Chapter 3

Nova twitched. These so-called aspiring hunters were getting on her already frayed nerves. She was on edge already but these people had to be so loud(and for the first time, she cursed her hearing), and so extraordinarily obnoxious, she didn't quite know what to do. 44's bloodlust was leaking everywhere, just like 307's and even the examiners were on edge because of it. When they sent them out to find pork, the first thing she did was get as far away as possible from Hisoka and 307 as humanly possible, not even caring whether she was noticed or not.

"What was that?" Some people asked, as they felt a wind blow past them. Those with sharper eyes traced the path that the girl had taken, unsure of whether to follow her or to avoid her at all costs. Hisoka stood in place and licked his lips, cooing, "I really do pick the best ones."

Gittarackur had no choice but to agree. She had talent, and was quiet enough to be a good assassin. Briefly, he wondered if she did come from one of those other, less important assassin families. Internally, he shook his head. That was highly improbable, because he had drilled a list of rival assassins into his head, and that girl looked nothing like any of those on his list. If she disguised her appearance… but that was doubtful. You could tell that she didn't know nen, even though her aura was rolling off of her in waves. It was a wonder that more people hadn't taken notice of her.

Nova now clung to the tree like it was her last lifeline(which was pretty true), trying to escape from the surly, pink pings that were ready to eat whatever came their way, gourmet or not. Nova may have been strong, but if there was one thing she didn't have a lot of, well, that was her battle experience. She had been able to develop a high tolerance to pain, to exercise enough to make sure her body was in good condition, though she was sure she could be better.

But experience with hitting other things back, to fight? There wasn't a lot of that in her life. She got to see some of Sterling's swordplay lessons, and she herself had gotten a few, to assist him, but she had never taken to it that much. She could throw a punch as hard as anybody else, and take one too. However, there was no denying that her battle sense was underdeveloped. Which was why she was sitting in the tree, hoping that the pigs would just go away.

She nearly cried when some idiots(read: Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika) came tumbling down the hill, much in the same fashion she did, and distracted them long enough for her to get away. Thanking her lucky stars, she came across one pig that was obviously killed recently, an animal that looked like a hybrid between a cat and a dog standing over it. She could deal with that, because it shied away when she entered the vicinity, but she could not deal with those other people still trying to get their pigs.

With her knife, she chopped off the hind legs, the tail, and the snout and put it all in a burlap sack that she had taken from the kitchen. She didn't need all of it, and the dog-cat thing looked like it still needed food. This was a small pig compared to the others ones she had seen, but it was still quite heavy, and it was hard for her to jump from tree to tree to get back to the stations. At least, she thought in victory, she had gotten back before anybody else did. Nobody had even figured out how to kill them yet.

There was only one problem with her being the only contestant so far; she needed to know their standards. They were gourmet hunters, sure, but the larger guy seemed like he would eat anything. The girl though… perhaps a family recipe would suffice. Well, not really a family recipe, more like one she had looked up online while she was alone, right before the hunter exam, and had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted. Perhaps cooking was time well spent for this particular exam.

"Maa-ah. What is this?" Menchi looked at the plate she was presented, and then over at the person who gave it to her. Then she looked at the droves of people coming in, and how she moved herself so that she wasn't as easily spotted. She could already tell that all of the others in the room would do no great wonder to the pork. Menchi felt an impending headache coming on, and that pressure given out by number 44 come back, stronger than ever.

This girl, at least, seemed to know portion control. 144, she thought as she took the lid off of her plate. Buhara had only been given a leg, one that seemed to be put together hastily, but she had seen much more effort going into her side. Buhara held up his stick, indicating that he had passed the girl.

Hisoka's bloodlust only got stronger as he noticed 144 was standing on the judgement platform. Nova prayed for this to be over soon, even though she wasn't a religious person. She wanted to go unnoticed, she didn't want to be seen by people, she didn't want to be anything out of the ordinary, because then people would approach her and ask her questions, and she would be unable to answer them.

Menchi observed the dish in front of her. Pig snout was an interesting choice. Personally, she never really liked the meat, because it was too rough and fatty, but, she allowed, it probably tasted better than the charred mess that others were lining up to try to get her to eat. She stabbed the meat with a fork and it sunk in. The meat was so soft, softer than the Jewel Meat she had found a year ago. Yes, it was soft, she thought as she chewed, but it wasn't very flavorful.

