Surpise!

Thought I'd surpise you all with a quick chapter update. :) Hope you all enjoy!

XxXxXxXx

Chapter 3: An Unusual Childhood

In the back of her mind, even without realizing it, Aleena never truly believed her father that people could hold such hate for others. She even felt sceptical of all the history books her father let her read; speaking of human cruelty through time just seemed too overwhelming to wrap her mind around the reality. Really, why would that be even necessary for people to fight against each other when it was obvious how better society could work if everyone simply got along? Well, her scepticism and disbelief were finally resolved when she eventually reached the age of five and she received her first taste of a person's disgust for those who are not the same.

Aleena stood on the couch within the living room of her home, bouncing a little on the cushions as she stared out the window behind the furniture. She stared in fascination outside to the wide-open landscape, gazing up towards the bright, blue sky of summer and pure white clouds of the desert. However, the blue sky and clouds were not all that held Aleena's current attention. No, she was watching the stars and the strings of the world. She smiled as one star passed by the window, hovering in front of her face as it bobbed and weaved around, almost as though showing off to her how fluidly it could move through the air.

The stars and strings were something of which Aleena has been able to see since arriving outside her parents' home as a baby. They were things that travelled and flew through the sky, always so carefree. The stars were different from the strings. The strings had sort of an appearance of that of spider webbing and were attached firm to each person of which they belonged to. Never leaving their person for even a second. Aleena did not realize it at first, but she understood now that these strings were a person's life. Their entire lives were written out on these strings like a story of sorts, from birth to death, and each was bright and colourful in their own unique way. She had yet seen two people have the same colour.

But the stars were truly the most interesting to Aleena. They were also a variety of colours which made each one unique. They would pulse in their light, like a heartbeat almost. And when they would draw closer to Aleena, she could see that each of these stars were people who had passed on. People who no longer lived on the same plane of existence as everyone else in the world, the universe. The stars would always be so happy in knowing Aleena could see them. They would introduce themselves in such happiness and delight, for they truly only ever wanted others of the living to be able to see them and follow them for guidance. And the way each star communicated was very interesting. Some could only show their memories in sort of clear imagery on their cloudy surfaces. Others were actually able to speak one or two words, where rarely few managed to speak whole sentences on their own. Over time, Aleena began to notice that the older the star was, the easier of a time they had communicating to her. She wondered if the powers they had sort of came with time and experience in living in their mysterious world.

"Aleena, dear, could you please not stand on the couch," her mother called out to her from the kitchen.

"Yes, mommy!" Aleena replied, bouncing down to sit properly on the couch. She kicked her legs over the edge of the seat, staring up to where a few stars lazily floated around within the house itself, smiling as she saw the stars showing images to each other as they seemed to be discussing different topics. She was not sure exactly what they were talking about. She thought it might have something to do with the town of Rachel itself.

A sharp knock came from the front door of the house. Aleena hopped down from the couch, going over to the door. Reaching up the best she could, she turned the handle and opened the door. On the other side of the doorway, she saw the elderly woman Angie. The woman sniffed, holding her rather large purse tight in her grasp while staring down with disinterest at Aleena.

"Where's Lia?" Angie asked curtly with impatience. Aleena stepped back and pointed to the kitchen. Angie did not even acknowledge the child as she stepped around and went to the kitchen. Aleena sighed, shutting the door and going back over to the couch. She never did like that woman. Angie was just so grumpy and never wanted to play like the other grown-ups did.

"I'm not fond of last-minute calls, Lia," Aleena heard Angie saying sternly from the kitchen. "And I'm not fond of having some child thrown at me for watching over. I'd much rather spend my time knitting than babysit that child."

"Angie, I'm so sorry about this, but I have to go with Betty to the city," Lia said as she walked into the living room. "We ran out of supplies for the house and no one else was available to watch Aleena."

"Well, you best not take too long then. I am not a patient woman," Angie said snidely, huffing as she walked out of the kitchen with Lia and sat down in Dwight's reading chair. The elderly woman pulled out her knitting from the large purse she sat on the ground. Fiddling with the needles for a moment within the light blue yarn, Angie began working on creating the small blanket that was half-way completed. Aleena looked over as Lia came out of the kitchen, holding her own smaller purse in hand.

"Are you leaving, mommy?" Aleena asked curiously, kicking her legs in the air lightly as she sat on the couch.

"Just for a bit, sweetheart," Lia replied, seeming apologetic for leaving Aleena behind. Smiling kindly, Lia walked over, patting Aleena's shoulder in a warm gesture. "I'll be back in a little while. Be good, and don't cause any trouble for Angie. Understand?"

"Yes, mommy," Aleena mumbled, nodding her head as she stared at her feet. Seeming satisfied with this response, Lia eventually walked out of the house. Aleena listened, hearing the car arriving outside the home and picking up her mommy, going off to the city for the day.

Once the last distance sound of the car retreated, there was only an awkward silence left behind. A clock somewhere within the house ticked in a gentle rhythm. Aleena kicked her feet back and forth from the couch as she continued to stare at them. Eventually, she glanced up towards Angie to see the elderly woman was still working on her knitting. Not paying Aleena herself the slightest bit of attention. The child glanced around as if double-checking her and Angie were truly the only ones in the house. Sadly, they were. Sighing, Aleena hopped from the couch, heading towards her room to quietly read until her mother came back.

