Maia tossed and turned in her sleep, her mousy brown hair matted and clinging to her forehead from the damp stickiness of her sweat. The duvet that originally resided on the single wooden bed lay discarded on the floor by the bed, the heat and humidity of the summer night making it impossible to sleep under its irritating weight. Maia whimpered in her sleep, the diminishing light of the moon washing over her as dawn approached, her obvious discomfort making evident that her mind was in a dark place during the only time she never felt sanctuary, during the time most people felt at peace.
The sun rose over the city scape, the orange orb propelling up from out of the ground at a seemingly alarming speed, and Maia jolted up out of her dreams with it. Disorientated, as she often was at those early hours of the day she always seemed to be up to witness, her bleary eyes focused on the rising sun. She liked to stare in awe at the ball of burning gas before its gaze became too overwhelming for her cloudy blue eyes. Displaying a full set of impressively white teeth as she yawned, Maia rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, scratching her head to relieve from the pressure of the ponytail it had been in, and smacked her dry lips together a few times. Her night terrors were already dissolving back into the deepest recesses of her memory, so all she was left with – as she often was in the mornings – was a chilled feeling in her body.
She rolled out of bed, her feet padding against the worn-out nylon carpet of muddy red, clothes and toiletries in hand, as she made her way to the communal bathroom. Maia looked at the clock and, despite her lack of REM sleep and her fatigue, thanked her lucky stars that she had access to the bathroom before the 'rush hour' with the other girls. She despised having to wait hours for the shower only to have to wash in freezing water, and having to wait to brush her teeth because the other girls were too busy trying to 'get the exact right flick' on their eyeliner. She adjusted the temperature of the shower while she yawned again, before undressing and stepping under the spray of lukewarm water.
Maia wished she could get a decent night's sleep, fearing she was fast becoming an insomniac. Her friends always commented that the bloody bags under her eyes were continuously getting darker, and it was irritating for Maia to have to see them when she looked in the mirror every morning. It was probably because of those stupid dark circles that people thought she was a Goth! She rinsed her lemon scented shampoo out of her hair, shivering again as she tried to recall what her dream had been about. Any time she attempted to remember her dreams, she'd be filled with a sense of foreboding that would leave her mentally retreating as fast as she could. She rubbed her orange scented shower gel over her body, rubbing the goose-bumps that had arisen from her arms.
Maia stepped out of the shower and dried herself off, before adding her orange body lotion, before journeying back to her room. Her friends always said she smelt citrusy, but in all honesty, it was a refreshing scent that Maia loved. It made her feel better about herself.
Excitement filled her as she began to get ready for her day out. The baby of her group of friends – Harold – was finally turning fifteen, being one of the youngest in their year group with a birth month of August. Maia herself was one of the eldest, and had an unfortunate birthday, falling on Halloween. She was lucky that the British didn't celebrate Halloween as enthusiastically as they seemed to do in America, but it was still a drag to be teased by the other kids in the home. She hated it at times. She couldn't help when she was born. Her name caused quite a bit of grief too. Maia Deva Eirian. Her name was weirdly surreal, and along with her birthday, Maia was often accused of being either a witch or one of the fae. Maia had suspicions that her parents had been Irish, but she didn't really have the opportunity to ask…
She walked back to her room, and stood in front of the mirror to appraise herself. Her combat trousers were too long for her, and had to be rolled up to reveal her muddy and dishevelled old converses (that she'd had to save up for months to buy). Maia had decided to wear her Smosh graffiti t-shirt and bunched her naturally tightly curled brown hair up into a pony tail at the crown of her head. No hiding the paleness of her skin, or her freckles, but she would just deal with it. Make-up was not an option, it was simply too irritating for Maia.
