It was a bright sunny day in the backyard of the comfortable Oklahoman home. A little girl danced in the rays, twirling and humming and singing with no real conviction or purpose if only to spread warmth. Looking at her outfit, one would think her weird, with her yellow short sleeve shirt under her bright red sundress. Strange in how woodland creatures from the forest behind the home were dancing with her; everything from baby deer and birds to snakes and rabbits slithered and flew and danced all around her, seeming in perfect harmony, any past hate or hunger far away from their minds.

Inside the house the girl's parents stood, behind a tightly shut door with every window in the building locked and sealed air-tight. They did not want to risk being entranced by their child's voice.

The beautiful mother turned in her husbands arms, looking up at him with unshed tears in her blue eyes. The handsome young man shifted from his child to his wife, sighing at her unasked question.

"I don't know what we are going to do with her," He said quietly, as if to avoid his daughter hearing him, his southern accent obvious and thick. "There is no place to go for her." No place safe for her, no place for others to be safe from her.

"But-" The woman choked on a sob searching for words. Her wavy blond hair curled around her face, making a curtain as she dipped her head. "There must be some place- other people like her. She's just not natural!" She cried, almost throwing her hands up in despiration. Her voice had risen to manic levels, and her husband hurried to calm her. She did so slowly and with many hiccups.

"Maybe there will be later," the man soothed, running his fingers through her soft hair. "For now, all we can do is wait and shield her from others." And others from her.

The woman sniffed loudly and turned her head to watch her daughter playing "Sing and Reply," a game the young girl made up to play with her wildlife friends. She would sing a short tune and the birds would gather and repeat it. She would sing a longer series of notes, and would get a replay back. This continued until the birds had memorized a whole song, consisting of absurdly high and low notes. She would often wake to the same song they learned the next morning, even without her child instigating the chorus.

"We'll home school her," the woman decided, looking up at her husband determinly, even with her watery eyes. "Make sure no one comes near, make sure she never sings." The man nodded, if only to placate her. They both knew that her singing only affected animals, but the young girl had a childish temper that would send a boar raming into some poor boys gut if she were to be angered.

"Alright," The man said quietly. They both looked out at their daughter, who appeared to have tired out. She sat in the middle of the yard, her long red sundress spread around her, her eerie red and yellow eyes sparkling as she looked at all the animals around her. It seemed that even without needing to sing the animals were her friends. She looked genuinely happy, as she always did when she was with them. Part of him wanted her to always be as happy as she looked right then.

The other part wished she was never born.

Years later, piano drifted flawlessly throughout the house. The girl, now nine years old, sat at the new grand piano playing a rather lazy and peaceful song. Her mother and father sat across the room, watching and critiquing her. She finished and turned on the bench, searching her parents for any praise they may have to offer. Her father nodded stiffly, and her mother didn't seem to be paying any attention, instead staring at a wall.

The girl hopped off the stool and approched her father. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but a loud series of knocks cut him off. He turned to his wife, mirroring her fearful look, and nodded. Her mother stood and put a cold hand on her shoulder, steering her away without much of a fight. The girl was not ignorant to their fear; they didn't want her within sight when normal people came around.

Normal...

Before she could think anymore on the matter, her mother roughly pushed her outside into the backyard. Another few knocks echoed and her mother gave her a look before returning inside, shutting the door behind her. The child sighed. She didn't blame her parents.

But as she sat on her knees in the middle of the yeard, facing the trees with her face tilted towards the warmth of the sun, she quickly grew bored. She spared a glance towards the patio doors before making her decision. She took a few deep breathes to calm her nerves, then slowly and meticulously cleared her head. It had a better effect if her mind was clear. When she felt ready, she took another breath and sang.

The effect was immediate and obvious. The forest went immediately silent as she sang a long, sad note that even she had trouble hearing. It told of how she felt now; alone, nervous, and sad. She started to think of how she wanted to feel and her voice changed, to a higher, more confident note. Soon a ladder of notes swam through the trees, playing with higher notes that became increasingly more playful and pleasant as she became lost in her own voice. She watched as a few grey squirrels hopped through the long grass and switched tunes again, this time to a melody of shyer, more welcoming notes. She held her palm up to the rodents, inviting them to come keep her company. The squirrels wasted next to no time in acompaning their old friend.

When the squirrels were comfortable with her again, she switched back to her playful notes. They reminded her of a video game that her parents once let her play. Maybe that is why she felt the tune appropriate? She didn't dwell on it now, as more creatures emerged from the wood. More squirrels emerged, along with some tiny blue birds and even a brown and tan one. She felt no need to go back to the tame tunes, as they would see the squirrels playing in her lap and not be afraid. She smiled as a baby deer and her mother came to the clearing, and could almost swear the mother smiled back. She giggled as a skunk wrapped itself around her neck, the stiff fur tickling her. That was what she loved about her friends; even when she wasn't singing, they stayed. The song was more like a calling for a meeting, but for friends. She continued humming however, even singing nice and loud when it seemed they were begging her to continue.

She was petting the faun's wet snout when she heard the back door slam shut, making her jump. She felt the magic break in the animals as she jerked to look behind her. She only had to see her fathers angry red and purple face to know that it was time for them to leave. She quickly stood up, gathering the skunk around her neck and setting it gently on the ground. She motioned for them all to leave and they did, all of them escaping just as her father reached her.