"And where do you think you're going?" Angie suddenly barked out as Aleena made her way towards the back of the house. Aleena halted in her steps, looking back at the older woman in question.

"My room," Aleena replied back politely as possible, not wishing to give Angie a reason to be angry with her. "I want to read my books."

"No, I don't think so," Angie disagreed crossly, shaking her head. "You need to make yourself useful for once and actual help Lia and Dwight around the house. Start with the dishes in the kitchen." The elderly woman jabbed her finger towards the direction of where Lia would have left the dishes unattended in the kitchen sink.

Aleena frowned, confused by the elderly woman's demands. She was not useful? What was that supposed to mean? And how was she supposed to do the dishes anyway? Her mom and dad never let her do chores like that on her own. Sure, she helped dry the dishes as her parents washed them. However, they never let her wash the dishes herself for not only was the sink too high for her, but the soap used to clean the dishes they said would not be good for her young skin. In fact, Lia had always used gloves when doing the dishes. Aleena very much doubted that those gloves could ever fit her small hands.

"But I can't reach the sink, and daddy always said—," Aleena began to explain to Angie, thinking maybe the woman did not know about the soap. She even thought maybe she could offer to do something else around the house since Angie seemed to want her to do something besides reading books.

"Are you talking back to me?" Angie spat out crossly, looking very much annoyed now.

Aleena blinked, taken back and confused. Did she say something wrong? "No. But—."

"I told you to go do something. There are no 'buts' about it. Do as you're told and keep your thoughts to yourself. And I don't want to hear another word out of you. Children should be seen. Not heard."

This only made Aleena feel even more confused now. What would be the point of just being seen and never heard from? How could a grown-up tell if a child was sick or sad if they never said anything? What a strange woman this was. But Aleena did not feel like getting scolded anymore by her. Instead, she let out a sigh and made her way into the kitchen. Lia did say to be good and not cause trouble. Maybe this was part of that deal of Angie being here? Aleena figured she could handle that, doing chores around the house. It was not like she never helped out before. It was always fun figuring out how to do things on her own, such as getting dressed, making her own food, and other such things. Maybe it was time for her to wash her own dishes.

It took her only a moment for her to figure out how to get herself up to the sink. Simple use of the chair helped with the whole 'height' thing. Soon, she stood right at the sink and stared at the dishes sitting in the warm water. A sponge sat on the counter, so Aleena grabbed it and held it in hand. The soap was already mixed in the water, so she just had to scrub them and rise them off on the other side. Yep, simple enough for her. Why did Lia and Dwight never let her do this again?

After a while of her hands touching the water, she realized why they never let her do this. It did not bother her at first. The strange tingling feeling did not trouble her much as she did not think about it. She thought maybe it was just the soap from the water. Then the tingling soon turned into burning after she finished her tenth dish. Aleena made a hissing sound from the pain, setting down the clean dish to look at her hands. They were slowly turning red. Alarmed, she hurriedly turned on the water from the tap, scrubbing at her hands under the water to wash off whatever as on them. But it only made her hands hurt even more. Tears ran down her face and she jumped from her chair, running into the living room.

"Angie! My hands!" Aleena cried, trying to show the older woman her hands. The woman glanced up from her knitting and made a sniffing noise.

"What about them?" she asked crossly. Aleena felt flabbergasted, looking back at them and then at her. What sort of question was that? Could the woman not see what was happening to her hands?

"They're turning red," Aleena stated the obvious, hoping this might help the woman understand what was wrong.

"So?" Angie said snippily.

"They hurt," Aleena said to clarify.

"A little hard labor won't kill you. When I did chores in my day, I never complained about a little pain here and there. Get back to the dishes."

Dumbfounded, Aleena could only stare at her. She felt at a loss. What could she say to get the woman to understand her pain? "The soap is bad. Mommy and daddy always said they needed gloves. Do you have gloves that fit me?"

"You don't need gloves. A little pain will do you some good. Teach you to be grateful for what was given to you. Think Lia or Dwight wanted an extra mouth to feed around here? No. So make yourself useful to them for once in your life." Angie went back to knitting, seeming to think their conversation was now over.

Aleena could only stare at her, still not knowing what to do. She could not go back to finish the dishes as the soap in the water would only make her hands worse. She also needed to get her hands to stop hurting, too. But she had no idea what to do. She had hoped the only grown-up in the house would know, but . . . Why was Angie not wanting to help her? Had she done something wrong?

"Please, they hurt," Aleena whispered in a plea, hoping Angie would understand how much pain she was in.

"Good. They should," Angie snapped, glaring at Aleena now. "Maybe it'll teach you a little humility. Something your own lowlife parents obviously never learned themselves. Maybe if they went through a little pain here and there they would have been responsible enough to raise their own child. Not dump their burden onto others."

"I'm a burden?" Aleena mumbled as tears came to her eyes. Was that what Lia and Dwight thought of her? Was that what the other grown-ups thought, too? Was that why her other parents left her behind?

"Of course," Angie said as though this should be clear. "You'll always be a burden so long as you take food, shelter, and other things Lia and Dwight have earned themselves. Those things should be for them. Not for you. Now, get out of my sight. I'm done talking."