As it was only half seven, Maia took a little time to read the latest Naruto chapter, throwing a Pikachu plushie across the room out of anger as Pein fought Kakashi, and watched one episode of Supernatural. Many people accused her of being a 'geek' and she couldn't really be bothered to argue. It was futile to attempt defence, seeing as she would be considered geeky in the society she lived in: a girl who liked to watch sci-fi, fantasy and anime; a girl who liked to read books and manga rather than socialise; a girl who had numerous tumblr blogs dedicated to her numerous fandoms, who saved up to buy Doctor Who merchandise, and filled her room with various cuddly toys from her favourite anime. Yeah. She wuld technically be constituted as a geek in this day and age.
Maia skipped down the stairs into the dining room, where the younger children were already making a ruckus as they ran around the lower floor, intent on causing pure chaos. Grabbing a bowl of Shreddies as she manoeuvred around the screaming chidren, she sat down next to a young blonde girl with adorable pigtails and a girly pink dress with daisy motif, who was trying in vain to eat her pancakes. "Here Abi, let me help you" Maia offered, reaching over to slice up the pancakes into smaller and more accessible pieces, making sure to coat each piece in some Nutella and some golden syrup as she did so. That's how it was nicest.
Abigail beamed at Maia, giving her a toothy grin that was missing a few teeth. "Tanks Maimai!" she lisped. She began happily tucking into her breakfast as Maia crunched on her own. She would've loved to have eaten pancakes that day too, never one to give up eating something sweet due to her sweet tooth, but didn't want to ruin her appetite before Harold's birthday lunch.
After finishing her rather bland breakfast, and helping herself to a nice beverage of peppermint green tea, Maia hummed as she walked to the door, patting her pockets to make sure she had her phone, some money and the house keys. She walked away from Sunny Days care home, staring up at the rare blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Leaving the house was like having a weight lifted off her shoulders; Maia loved the younger children who seemed to gravitate towards her naturally, but the ones of her own age and older were draining. This day out would be the refreshment she needed during the long summer holiday before she started Year 11 in school.
Maia glanced around at the buildings around her. Living in one of the smaller and quieter pockets of London (the care home situated in Merrycomb Ave. in Stamford Hill) was something she was always thankful for – quiet enough to be calming yet busy enough to be interesting. She loved to observe, especially the nature that surrounded her. It was beautiful to her to watch the changing seasons, and her observations always aroused questions about insignificant things within her.
As she walked past the local children's park, an uneasy feeling contaminated her as she felt the hair on her arms stand on end. The air around her seemed polluted with unseen tension, and Maia's eyes shifted around, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched. Whenever she was alone, she always had the feeling that she was being watched. But, once again, she didn't see anyone.
Except, this time she did. As she looked around, her eyes focused on a tall figure standing in a sunny spot in the middle of the park. Clear as day, with children running around him as if he wasn't even there, stood a tall man dressed all in black. On such a sunny day, he stood out like a sore thumb, yet no one gave him a second glance. Most people dressed like him would gain wary looks, but no parent or child within the park batted their eye at this stranger standing in the middle of a child's park. From a distance, Maia assumed that he would have to be at least six feet tall, an intimidating height compared to her dwarfish five feet two inches. But the black clothes and height wasn't what made Maia blanch, but the fact that his hood hidden gaze seemed to be angled in her direction.
She kept an eye on him as she walked, hurrying her pace. His head moved to follow her movement, confirming her growing suspicion that he was watching her. Fear tormented Maia, as her heart seemed to be going under cardiac arrest, her breathing feeling laboured as she tried not to be overcome with panic. She felt the overwhelming need to run but her brain told her she may be overreacting. What could he do on a sunny day with so many people watching? She'd be safe if she stayed in a populated area.
Yet, she couldn't help but ask the question, as illogical as it was, was why wasn't anyone paying attention to him? It was as if he was invisible… and oh God, he was still watching her! She clenched her hands into fists, her nails biting into her palm as she tried to calm herself. Fight or flight? She couldn't decide.
Her indecision wasted time, and the stranger turned his body in her direction. She froze as if stuck in car headlights as the man in black took a step in her direction. Though he was still very far from her position, Maia let out a small shriek of fear and instinctively stepped back onto the road behind her, trying to reaffirm the distance between herself and the prospective danger she faced.
And that's when she heard the squeal of the tires.