Ember

Ember -1-

Ember was born to a teenage mother.

Her mother, Emma, was at the classic type of high school party that was thrown when the parents were out of town. At the time, she was seventeen and not a particulary wild kind of girl. But at this party, with reckless abandon, she drank one too many drinks. It was the first time where Emma, a very innocent and shy teenage girl, became a promiscuous party girl by the power of alcohol. While she was heavily intoxicated, she met a rather attractive guy who had eyes the color of charcoal and lips of light pink.

The result was Ember.

Emma either did not realize she was pregnant for a few months, or she heavily denied it. Her parents were the very religious type and if they found out what Emma had growing in her belly and that she had been to such a wild party, they would've flipped.

But as the months dragged by, Emma could no longer hide the fact that she was carrying a child. When this fact was revealed to Emma's parents, they wouldn't speak to her. They sealed their lips, averted their gaze and pretended Emma was nothing more than a ghost in her very hour of need.

So Emma waddled those remaining months of her pregnancy, carrying a load of shame on her shoulders. Her friends weren't allowed to talk to her because their parents, much like Emma's own, believed she was a bad influence with her swelling belly. The other kids at school whispered about her behind their hands as she dragged her feet down the long, narrow hallways of San Marino High.

Emma was hollow, save for the child growing inside.

That is why she loved her baby so much. All the loneliness and the heartbreak she felt transformed into a fierce adoration of her unborn child. She was in such need of love to heal her cracked, dry heart and she knew her baby would give her that. This thought was enough to keep her going.  

But when the baby was born, Emma only held her once. Not long after her child broke into the world, her parents swooped in and snatched it away, giving her up for adoption. They themselves had signed the forms for Emma's baby to be taken away to the orphanage and out of their lives forever. They were so obsessed with acquiring the normalcy of their lives before Emma became pregnant, that they were oblivious to the fact that nothing would ever be the same again; if the baby stayed with Emma or not.

Emma's heart had deteriorated. Eventually, her friends came back to her. Filled her with hugs and tears and everything a true friend is supposed to give. Emma's heart began to mend itself bit by bit everyday. But there was always a tear in the center of her heart, taken away with her beautiful baby girl. 

Emma always wondered what had become of her daughter. Her daughter that, before her parents swept her away, she named Ember.

----

Twelve years later.

 Ms. Violet was the head of troubled kids department at the San Marino Orphanage. Her usual work dealed with counseling young boys and girls who had histories of violence, abuse and had been through traumatizing experiences. These type of orphans were very difficult to get adopted or put into foster care, because they carried a certain load of emotional baggage that many potential parents and families had difficulty dealing with. If Ms. Violet could aid these children in their recovery, their futures could be very bright. 

Ms. Violet had just come from her apartment in downtown San Marino and grabbed a quick cup of coffee on the way when she saw a new file resting on her desk, a new child to help and she was eager to start. She quickly sat down in her desk chair and flipped it open. In bold print, the subjects name rested on the top of the page: Ember Davis. There was a note proclaiming that the last name was picked randomly and had no ties to any family relations, but the first named was picked by the mother before the child was taken away. Already interested, Ms. Violet read on:

--

Ember Davis

Date of Birth: March 12th 1992

Mother: Emma Bluestone, 17 at time of birth

Father: Unknown. 

Details:   

Ember grew up in the San Marino Orphanage until she reached the age of six. During these years, there were no recorded incidents of troublemaking and disturbing behavior. After these six years, she was put into the hands of her first foster family. Ember stayed there all of two months before the family furiously gave her back, calling her a severely disturbed child. Strangely, no details of Ember's antics were recorded.

When she returned to the orphanage, Ember became increasingly violent. She developed a large history of fighting other children, and even sometimes adults, during playtime and classes. Several times, she was caught by teachers for smuggling a number of matches and lighters into her room and pockets. At her second Foster home, when she was eight, the family returned her after Ember started a fire in the kitchen that came very close to burning down the entire house. She was returned to the orphanage and put on watch by instructors. 

When she was ten years of age,  Ember involved in another, large-scale incident. During recess, she got into a fight with another girl and ended up giving her third degree burns on her forearms and chest. The children that witnessed the scene said Ember was "throwing fire from her hands" but the teachers found two lighters in her pockets and deemed that Ember had simply burned the other girl with them.

Because of these incidents, and several more, Ember has been diagnosed with pyromania and is forbidden to be unsupervised at all times for fear of destruction of property and the harming of people.

--

Ms. Violet stared at the record for a few moments. She had never had a child diagnosed with such a severe case of pyromania like this. She had dealt with pyromaniac children before, but had never came across one that gave other children third degree burns and set an entire kitchen on fire. Was it really possible that this twelve year old girl had done all these things?

Ms. Violet stared at the small, grainy photo of Ember Davis, with her dark charcoal eyes, bright red hair, freckles sprinkled across her nose and her smiling, crooked teeth. At first glance, she looked like a sweet and harmless girl. But on Ms. Violets second glance, she noticed something dark in the way Ember smiled.

It was then that Ms. Violet concluded that there something was truly strange and unusual about Ember Davis