Abysmal Depths

Prologue

"Olivia, honey, what you see and talk about...it isn't normal, okay? It's all in your imagination and you can't do this anymore, do you understand me? It's time for you to grow up now and be a big kid like your brother Ian." The desperate parents of the peculiar six year old had finally accepted that their youngest child was nothing like others her age. Olivia often proclaimed that she experienced things that nobody else did, and though her parents laughed it off in the beginning, they soon realized that the situation was more complex than they had originally suspected. Things would move on their own, and strange occurrences often happened in her presence. It ranged from bottles falling off tables, to streetlights exploding for no logical reason.

"It's magic. They told me-" The mother pressed one of her fingers lightly to her child's lips, silencing the nonsense that she refused to listen to any longer.

"We don't speak of magic in this household, Olivia; The only magic in this world consists of the wonders that God has given us. He wouldn't place powerful magic in the hands of one of his children, would he?" Despite Olivia being quite young, she was highly aware due to past experiences that her parents didn't tolerate any arguing when it came to talking about their God. However, the young girl did find it rather strange that out of all the spirits she had ever crossed paths with, none of them glowed like a lightbulb or had a beard like God always did in the pictures.

"How can you know if you've never met him, mommy?" Her mother and father exchanged surprised glances, feeling offended that their child would dare to question their savior.

"Well...because I've spoke to him, babygirl. Don't you remember what they taught you in Sunday school? If you pray to God and pay close attention, you might be able to hear him respond." Olivia's small, angelic face scrunched up in confusion, her eyebrows knitting closer together as she gazed up at her mother's beautiful face. She could see the exhaustion and fear that had laced itself deeply into her oceanic eyes, and she wondered what happened to the sparkle that once occupied them.

Olivia then proceeded to wonder how her mother could admit that she spoke to God if he was a spirit, then tell her that spirits didn't exist and they were simply part of her imagination. The magical girl knew that neither of her parents enjoyed discussing serious things of that sort when they were tired though, so the question never made it past her lips. Olivia simply nodded, knowing that it was the only thing that would make them both feel better for the time being.

"Don't you worry, honey. You'll be normal in no time, because God loves you bunches and he'd do anything to help you get better." Her father gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and tucked her into bed before turning off her bedroom light and quietly closing the door after both the adults had exited. Olivia gazed at her ceiling that was illuminated above her by the moonlight that seeped in through her window, counting the fake, plastic stars that Ian had helped her stick up there when they were younger. Olivia laid there for a while, simply gazing at the neon green shapes as she contemplated why God would need to "help her get better" if she didn't feel sick in the first place.

She knew that magic was real, and she knew that everything she heard and saw was real, so why did everyone else think she was simply imagining it? She also knew that her parents loved her, but she couldn't comprehend why they were so set on changing what she talked about to other people. At one point in the past her parents used to smile and encourage her to tell them more about the adventures she had with her friends, but now that she was older, things were much different. She knew that she would never be able to ignore the magic that coursed through her veins, so she would just have to pretend that she could...at least around the people that wanted her to be someone that she would never be capable of becoming.