She had cooked it... Well. Not horribly, but not great. It was a good cut of meat though, and a good choice on 144's part. There was also a little something extra, something that wasn't a spice. She didn't recall anything but - oh, it must have been the tail of the pig. Known for it's flavor, it was a delicacy on it's own, and she flavored meat with fat. Yes, this dish was what she was looking for; the dish didn't have to be great, it just had to be innovative.

But, she looked over at the contestant, who was no longer in her line of sight. She looked around the room for her and found her, purposely running from Hisoka's eye. A smile found its way onto her face. Smart girl. Knows when to back down when she's challenged. She twirled her paddle in the air. She would have passed her, but if she didn't have the guts to stick around, just because of one person…. Then again, even she, a bonafide hunter, was intimidated by that man. Could she really fault a small child that looked no more than 13 for trying to save her own hide?

Another dish was slammed onto the table, and she was not given a chance to consider her ruling for 144. It was that stupid wrestler again, and she felt her temper flare. Within three dishes time, she had forgotten all about 144, and the odd air that she carried around with her.

#

The feeling of eyes on her was an uncomfortable, disconcerting feeling. They looked at her like she was something interesting, but not a person. It was eerily reminiscent of how her family thought of her as an object they owned,instead of a daughter. That didn't matter though. The examiner had taken too long to decide, and the feeling was too uncomfortable.

At least Hisoka's attention was elsewhere, his bloodlust encompassing the room when Menchi announced that no one had passed the second phase. There was also some bloodlust oozing from Gittarackur, but he was better at containing it. Or maybe it was that his bloodlust was more similar to the other contestants? She didn't know. Of course, when it came down to it, Nova would rather be trapped with Hisoka somewhere, rather than the latter, simply because being able to read emotions was something of a comfort to her, and allowed her to plan accordingly.

The dead look in 307's eyes did not sit well with her, not in the slightest. It looked even worse than her own, for when she looked in the mirror, she knew that her eyes weren't full of life like most other kids were. Nova did not look at herself like she was a kid though, because she knew that in her eleven years, she had probably seen and understood more than many others who led pampered lives with enough love, and people who cared about them.

She was bitter, and there was no denying that, but she couldn't change the past, and she didn't hope to change the future. She just wanted to blend in, to allow everything to go the way it was supposed to, as she settled into her own, very nondescript life that nobody cared about. She couldn't understand why two of the most powerful(and creepy) people in the exam were taking an interest in her, and she did not like it one bit.

Again, she ducked underneath the sink when she felt Hisoka's gaze turn towards her. She waited there quietly, until the chairman came down in the blimp, and another chance for the second phase examination was called for. Like always, she followed silently, not great enough to be noticed at all times, but under surveillance to see how she would grow.

#

Mount Split in Half was a wonder. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. How a deep ravine managed to cut through the line for what looked like miles on end, she didn't know, but whatever had done it must have been powerful.

She thought of Ging, and the slight aura that she picked up with them, how his letters felt stronger than regular paper. She thought of Hisoka, with his bloodlust, and Gittarackur with his carefully managed power. She thought of the examiners. She thought of the chairman. All of them seemed powerful, but could they amount to splitting the ground in half, so far, and so deep?

No, she reasoned. It wasn't possible. Even though making the ravine seemed an impossible feat for anything other than nature, she did believe it would be easy to get a spider egg and come back up, whether it was by climbing, or by the updraft that came every once in awhile. She did not, however, have any desire to go first, and was more than happy to watch Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio jump off the cliff and onto the spider webs. Then she assessed how much they weighed and whether the webs would be able to take all of their weight.

That would most likely be a negatory. She shook her head and waited a little longer. Menchi wandered over to the girl who she vaguely remembered had the one dish she probably wouldn't have failed. "You know," she began. "You passed the first examination, but you just weren't there to hear my ruling if you want, you can accept that now and not do this part."

But she had jumped already, and her voice trailed after her in the wind. This had to be timed perfectly. She whizzed past Gon and Killua, falling directly in front of them. A bad choice in placement, but not necessarily horrible. Blow her, the ravine was dark, cold and menacing. She angled her body to move even faster, to dive down into it. She loved the thrill of falling and her eyes only looked at her goal, though she could hear voices over the wind.

