In Ten Universes (Catnipz)

Universe 3.0

Haerin had spent her entire life hiding.

From the moment she was old enough to understand, she knew she was different. The small, curved horns protruding from her head weren't something she could ignore, no matter how much she wished to. They were a curse, a mark that made her an outcast before she even had the chance to be anything else.

She learned quickly, people feared what they didn't understand. The first time someone saw them, she was barely six years old. A classmate had caught a glimpse when the wind blew her hood back, and by the next day, the whispers began.

"Demon child."
"She has the devil's mark."
"Stay away from her."

She cried to her mother that night, asking if it was true. If she really was something to be feared. Her mother only pulled her close, running gentle fingers through her hair, careful to avoid the small horns.

"You are not a monster, Haerin," she had whispered. But the next morning, she bought Haerin a hat and told her to never take it off at school.

So she hid.

She grew used to the weight of hoods, hats, and beanies pressing down on her head. She kept her hair long, letting it drape over her face like a shield. She avoided eye contact, kept her voice quiet, made herself small.

But no matter how much she tried to disappear, the feeling never left. The paranoia, the fear that someone would see, that they would recoil, that they would call her that word again.

Demon.

Monster.

She wondered, sometimes, if maybe they were right. If maybe she really was something that shouldn't exist. If she was meant to be alone.

Haerin stood frozen by her locker, her grip tightening on the edges of her hat as the group of girls surrounded her. Their voices were light, teasing, but she could hear the sharpness underneath.

"Why do you always wear that hat?"
"Come on, just take it off for a second."
"What, are you hiding something?"

Haerin shook her head silently, pressing herself against the cold metal of the locker. Her fingers curled around the brim of her hat, holding it in place as if her life depended on it.

One of the girls reached out suddenly, fingers brushing against the fabric.

Haerin flinched, stepping back so fast she nearly stumbled. "Don't," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The girls exchanged looks, smirking.

"Why not? It's just a hat."

Haerin didn't answer. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she kept her head down, every muscle in her body tense.

They didn't know. They couldn't know.

But they were getting too close.

Haerin left the school, trudging through the dense forest, her footsteps light against the dirt path. The summer heat pressed down on her, sweat forming at her temples, but she didn't dare remove her hat. No matter how unbearable it got, she knew she couldn't risk it.