Disclaimer: I do not own His Dark Materials. I only own Alex Taylor.
Chapter 1
My name is Alex Taylor; I am 14 and I can see Selves. I have been able to see Selves for as long as I can remember. And I knew others couldn't see them for almost as long. From years and years at looking at them, I have figured out quite a lot about them. For instance everyone has a Self; every single human being on the plant has a Self. As for what Selves are, I have no idea. They might be souls or parts of souls. They might be that little voice in your head that tells you right from wrong. They could be anything, I don't know. But what I do know is that they're there and always there, in fact they seem to be connected to their person by an invisible leash.
My Self is in the form of nightingale. That's another thing about Selves; they always take forms of animals. He is small, brown and cute. I love him with all my heart, and he is there whenever I need him. I sometimes wonder what it's like for the other people in the world who can't see their Selves. They must feel very lonely without having someone to talk to and that's always there for them. I feel sorry for those lonesome people.
So since I can see Selves and others can't, I sometimes got out in public and look at other people's Selves. Another thing I have found out is that Selves take the form of the animal that's most like their person. A loyal and fun person would have the Self of a type of dog. And a lone, angry, quite and curious person would have the Self of a street cat. You see what I mean? Anyway, so it's fun to look at random people and guess their personality by their Selves.
I was walking around on Midsummer Day and stumbled onto the Botanic Garden. The flowers were in bloom, the day was nice and there many people walking around, so I went in. I was so focused on watching other people's Selves, the wonderful smell of the flowers and the lovely feeling of the sun on my skin that I didn't notice when a strolled into a secluded part of the Garden. There were less planed flower beds and less people there. It looked so different that I felt I had stepped out of the Botanic Garden completely. I tried to get back to the main Garden but I couldn't find the way I out. I was lost. So I ambled around, wondering if I was ever going to get out.
An hour or two later it was midday and hot. I still hadn't found my way out and was getting very sweaty from the heat. I longed for a bench in the shade of sprawling tree to rest and cool off on. With sweat trickling down my back and skin starting to turn red from the sun, I trudged on. I was turning a corner, mind craving ice cream, when stumbled onto a bench in the shade. My face lit up with joy as I started to run toward it. But I stopped in my tracks as I someone else sat down on it.
It was a boy around my age with a jutting jaw, black hair and only three fingers on his left hand. He was carrying a little wooden box, and had the look of profound sadness on his face. His Self was in the shape of a black cat, but it wasn't a normal black cat. In the sun you could see the many shades of color within the dark hue. There was purples, deep blues, sparkles of gold and more. It was beautiful, the most stunning looking Self I have ever seen.
It leaped up onto the bench beside him as the boy sat down. He looked at the box in his lap, running his hand longingly over the grains of the wood. Then he turned to his Self and rubbed the head of it with his three-fingered left hand. My eyes widened in shock, he had petted his Self! That means he could see it! All my life I had thought I was the only one that could see Selves, apparently I was not alone. I was so startled that I tripped on a bush and crashed down into it. My Self tweeted and flapped his wings in my pain and surprise.
The noise of my fall attracted the eyes of the boy and his Self. I looked up from the ground and met the stare of the boy. He glared at me with his complicated eyes. I felt small and weak under his gaze, like he was a god or something much more powerful than a normal human. His Self on the other hand was not staring at me but at my Self. I broke the gaze of the boy and looked over to his Self, feeling the fright that my Self was feeling. He followed my eyes and his face lit up in shock, much like my when I had notice that he could see Selves too. But unlike me, his surprise didn't control him. He was able to focus on his actions.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, standing up.
With fear grasping my heart I got up from the ground and ran. I was afraid of this boy, of his powerful presents, and his frightful glare. I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. Run, run, run, I instructed my legs. My Self was flying high above me, trying to find a way out of the Garden. He was following me, running while his Self slinked in and out of the shadows, tracking me with its yellow eyes.
With my mind again focused on something more than watching where I was going, I tripped on a rock, landing on my face.
"Ouch," I whispered, feeling a stick dig into my side.
I got up, wincing as that stick cut me. When I was finally on my feet, I almost fell again at the fear and pain my Self was feeling. He was trapped in the jaws of the boy's Self. I looked around desperately for the boy, wondering when I was going to see his powerful eyes again. It took one or two agonizing minutes just for him to come out of the bushes. The question of how he would be so far away from his Self pasted my mind, but quickly left as he spoke.
"Who are you?" he repeated.
He's stare was strong and fierce. I felt my body go weak. Maybe it was because my Self was trapped or the fact that the heat finally got to me or those fearful eyes, but whatever it was, fainted and sunk to the ground, the sun sparkling high above giving off murdering midday heat.