She's A Natural

Chapter 3

Yellow.

It was the color of the single dress I used to own, and I’d been forced to wear it that day for some reason or another. It’s funny how the most unimportant details are the ones we remember, yet larger scale memories are hardly retained.

I had despised that dress. Still do. It made me look ridiculously childish and innocent, when really all I’d wanted to do was grow up.

In revenge for Mrs. Britt making me wear the itchy fabric, I’d decided to ruin it. Heading into the forest when I was supposed to be playing with dolls like all the other girls (ha! Fat chance of that ever happening), I became distracted an didn’t realize how far into the twisting maze of trees I’d gone. The silence and beauty of the vast forest captivated my seven-year-old attention. The sun snuck through the openings in the leaves, warming my skin in blotches. The air was misty since it was still late morning, the sun not yet courageous enough to evaporate the fog with its heat. I couldn’t isolate the sound of any one creature, but a resounding melody of life buzzed faintly in the background.

I took my shoes off, digging my toes into the cool mud. A worm caught on my big toe, squirming and twisting, trying to find the ground again. It eventually did and wiggled into the dirt out of sight.

To any normal person, every one of these trivial details should have been forgotten in comparison to what truly dominated the importance of that day. Yet, these details are the ones that have stuck with me all of these years.

Of course I distinctly recalled the events that made me…something not human. I didn’t know what to call myself. A freak, maybe. That was as good as any other name I’d tried to claim: witch, nymph, elf, supernatural. Every idea sounded more ridiculous than the previous one.

I’d had a chance to escape at this point, although at the time I didn’t realize I should have taken it. I looked back once, seeing no signs of civilization. Wide tree trunks with reaching, spindly branches obscured the path I’d taken, and my footsteps that could have served as well as stones to Hansel and Gretel were hidden underneath the blanket of green grass and weeds covering the forest floor.

Maybe I would have turned back if Mrs. Britt hadn’t made me wear that stupid dress. Instead, I wanted desperately to be alone, so I turned back the way I was facing and stalked further into the woods.

Seeing a break in the never-ending trees some time later, I pushed towards it through the plants that were steadily growing taller, stronger, and thicker. By the time I’d forced myself through the last wall of weeds, I felt like I was shoving concrete out of my way. For the next few moments, the meadow was worth it.

Encircled by trees and plants with deep, resilient roots, the pond was isolated from the rest of the world. Snakes slithered in the luscious grass and all kinds of insects were drawn towards the brightly colored flowers. The water in the pond was as blue as the sky, and the sun shined off of it brilliantly, as if jealous of the pristine blue surface it couldn’t be a part of.

I could be a part of it, though. My legs couldn’t get me there fast enough, and I smiled a true smile in as long as I could remember when I splashed into the freezing cold liquid. Droplets ascended into the air, and the sun again reflected against them, reaching towards it with its light, before they plopped back into the pond.

Somewhere nearby, a frog burped. Warning me. An omen.

I flopped onto my back once the change began, overcome with energy too vigorous for my body to handle. My head was on the bank, the cool mud pillowing my fall and seeping into my neck. The water lost its appeal and now felt painfully cold as it engulfed my body up to my neck. A wind kicked up, caressing my upturned face.

A fiery pain lighted in my stomach. I think I screamed, but I wasn’t sure. Even if I had, I was too far away for anyone to hear me. No one came to help.

The fire inside me seemed to be an invitation for the rest of the change to begin. I felt like my insides were solidifying, mimicking the strength of the Earth. The water lapped against my body enthusiastically, liquefying whatever the ground solidified. The wind snuck down my throat on a cry of anguish, mixing the two sensations together. The fire burned fiercely the entire time.

I was positive I was going to die. The pain kept me teetering on the edge of consciousness, giving me just enough strength to not succumb to the agony. I prayed, pleased, begged for some sort of mercy. None came.

Lucidity came slowly. For a long time after the pain had stopped, I didn’t bother moving, too absorbed in the aches flowing through my entire body. I felt like I’d gotten run over by a freaking eighteen-wheeler. Repeatedly.

I won’t drag this part of my story out. I stayed still for a long time, okay? When I tried to get up, it took me a while. The important things you should note occurred once I had sat up and a bunch of funky stuff started happening. Like, freaky kind of stuff.

By the time I left that lake, I could run faster than any Olympian, climb the highest mountains as swiftly as if I had hooves. I could swim like a fish, and the water bended to my will. The air became my comforter, and it picked me up, literally, when I felt down. I couldn’t fly, but if I caught a strong enough air current, it could pick me up off the ground. Let’s just say I freaked out and my ass was bruised after I found that interesting fact out. Fire is a friend, compassionate and caring, not a dangerous foe. All elements—earth, water, air, and fire—listen to me. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. All I know is that they do.

I was the last person to find out about the physical part of my change. Back at the orphanage, all of the kids and adults gave me weird looks.

“Weirdos,” I mumbled under my breath, glaring at their probing stares. They gasped and each one turned away. Huh, that’s never happened before. I guess my glare improved.

When I got to my room, it was clear that it wasn’t the intensity of my hostile look; it was my look in general that had them averting their eyes.

I stumbled back once I got a good look at myself in the mirror. Thank goodness there wasn’t anyone else in the room. My once chocolaty brown eyes were now a hard topaz color, like frozen caramel. I’d never seen anything so unnatural looking, and knowing that I was staring at myself sent me into the only real crying jag I remember having in my entire life.

Then again, this exceptional crying spree was probably memorable for another entirely different reason. While I was sobbing, the wind from my open window swirled around the room angrily, sympathizing with me. Papers fluttered everywhere, and my hair swirled around my head like a black halo. Thunderclouds appeared out of nowhere, and the lightening seemed to be drawn towards me. It cracked and the thunder boomed loudly, but I wasn’t afraid of it. They were my friends. My only friends. My tears were miniature versions of the raindrops pounding on the roof, drowning out my weeping.

By the time I was done, the storm had faded out as quickly as it had come, and the wind died down just as fast. I sat in the middle of my destroyed room, not caring that the three other girls I shared it with would find their possessions ruined since I hadn’t bothered to close the window.

I had assumed that the lake was haunted and cursed me with my golden, queer eye color and even stranger powers for the past eleven years. Now, though, I was going to get answers, and nothing could stop me from getting them. Wherever I was going, every person better get out of my way.

Ready or not, I was coming for this Killian guy like a twisted game of hide-and-seek.

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Sorry if it sucks, guys, but it is what it is. Hopefully the next one will be better. Don't worry, Killian is coming soon :)

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