It was not her choice. Why would she do such a thing? All she wanted was to be human. To be able to eat normally and not crave for flesh. Yet, no one seemed to understand her plight. They continued to detest her, torment her. It was like her existence was a sin.

Parents. What parents? They were like every other person, screaming hateful words at her. They basically disowned her. Left her in the darkness of the attic. She was scared. She was afraid of the darkness. She felt lonely. The hollow pit in her stomach only got deeper. She felt that the loneliness could swallow her whole. And no one would have bothered.

She soon passed her seventh birthday alone. Still in the attic. She was growing hungry. She had missed many months without flesh. She hence began to eat herself. It was not as crazy as it may sound. She only bit the required amount for her to survive another two months. After all, she could regenerate. After all, she was a ghoul.

Months passed from January to June like it always does. She started to grow restless. Being a seven year old, she was a dreamer. She wanted to leave the attic and see the world despite knowing about the consequences. Thirty strokes of the whip. It echoed feverishly in her mind. Thirty strokes. She had always feared the whip. Young flesh was naturally tender. Even for ghouls. It hurt. Really bad. She decided to escape. There were no windows in the attic, which made fleeing a difficult task. In addition, she did not want to let her beloved brother know about her disappearance but she knew that he was secretly rooting for her.

She bit herself in her hand, tearing out a small bit of flesh. That gave her a surge of strength. Her eyes turned dark and her pupils red. Cracks formed from her eyes down to her cheeks. She was going to leave the attic no matter what. Like a gush of wind, her blood red kagume burst out from her lower back. Due to the lack of rc cells, there was only two tails swishing about behind her. She lowered her stance, her eyes fixated on the roof. Night had fallen and she should not be noticed. Her tails shot out from behind her and a quick stab opened a small hole, big enough for her to exit through. She squatted down, ready to leap upwards with the assistance of her kagume but a small voice stopped her.

"Sister?"

She toppled onto the floor. Anthony! She spun around to see the child's face at the trapdoor. Silence fell on them both as they maintained eye contact for a long five minutes. Crickets chirped wildly outside and a few dogs barked at a distance. The child lowered his gaze.

"I'll miss you."

His words struck her. No one said such a statement before. Tear began to flow freely from her eyes and she replied hoarsely,

"Thank you."

And she left. Her brother looked at the empty space of where she was for a few seconds before quietly closing the trapdoor. She heard the soft click of the trapdoor as she sat on the roof. Her gaze darted back to the attic for a bit but turned away soon after. The streets were awfully silent, she noticed. She frowned, tucking her kagume under her. She could not afford others seeing that she was a ghoul. Sharpening her vision, she glanced around. A 24 hours coffee shop caught her eye. Anteiku. Coffee reminded her of her hunger. She swiftly stood up, rattling a few of the roof tiles. Her eyes widened. Afraid of waking anyone, she sped off, into the night.

She had withdrawn her tail and returned to the exterior of a normal human. Which meant that her eyes reverted to their usual appearance, no cracks or dark red pupils. Now, she looked like a young girl in a bloodstained ocean blue dress that happens to be a little small for her. Barefooted and empty stomached, she was desperate for flesh. Without thinking, she pushed open the heavy door.

"Welcome!" a wise voice greeted her. "Oh dear. What happened to you? Poor soul!"

Her hazel eyes immediately went up to meet the calm and steady gaze of a fairly old man whom she estimated to be in his fifties with a few wrinkles on his forehead and a couple laugh lines. She then sensed a ghoul – no, a few ghouls near her. Feeling threatened, she hesitantly retreated a few steps.

"Don't worry! We will do no harm to you!" he smiled.

He was a ghoul. She could smell it. Her kagume instantaneously slipped out from behind her and pointed intimidatingly at him. Her currently darkened eyes glowered cautiously, observing his every movement. He chuckled, making her tense up.

"You're really something! Very few ghouls have such marvelous senses!" he praised, causing her to lower into an attack stance. "And rather experienced in battle I perceive. You're very mature for your age."

"There are more than five ghouls here. Are you cannibals or those average ghouls that eat human flesh?" she murmured, taking a shaky breath.

"We are part of the Anteiku. We don't kill. Yet, we eat humans. Do not worry child. You're fortunate that you've found us," the old man went back to cleaning the mugs with a white washcloth. "We help our own kind."

"Can I trust you?" she asked, relaxing from her earlier stance. Her tails were no longer stiff and erect but now coolly swishing behind her like a cat comfortably lounging around. She was still young, not well aware about the dangers of adults. Trusting was something children have as part of their nature. She was no different.

"Of course," he smiled, looking at her once more. "We'll become a family. You can live here. There is someone of about your age as well. Ah! Speak of the devil."

Indeed, he was right. A ghoul was approaching from the door behind the man. A small girl with short purple-blue hair with bangs covering her right eye. Her left eye, a brilliant shade of violet, wide-eyed and frightened, peeked out from the gap.

"Touka, this is our new member," the man introduced her. Turning to her, he asked, "What's your name, young one?" She shook her head. She was never given a proper name. He blinked in understanding. "Is Aloysia good for you?" She nodded her head. Aloysia was a nice name. "Touka, this is Aloysia. Aloysia, this is Touka. Do place your past behind you, Aloysia. This is where your new life will start."

Aloysia smiled in relief. No more torture, no condemnation. She was finally an equal. Her lips trembled as she murmured a soft 'thank you' before bursting into tears of joy. She was finally free.