While Angie went back to knitting, Aleena slowly turned back to the kitchen. She did not know how to feel about all of what the woman had said. Was any of it true? She did not feel so. Dwight and Lia were always kind. They always said how much they loved her. How could they feel that way? But grown-ups were always strange. Maybe they did feel like that?

The string attached to Angie caught Aleena's eye before she went back into the kitchen. It was a dull colour. Duller than any colour Aleena had ever seen before. The string also looked . . . kind of old. The end of it was all torn up. Wait . . . end? There had never been an end before. But there it was. The string attached to her was short with a frayed end of it floating weakly around. It was getting very close to the woman. Like it was almost done reeling in. The woman gave a hard cough, patting at her chest. The string moved closer into her.

Aleena tilted her head, focusing her gaze solely on the string. Vision around her eyes blurred and the string came more and more into focus. Suddenly, Aleena felt herself jerk as little as though something tugged at her and she found herself in a house she had never been in before. Blinking, she looked around, worried about what had happened. How did she get into this house? It was strange, though, this place. Everything was so neat and clean. Weirdly clean. Nothing like Lia and Dwight's home. Frowning a little, Aleena stepped around the sickly yellow couch and looked for where she might be. She noticed it was dark outside the windows. It must be night time. But was the sun not up just a little while ago?

Coughing coming from down the hall made Aleena tense. But she moved forward, looking for who might be there. Maybe they could help her get back to her own home? A light was seen coming from a room just down the hall. When Aleena came up to the small room, she saw it was a bathroom. Then, the next thing she saw was Angie. Aleena tensed, afraid of what the woman would do if she saw a child suddenly there in her home. But Angie gave no notice, not even when a gasp had escaped from Aleena the moment she saw the woman standing there in the room. Soon, the girl relaxed, taking in the nightgown Angie wore and how she brushed her hair while staring into the mirror in the room. Strangely, Aleena had a feeling that the woman was completely unaware that she was here.

As Aleena stared at Angie, a new feeling came over her. Sadness. Such deep sadness. Aleena felt so, so sad. Lonely, too. But those were not her own feels, were they? No, she herself felt fine. Well, maybe a little sad from what the woman had said before. But this was different. This was not the same kind of sadness she felt. Why was she feeling this way though? Then, the girl's gaze moved from Angie to the stars that hovered around the woman. Aleena blinked, seeing the two stars slowly turning around the older woman. They moved so slow. Much slower than any star she had ever seen. Like they were sad. Was this why she was feeling sad and lonely? No, that did not feel right, either. It was more like . . . Angie felt this way. Aleena did not know how she knew this. She just did.

Aleena watched the stars and slowly put together what they were. Or rather who they had been at one point. They were Angie's husband and son. Both had come to be with her. Each of them trying to tell her something. The husband star seemed to be trying to soothe Angie, to help her not feel so lonely by showing all their happy moments in memory flashes. The son star had a much more urgent reason for being there. The star kept showing certain memories over and over again. When Aleena got closer, she could see the memories were very sad. Memories of the past when Angie had disowned the son for loving a woman she did not approve of. Something which had broken her son's heart of losing connections with his mother. But he wanted Angie to know that he forgave her for that. Because he understood how guilty she felt after he had died in the war.

Aleena tensed as Angie began to cough even louder. The woman leaned forward, gripping at her chest as though in pain. The brush dropped from her hands, falling to the floor. But Angie gave no notice as she turned to leave the room. The young girl feared for a moment that Angie would finally notice her. But it seemed as though Angie did not see her at all, staring right through Aleena. The girl watched as the woman grunted in pain, breathing heavily. Then, the next moment she let out a gasp and fell to the floor in a heap. Her whole body twitched as though going through such agony. Aleena's hearts raced as she felt wave after wave of fear. Of pure terror. It was Angie's terror. The absolute horror as the woman did not understand what was happening and from the pain she felt in her chest. Then, the woman stopped moving altogether. Lying completely still and unmoving. And Aleena knew. She knew that Angie . . . was dead.

"Girl!"

Aleena jumped, startled from the sudden call as she blinked. Her vision slowly came back as white spots danced around her eyes. She noticed how she was now standing in her own home once more. Sunlight streamed through the windows. She was halfway between the living room and the kitchen. Her hearts racing as fear still pumped through her body. Angie sat there in the chair, glaring at her in annoyance. Had she just been standing there staring at Angie?

"I told you—," Angie began to scold the girl.

"You're going to die," Aleena blurted out, eyes staring wide at the woman. Immediately Angie looked taken back and stared at the girl in shock.

"What?" the woman replied in disbelief.

"You're going to die in two days," Aleena said, more urgent this time. She wanted to warn the woman. To warn her from the death that was going to happen in hopes that it would not come. "You're going to have a heart attack." Aleena was not quite certain how exactly she knew this information. She just did.

"How dare you," Angie growled. She threw down her knitting and got up from the chair to storm over to Aleena. "I'll teach you some manners."

Aleena backed away as the woman raised her hand. "Your son wants you to know he forgives you!"

This made Angie freeze on the spot. The colour drained from the woman's face. "Wh—what did you say?"

"He forgives you. He isn't mad at you. He wants you to know that he loves you still." Aleena glanced over the woman's shoulders, seeing the two stars there.

Angie shook for a moment, looking at the crossroads to either cry or scream. Apparently, she decided on the latter as her face contorted into rage. "Don't you dare talk about my son! You know nothing, you little tramp!"

