[7x Featured]
Valentina has special skills that endanger her. Sandro belongs to an unfairly treated community. In 15th century Venice, happiness seems impossible for them to find. Religious differences restrict interactions between the two, so their...
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Different. That word had the power to scare most people. Everything can change when others see the real you. The truth is that differences represent a threat to most people and a danger to the balance. It was frustrating to see how a small thing that challenged the pattern made everyone crazy. Although I wish that problem didn't affect my life, I couldn't deny the reality. I was an outsider in many ways. A few aspects of mine were repulsive to others. Despite that, I did my best not to surrender to madness. Being a twenty-six-year-old Sicilian woman in 1405 Venice brought some difficulties, but who said that was my biggest concern?
I had my issues, but I never let them stop me from helping others. On a beautiful evening, I visited a six-year-old. She constantly coughed while her forehead was flooded with sweat. I sat next to her. I felt her body screaming for help as I touched her arms. Closing my eyes, I connected my energy to hers while restoring her internal injuries. Those tiny lungs were bleeding... Yes, spying on doctors taught me new terms. As I sent my magic into her veins, the girl breathed normally again.
The girl knitted her brows. "Thank you, Shadow."
"I'm always happy to help," I caressed my patient's head. "Take care of yourself."
She tilted her head to the side. "Why do your hands have a purple glow?"
I sighed. "That happens when I'm treating someone."
"Interesting..." the girl raised a brow. "You did not answer my question."
I chuckled. "Let's just say I'm strange."
When I heard steps, I made the girl forget my face and became invisible. The child's mother came running. I grinned as she hugged her daughter. I wished I could have shown myself. After removing dust from my old long-sleeved light blue dress and dark-brown shoes, I took a step back.
"I heard voices! Are you alright, my darling?" the mom's eyes bulged. "How did you recover so fast?"
"Shadow came," the girl smiled. "She saved me!"
"What?" the mother panted. "I can't believe that witch touched you!"
You're welcome!
People loved complimenting me... Except that they didn't. Teardrops ran down my face as the woman kept scolding her child for accepting my help. When I felt someone was ill, I couldn't just let them die. Unfortunately, most didn't appreciate my assistance. Like a shadow, I had to disappear after healing somebody.
The woman scowled. "If that heretic who thinks she can do God's work gets near you again, I'll burn her!"
I shook my head in denial as the poor child stared at the ground, seemingly upset. Before I started crying, I left that house. After walking for a few minutes, I made myself visible again. I looked in every direction while hoping no one had followed me. If the wrong person found out who I was, I'd become ashes.
