The Way I See You

Chapter One

Five years later.

"Get out of here!" a man cried. Talitha flinched and bolted for the end of the street, pressing herself tightly against the wall of a house. Her heart pounded and she shrank as far away from all the people as she possibly could.

Too close.

She crumpled to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest until she was as small as she could make herself. Her breath came out in quick pants as she waited for the fear to pass. Maybe this had been a mistake. But she had travelled this far, she could not turn back now.

Talitha had heard of a place, a village outside the royal castle, that had a home for orphans and beggars - a place where they could be safe.

Safety. The word was foreign. Impossible.

Too many years of fear, pain, mental abuse and physical hurts had stripped her of any hope of safety. But she was urged - no, drawn - to the idea of a home that could protect her. Now she was regretting the journey. She was sure she had to be close - this could even be the village, but she was too afraid to ask for help or directions. People only hurt others.

For years Talitha had been wounded and terrified. Constant fear was her companion. She spent every day looking over her shoulder, wondering if someone had finally come to kill her - finally come to finish the job they had started with her family.

The scar on her face was enough of a reminder that she was still in danger. It ran down the right side of her face, cutting from her forehead, down her cheek, to her jaw - near her mouth. Miraculously, her eye had not been harmed and she still had vision. Talitha still had not figured out why her family had been targeted on that fateful night, but she was sure she would be next.

She had spent her life on the run, never getting too close to people, never revealing much about who she was. If someone tried to touch her, she fled.

Some people had hurt her. Badly. But she tried not to think about the memories of pain and fear, she tried to focus on her present situation.

The present situation was, in fact, that she was lost and did not know where the village home was meant to be.

Slowly, she stood back up. She would never find it if she spent her time huddling by a building. Talitha reached up to her head and pulled the hood of the cloak she always wore down further, until her face was covered in a deep shadow. She had found the sight of her scar often drew too much attention to her, not to mention the abuse of the superstitious folk who thought she was cursed.

Talitha walked a few steps. A couple of people looked at her curiously, probably wondering why she hid herself so thoroughly in her cloak. One woman smiled at her kindly and Talitha was almost tempted to ask her for help. But her heart pounded in response and she clamped her mouth shut - just because the woman smiled did not mean she was not dangerous or someone that would hurt her.

Trust no one. She had to always remember her mother's words. Never forget, never forget, she told herself.

Nervously, she slipped through the crowd and glanced around at all the buildings.

"You look lost, madam," a male voice said nearby. Talitha jumped and turned to stare at the man fearfully. He was looking right at her. She stumbled backwards, distancing herself from him, then sprinted away, running to another building and pressing herself up against it.

She glanced to her side and noticed a big, open building. There were people around it and they all seemed happy, Talitha wondered if perhaps it was the house. Slowly, she made her way towards the building, scanning every now and then to her right and left in case someone tried to approach her.