Aleena let out a startled cry as she was yanked forward hard by the arm and given a sharp smack across the face. When the woman went to hit her again, Aleena closed her eyes in fear. She was suddenly let go as she heard Angie hiss in pain. But the girl did not bother to look at what happened. Instead, she ran away, going straight to her room. The door to the bedroom flew open before Aleena even reached it and slammed shut right behind her. Later she would learn that she had done that without thinking. But at the moment, all she could do was cry as she hid under the bed in fear.

Aleena shook all over, covering her head with her hands. Her hearts raced. Her breathing would not slow down. Cold sweat covered her body. All she could do was lay there under the bed and shiver from head to toe. She waited and waited in fear of Angie coming in to get her. But the woman never entered the room. After Aleena's hearts slowed down and her breathing became normal again, she heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside. She hoped it was Lia or Dwight. At this point, she hoped it was anyone. She just wanted someone there to hug her and make everything feel better.

"Well, about time one of you showed up. Aren't you home from work a bit early, Dwight?" Aleena heard the muffled voice of Angie out in the living room. She then heard the front door of the house shutting as clearly Dwight had just entered the house.

"I had a short shift," Aleena heard Dwight replied. His voice sounded confused. "Where's Lia and Aleena?"

"Your wife went out for supplies. That child is in her room. She hid in there after she threatened me and then burned my hand."

"What?" Now Dwight sounded even more confused.

"See for yourself." There was a pause. "See? Burned my hand after she said I was going to die. What sort of child are you raising, Dwight? I would have expected better from Lia and you."

Dwight did not answer this. Instead, Aleena heard his footsteps coming down the hall. Her door opened carefully, with two pairs of feet coming into the room. Aleena felt fearful of coming out with Angie still there. But knowing that Dwight, her daddy, was there made her feel a little better.

"Aleena?" Dwight called gently. Aleena pulled herself out from under the bed, staring up at Dwight and Angie from the floor. Dwight did not look as angry as Aleena had expected. Instead, he just appeared concerned. "What happened, Aleena? Can you tell me?"

"I told you everything you need to know! The child is a savage," Angie barked crossly. Glancing at her, Aleena could see how she held her hand. The skin was as red as the girl's hands were. Dwight closed his eyes and took a breath to keep himself calm.

"Angie, let me handle this, please. Aleena is my daughter. Not yours," Dwight spoke gruffly before going over to Aleena. He crouched down, rubbing a comforting hand on Aleena's small shoulder. "Hey, sweetie, did you—." He stopped abruptly when seeing the growing bruise on Aleena's face. Then he noticed the girl's hands. Immediately, his eyes flared up in anger. He stood up, turning sharply to Angie. "What did you do to her?"

"Me?" scoffed Angie, holding up her good hand to her chest.

"Her face is bruised and her hands have chemical burns on them. So, yes, you."

"What?" This time Angie seemed to be the one confused.

"Her face and hands, Angie. What did you do?" Dwight's voice grew strict as his anger built.

"Well, I smacked her after she threatened my life." Angie crossed her arms, looking set that she had done the right thing. "And her hands are fine. I just had her wash the dishes. A little bit of hot water on the skin is nothing—."

"You did what?! Angie, we use cleaning chemicals in the sink!" He turned and scooped up Aleena from the floor, quickly taking her out of the room. "If there wasn't enough water in the sink, it burns skin. That's why we always use gloves in case we don't mix them right."

"How was I supposed to know!" Angie followed after them, appearing more angry than worried about what had happened. "If you had the orphan do work around the house more often, I wouldn't have—."

Dwight stopped in his tracks, turning to glare at Angie. "Get out."

Angie halted in place, completely bewildered at this point. "What?"

"Get out! Get out of my house!"

Angie crossed her arms, glaring right back. "My ride isn't here yet. They took Lia to the city."

"I don't care. Wait outside. Just get out. You are not coming anywhere near my daughter again."

"Your damn daughter hurt me! Look at my hand!"

"Obviously, when you touched her skin, you got a chemical burn as well!"

"What about saying I was going to die?!"

"At this point, I don't give a damn! Now, GET OUT!"

Aleena sat on the kitchen table in a daze, listening to Angie huff and grab her things before storming out of the home. Dwight gathered up a bowl of cool water, dry bandages, and a tube of cream. He made Aleena place her hands into the water. Even though the water made her skin sting, she listened to her father and did as she was told. Soon, the pain went away and her hands felt better. After Dwight gentle dried off her hands, he placed some cream on her skin and wrapped them carefully with bandages.

"Feeling better?" he asked gently.

"Yes, daddy," whispered Aleena. She stared down, not knowing what to say or do now. She just felt tired and wanted to go to sleep.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned, trying to think in how to help her feel better. He knew this day must have been absolutely horrible for her. He just hoped he could help her forget about it.

Aleena glanced at him, wondering what she should say. Finally, she decided to ask, "Am I a burden?"

Dwight looked startled, in disbelief. Then, he let out a sigh, knowing what else Angie must have done to his daughter. "Did Angie say that?" He watched as Aleena averted her eyes, nodded slightly. Another sigh left him. He then sat down in a chair and pulled his daughter down to sit in his lap, giving her a strong hug. "You are never a burden. Your mother and I love you very much. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But Angie said—."

