Title: Beliefs 2 (alternate version)

Disclaimer: Power Rangers are not mine.

Challenge: Magnetic Poetry Challenge which requires that ten random words be used in a story 500-1500 words. See my user page for more information

Words: mother, read, eternity, chant, enormous, language, knife, pink, worship, please

Cassidy Cornell believed in many things that would make most people laugh with disbelief. How could she not? She lived in Reefside, home of a team of superheroes who fought in enormous robotic dinosaurs against giant monsters that looked like remnants from a trash heap.

She believed in reincarnation – that she was destined to be born time and time again for all eternity though she sometimes felt that her present self was a step down from her past lives. Even Devin refused to believe something he considered too stupid to be real, but for a few short days, she had seen understanding in Ethan's eyes. It was almost enough to have someone else believe it in this case.

She believed in her own self-confidence and abilities – that some day she would be a great reporter on the road to stardom. People would chant her name and worship at her feet. Here was a belief that Devin shared unabashedly – she was the brightest star in his sky, and she loved him for his devotion.

She believed that pink was her best color, one that gave her an air of femininity and softness. And truth be told, she was ultimately right on this score.

She believed in the power of language, that words could change a person's life. And she saw it every weekend when she showed up at the Reefside literacy center and gazed at the people, young and old, who were learning to read.

She believed that some day her mother would return to the family she had abandoned long ago, that a beautiful, graceful blonde would sweep into some room where she held court and beg forgiveness for her sins. And she even believed that she might be able to forgive the woman and embrace her with love.

She believed that Devin would always want to please her, that their friendship would never become anything more. But then it did and it was wonderful. He adored her completely . . . and it was more stifling than the nice that wore down her edge. How had she never noticed the obsessive streak? Was it because he kept it so far under wraps while he revered her in high school? He was possessive and jealous, and whatever love they had once shared soon turned to ashes. He demanded to know where she was at all times, demanded to know all her friends, kept her locked away in their isolated little love nest. Cassidy's dreams and beliefs evaporated as she struggled to keep some semblance of herself. Until the day she found the courage to fly away from her cage, and her very nature rushed back to greet her like an old friend. Piece by piece, she put her life back together, finishing college and finding the perfect internship at a news station. Slowly, she rebuilt her belief system only to watch it crumble when Devin showed up on her doorstep one night. She let him in because he was Devin and he didn't look like the stranger she had left years ago. But even as he put the knife to her throat and whispered that no one could take her away, she clung tightly to the idea that he could never hurt her.

Because above all other things, Cassidy believed in her friendship with Devin.