"What a stupid girl," one of the contestants said. "Falling to her death when she knows that there's not always an-"

"Now!" shouted Gon.

Nova didn't just take one egg, she took the entire sac and flew back up with it on the updraft. Some of the eggs had fallen out, the web not strong enough or large enough to hold all of them. There were still a good ten in the sac, and the heaviness of her bounty made her feel full inside. Menchi was still standing there, looking at her like she was some sort of odd specimen. This was why she should never try to differentiate herself. This was why she should just play it safe and stay in the middle of the pack. One more girl's weight wouldn't have made the web snap much faster than the rate it was going at, and surely it would have lasted a few more seconds.

But deep inside her, she wanted to show off, just a little bit, She wanted to be praised, and for people to recognize her and say that she was amazing. But the world didn't work like that, and it truly was a sorrow that it would typically only be your family that recognizes your aspects of you being great, because you are their child. But her parents didn't see her as a child.

Before anybody else came off of the updraft, she rushed and placed her eggs into the pot and waited. All of the others were still milling around, talking to each other and saying how thrilling the experience they had just gone through was. Half-hearted words of consolation were given to people who didn't jump, but the majority emotion was elation; a high of living. By the time they were done, she had pulled all of the eggs out and sat under the shade of the hunter association airship. This was what she was used to; hoarding things for her own sake and being on her own. Throughout the years, she found that she really did like it, in ways that other people wouldn't be able to imagine.

Underneath the airship, she clung to the part of the landing gear that was the farthest away from all of the other contestants. She had no reason to stay by them, for one of the examiners surely would have marked her off, what between the odd glances Menchi gave her, Netero's stroking of his beard, and Bean's ever present clipboard. Fumbling in the backpack she had brought with her, she wondered if she would be able to stash any of these eggs for a later date before shaking her head. They would most likely rot or break before they would be of any use elsewhere, so she might as well eat them all now.

She took the pen cap off and looked up her location on her phone before marking it on a world map that she had brought with her. If she ever wanted to make cash quick, this would probably be a good place to do it. She could gather eggs, rent an airship, bring it back to a market and be rewarded with much more than an airship's cost.

"Hello there, 144~" That damned clown. Too powerful and didn't know when to mind his own business. She stared him right back in his eyes, challenging him. Really, she's only been making bad choices since she's left the castle, but this was going to make up for the childhood she didn't have. Everything new, she would fawn over, and the barest hint of old was not to be mentioned.

"Hnngh~ that look in your eyes in just too good~" He licked his lips and thrust his hips out. She diverted her eyes to the scene behind her. Gon was offering some of his egg to the wrestler, Netero, Killua, Gittarackur and Buhara were all eyeing Hisoka and her. She hated to do it, but she bowed to him and left all of her eggs there before jogging off and standing a little bit behind Netero and Killua, who were standing side by side.

Hisoka walked over to 307 with lust still in his eyes. "She's going to be a beauty when she grows up~" And oh, how she wished she could turn her ears off, to trade speech for hearing, to speak- but she had come to terms with it. That was her body's way of compensating for her inability to speak.

"Heh, looks like you've got a lot of admirers," chuckled Netero. He glanced at her number pin and looked at something on Bean's clipboard. "Nova, is it?" She nodded her head up and down in response, wondering if it was a bad decision to choose here instead of somewhere else, where people were less aware of her. But Netero was strong, and she had a strong suspicion that Hisoka wouldn't dare hurt 99. 44 looked at Killua warily, like he realized he had potential like Gon did, but was scared of something else, scared of the repercussions of playing with him.

"What an interesting little girl. No last name?" She nodded. She could have put Arsenio on there, but it wouldn't have felt right. "An orphan, than?" She shook her head no and looked towards Gon, hoping to end the conversation. Though the eyes were still on her, no further attempt at conversation was made. Shrinking behind Killua as Gon approached, she wondered if she really wanted to meet him, to see how different he had become from her expectations. But then, she was standing behind Killua, a person she had decided she didn't want to be within a ten foot radius of. Her judgement was off.

He came bounding back, a ball of happiness and energy, right before Netero instructed all those who passed to get onto the airship. His grin was ever present as he turned his attention to her, and said, "Oh, the girl from earlier! What's your name?"Killua and Netero both stared at her, waiting to see how she would respond. She pulled out a small notepad and flipped to one of the first pre-prepared pages she had. I she was going to introduce herself to him, she might as well stay around him afterwards as well.