"Angie is just a very hateful person. Don't listen to people like that."

Aleena nodded, trying to keep that in mind. "Is it like you said? Is Angie like those people who don't like things different?"

"I'm afraid so. I'm sorry you had to run into a person like that." Dwight stood up from the chair and picked up his daughter, going back into Aleena's room. He sat her down on her bed, helping her get under the covers. "Why don't you get some rest, sweetie. Need to let your hands heal."

The bright brown eyes of Aleena stared back at Dwight curiously. "Does sleeping help heal?"

"Oh, yes, sleeping does wonders to help a person heal."

Aleena nodded, believing him completely as she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. She felt like she had only gotten a few minutes asleep before she was awake again. Blinking dully, she wondered what had woken her when she heard the rather angry voices coming from down in the living room.

"You just threw a defenseless old woman out into the desert!" she heard the angry voice of Lia.

"Oh, stop being dramatic, Lia," came the scoff from Dwight. "I took her straight home after I put Aleena down."

"And for that matter why did you leave a child alone in the house?" retorted Lia, still wanting to be cross. "And did you even listen to what Angie had to say about what Aleena did?" This made Aleena wonder if Angie had called Lia from the phone once she had gotten home.

"Well, did Angie tell you what she did?" Dwight countered, sounding just as mad. "She hit Aleena across the face and made her wash the dishes, leaving her with chemical burns all over her hands."

There was a bit of silence for a moment. "I'm certain she didn't realize . . . Let me see. I want to make sure she's okay." Aleena then heard footsteps coming down to her room. She blinked as the light was turned on in the room. She did not even notice that it was night now outside the window of her room.

"Hey, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Lia asked as she and Dwight stepped into the room. Aleena sat up in bed, seeing how Lia smiled nicely at her.

"Okay," Aleena mumbled. Truthfully, she did. She felt much calmer now with her face and hands feeling much better. Dwight was right. Sleeping really did help. She watched as Lia crouched down in front of her, frowning as she looked Aleena over.

"Are you sure Angie hit her face? She looks fine," Lia said to Dwight behind her. He crossed his arms, frowning heavily as he too looked at Aleena. The girl stared back at him, seeing a bit of surprise in his expression as he gazed at her.

"Well, her face was red earlier. Clearly, Angie hit her," Dwight grumbled. Lia continued her inspection, unwrapping Aleena's hands. Immediately Dwight uncrossed his arms and stared at the child in disbelief. Her hands were completely healed. No sign of there ever being an injury at all. Not even a mark.

"You were right, daddy. Sleep did help!" Aleena said brightly, smiling as she felt happy to feel her hands fine again. She smiled at her parents for only a second before it slipped away as she saw Lia crossing her arms and looking back at Dwight angrily.

"Chemical burns? Really? Her hands are perfectly fine," the mother scoffed, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Her hands were completely red earlier. Perhaps they just weren't as bad as I had thought," Dwight countered evenly. Though he knew this was not true, he also could not explain why Aleena's hands were suddenly fine. Then again, he probably knew the reason why her hands were better, but it was not as though he could share this with Lia. "That doesn't excuse for what Angie did. That woman is not allowed into our house again. Ever."

"Dwight, you're being—," Lia began to argue.

"Ever," Dwight replied. His voice had changed, sounding very hard and grounded. In return, Lia sighed and nodded.

"All right. It's not as if Angie will ever want to come back here anyway," she muttered. She turned to Aleena, almost ready to leave but had gone back to her daughter at the last moment. Smiling kindly, gently she petted Aleena's head. "Go back to sleep, dear. You need plenty of rest. Have to start getting ready for school soon."

"Yes, mommy," Aleena said quietly, watching as Lia got up and walked away. She scooted over as Dwight came over and sat beside her. She stared up at her father with her big brown eyes, seeing the way he stared back worried at her. "What's wrong, daddy?"

"Nothing," Dwight mumbled as he stared at Aleena's hands before glancing at her face. He then smiled in reassurance. "Looks like sleep really does do you good. But ah . . . keep that between just us, okay?"

"Why? Can you and mommy not do that? Is that another different thing I have?" Aleena asked him curiously.

"Yes, it seems that way. Normally it takes people much longer to heal from injuries like that," he explained. Again, he gave her a kind smile. "But that's really great that you can do that. Wish I could be different like you. Would have been great to heal up that quick in the past."

Aleena smiled lightly, knowing Dwight was trying to help her feel better about being so different from him and the others. Thinking over this, she wondered what else that she could do others could not. Were the stars and strings one of those things? She had always thought everyone could see them, too. But now . . . "Daddy, do you see the stars?"

"Of course. There's quite a few out tonight. Though, we always do get the best view of the stars out here than—."

"No, I mean . . ." Aleena sighed, not knowing how to explain it to him. How to describe something to some if they had never seen it before? "I see stars floating around all the time. Even during the day. I see strings connected to people, too. That's how I knew Angie is going to die."

For a moment, he could only stare at her. Then, finally, he spoke up. "What do you mean, sweetheart? What is it you're seeing? Can you explain it to me?"

