The Beginning

It's the year 2019. A little girl with pigtails plays outside with her neighbors in the forest behind her house. A young boy with a fox tail growing from his posterior, a tiny girl with butterfly wings, and another child with a strange marking on her wrist. Their happiness fills the area. Her tiny voice, loud and clear, “Tag! You’re it. Come and get me, Azitha.” She chased after the kids that ran away from her. A little faster than the average child her age. A man watched her as she played before disappearing. He knew this was the child he need. She was predestined for greatness. The children continued to play until the sun began its descent. They had until the streetlights came on to go home. She continued to play until her mother called her inside. The setting sun washed her face in a brilliant hue. “Akaisha, time to come in.”

“Coming mommy.” She ran inside to see her parents getting ready to go out. “Is it date night already, mommy?”

“It is. A new babysitter will be here soon. You’ll be okay by yourself for a few minutes, right?”

Akaisha nodded her head. Her father called to her mother. “Let’s go. We’ll be late. You know the early bird gets the worm.”

Once they were near each other, the man whispered something in her ear. Galena cackled like a banshee.

The couple left without kissing their daughter goodbye or even saying, “I love you.” It didn’t matter to Akaisha. She was used to this. Her parents weren’t the affectionate type. They preferred to keep their distance.

Time passed as she waited for the babysitter. Thirty minutes turned into an hour. An hour into two. During that period of aloneness, she spent her time reading and learning to write. Akaisha was a bright child. Her reading comprehension was that of a sixth grader, but without the care of her parents she didn’t have means to devote to her education. She headed into the kitchen to cook her food once she realized there would be no one there to watch her. Akaisha had finally dozed off on the sofa after having made a meal of macaroni and cheese with hotdogs slices. Deep in her sleep, she awoke to the sound of crackling coming from outside. Hurriedly, she rushed upstairs into her room. She didn’t see the sparks of flame dancing outside the windows. Fear devoured her as she assumed someone was trying to break in.

The little girl cowered in the corner as she watched the fire consume her house. The terror she had before intensified at her possessions and life ebbed away. A thick cloud of smoke filled the room, eating away at her consciousness. The crackling sound she had heard was the makings of a fire. Trapped in her room with no way out, she covered her mouth to slow the smoke inhalation down. Her coughing was the only thing that could be heard inside. Did her parents forget her? Is anyone coming to save her? Akaisha waited and waited until her eyes started to close. The weight of the smoke getting to her. She was on the verge of losing her battle with consciousness. Then the room teetered. The floors were weakening by the raging flames. The flames danced as if they were taunting the young girl all alone. With her last conscious moment, she cried out in a quivering voice. “P-PLEASE SAVE ME!”

Little Akaisha lost the battle with smoke, just as the sound of splitting wood echoed through the room. A person clothed in light, breathable, fire resistant clothing, an oxygen tank, and helmet carrying an ax stepped through the door. They thought they had heard the soft voice of a child. Soon they found her, the little girl curled in the corner clutching on to her stuffed tiger.

They took Akaisha to a hospital to receive lifesaving treatments. She was knocking on death's door. Her lungs were nearly filled with the toxic smoke and her skin was scarred from the heat of the flames. The person continued to visit her, even wearing their helmet just in case she caught only a glimpse of them dressed in that fashion. A strange reasoning, but plausible. The little girl was unconscious for several days. The doctors were all starting to think she would never recover. Then one day, as if by magic, she woke up. Her violet eyes blinked repeatedly to adjust to the blinding light of her room. Confusion swarmed her just as the hospital blanket did. Akaisha could hardly remember if her parents had been the ones to save her. That day the person in the helmet came in was the day her life changed.

The doctors and nurses all rushed in to check her vitals. Akaisha looked at them, frightened by what was going on. She was only a child of seven years old. This many people fussing over her were strange and slightly unwanted. The only comfort she had with her was the white stripped tiger she was holding on to when she lost consciousness. The lead doctor asked her a series of questions to help aid the officers in the fire that happened at her house. She answered quietly each question, almost as if she hadn’t spoken at all. “How did the fire start? Did you start it?”

“No. I remember hearing a noise and woke up.”

“Where are your parents? You were alone.”

“It was date night. I was supposed to be with someone.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. They never came.”

The doctor looked at the nurse. Their subtle gaze held a conversation all on its own. She proceed to tell them her name was Akaisha Morningstar; she was seven years old. Her parents were Galena and Marshall Morningstar. She continued to tell them her address and birthday. The person in the helmet never moved, only listened intently to her. Everything they had already learned about her was being confirmed by the little girl. The parents were out of the picture permanently, but she didn’t know that and will never know what they did to save their own skin.

After the hospital staff left, it was just the two of them. The person in the helmet walked up to the side of her bed and finally took off the helmet. Underneath was an androgynous person. Their beauty was unmatched by anyone Akaisha had seen. Their golden eyes smiled at her, they were filled with perceived warmth. “Who are you?”

The person only smiled at her before taking her hand in theirs. They didn’t speak to her at all. They just held her hand for a little while, then left. The feel of their gloved hand was almost a comfort to her. Akaisha watched them leave with a confused expression on her tiny, round face. She saw them talking with her doctors, then eventually leaving. Part of her didn’t want the person to leave, the other part wanted to know about her parents.

A nurse came in to check on her once more. She was an extremely positive person. “You’re incredibly lucky to be alive. It seemed no one was at home when the fire started.” Those were all the words she spoke before being called out. That fact was something she already knew but had hoped they had come home before the incident happened. This frustrated Akaisha. Where were her parents? Why haven’t they come to check on her? How did the fire start? These were all questions that should never have been on the mind of a little girl, but yet here they are. It didn’t take long before her rational mind kicked in. She had been abandoned.

Akaisha stayed in the hospital for a couple of weeks before the person who wore the helmet took them to their home. Their home was a large and cold place. There was no warmth reverberating from the outside or even the inside of the home. The sterile walls were devoid of personality. It was as if the home never knew the touch of children. Never knew what it was like to be lived in. The person showed Akaisha around the house before leading her down to the basement. There was something down there that only the two of them would ever know about. The person gestured for her to sit on the large cot in the corner. A lab took the room over. Machines whirled and hummed all around them. Liquids filled tubes and glass beakers. The person picked up a giant needle filled with an orange liquid and walked towards her. She was scared but there was nowhere for her to go. Even if she ran away, they would either put her in an orphanage or send her back to them. The person grabbed hold of her arm and shoved the needle inside, injecting the liquid into her. Whatever it was caused Akaisha’s little body to convulse. Her eyes closed tight against the rush of hot fluid entering her system. Her mouth frothed unexpectedly. The person finally let her go, only to grab a tablet to record her reaction to the serum.