Guiding Stars

Disclaimer: Don't own Power Rangers.

A.N.: Thought of this during Chinese. A chapter of my textbook kinda inspired me... to herselfHe talked to STARS! BTW, the Chinese story thing is called Fan3 Xing1.

xxx

It was night time. She hadn't stopped running. She had to get away from everything. From everyone. No more insults. No more name-calling. No more. She couldn't take it. She ran and ran. Finally stopping in a field full of flowers. She sat down on the rock, breathing heavily. The twelve year old wanted to cry. She was lost and afraid. She was alone. There was no one here to comfort her, to cheer her up. Why did she run away? Because of her so called friends? Was that it? Wasn't she tougher than that?

No she wasn't. Z started to cry. "Help..." she whispered. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't go home. She didn't know where she was. If she went back to school the next day, her class mates would laugh at her. They would call her more names, besides 'freak' and 'monster'. They would call her 'wimp' and 'scardey cat' and names worse than that. Was it her fault that she had powers? Mama told her that her class mates were just jealous, that they couldn't do what she could do. Replicate. But ma ma was just trying to console her. She was wrong. The other kids weren't jealous. They were afraid. If she were them, she'd call herself 'freak' too.

But it wasn't fair that they were being mean to her, avoiding her, just because of something that even she couldn't control. She didn't want these powers. She wanted to be normal, to be plain, to be just another face in the crowd that you could just look at and forget the next minute. She didn't want to be different or to be feared. Why was she given these powers? Were there any others who could do these freaky things that she could do to? If there were, where were they? Z needed someone to confide in, some one other than her mother or her diary. She needed a real person, who was just like her. A real person who had these problems too, like her. Different like her.

She wiped away her tears on her sleeve. It was cold. She felt alone. The necklace, Pa pa gave to her before he left her, was gone. She had lost it. When she wore the necklace, Pa pa said he would forever be with her, no matter where he was, his spirit would be with her to comfort her. But it was gone. She had lost the last thing Pa pa had ever given to her. Now she was really alone. Ma ma wouldn't understand it. No one would under stand how the necklace meant so much to her.

Z looked up in the sky. It was a clear night. The stars shone brightly against the dark night. They seemed to be talking to her, to be telling her to be happy and that everything would work out, to be comforting her. She smiled. The stars smiled back. She imagined her Pa pa up there, amongst the stars. To be talking to her through the stars. "Do you know what I should do now Pa pa?" she asked. Her voice seemed so soft against the night. It seemed meek and small.

The stars twinkled in response, as if nodding. Her smile grew wider. She knew that stars couldn't talk, that they were just great balls of gas like the Sun. But it was something she couldn't explain. Somehow, she knew what the stars were saying. Follow me. said one star. Coincidentally, it started to fly. A shooting star. Right then, Z knew that that star was her Pa pa. He thought that she had made the right choice by running away and that he wanted to help her. If Pa pa thinks it's right, then it is right.

Before following the shooting star, Z made a wish. "I wish for a friend. A true friend," said Z, closing her eyes. She opened them, the star had seemed to slow down, as if to wait for her. As soon as she started chasing the star, it started flying faster. The two, girl and star, soon engaged in a game of catching. After what seemed miles and miles, the star soon slowed to a stop. It sparkled at Z, telling her to go forward by herself. That now she had to go on by herself. She hesitated. Alone? Go for it Z. The star told her. "Alone?" The star twinkled a yes. "But..." Somehow, the star seemed to project a feeling of annoyance at Z's hesitation. "Ok."

There was nothing to lose was there? Walking in the direction which the star pointed her to, she soon saw some one. She couldn't make out the person's features, but she knew that the person was a 'he' and he wasn't much older than her. "There's nothing you can loose. If anything goes wrong, replicate away," said Z, taking a deep breath. Should she? It'll seem weird to just go up to someone and say 'Hi, my Pa pa, who became a star, told me to make friends with you'.

She watched the boy from the distance. He didn't seem to notice that anyone was watching him. He seemed to be alone like her. Maybe he ran away from school too? Then he did a shocking thing. He just disappeared into the ground. Just like that. He seemed to have melted into the ground. Z rubbed her eyes. Was she hallucinating? A few moments later, he came out from the ground. As if surfacing for air when someone was under water in a pool. He repeated the action for a few times.

Then it occurred to Z. That boy was powers too. Just like her. Maybe they were supposed to be friends. Maybe he could help her and lend her a helping ear. And maybe he might help her with more of mastering her powers. Feeling more confident than ever before, Z walked towards the boy. "Hi," she said. The boy looked at her, startled. Her confidence disappeared, feeling instantly foolish. The two stared at each other for a few minutes.

The boy was an African American. He looked around Although it was a cold night, he wasn't wearing a jacket, nor was he shivering. He looked tired. There was something in his eyes that told Z he was wary of her. Maybe she did the wrong thing coming over to introduce herself to a stranger. She looked up in the sky, consulting the star. It was gone. "Hello," he said, finally, breaking the silence that seemed to overwhelm Z.

"I'm Z," said the twelve year old, suddenly. If he said 'hello' to her just now, maybe he wanted to be her friend? On impulse she suddenly added, "Do you have special powers too?"

He laughed. It sounded strained and forced. "Powers? What are you talking about?" he said. He sounded scared. Z knew why. He thought that if he admitted to having powers, she could call him names. "Now what are you doing here anyway?"

Determined to get him to actually trust her, Z said, "Because I have powers too." The boy looked at her disbelievingly. To emphasize her point, and to prove that she wasn't lying, Z decided to replicate. Her eyes flashed yellow, and a duplicate appeared beside her. "See." The duplicate nodded then disappeared. Z sighed, she never could make her duplicate stay for very long. And she couldn't get her to talk either.

The boy's face split into a grin. "I thought I was the only one," he said. "I'm Jack."

"Can I be your friend?" asked Z, feeling very childish. He nodded. "Where do you live?" Maybe his parents would let her stay with them.

He looked down on the ground. "I don't have a home. I kinda… Ran away," he said, sounding not a least bit upset. "How about you? Don't you guys have like school tomorrow, what are you doing out here so late?"

Z grinned. Could this not be fated? "I kinda ran too," she answered. "Can you show me your powers?" Jack motioned for her to look. He took a deep breath, then melted into the ground. Surfacing a few seconds later. "Wow…"

"You can hang with me, if you have no where to go," said Jack, as he came out from the ground. Oddly enough, he felt a connection with this stranger girl. Was it because of their powers?

"Really? Thanks!" The star was right. There was someone in the world like her.

xxx

Blackie Frogz