Chapter 1: Voiceless

I was hurting. An ache so fierce, I thought for sure that I was dying, but looking up at the sky, I realized none of it made sense. They had seemed so blue only yesterday, but were it really just yesterday? I didn't remember. I didn't remember anything.

I had woken up in an unfamiliar alley, leaning against the hard brick wall. My head hurt, and I was hardly able to stand. But the worst part of my current situation was that I couldn't remember how I had gotten there, or who I was. And so I wandered away, straying from street to street, only thinking of moving forward though not knowing where. And I was much too aware of a strange ache in my chest with the slow, even beats of something I didn't recognize.

My legs finally gave up when I reached a music store. A feeling of nostalgia briefly swept over my mind, as faint as a gentle breeze, and then it was gone. I paid no mind to it as I leaned back against the outside wall of the store, sinking until I landed on the ground. As I sighed, something cold and wet fell on my face.

It had started to rain.

The droplets came down soft, millions of little dots blackening the pavement. The rain picked up its pace, crashing angrily down on the ground, and the thunder joined in to harmonize a terrible, powerful sound of despair. I winced.

Somewhere in my mind, a small, barely audible voice whispered to me to get out of the rain, it told me to stay away. But I saw no harm in the hard, icy streaks of water. In fact, it helped dull the ache in my chest. The world blurred in my eyes, perhaps caused by the endless pouring of water, or perhaps an effect of my fading consciousness. I didn't care, though. I was tired.

With a long, deep sigh, my eyes closed on a will of its own, and I fell asleep to the bitter song of the rain.

Then I was dreaming.

I was walking on a road during what appeared to be nighttime, walking, and never going anywhere. I felt the panic slowly seeping through the cracks of my sanity, and I broke into a run as I desperately tried to escape. Then the ground beneath me began to shake, cracks carving themselves into the shape of lightning bolts until nothing of the ground existed, and I began to fall.

Descending down into an unknown darkness, I tried to scream for help; for anyone. But I could not find my voice, not even when I landed chest down on a hard, cold stone floor, for I was sure I had given my best to scream at the pain in my ribs. I came to the only logical conclusion that I was broken, and probably in more ways than one. Lying there, I heard voices speaking over me and I turned to where I thought I had heard the source of the sound, but all that surrounded me was darkness.

Help.

My heart sank and I remembered I couldn't speak. My voice…why was it gone? I glanced around me again, trying to cry out with all my strength, and yet, not a sound escaped. Angry tears of frustration found their way to my cheeks as I pounded on the floor with my hands. Why couldn't I speak?

For what seemed like eternity, I lay there with my eyes closed, painfully aware of the mysterious beating in my chest. I thought for sure that I would lie there forever, with my soundless voice, but then the strangest thing happened. I heard a voice, and it didn't whisper to me in menacing, cold ways. No, it was quite the opposite. It belonged to a boy—that I could be sure of, and yet it sang the most melodic high notes I'd ever heard.

Slowly, peacefully, the darkness melted away. A dim, gray haze came to my vision before my surroundings sharpened themselves. It was still raining, but the storm had subsided. The shuffling of fabric pulled my eyes towards the source, and I found a young teenage boy staring up at the sky. I looked at him, puzzled, for he was singing a melody that greatly resembled a lullaby. Upon realizing that I had awoke, he stopped mid-sentence and stared at me. He laughed, and it was a sound that sent a wave of warmth throughout my body.

I opened my mouth to question him, when I suddenly realized the issue with my voice. Though that had only been a dream, it was also a part of my memory. I remembered that I had no voice when I was left out on the streets to die that day. I remembered how they had taken it away from me. I struggled to recall a face or a name, but my mind only found an empty corner.

Then the boy stood up, and I got a better look at him. His hair was blonde, and long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail, but his bangs hung messily over his eyes. And his eyes…the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen. Not dark blue, but a light, clear blue with the slightest hint of gray. He wore a black jacket over a light yellow t-shirt, and dark jeans that hung loosely over his boyish long legs.

We made no attempt to speak as we kept our gaze on each other. After a brief moment, he smiled, and I felt my heart quicken in its pace.

I didn't understand why he chose to stay beside me. It had been nearly ten minutes since I noticed his presence and I began to grow skeptical of his intentions. The common reaction of pedestrians upon seeing a suspicious, filthy man on the side of the street would be a quick toss of a coin or the quickening of their pace. Yet this boy chose to stay. I narrowed my eyes.

I could not comprehend the happiness radiating from his entire body, permeating the cold, unfriendly air, or why he would bother to shelter a stranger with his umbrella.

Who are you? I questioned silently.

He inched a bit closer, his eyes dancing with a pleasant warmth, and offered me his hand.

With a smile, he spoke: "Sing for me."