Authors Note: Soooooooooo I was SO dumb and wrote this originally really weird. So I fixed it up and this is the rework. Slight differences in the two, but nothing major. I hope this reads better and makes for a more enjoyable read. Thanks!
It was an abnormally cold fall morning the day she was found on the steps of St. Mary's orphanage in Austin, Texas, USA. The nuns didn't know anything about her birth parents when they found her, only a note within her basket that simply said "Paige."
Paige didn't get her first couple interested in adopting her until she turned around five years old. A middle-aged couple named Frank and Evelyn Goldstein entered St. Mary's Orphanage, hoping to find a child to call their own. Entering the room where the children were playing in, Evelyn noticed straight away a small sandy blonde-haired girl with icy blue eyes sitting in the corner by herself, reading quietly.
After a couple of visits, and spending some time talking with Paige, they decided that they wanted to adopt her. Evelyn loved that she was polite, intelligent, and she loved that they shared the same color of sandy blonde hair.
Growing up with them was fine. Evelyn seemingly desperate to become a mother, while Frank remains indifferent with her the entirety of her time with them. Paige thought he found her as a nuisance rather than his adopted child.
When Paige was ten the Goldstein's decided to take a family trip to Japan. Evelyn stating that she wanted them to travel more as a family because those were the best memories she had of her childhood. They did the typical sight-seeing of Japan. Walking though the cherry blossom fields, experiencing Japanese food, and Paige's favorite thing – people watching.
They were coming up to the end up their weeklong trip and Frank and Evelyn were standing in the middle of the hotel lobby looking at pamphlets, hoping to find an exciting activity to finish up the trip on.
"Oh, how about this one Frank?" Evelyn says to Frank showing him the pamphlet in her hand. "There's a giant pond with koi fish."
"They want us to pay to see a bunch of damn fish?" Frank says, shaking his head. "We can find something cheaper and better."
"Oh, how about we walk around the Sakura festival. Last night it was so much fun, I bet they have different day-time activities."
"Nah, I think we should see something new."
Paige was sitting quietly on a chair near by, watching the different kinds of people walking in and out of the hotel, barely listening in on Evelyn and Frank discussing their plans for the day. An older man walking though the door caught her eye because of the bright teal windbreaker jacket he was wearing. She was watching him as he went up to the front desk and started exchanging some words with the hotel clerk before looking over in the direction of Frank and Evelyn. She saw him put on a huge smile before walking up to them Evelyn and Frank.
"Good morning, I heard you folks might be looking for something to do." He says to them with a cheery voice.
"Yes, we're having a hard time deciding on what will be best for out last few days here." Evelyn says to him while looking up from her pamphlets.
"Well, if you are interested, I have a very rare and special opportunity for you!" He says, his voice remaining cheerful.
"What is this rare and special opportunity?" Frank asks, crossing his arms.
"I was supposed to do a tour for this couple to a super secret, super remote shrine. Most of the locals don't even know about it." The man says. "But they cancelled at the last minute. I guess one of them got food poisoning. It's already paid for and everything."
"So, it wouldn't cost us anything if it was already paid for?" Evelyn asks, her interest peaking.
"It would be a free tour. Only need to pack some food for along the way." The man says. "I have my backpack ready to go, tent included.
"Tent? We're going to be there over night?" Frank asks a little annoyed.
"Trust me, it will be worth it! The nights are warm, and the sky is beautiful this time of year." The man says excitedly.
"We also have our daughter." Evelyn says as she nods over towards Paige who was still watching them intensively.
The man turns to look over at Paige before turning back to Frank and Evelyn.
"Excellent, what a great cultural experience for such a young girl." The man says, still as cheery as ever.
The trip through the woods was long and exhausting. Leading them up steep hills, near thin ledges and through dense woods. The tour guide constantly checking little marks on the walls, on rocks and carved into trees along the way that most people wouldn't even notice unless they knew where to look.
They were following a narrow foot path with the sun now set, being led by the man with a lantern when they finally saw a light in the distance.
"We're here!" The tour guide says excitedly.
As they were approaching the shrine, Paige couldn't help but notice that it was surrounded by torches. All of them with a faint tint of green inside the flame. She was left to her fixation on the fire while Frank and Evelyn started walking further into the shrine structure. The tour guide standing behind Paige while she was staring into the flame.
"This is a special fire that cannot be put out. Everyone who has tried has been unsuccessful." He says to Paige as he kneels to her level.
Paige didn't reply to him, she didn't stop looking at the fire. The tour guide stands back up.
"I'll start setting up the tent while you folks have a look around." says as he starts removing his bag from his back. "It's even more breath-taking in the daytime."
"Look at these engravings along the side of the wood" Evelyn says as she starts pulling Frank closer to the shrine.
Paige was still in awe with the fire and now determined to see if what the tour guide said was true about it. Curious, she takes out her water bottle from her bag and unscrews the lid. Reaching up on her tiptoes she pours the water on the fire on top of the torch. To Paige's amazement, the fire didn't react to the water at all. No sizzling, no smoking. Nothing. Her eyes following the water trickle down the wooden post of the torch.
A loud noise made Paige jump and break her focus on the fire. Her gaze now moving to the giant stone statue resembling a half ox half demon like creature resting in the middle of the wooden structure of the shrine. Something was drawing her closer to it, an invisible rope, pulling her closer. Paige was trying to look away from it, but her head was locked. Her eyes locking on to its eyes with no escape. She could hear a faint male voice call out her name. She was trying to let out a yelp as a sharp pain suddenly hit the middle of her upper back, but she was unable to scream out in pain and baring everything internally. She was trying to call for help while the statue was still pulling her closer towards it but she couldn't get any words out. She couldn't even get a breath out. The last thing Paige could hear was Evelyn calling her name as the statue's eyes start glowing a creepy bright green color, the same tint as the fire in the torches.