Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.
Can't Waste Away
Chapter 1
The first time she helped someone, she was a child. At six years old she helped a young couple her best and only friend Sam had sent to her. The couple had just a had a new baby and instead of basking in the joy of a new family member, worry and depression overpowered them. The man was worried for his wife who'd been depressed since the birth of their son. Nothing seemed to work, not medication or therapy.
As a last hope and effort, they took the advice of a ten year old boy from their reservation. They made the hour trip to Makah Reservation to see a child for help.
Hopeful and skeptical at the same time they approached the small house. The couple didn't have to wait long after knocking before a woman answered the door.
She gave them a gentle smile, "Samuel sent you." It wasn't a question but the young man nodded all the same.
Another smile and she ushered them in. "Brelynn's in the backyard, is that alright?" this time it was a question, an unspoken one was in the undertone asking if sitting out in the open would be alright or if they wanted to be inside for this.
Looking at his wife for confirmation he nodded his head again. Brelynn's mother nodded her own before leading them through the house, she didn't try to strike up a conversation or anything, knowing how hard and probably embarrassing it was to be here looking for a child for help.
Outside on her belly lay a dark haired child coloring in a coloring book on a blanket. Not too far way was a man, her father, by a shed chopping wood rhythmically steadily. The couple was lead to the blanket with the little girl, her attention completely encompassed by the picture she was coloring.
"Brelynn, someone is here for you." Her mother called for her attention. Immediately at the sound of her name, the girls head snapped up, brown locks flying everywhere. Bright eyes greeted them, shining with contentment only a child could experience.
Catching sight of her guests her little hands moved into action grabbing coloring books and pencils and threw them into a basket nearby. Blanket cleared and space provided the couple sat facing Brelynn.
Brelynn looked to the man then the woman lingering longer on the woman, looking for something and see things no one else could.
Shaking her head Brelynn leaded forward patting the man on his knee before smiling at him. "You have no reason to worry." She said with more conviction and assurance than what should be normal for a six year old.
She turned her full attention to the woman then cocking her head adorably. "You have a wall. That's why you can't feel anything but sad." Her words shocked them completely stunning them for what kind of child would say something like that. Diagnose -because that is what she essentially did- a problem not even grown professional doctors and therapist could so simply.
But Brelynn wasn't like most children. She was special. Born with a gift that few understood and even fewer accepted.
"How..What? I don't understand." Voiced the man, confusion warring with shock in his expression. His wife though sat there, staring at the girl in relief.
Brelynn didn't spare the man a glance not deeming it needed to look away from the woman but she did answer him.
"I can see emotions." Her simple answer but the questions bubbling up in the woman's eyes prompted her to continue, explain further. "To me your emotions are tangible. I can see and feel them, can even touch them if I wanted too. Or mess with them, pull more on one emotion and shove another one back."
The woman searched her expression for lies or misleads. This was her last hope of someone understanding what she couldn't voice and it was sounding too good to be true. She didn't want to see something take it away.
Understanding the hesitance even so young, Brelynn extended her arms out in front of her, palms on and facing the woman, almost like she was going to play the hand game Patty Cake.
"It won't hurt but you gotta stay still." And before they could question, abject, or anything Brelynn continued what she was doing.
Slowly and steadily, Brelynn turned her hands out, palms facing away from each other then she proceeded to push them apart. Not once did she look up from the woman's chest watching intently something that no one else could see.
What they couldn't see was the gray clouding all around the woman or the dark gray brick wall that was there. The brick wall Brelynn was in the process of forcing open to let all the trapped things behind it, out.
It was tedious and slow. Taking time and patience not even seen in a child so young for anything. But Brelynn stayed with it, seeing it through to the end.
Pushing that last bit, the wall collapsed to the sides releasing all the trapped feelings and emotions finally letting the woman feel and understand herself for once in a long time. With the collapse of the wall came the tears. Relief. Happiness flooded the woman.
In a rush of gratefulness, the woman through herself at Brelynn hugging the life out of the little girl showing her ever eternal thankfulness.
"Thank you-Thank You!" she rushed out bursting at the seams before throwing herself at her husband next, sobbing.
The husband with tears in his own smiled the brightest smile, grinning from ear to ear turned to Brelynn, "Thank you. We have tried everywhere for help and frankly I didn't think you'd be able to either but you proved me wrong. And I am ever so grateful. Thank you."
Brelynn returned his smile, nodding her head. "You're welcome."
The couple left but not for long. Two weeks later they came back bring their son and a gift of their own. When they had first come to see Brelynn, she had asked nothing payment for helping them. Now they wanted to repay her in some way.
Coloring books and new color pencils. Brelynn had never been more excited for such a payment.
Not long after that people came to see her often, asking for help for one thing or another. Infants to elderly. Teenagers to adults. Many people came to see her. People from the surrounding town. People from the Quileute Reservation mostly.
But no one from her own reservation.
The people of the Makah tribe did not like nor trust the little girl. As a whole, they all shunned her. From the oldest to the youngest. She had no friends her own age but Sam and he lived an hour away on another reservation that practically worshiped her for her ability.
Because she was different. Because she was special and gifted, children her own age threw rocks at her. Adults ignored her. Elderly whispered about her before turning their noses up.
No the Makah reservation was not a friendly place for the gifted little girl.
Growing up Brelynn helped many people. Always asking nothing in return but always receiving something. Food, money, blankets, clothes, and many more.
She grow up learning to appreciate everything she had or received. Learned to build up a strong front and skin. Learned to take insult and injury without a word.
By the time Brelynn reached seventeen she'd learned many things.
Like the Makah people would do anything to get rid of her.
It'd been towards the end of the school year, two and a half months left before summer vacation. The weekend had arrived and parties broke out along the beach. Brelynn was sound in her bed asleep, her parents across the hall out for the night too while everyone else was out.
Teenagers, most likely the police think, had too much to drink and did it but no one knows for sure and no one in talking either.
But someone had done it and in the process of doing it, they got the layout of the house wrong.
Instead of Brelynn's room on the left side of the house they set fire to her parent's bedroom on the right.
The room lit up like a firework quickly and all consuming. Earlier in the day the three of them had repainted the bedroom and the alcohol bottle with an on fire napkin in it burst into flames against it all.
The fire consumed the room in a matter of seconds. The walls, floor, ceiling, and bed with her parents sound asleep in it.
The burned to death that night without even realizing it.
The fire spread to the outside into the hall eating away at that and the door that lead to the seventeen year old sleeping behind it.
By the time the firefighters appeared on scene Brelynn had inhaled enough smoke to cause severe damage. It come from under her door as it burned with the hallway, the firefighter that was sent to check for any survives found her parents first.
He knew they were dead. The fire too great for them to have survived and he moved on.
Brelynn's room was next. Breaking through the door to get inside, he found her. He rushed her, checking for a pulse before snatching her up and catering her out.
The ambulance took her off to the hospital once cleared from the house as the rest of the firefighters efforts went to extinguishing the growing flames.
Brelynn awoke to unfamiliar sounds. Grogginess cloaked heavily in confusion laid like a weight on her as she fought to full consciousness. Shapes and colors separated themselves the more she fought til' she could make out the silhouette of a man.
Though it helped none what so ever, she blinked several times trying to clear the blurriness away before giving up and just squinting. Bad eye sight was such a hindrance at times.
This is a feeler for responses so if you'd like me to continue tell me.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you enjoyed it.