Seekers of Fire

Prologue

Thirteen tiny candles lay before her, flickering silently on a birthday cake. Her birthday cake. A small cheesecake that had the generic words 'Happy birthday' on it, formed with red icing. She wonders about the teenage life that lay before her. She will be entering high school soon, but she wonders if she will make any friends.

"Happy birthday Amelia! Go ahead, make a wish," her dad insists with a loving smile.

Amelia Blaze closes her eyes and tries to think of something to wish for. I wish mum was here. She reopens her eyes and proceeds to blow out all the candles with caution. Today was her special day. She was finally a teenager! And yet, she felt that her thirteenth only marked the beginning of another six years of school, of another chapter without her mother to guide her. Her eyes begin to tear up but she quickly blinks them away.

Her father, Henry as people called him, notices this and meets her amber eyes. "Sweetheart, is something wrong?"

"I-I just... I just wish mum was here. Why did she leave us when I was born?"

Henry walks over to her and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. His brown eyes were kind, but Amelia could see a hint of sadness in them. "Your mother loves you very much, but she had to go."

"Why?" Amelia could not understand what her father was saying. It didn't make any sense.

Henry sighs and closes his eyes for a while. "You'll understand one day, when it's the right time. Now enough questions, I got a birthday present for you." He walks towards the kitchen cupboard, reaches for something on the top shelf and pulls out a white Yankees cap with the gold letters 'NY' engraved on it.

Girls her age would have been hugely disappointed at such a gift. Instead, Amelia's eyes lit up in excitement. "Is that..."

"Yup. My very first Yankees cap that I bought from New York when I turned twenty-five." Henry walks over to Amelia with a huge grin on his face and offers the cap with both hands. "And now yours. Happy birthday sweetheart."

Amelia grabs the gift and immediately wears it on her head. "Thanks Dad!" she says and runs into his arms.

He hugs her back and whispers in her ear, "I love you very much Amelia. Never forget that." He lets go and smiles. "Now let's quickly have the cake, we're going to a baseball game and it starts in half an hour."

Every year on her birthday since she had turned seven, her father would take her to see a baseball match that was always held on the fifth of April, which was coincidentally, also her birthday. Although both Amelia and her father had migrated from New York to Melbourne, Australia about a decade ago, their love for baseball still ran in the family. At least, between father and daughter.

Amelia served herself a big piece of cheesecake and demolished it in a not-so-lady-like manner. She decided against going for a second piece, as she did not want to be late for the baseball game and plus, the cheesecake wasn't going anywhere. The girls in her primary school did not share her interest in baseball, and although she found it strange at first, she realised that she was the odd one out. There was nothing super interesting in the sport itself, and she did not exactly support any specific baseball team. So why am I so into baseball like my father? And then her answer came when she looked up at her loving father. She loved watching baseball not because of the sport itself, but because of all the wonderful memories and times she had shared with her father during baseball games.

🔥 🔥 🔥

Amelia could not hold it in any longer. If she did not find the bathroom within the next ten minutes... "Dad, I need to use the toilet."

"Okay sweetie," Henry replied but kept his eyes glued to the game.

Suddenly, there was a loud twack! The crowd around her rose to their feet and cheered the successful baseball player on wildly. He was going to make a homerun. Amelia decided that this was the perfect opportunity to pay a visit to the bathroom. Everyone around her, including her father, was too busy going wild to notice her making her way out of the row of seats awkwardly.

When she had finally made it out of the clamorous crowd, she made a beeline for the female toilets, which was not very far from the game. Amelia hated public toilets, they were usually in a mess and reeked of uncleanliness. This one was not any different. She quickly did her business and went to wash her hands.

A mirror was positioned just above the sink and after she had dried her hands with a paper towel, she decided to check her reflection in the mirror. She had a white complexion and long red hair that stretched past her shoulders. Is that a zit forming on my nose? She frowned at the pimple, but could not help but feel a bit of pride at now being a teenager. A teenager... a teenager without my mother to guide me.

She immediately regretted the thought, but it was too late now. Why did she leave us? Was it dad... or me? Will I ever find her? Amelia's mind wandered with countless questions. Questions that remained unanswered. She could feel her emotions getting the better of her again. Every time she thought about her unknown mother, she would become upset. But this time was different; her cheeks felt hot, her vision blurred a little and her blood boiled. She clenched her fists, hard. How could she do this to me! The smell of smoke reached her nose and she looked down at her fists.

Amelia Blaze's hands were on fire. The flames engulfed her fingers, but there was no burning sensation, nor was there pain. Only anger and a rush of power.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Hey guys and gals! I've been really excited to publish this book on Wattpad and hope you'll continue to support this story as I develop and write this for the next 1-2 years. I already have 5 chapters pre-written and they will be published shortly (about 1-2 a week). Hope you'll enjoy my new novel as much as I'll enjoy writing this!

This chapter has been dedicated to @0StarGames0, one of my good Wattpad friends and one of my huge supporters of my other novel Keepers of Ice.

-Dan