"Umm . . ." Aleena tugged on the hem of her shirt, thinking of how to explain it. Would he even understand it? "Well . . . the stars are people who died. They like to tell stories and dance around everywhere. They really like that I can see them 'cause most people don't listen to them. They're always trying to talk to everyone about things. I don't really understand it much, but . . . I think it's like they're trying to help everyone with stuff. Then the strings are attached to everyone, even you, daddy. I've never been able to look at them before until tonight. Angie's was fraying and when I looked at it . . . I saw her dying. She was in her house and her heart had an attack. It was so scary. I felt her fear. I felt her dying." Aleena shivered, feeling her hearts speeding up in remembering it.

Swiftly Dwight pulled Aleena into a hug to help her keep calm. Her voice had wavered quite a bit while explaining what she had seen. He could only imagine how much it had frightened the child. Thinking over what all she had said, he felt amazed how she saw the world. Was this some sort of sight into an 'afterlife' of some kind? Then again . . . "So I have a string, too?"

"Yes."

"And you've never looked at the strings closely before?"

"No."

"Well, try looking now. See if there's anything in my string." He was curious. There was an idea in his mind in what these 'strings' might be. But he would have to see what she said about his 'string' for him to make a conclusive thought on it.

Concentrating very carefully, Aleena focused her sight on Dwight's string. She felt silly doing it. She never bothered to look at the strings before. They had always just been there. Never much seemed interesting by them. Looking at Angie's string had been an accident. But as Aleena stared at Dwight's string, she felt that similar pull as she had when she had focused on Angie's. Before the girl knew it, she was suddenly in a different place. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the dark place she was in. It was strange. Very dark with two rows of beds on either walls. All the beds were plain metal with thin mattresses and white covers. Aleena walked forward, looking around the long room with lines and lines of beds. It was then that she noticed each bed had a kid sleeping in them. Some looked like her age. Others looked older. She blinked at them, wondering who these kids were. What kind of home was this? She looked over when she heard soft crying. A sudden wave of sadness hit her. It was different though than what she had felt from Angie. This time it was much deeper. Like a deep heartache.

Aleena looked over when she heard a door opening at the end of the long room. Sharp footsteps came down the room, letting Aleena see a woman dressed in a long white gown. The image of an old nursing gown came to mind as she stared at the woman. She remembered seeing that kind of dress from one of the books Dwight let her read. Was this some kind of doctor's office? She had never been to one before in person, but she had read about them.

"Quiet you!" the nurse woman snapped when she passed by the bed with the crying boy. Aleena then felt even sadder still, hurt by this woman's mean words. Suddenly, she was back on her bed, sitting there as she felt Dwight shaking her shoulder.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" he asked her in concern. He watched as she blinked out of her daze. It had worried him seeing her just sitting there, staring at him so blankly. It was as though she were in some kind of trance. What made him even more fearful was when tears started to run down her face.

"You were sad. You were living in a bad place," Aleena told him, feeling strange to have seen her father as a young child. "You were little, sleeping in a white bed, and the nurse snapped at you for crying at night." She watched as Dwight's face dropped. A sudden sad look crossed his face. She was not certain how to describe his expression. It was just . . . so sad.

"You must have seen when I . . . lived in the orphanage," he explained quietly.

"What's an orphanage?" the girl asked curiously.

"It's a place where children without families go. They stay there until they can find other families to take them in, or until they get too old and are kicked out to live on their own. It's not a very nice place. At least, not the place I had lived. It had been a mix between hospital and orphanage, and . . ." Dwight trailed off, appearing as though he no longer wanted to talk about it. He sat back suddenly, thinking deeply about everything Aleena had said and seemed to experience. "So these strings . . . It looks as though you can see into people's timelines."

"Timelines?"

"Ah, people's life stories." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Wait here. I think I have a book just for you."

Aleena waited patiently on the bed, watching as Dwight left the room briefly only to return with a book in hand. She took in the blue cover of the book and read the title A Wrinkle in Time. "What's this?" she questioned, staring at the book with keen interest.

"It's a book I think you'll like," Dwight explained, smiling when seeing how her eyes lit up. She always did get so excited to read and learn about new things. "I think you're seeing all these things because you're connected to time somehow. But that's only a guess. I don't know much on the subject myself, but I think it's time we did some research, don't you?"

"Yes, daddy," Aleena nodded in agreement, wanting to know all she can about what made her so different from the rest. She smiled, glad to have such a caring father to want to help her so much.

"Get some sleep now, sweetie." Dwight leaned down, giving her head a kiss. "Sweet dreams." He turned, shutting off the light before leaving the room.

Aleena scooted to lay down, ready for some more sleep. But she felt wide-awake now. Full of energy and ready for learning. So, she hurriedly pulled open her nightstand and grabbed a flashlight from the draw. Clicking on the light, she lay on her stomach, propped the book on her pillow, and began to read. She smiled as she flipped through the pages and kicked her feet lightly in the air. All the troubles of the day slowly leaving her mind as she fell into the story of Meg Murry's strange and different life.

XxXxXxXx

Aleena sat in the new car of Lia's, staring out the window as she gazed distantly at the town they drove through. It was small but much bigger than where they lived in Rachel. Soon, they would be at school, a place Aleena did not feel very fond of. She had been going there for months now, and so far she only ran into trouble.

