Anyone who saw her sleeping like that would say that she was the most beautiful child they've ever seen. And it was probably true. There was no way not to be charmed by the peaceful expression that took her face as she dreamed, lying in the middle of the huge double bed in her room. She had her face perfectly designed. Almost... divine. In fact, the only element that seemed unfit to her angelic face was a cut above the eyebrow, not yet completely healed.

The sun burst through the gaps of the window and reached Thalia's face, waking her up. She blinked lazily and turned in bed.

When she moved her neck, a throbbing pain reached her forehead. She put her hand to her eyebrow, feeling the cut with the fingertips. The memories of the night before came back to her mind like a movie. She remembered to have noticed how her mother seemed to be in an endless decadence when she saw her on the couch, surrounded by bottles of vodka and tequila. Also remembered that she had asked her mother to go to bed while trying to take the cup from her hand, just to be pushed violently against the coffee table.

The girl got up from the bed, avoiding sudden movements, and walked slowly to the bathroom. On the floor there was a towel soaked with blood – the one she used to stop her bleeding. The image of a red cloth clashing in the huge white bathroom was disturbing.

Thalia closed the door and stared at the mirror her for long minutes. She ran his hand through her hair falling like a black waterfall down her back, trying to undo the knots. The locks used to be smooth - she remembered when her mother loved to comb her hair until it was impeccably straigh to the waist. Thalia asked why her hair was pit black, so different from her mother's, and listened carefully as the woman told her she had her hair and eyes like her father's. Her mother continued to brush as she described the father as a charming man who could be cold and authoritarian, but was also kind and considerate. "But what attracted me the most was the mystery", she once said.

However, those moments did not happen for months. Recently, Thalia could hear the mother alone muttering about a man she wished she had never met. A few days ago, hidden behind the kitchen counter, she saw her mother throwing bottles at the television that showed an image of herself advertising some famous brand, while cursing the man who had abandoned her and ruined her life.

The cut on her forehead was the final straw. The night before, after being thrown against the table, she ran into the bedroom and locked the door. Crying, she put in a backpack all the objects that she considered important or necessary, and decided she could not spend another day in that house.

She did not know where to go. She had never spoken to her father, except in her dreams. Dreams that she did not know if she could trust, but that seemed very real. Almost as if he wanted to tell her something.

Thalia knew that there was something unusual about her father. Something she felt she had inherited, and had brought her a lot of trouble, but had also taken her away from danger. And, lately, almost every night she dreamed of a quiet place where people like her could live safe.

She didn't know how to get there, but she was sure that, somehow, she'd find her way. The reflection in the mirror was scared, but not hesitant. Thalia opened the cabinet drawers in search of a brush, but what she found was another object, which suddenly became more interesting.

She took a deep breath and looked away from the mirror. Looking down, she gathered her hair behind her head and, trembling, took the silver scissors in her hand and cut it out completely, letting the black hair fall and spread in white tile.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Dear reader, please note that this fanfiction was originally written in Portuguese, my native language. I translated it by myself, so it's possible that you'll find some grammar errors. If you do, please let me know so I can fix it as soon as possible. Thank you.

If you find yourself interested, you can read the original fanfiction in portuguese here: fanfiction . com . br/historia/292243/Familia_Luke/ (no spaces)