She whimpered as her fathers thick fingers wrapped around her arm tightly. She could almost hear him growling as he stood over her, breathing heavily in anger. She felt herself shrink away from him, turning her face down and away, just as she had seen some wild dogs do when their elders were mad at them. It didnt seem to help her however, as she felt his grip tighten and he yanked her up farther than she was supposed to. She cried out, but her father didnt seem to hear her as he pulled her along, mumbling all the way. She couldn't listen to him through the hard beating of her heart, concentrating on trying to slide her fingers in between her arm and his fingers to try and loosen them. She had never before seen him so angry, and she was well and truely scared.

She gave up trying to make him let go and looked around, thinking that they were taking a rather long time to get to the back door. Her efforts to get away were renewed as she realized that they weren't going inside the house. They were going towards the shed. The man before her growled and jerked her, causing a wave of pain to travel up her arm and effectively silence her. She didn't know what her father was going to do to her, but she knew that it wouldn't be plesant.

It took only a moment for her father to unlock the shed and shove her through the open door. She tripped over her feet from the force of it, and lay on the ground panting. She listened to the angry man lock the door from the inside, mumbling and grumbling away. She just couldn't bring herself to listening to him. Her arm was aching from his grip, she had scraped her knee on the way down, and she had to bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

She could just barely hear him moving to the back of the shed. She sat up a little and looked around. It was the first time she had ever been in the shed. Rusted old-time saws that must have belonged to her great great grandfathers hung high on the walls. Other sharp instraments were hung and leaning on the wall, and in her position they all looked dangerous and and frightening. She whimpered again as she heard her father walking towards her from the back and started shuffling backwards, almost in a crabwalk. Her eyes widened as she spied the big belt he had in his hand, dragging along the floor. She would have thought it a whip if it didn't have the grooves of some industrial machine.

Her father snarled as he saw her scamper away from him, turning around and crawling on her hands and knees to move faster. He continued advancing until she met the wall, turning around and staring up at him with wide, scared eyes. She tried to make herself smaller, but he grabbed her by her arm and yanked her up, making her yelp again in pain.

"Do you have any idea what you almost done?" He snarled. Spit flew out of his mouth and hit her in the face, making her turn her head more. Her shook her hard and she cried out. "Answer me!" She opened her mouth to answer but he threw her down. "They almost saw you! They almost heard you!" The girl stared at him, uncomprehending what he meant. It made him all the more angry.

Never since she had shown her ability did he beat her, whether in punishment or otherwise. He didn't even touch her. As if she had been a disease he had never gone near her. Even know as she was feet away from him did he feel the urge to run away form her in disgust. He felt dirty from the moment he had gripped her arm, and he needed to take a very hot shower when he was done. Now, he knew that she would never learn to hide her disease just by them telling her to not do it. He would finally get to hurt this disgusting creature, get to cure it one hit at a time. Hopefully in time all the slime filling her DNA would ooze away. She would learn to never sing; he even hoped she would never talk.

"Get up," he growled. She started, but didn't move. "Get up!" He cried, raising the belt above his head and bringing it down. With a great smack like thunder it hit her skin. She screamed, sending a thrill through him he'd never felt. When he saw she wasn't moving to get up, only holding her arm above her head to shield her from incoming blows, he struck again. The shed filled with cries and smacks, and soon the sobs of the tiny girl filled in the silence in between. Now that he had started, he didn't feel like stopping. He had no idea why he hadn't done this sooner, why he hadn't taken out his hate and disgust and frustration on the monster that had ruined his life by simply being born.

He began to tire, his breathing becoming harbored and his muscles starting to ache from the sudden excersize. He stopped to admire his work and wipe the sweat from his brow. The girl looked on the brink of conciousness, and the repeated strikes in the same places made her ooze blood from cuts on her arms, legs, and face. Salty tears leaked generously from her eyes, and she could barely find strength to whimper in pain. He could already see bruises make patterns whereveer he hit, crisscrossing like some sadistic puzzle. The most obvious one so far was the hand prints on her upper arms. He set the belt on a bench and turned to leave, but her whisper made him pause.

"Da-daddy..." Her word barely louder than a breath. He felt furious again and turned, bring his foot back and slamming into her gut hard enough to make her body slide. Her breath exited her suddenly, and her body shook as she faught to breathe. His lips curled up into a mixture of a snarl and a grin, and he spit on her. Her body was racked in a sob as he answered her.

"I consider you no child of mine," his voice laced with malice and hate. "You are the spawn of some demon in Hell." He turned and opened the door, walking through it. It was sunny outside, as if nothing had happened inside the shed. She watched, her eyes both swelling as he walked up the hill to the house. Even as her vision began to develop black along the edges, she could hear the squeeky screen door swing open and slam shut again as her father entered the house.

Her mind was blissfully blank as the pain along her body began to ebb away. Her head thunked on the ground as it went limp, and her lungs let out a long sigh. She closed her eyes and her body went limp. The dark was welcoming, and she both hoped and feared that she would never see the light again. The man that she had known as her dad was no longer, and she was not so stupid as to belive otherwise. Still, a part of her hoped that he would regret his actions when she awoke. She was not so smart as to belive otherwise to that feeling.