The teachers were rather mean all the time, getting frustrated with Aleena whenever she got bored with their lesson plans and wanted to read or work on something else. There had been one day where she had finished all the worksheets the teacher had given her in a matter of seconds, but the teacher refused to believe she had actually done any of the work properly or did not just cheat in some way. Of course, it was easy to prove the teacher wrong by simply going to the board and writing out all the mathematical problems from not only the worksheet but from many of the books she read from Dwight's study. For some reason, though, this had only made the teacher even madder and had sent Aleena to the principal's office. Adults were so weird. Why get all mad when someone proved them wrong? Was it not better to find out if one was wrong so that way they can learn to be more right in the future? Maybe even learn something new? But it was fine, Aleena just learned to keep her mouth shut after that and to not correct adults. Since it was considered 'rude' and all.

The other kids were just as strange to her. They never seemed to want to talk about important things. Like what sort of books the teacher should give them to read, or what more they could learn. Rather they always just wanted to play or take naps or argue over who had the better backpack or snacks to eat. All kinds of boring things like that. So, Aleena learned to just sort of stay quiet and nod with whatever the other kids said to her. She rather just them go away and leave her alone, but Dwight said that she should be nice and at least listen to them. He explained that kids were not as developed as she was, so they were still confused by a lot of things in the world. They did not understand the Trachtenberg method of calculations or the physics of how balls bounce from certain heights or how wavelengths of light form through space into Earth's atmosphere. But then Dwight explained most adults did not even understand stuff like that, so . . .

She was just glad Dwight supplied her with enough books to read at home so that she was not so bored. He even taught her all kinds of things at home on the weekend when Lia was out shopping and such. Something that he said they would have to keep secret because Lia would not understand. Aleena already knew this. Lia did not understand her as much as Dwight did since the beginning. Especially after Angie had died almost two days after Aleena had predicted it. It seemed to have placed a barrier of sorts between Lia and her. Her mother did not believe that she had predicted the old woman's death, but . . . it had still unnerved Lia in some ways. Something which kept Lia from really connecting to Aleena. Though Aleena herself tried not to be bothered by this, she could not help but still wish she could have a better connection with Lia. Like the way all the other kids' mothers were with their children. Aleena would sometimes find herself staring at a few of the mothers dropping off their kids for the day, giving them kisses on their cheeks and hugs. Lia would never do that. It seemed the woman was not much into affection, not even with her own husband. But this still did not mean that Aleena lost hope in Lia giving her a kiss on the cheek. Just one time would be enough, really.

"I wish you would wear those dresses I pick for you," she heard Lia complaining. "You'd look so much prettier instead of always wearing those boy clothes Dwight gets you." Aleena glanced down at her blue shirt and jeans with sneakers. She always thought she looked nice enough. Besides, these clothes were much more comfortable than those itchy dresses Lia always got for her.

"I don't really like dresses," Aleena replied.

"Yes, but I do. So you need to start wearing them. Maybe put one on tomorrow, okay?" responded Lia. This sounded more of an order than a request. Aleena only sighed and nodded again. But she frowned in an afterthought.

"Why do girls have to wear dresses?" she questioned her mother out of curiosity.

Lia frowned in response, shooting Aleena a sceptical glance. "Because that is what girls wear."

"Yes, but why?"

"Because that is how it's always been."

"But why?"

"Because that is how things are and how they'll always be. Now, no more questions. It's not good for a woman to always ask questions all the time."

"But you ask dad lots of questions."

"Yes, but I'm an adult. There's a difference."

Now Aleena felt even more confused. "But you just said 'woman'. Doesn't that mean all females no matter what the age?"

Lia gave an exasperated sigh. "Aleena, no more questions, will you? No wonder you're having so many problems at school. A mouth like that is going to get you into a world of trouble one day."

Aleena sighed in return, pouting as she leaned against the door and went on staring outside. People were so weird. Lia included.

"Have a good day, dear. And behave," Lia said after they pulled up to the small schoolyard. Aleena gathered up her backpack and tin lunch box before hopping out of the vehicle. Turning to Lia, she shuffled her feet in hopes that maybe today would be the day Lia would actually get out of the car and give her a hug.

"Goodbye, mom," she said.

"Bye, dear," Lia replied, shutting the door behind the child before driving off. Sighing, Aleena adjusted the backpack on her shoulders before trudging off to class.

The day went on normal enough. Not much happened until recess period. Aleena sat in her usual spot on the swings, kicking her feet lightly in the air as she swung a bit back and forth. She would do this almost every day now, just watching the other children. A few teachers were outside as well, but they did nothing more than watch the children play and would yell whenever the kids acted up too badly. It was a mix of first graders to fifth graders out in the play area. For the most part, her classmates were off playing a game of kickball, but she preferred to just watch them. They never bothered to invite her to play with them anyway.

Looking around, she observed the strings connected to the kids and the stars which danced around the playground. It was always interesting to her seeing how long the strings on the kids were and how she could interact with them. She liked to practice a lot when she was in class when she got too bored. Over time she learned that she did not even have to focus and go in their timelines to see part of their life stories in the strings. All she had to do was glance at them and it was easy enough to just look at the images in the strings. Like a roll of film from a camera, really. She liked doing this more as she would not be off in the usual trance she went into and did not feel the strong emotions from their lives. Though she noticed over time that she was feeling people's emotions even without looking into their strings. She wondered if she had always been able to feel their emotions but had just never noticed before. Either way, she was glad that she could for it helped let her know when people were lying to her or were trying to be mean.

