Sasha was always… different. She felt that she never fit in; she never had a place to call home, or someone to love. She transferred to three foster homes over the course of her sixteen years of life. As a child, a psychiatrist diagnosed Sasha with Borderline Personality Disorder because of her unstable mood and impulsive actions. She felt labeled. Every school she went to, the teacher would warn the students of Sasha's disorder and would advise them to be accepting of her emotions. It was humiliating. Everyone avoided her, afraid to upset her, but that made it worse. Sasha wanted friends. She wanted someone she could turn to when she was having a bad day, someone who could say a couple comforting words to make her feel better, someone who could love her for who she is.
She had a crush on a boy in her class. He never talked to her like the rest of the kids, but he would glance at her every now and again. She thought he was interested in her. He was cute, one of the best-looking guys in class. He had side swept black hair and light blue eyes with a handsome face. All the girls loved him but he didn't pay attention to any of them. But he kept glancing at Sasha.
One day, after many torturous months of crushing on the boy, she finally gathered up the courage to talk to him. Sasha never talked to anybody. Everyone in the playground watched as the timid girl walked up to the outgoing guy.
"Luke…" Sasha muttered, pulling on his sleeve as he hung around his buddies by a huge oak tree. They stepped back a little, either afraid of her or to give them privacy to talk.
"Um… yeah?" he stuttered, not sure what to say.
"I-I real," her speech failed her a moment, "really l-like you,"
His eyes widened. Sasha waited anxiously for a reply of some sort. She did not know how these things work, but she kept biting her sleeve with her hands up to her face for comfort.
"That's… nice Sasha, but… I'm sorry…"
Sasha's vision blurred with tears, her heart was pounding.
"I don't like you that way. And even if I did, everyone would think I was a freak," he told her honestly.
"A… f-freak?" Sasha whispered, "Are you implying that I am a f-freak?" she said out loud.
"That's what everyone thinks, Sasha. I mean, you don't talk to anyone and you hang out by yourself. People think that's kind of weird," he told her, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets.
Sasha covered her face with her hands, afraid that he would see her cry. She was so angry that everyone thought that, even him. She was also sad that he didn't like her. The rage was boiling up inside her. She didn't know what to do with it.
Suddenly, Luke let out a yelp of surprise. Sasha peered through her fingers to look and saw a tree branch from the oak tree grabbing Luke tightly around the waist and lifting him up off the ground.
"HELP!!!" he shouted frantically, clawing at the branch. Sasha was astounded. She was happy. She wanted to see Luke get hurt after what he had said to her. The tree shook him around and then tossed him aside into the mulch of the playground. It was a thrilling sight for Sasha. Soon, the teachers came around and the students began to tell them what had happened. Sasha dashed off into the woods beyond the fence and sat down under a tree to recollect herself. Did she smile when she watched it happen? She was sure she did. Her cheeks felt stretched. Or was that the adrenaline? She nervously dug her hands into the soil and curled her toes inside her shoes. What should she do now? The teachers will know she did something. How did that tree do that?
Sasha felt something scratch her cheeks. She leaned forward and peered back to see tree branches bending low towards her. She tried to scream but she couldn't, she was so scared.
"Hush, Sasha. It is alright," someone whispered as the tree shivered. Suddenly, a figure emerged from it. As they pulled away from the tree, the brown of the bark disappeared and left behind normal colors to reveal a tall man with long black hair in dark clothes with a huge golden arm.
"Who are you?" Sasha whispered, unable to produce any sound. The man looked down at her with a calming smile and warm red eyes.
"A friend…" he reached his hand out to help her up but he stopped when he heard someone coming that way.
"Sasha!" a woman yelled for her. In an instant, the man stepped back into the tree and went as he had come. One of the teachers came and found Sasha, who was having a panic attack after what she had seen, but the teacher suspected otherwise. She helped her to the nurse's office, where they sent her home to rest. They asked her about what had happened but they couldn't get a word out of her. She was shaking badly and would sometimes burst into a crying fit. Sasha had never had a friend before.
