Prologue
If you are reading this it will be by your own will. When you read this, it will open your eyes to another world. You will know things that only the special ones are supposed to know. I'm writing this because I know I won't live long enough to tell this story to my generation or to the world. My name is Stella Lee; I live in a small island called Castling Moon. I'm a sixteen year-old girl so you can imagine that right now my life is going through the process of maturity, plus I have some "special traits".
All of my life has been based on dreams. Dreams have been with us for countless generations, and they will stay with us till the end of time. Why is that? Because dreams have the power to evoke our deepest emotions, to bare our most secret desires and fears, and all the while they enchant us, frighten us, but, most often, bemuse us. In other words, dreams enrich our lives.
Everyone has dreams; dreams about finding the love of their life, of finding the perfect job, dreams on buying materialistic things. But my dreams are realistic. Let me explain it to you. We are a different type of humans.
Chapter 1
Star
Who are we? My family and me? I don't know if you have heard of us. We are the dreamers. When we have dreams or nightmares, they come true. It's like seeing the future. Not everyone in my family is a dreamer. Even I don't know exactly how many of us are really dreamers. Some of us are scared of our own powers, others are scared that they will get killed by the Giudice (which means "the ones that make justice" in Italian). They think that the ones that have special traits like me are not just for the world. They will kill anyone that has special traits. Nobody knows who they are, that's why we shouldn't tell our powers to anyone. Not even our own family or friends. I have only told my grandmother Lula, and the Fountain. The fountain is a group of teenagers just like me, special. The only one I know in my family that is a dreamer like me, is my grandmother Lula, my uncle Dave, and my cousin Mary, but they don't have the same powers as I do, they can only see the future in their dreams. Bad news is that Lula had a nightmare last week. She dreamt that my little sister was my own age and she warned her that I was going to die in two winters. The worst part is that Ryan is going to be the one who kills me. Ryan, the one person whom I love more in my life, is the one who is going to kill me.
"No!" I yelled waking up. Ever since Lula told me about her nightmare, I keep having my own of how would I die.
"Honey, what happened?" Asked my overprotective mother as she came in the room.
"Nothing, I just had a nightmare." I felt like a little kid whining.
"It's ok honey, it was just a dream. Now get back to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day."
If she only knew...that I'm a dreamer. She doesn't even know that other type of humans exist. Only some of dad's family members know and my friends from the Fountain.
"I think it was your bird food." I joked trying to forget what I just saw. Ever since my sister was diagnosed with diabetes mom has a strict diet for all the family. But let's just say she's not a great chef and likes to mingle all the healthy ingredients she can get.
"Hey! I'm trying to raise a healthy family." Said mom laughing on her way out of my room.
That's the good thing about her, she doesn't take my jokes personally; completely different from my dad. Every time I make a joke around him, he gives me a that's-not-funny-young-lady look. I trust my mother more than my father. It's not that he's a bad person; it's just that he disappeared when I was six years old and reappeared when I was fifteen. He said he didn't remember what happened to him. I know he's trying to win my trust and have a good daughter-father relationship, but it's too hard for me to open up to him. He only knows that I'm a dreamer because Grandmother Lula told him.
"Wake up, grab a brush, and put a little makeup. Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup..." The alarm went off in my room with one of my favorite's songs to start the day. When I looked at the clock it said: 5:00 AM. I went downstairs looking for my mother.
"She better have a good excuse to wake me up this early during the summer." I saw her in the kitchen making something green. "I don't even want to know what that is," I said to myself.
"Oh great you'll be the first one to try my new recipe. I call it oskalut morphilo," said mom excited.
"Mom, can you explain to me why did you set my alarm to go off so early?" I said, trying to be calm, but I know she could feel my irritation.
"Lucy has volleyball practice and I don't want to leave her alone."
"But Alex is going to practice too. She won't be alone," I argued trying to find an excuse to go to that stupid practice. Lucy and Alex were my sisters. Lucy is seven years old and Alex is fourteen. Mom's best friend, Coach Melissa, gives my sister's volleyball practices for free.
"Alex is feeling....strange today," said Mom.
"Alex is such a baby." I know I sound inconsiderate, but I really was not in the mood.
"Listen young lady, either you go and watch your sister, or boxing is over!" Mom warned me.
I know what you're thinking. A girl that likes boxing? Well yeah, I do like it. It's good for people like me. It helps ease stress and anxiety. Plus if the Giudice come and try to kill me, at least I could die saying I kicked some butts off.
"Ugh, fine." I said and went to my room, put on a t-shirt and some shorts. Maybe I'll go to the gym for some boxing after my sister's practice.
Lucy's volleyball practice took place in the old gym. The room was big, but it didn't even have fans and all the windows were closed. If I stayed there any longer my body was going to melt. My mouth even tasted like sweat so I went outside. Behind the building was a little park. There were swings and slides. I rested and felt relaxed on the slide trying to block any bad thoughts.
"Oh, sorry I didn't know you were there," said a random man. He was tall, the complexion of his skin was dark and he looked a bit intimidating. He was going up the slide. There was a boy behind him, probably Lucy's age.
"This is my son Jeremy..." And he began to talk to me about all his family and problems, and asked me a lot of personal questions. Normally, it wouldn't bother me, but lately I didn't trust people.
"So where do you live?"
"I don't really know. I moved in just a couple of days ago." I know lying is not a good thing, but I don't like giving personal information to strangers with yellow teeth and a weird look in their eyes.
"How old are you?" God, did he have to know everything about me?
"Sixteen." I responded drily.
"Wow, I thought you were eighteen or nineteen, you are really beautiful. You have nice hair, nice skin, nice...lips."
"Yeah..." I limited myself to say. It was so uncomfortable. I was trying to make an excuse on my mind to get myself out of that "psycho's" eyes. But when I was going to say my excuse, I tripped and fell backwards on the sand. I felt something on my back; the man and his son went running to help me.
"Did it hurt?" Asked the man who appeared to be worried.
"What do you think?! My back feels like it's burning on fire," I yelled.
"Oh my God, you got pieces of glass stuck on your back!" The man said acting alarmed.
I pulled up my shirt a little so he could take out the pieces that were stuck on my back.
"The star..." I heard him whisper as he saw my back.
"Excuse me, could you get those damn pieces of glass out of my back!" I said angrily. "Why are you taking so much time?!" The man took a few steps back.
"Hey, where are you going? Aren't you going to help me?!" I said without understanding his awkward reaction.
"Stay away from me! Jeremy, come! Don't even get near her!"
I couldn't move. What might have gotten into that man?
Mom arrived a few minutes later, she freaked out when she saw my back. She drove to Lula's house since she had been a great nurse in her early years. She cured and bandaged my back, then I told her about the random man I met near the swings. She was as confused as I was. I know that I have a birthmark on my back, it's shaped like a star, and I know this will sound weird, but it's blue. According to some myths, people born with a star shaped birthmark were given special powers such as the Sight or the gift of prophecy. Maybe this star means something more than just a birthmark...
© Isamar Soto stories; 2010.
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