A wide-eyed Kiseki sits outside a Zentopia office. Inside, her parents are talking with a Zentopia official who runs the school. The parents storm outside the door, the mother in tears and the father with clenched fists. "You can't just kick her out! You're supposed to accept everyone!" the mother pleads.
"We're very sorry ma'am, but your child is harmed more so than helped by our school and we only want what's best for the children," the official replies, her hands clasped in front of her stomach.
"And how do you know what's best for our child?"
"She cannot keep up with even the most basic classes and the children mock her relentlessly for it."
"Then punish the other children! Our child needs to grow up with better prospects than what we- what I had. And it's not her fault she has magical abilities far beyond what any other child has! She is simply very gifted."
"I'm very sorry ma'am, but this is for the best. Gerald," she calls, her assistant exiting the office. "Please escort this couple and their child off the premises."
"Of course. This way please."
When they arrive at the gate, Gerald chuckles. "Besides," he says, "that story about a red dragon is absurd. Why would a dragon save her from fire? I mean really, how stupid must a child be-"
"Don't you dare insult my daughter you- you wretch!" the father yells, shoving the assistant.
"Sir, you just assaulted a Zentopia official. Never return to the premise, you or your retarded child," he spat, turning around and sauntering into the gate.
The mother sighs and gently grabs Kiseki's hand. "Come along, young one. Let's go home. All of us." With that, she grabs her husband's hand and pulls her family away from the Zentopia church, their last connection to other people, their place of memories, from their wedding to their doctors' appointments where she was proclaimed that awful, terrible title that would forever haunt her parents and isolate her from others: mentally challenged.
The couple arrives back at their cottage at the meeting place of a forest and a clearing, on which they grow many different plants, but only enough to survive on. With no education, they had hoped to give their daughter a better chance at life with Zentopia's schooling program, but it was to no avail. When they reach their front door, the mother gets on her knees to Kiseki's eye level.
"You are so special. Your father and I prayed for a child, and you were delivered to us by a gust of wind so powerful our house was shaking when you arrived. The gods intended for you to be with us, exactly as you are. Those other children may have treated you badly, called you names, or made fun of the different way you think, but you are so wonderful," the mother proclaims, clutching her daughter's hands.
"You have a way with animals and plants that I have never before seen," the father admits, also getting on his knees and placing his hand on her shoulder. "We love you very much, darling."
The parents embrace their daughter, hoping that their words help.
"Mother, father," Kiseki says. "May I go outside?"
"Of course, dear, but do you understand us?"
"Can I go outside and play?"
The parents share a concerned look, but the mother sighs and relents. "Yes. Be back before dark!" she calls, Kiseki already out the door.
The mother turns to her husband. "What are we going to do with her? She will be alone when we die. And…" she trails off, looking down at the black spots on her wrist and hand. "That doesn't seem to be too far away."
"I don't know, dear. I just don't know."
The two watch their daughter run into the field and laugh as she picks up some flowers and forms a beautiful bouquet with them. She runs to the garden and begins fiddling with the vegetables, and her parents watch her with worry in their eyes as the sun turns a light pink and orange and the light begins to dim.
A/N: Please comment about what you liked, didn't like, and everything in between. I love feedback! Also hit that follow button and heart this story. Have a great day!
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