My name is Nova.

He looked at her curiously, wondering why she didn't speak before he voice the same question.

I am currently unable to speak due to a cold, which I do not want to get worse.

The three of them continued to walk towards the airship, Killua heading the group while Gon and Nova lagged a little bit behind. The blonde boy and the suited man also made their way over to them, and she inclined her head to the Kuruta to tell him that she remembered him. The older man asked, "Who is this?"

"This is Nova. Nova, meet Leorio," the old man. " and Kurapika!" The blonde. "She's sick so she can't talk." he explained as to why she did not speak up for herself. As the five of them boarded the airship, Nova decided that she did like Gon's personality, and that it didn't deviate much from what she expected except he was much less corrupt than she thought he would be. He was still a breath of fresh air, untainted, warm, and successful at bringing the feeling that she was loved. She only wished that he remembered her from that one day, but that was asking for too much. She only remembered him because he was a significant person in her life, and he had been mentioned so many times when his father wrote to her.

The forty-two remaining contestants made their way to the front of the ship, where the chairman and his secretary introduced themselves and explained why they were there. "Let's go explore the airship," said Killua, pulling on Gon's sleeve, but looking at Nova. "Do you want to come with us?" No harm, no foul, right? She could indulge. She nodded yes.

"We're going to head off to get some rest, Gon." Kurapika rested a hand on Gon's shoulder before he and Leorio departed to a room where they could get some rest. She resolutely stuck by Gon's side, partly because she didn't want to be alone when she faced Hisoka, Netero, or 307 again, but also because she wanted to fill herself with the happiness Gon brought with him. She highly suspected that Killua did the for now, as long as she still had her goal to find Ging in mind, she could have the childhood she never had at her home.

Maybe that was Ging's intention all along when he sent her to this hunter exam. So Nova smiled when she thought the other two weren't looking. It made her lips crack and bleed, but that was okay. It felt good to smile, and she hoped that with Gon and Killua, she would be able to do that more and more often.

#

"Hey, how many applicants do you expect to make it?" Menchi, sitting around a table with food that she prepared, questioned the other examiners.

"You mean pass the exam?" questioned Buhara.

"Yep. This year we have an impressive group, though I failed them all at one point."

Buhara finished the last of his plates on the table, and impressive stack of twenty plates on his right side. "Doesn't it depend on what the upcoming phases consist of?"

"True, but didn't you notice? One of them had this whole aura going on. What do you think, Satotz?" She leaned towards the man with no mouth, curious to hear his answers.

"I'm partial to the rookies this year." Satotz had a few in mind, those three kids were something to be wary of, because when they grew older, there was no telling what side they would play for. The girl was too quiet to tell, and 99's assassin training might change whatever path he really wanted to take originally.

Menchi agreed. "I'm partial to 294." Hanzo, the ninja.

"I like 99's chance." Killua.

"Ah, but doesn't he look like a selfish, arrogant brat?" She countered. "What about you, Buhara."

He nodded his head down. "He isn't a rookie, but it's 44 I'm partial to. I'm sue you noticed, but when 255 was throwing a fit, it was really 44 who was on the verge of killing someone."

"He could barely restrain himself from tearing off our heads. But he was like that since the first, always challenging me. That's the real reason why I was so on edge."

"I had the same experience. He should be carefully monitored." He took another sip of his tea. "It pains me to admit it, but we are birds of a feather with him, though he has a much stronger affinity for darkness. Every once in awhile, we see someone who hits the ground running, when we try to slow things down. An oddball of sorts."

All three of them shook their heads. "And then, there's the lesser noticed." All three of them knew who Menchi was talking about: 144, that girl who followed in Satotz's steps without him, a pro hunter, noticing. Leaving the station before Menchi could rule anything. Jumping off the cliff first, being the first in practically everything.

It was a cry that she wanted to be noticed, but at the same time, with all the times she disappeared and shied from attention, she didn't want anybody to see her. She was confusing, a mystery, but nen leaked out of her constantly, in an uncontrolled manner, but they could tell she hadn't trained. It was the wild aura that escaped, the life force. It showed that she had so much power that her body couldn't contain it, and it made them think that she was a time bomb, just waiting to explode.