"Hey, get off our swings," an older fourth grader boy said as he and his friends came over.

"Your swings? I don't see your names on it," Aleena grumbled, but she got off the swings anyway, not wanting to start a fight. She did promise to behave at school, anyway. Stuffing her hands into her pant pockets, she frowned as she tried to think of where else to go to watch everyone. Nowhere else seemed nice enough to sit at. A ball suddenly bounced past her.

"Hey! Can you get our ball?" one of her classmates called out. Shrugging, she went after it. Maybe she could finally ask them if she could play with them. It would be nice to see how she could interact with the other kids.

The ball bounced around a corner, going down the section between two buildings. It was a hidden space that the teachers never let any kids go near, deeming it 'too unsafe.' Really, though, it was because once someone was down that area, they would be unseen by the rest of the playground. So this is where she ended up, going down the area to get the rubber ball. All the while her mind was wandering like it always did. Thinking of many things at once in her mind. She focused on the main situations, yes. But she also thought of many other things in the back of her mind. One thing, in particular, was of what she and Dwight had studied over the weekend. The history of the world, in particular, the history occurring in the 1500s in Europe. It always sounded neat to her learning about people in the past. She wondered what life had been like for them. Had there been people like her in the past? People who also saw the world differently?

Aleena finally picked up the rubber ball, turning it in her hands as she kept thinking about history. She blinked when a flash of white light surrounded her vision and she felt warm all over. Next thing she knew, she was suddenly in a place at night in a dark alleyway. She blinked, looking around where she was. Had she looked into someone's string without meaning to? But no, this felt different. It was not really hazy like it always was when she was in a person's timeline. It was very clear and felt present. And it . . . smelled. Her nose crinkled a bit as the air around her was very stinky. She walked forward a few paces, hearing many voices of people around the area. Where was she? Seeing a few people walk past the alleyway, she saw how there were many adults strolling about. Strangely and shockingly, they all wore similar clothing like what she had seen in her history books. Part of her wanted to think she was dreaming, but it was only logical that she had somehow found herself in the past. How? She had no idea. But it was very neat seeing everything here. Still, she wondered where she was.

"But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

Aleena blinked, looking around a corner slightly to see an even stranger sight still. It was a group of people. A man and two women standing just in front of a tall blue box. On top of the tall box where the words Police Public Call Box. That was weird. That was not a normal thing from this time period, right? She looked away from the box, staring at the people now. She looked at the woman who spoke first, seeing her dark skin, black hair up in a messy bun, red shirt and red leather jacket in her hands. Next to her was a lanky woman with brunette hair and very pale skin, wearing a denim jacket, trousers, and red trainers. While the one woman looked excited and full of awe, the other seemed very nervous and kept pinching her thumb. Tilting her head, Aleena stared at the woman, feeling a strange sensation as if she knew her . . . But why?

"Of course we can. Why do you ask?"

The words from the man caught Aleena's attention, making her look to him now. She noticed his light skin, definitely healthier looking than the other woman's very pale skin. He wore a very long trench coat, and strangely a brown pinstripe suit with cream colour trainers. The same strange feeling she got from the brunette woman went through Aleena again as she looked at the man. She took in his face as he stared confusedly back at the woman who had talked. His brown hair was messy around his head, light freckles were here and there on his face, and his eyes . . . were brown. They looked just like . . .

"It's like in the films . . . you step on a butterfly you change the future of the human race," said the woman with the messy bun.

"I'll tell you what, then, don't . . . step on any butterflies," the man eventually said after blinking at the woman. "What have butterflies ever done to you?" He then turned and walked away from the area. The two women followed right after him to keep up. Aleena stepped towards the end of the alleyway, finally out of the shadows where she had been hidden. She stared at the man and the one woman with brunette hair. The image of his eyes and freckles going through her mind. They were just like her freckles, and she had the same colour of eyes as him. Did . . . Did that mean . . . She looked at the strings attached to the two quickly, seeing the brilliantly golden string that was so long she could hardly see where it ended on the man. And the beautiful white string—so white that it made the colour of snow dull in comparison—that floated around the brunette woman. Strangely, the woman's string was entangled around the man's, twisting around his as though their timelines were holding each other closing with care. Again, as she stared at them, she felt the pull towards them. And she knew . . . she knew who they were. Somehow, though she had no clue how she knew, she just felt it in the core of her gut who these people were. Like . . . she had always known.

Aleena hugged the ball tight to her as she stepped back into the alleyway, feeling her hearts beat rapidly in excitement. She glanced at the blue box one last time before turning around and running back down the alley. How did she get here, though? And how was she going to get back? She thought of maybe something had been in the small area on the playground that had brought her here when, as she imagined the playground in her head, the white light and warm feeling came back. Next thing she knew, she was running out of the area and back to the kids she had just left moments ago. They were there like she had only left them seconds ago. Completely unaware of where she had just been and what she had just seen.

She smiled at them all, finding it funny how they stared back at her as though she were weird in being so excited for gathering up a ball for them all. But she did not care. For they had no idea what wonderful thing she had just discovered. Besides the travelling back in time, of course.

For she had finally found her true parents.

XxXxXxXx

XD! I'm so excited. I cannot wait until the next chapter! Please let me know what you all think. :) Keeping my fingers crossed!

~Tinker~