Shadows (Completed-Under Revision)

Counting Stars

Danica: 

I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about life's woes.

Mostly about how unfair it was that a witch's silly curse prevented me from enjoying life to the fullest.

While I stayed in that melancholy state, I did not notice my bedroom door open slightly and bring light into my dark bedroom. If one entered my bedroom, they would find a little girl princess's dream. Pink and white curtains for the window, swan feather pillows, rose comforters, multiple blankets, white walls with pink accents as well as a matching rose desk with a quill pen.

It was like Pepto Bismol threw up in there. I hated it with a passion. I was more of a fan of dark violets and reds mixed in with a little pink here and there. What can I say? Do I have Victorian blood in my veins or what?

"Child, my dear. What are you doing in this infernal room by yourself?" my tutor, confidant and godmother lectured me.

"Leave me alone, Aunt Fleur. I don't feel like..." I talked back, but was interrupted when she placed her hands on her hips and spoke over me.

"You don't feel like what? Girl, you spend way too much time in here moping around doing nothing all day. How about going outside sometime?" she retorted.

"Outside...You know what my parents think about going outside. And you're the only one I tell about my escapades out there. I might as well as be the Hunchback of Notre Dame for all they care." I talked back to her even knowing that she was the only person, who though she couldn't see me, kept me company.

"Well, young lady. I think I might be able to fix your problem and get rid of your invisible cloak for the time being." She said with giddiness.

I looked up from my stupor in earnest and stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and apprehension at what she had just told me. Did she really have a cure to my condition?

"Aunt, what is it? Aunt Fleur, you must tell me! AUNT!" I practically yelled at her like she was all the way across the room and in the span of a few seconds, leaped from my bed and rammed into her.

"Please, please, tell me! What do you have? Have you figured out how to reverse my curse?" I yelled in her ears.

Aunt Fleur only chuckled and hugged me close. "Oh, Darling, you have been deprived of others for so long. All you have for company is me, an aging witch who holds all the love in the world for you and my husband, Jean." She softly whispered this to me and then paused as her brow furrowed and she seemed to hesitate on her next words.

My eyes bulged in expectation at what she could possibly have to treat me and I was bursting like popcorn in a microwave at the suspense! It was killing me, already!

Finally, she held my hand and told me that from now on, I would be able to go to high school.

In fact, she said that I would start my sophomore year with only a few weeks in and be able to interact with regular folks. I only had one objection to this...

"But, how?" I cried.

"An illusion, my dear. I looked into some spell books and researched on the history of curses. And finally found a loophole. She never said you could not be seen if you wore a disguise over your appearance."

She then proceeded to explain that it would be like Cinderella going to the ball and that the illusion cast would only last a certain time before fading away. And as long as the witch did not notice, I could essentially wear my own skin over myself to make it appear to people like I was not invisible. She must have seen my confusion because she touched my face and pinched it like when I was little she used to do.

"I have watched you grow up without being able to do the things others do for the longest of time. For you, any experience that some simple commoner experiences is a wonderful delight. Because of that, you have the soul of a child. So innocent and precious. However, my child, be careful, if anyone were to ever know of your curse, they could either laugh at you, betray you to the witch or worse, keep you locked up as a freak. We mustn't allow that." She cooed back to me.

Silently, I nodded, agreeing with her for the time being as I had recently read of tales where fairies were attacked and sold to the highest bidder. It was morbid to think about it actually, so I naturally shivered.

"Don't worry, my child. I will take care of everything. You have nothing to be afraid of. I already enrolled you into school as your guardian, your aunt I put on the forms."

My biggest worry was not some big men with gnarly teeth or strangers locking me up, but some people who were closer than mere figments of imagination.

"What of my parents? What do they think of this?" I asked Aunt Fleur. Instantly, her face turned purple.

"They agreed to this as long as you are protected at all times." She gritted her teeth while she told me this so that made me think there was more to the story and that it had been hard to convince them, otherwise she remained quiet on the subject.

Oh, and the reason that Aunt Fleur could talk to me even though she couldn't see me is being a good witch and all, she was experienced to talking to things that could not be seen with the human eye. Naturally, this meant that she used her hearing to 'see' where I was in the room so initially when we had first met, this had caused me to make mayhem on her life, but all was good now.

After we chatted for a bit, Aunt Fleur bid me goodnight and closed the door behind her. Thus, leaving me alone in my thoughts once again.

However, there was only one thought on my mind that entire night.

I am going to go to school!