Satotz remembered the fourth card shot at her. Already, she was acquiring dangerous people who didn't know how to feel about her. If she survived, she would definitely be one to watch.

They left the room with the threat of Hisoka hanging over their heads, and curiosity towards a girl who they knew practically nothing about.

#

I told you, Nova wrote on her notepad, shaking her head at Killua and Gon, who just got thrown out of the kitchen by a chef.

Gon rubbed the back of his head, but Killua stomped up to her and began to tickle her sides. At first, she didn't know what he was doing, and there was only a look of confusion, but then he flicked his fingers again, and again and- She could barely breathe. She was rolling on the floor, not making any sounds while Killua never stopped his advances on tickling her.

She pounded on the tiles, silently begging him to stop, but he didn't.

"Ma, ma, Killua, I think that's enough." He felt so at ease with this girl, but for some reason, he felt like he was the adult between the two of them. Ever since they started wandering the airship, Nova had been looking at everything with a rather childish wonder, and Killua had been trailing after her, suspicious at first, but then joining in on her fun. After an hour or so, the two had warmed up to each other. The three of them went to the dining hall and grabbed a quick snack. Gon and Killua both grabbed ribs that they could carry around and eat, but Nova grabbed all of the sweet things she could find; jello in cups, milkshakes, you name it, she had it.

Nova approached the window in small wonder, and both Killua and gon followed after. "Awesome!" said Killua, taking in the shining lights that they could see from up above.

"Killua, Nova, I was wondering… what do you parents do?"

"They're alive… I think." Killua sat down on the bench, facing Gon. "They're assassin."

"Both of them?" said Gon. Killua began to laugh. "That's your first reaction? You really are a 're the first person who's ever responded seriously." He glanced down at Nova, who had settled against the wall, eyes closed but clearly listening.

"You're telling the truth though, right?"

"That's weird, people generally only like me because they can't tell whether or not I'm serious or not… I'm from a family of assassins, so they're all assassins. My family has really high hopes for me, but I can't stand it. Who wants to have their life planned out for them? My mother had tears streaming down her face as she told me that I have what it takes to become a top assassin!" He looked out of the window longingly, but put on a series of funny faces to entertain Gon. "I ended up stabbing my mother in the face and my brother in the side. I'm sure they're out for blood now. But if I find them, I'll send them packing. When I become a hunter, I'll capture them. I'm sure they're worth some heavy bounties."

Nova opened her eyes and blinked twice. She would have given anything to have her family pay enough attention to her to plan her life out a few years ago, but now she saw where Killua was coming from. She, too, wanted to carve her own path. For so long, she had been deprived of contact with other people, or if she had any, it was people who were cruel and heartless. She was more similar to Killua than she thought, and that made her uncomfortable. They had such different personalities and she wondered what made people different.

Touching Killua's sleeve to ensure he saw her response, she smiled in quiet understanding before getting to her feet, realizing there was somebody watching them. Gon and Killua both followed her lead, feeling a tremendous power from down the hallway. It was menacing, just like Illumi's.

"Ah, Netero, did you see anybody coming from that side?" Gon pointed to the side opposite of where Netero had come out of. Nova had her hands at her side, fingers itching to take the knives out and throw them. Instead, she bowed to Netero, as way of greeting, acknowledging that she knew what he did.

"You're pretty fast for an old man," Killua said.

"That little trick? It was nothing." An aura was raised by Netero.

"What do you want? You don't need to do anything until the last phase, right?" Killua was instantly on guard, not for his friends, but for self-preservation, because that always came first. If he ended up helping Gon and Nova, that would just be part of the job.

"Don't be that way. I got bored and was just looking for some companions. By the wayy, I meant to ask you. What do you think of the Hunter Exam so far?"

Gon nodded in enthusiasm. "It's fun1 There haven't been any written exams."

"I'm disappointed. I expected the exam to be much harder. Can I assume that the next phase will be much harder?" He started to move, not allowing Nova time to write out her response. "Let's go, Gon, Nova."

"Now wait just a moment. Would you care to play a game with me?"Slowly, Killua angled his head back to see the old man talking. "If you're able to defeat me, I shall let you be hunters."

"Really? I'll play." Gon, in all of his innocence and naivete, didn't believe there would be any repercussions.

