumped when I heard it.

Who are you? Why do I need to be strong tomorrow? I thought.

The voice laughed.

Let me begin. I am Echo and I am here to help you. Have you heard the legends of the Shifters?

Yes. The legend says that every hundred years, a child is born that can shift into an animal.

Correct. Do you know why the legend says they are born?

No. I don't remember.

Do you know who the goddess Shaidin is?

I think so. She created animals right?

Correct. Before the gods and goddesses were destroyed, Shaidin promised that her spirit would be reborn every hundred years in a child. That is how the Shifter started. They are not legend. They are real. Every hundred years, a child is born that bears the spirit of Shaidin. The day of their fourteenth birthday is the day they first shift.

So you're saying that shifters are real? You're crazy. No, actually, I'm the crazy one hearing a voice in my head that's telling me that this legend is true. Besides, why do I care? Shifters have nothing to do with me.

Don't they? Tomorrow is your fourteenth birthday Albina.

I am not a Shifter! They are not real! They are just bedtime stories for scared little kids! Go away and leave me alone, whoever you are!

My name is Echo and I tell the truth. But if it is your wish, the I will leave you.

Then leave already!

Good-bye Albina. You will shift at exactly noon tomorrow.

You're insane!

Good luck . . . . Echo's voice began to slowly fade away.

I punched the wall in frustration. I yelped as pain shot up my arm and into my shoulder. I collapsed on the old cot in the cell. Lets reveiw everything that's gone wrong today. First, I was arrested and seperated from Tigriss. Then, a crazy voice in my head tells me I'm a Shifter. And finally, to top everything off, I hurt my arm. I wanted to scream and cry. Why wasn't I born a normal person? I slowly drifted off to sleep, lulled by my self misery.

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