"How about it?" Netero turned his gaze to Killua. It was a silent agreement, and the three of them began to move off to the room, not realizing that Nova had already left them. She trailed behind them, like a ghost,and watched through the small circular window of the training room. To become a hunter earlier than expected… something in her gut was telling her that wasn't right, that there was something that they were missing if they accomplished Hunter status here, in that padded training room.

"You have until we land to get the ball from my hand. We're slated for an 8 AM arrival, so that gives you about nine hours. You're free to attack me how you like, and I can't attack you back." Netero balanced a black and yellow ball on the tip of a finger, and held Nova's gaze. She continued to stare in, as Killua proceeded on hs attempt to grab the ball from Netero.

Rhythm echo. It was something she had read about in books, and this proved his story. There was no doubt that he had been trained by a family of assassin, for it was touted as an extraordinarily hard to accomplish technique. She had practiced it for days without success, and even now, four years after she discovered it, she was unable to perform the technique a hundred percent of the time. Still, despite how impressive Killua was, the technique was unsuccessful on Netero.

She knew there had to be a catch, and this was it. There wasn't any chance, even if all three of them tried at the same time, to successfully accomplish the tas that he set out for them. When Killua kicked Netero on his pivot leg, and the one sent back recoiling from pain was the white-haired boy, she knew it was hopeless. But still, she watched, to know of Ging's son growth, and to one day regale tales of watching her friends.

Maybe she should have been in there with them, but it didn't feel right. They needed to do this on their own, and she was an unknown factor. She would just watch them for a little bit longer, and then-

Gon made the mistake of jumping too high. It was a good try, but if that was what he was going to show, she would reserve judgment for later. All of them still had room to grow, but for now, she just wanted to rest. Nova had grown used to getting a luxurious eight hours of sleep every day, and this would now be the second all nighter that she pulled. Take a shower, eat some food, then find and empty room. That became her mantra as she wandered down the halls.

She opened a door-

Menchi, Buhara and Satotz stared back at her. She closed the door. Well, that wasn't the bathroom. She went down just a little bit further and opened the next one. 16, the one who had offered her juice, and a bunch of the other hunters were all huddled together in that room. Odd, because why would you sleep with people who could stab you in the back at any moment? Shaking her head, her fingers rewired the circuit in the room so that the lights would continuously go on and off before she locked the door. Hey, she did have a fair amount of free time when she left her home. Electronics had sort of been her thing.

The next door had a pretty, doll looking figure in it. Long, black hair, big black eyes, skin as pale as Killua's, and… well. She closed that door too, before he decided to come after her, and scurried own the hallway, not bothering to check the rest of them. The tag number 307 resided on his pin-ridden chest, the same pins that Gittarackur had on his face. Maybe she should knock instead, and then if nobody answered the door, or groaned from within, she would check it out.

She proceeded to do just that, but it seemed like every room was occupied. She did find the bathroom, and she cleaned herself up as well as her clothes, and found her way back to the dining hall. But when she began on her room seeking journey again, every single room she knocked on got some kind of response, right up until the last door at the end of the corridor.

Nobody responded, so she opened the door, slowly, slowly, and- god, she had the worst luck, didn't she. It was frickin' Hisoka, licking his lips and looking at her as he pushed his house of cards down. Nova got the feeling that he had been doing that for a while now. Just as slowly as she had opened the door, she closed it, and backed away before deciding that she didn't need the privacy of a room to sleep. She would just sleep on the benches Gon and Killua had been sitting on earlier. That wouldn't be a problem. It would be slightly uncomfortable, but less likely to get her killed by a psychopathic murderer that was in the room.

Because practically everybody left in this stage of the exam was either a master of a skill, really lucky, or psychopathic. And judging by her luck so far, she really didn't want to risk her life by sleeping in a room with somebody else, because you never knew who you were going to get.

Nova curled up underneath one of the benches and slept.

It might seem that Nova is a little bit OC in this chapter, but I feel like she isn't. Despite her having more self control than most of the characters, she is also human and has her flaws. As somebody who has been in one place for the majority of her life, all of these new experiences are things to treasure, and she is similar to a newborn child in that way. She does not have innocence, no, not anything of the sort, but she sees the world through a fragmented lens of what should have been her childhood.

Thanks for reading! I hope to hear from my readers, and thanks to all those that reviewed/followed/Favorited!