Year: 1996

Year: 1855

Like every morning, this morning was blurry. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and fumbled around for my was December first. Twelve-one. The first day of the last month of the year.

I looked to my left and saw my big green stuffed bunny and threw my arms around him with glee, hugging hard enough to slant my glasses.

"Good morning Bugs! It's my birthday today! I'm five years old now!"

I saw my other stuffies glare at me accusingly. I'm sure they knew Bugs is my favorite, but I didn't want to hurt their feelings. It hurts getting your feelings hurt. I hugged and wished my other stuffed animals a good morning just to make sure they didn't feel left out.

I began to thoroughly examine my body for changes. To my disappointment, my legs and arms didn't grow and my hair didn't lengthen. My vision didn't get any clearer. My stomach wasn't any smaller.

I hope my mom is going to let me eat cake today.

As an early birthday present (and not because CPS was coming), my parents painted my room pink and bought me a brand-new wooden bedroom set with white varnish and engraved hearts. The furniture consisted of a canopy bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and (my favorite) a vanity with a large heart-shaped mirror. My dad said that when he painted the walls that it felt like we were swimming in Pepto Bismol and it made me laugh.

Going to my closet, I picked out a pink dress and threw it over my head. I sat down at the vanity to put some rainbow butterfly clips in my hair and looked up.

The reflection wasn't my face.

Two eyes, a nose, lips, messy black hair, and a tanned face stared back at me.

We didn't say anything.

I blinked.

Suddenly he squared his shoulders, lifted his head, and threw a hood over his eyes and shouted, "I'M HERNANDO AND I'M SCARED OF NOTHING!"

I yelped and fell back in my chair, painfully falling against the hardwood floor. I cowered behind the closest thing I could find, which was Bugs.

"Please don't hurt me, Hernando." My voice wobbled and I closed my eyes tight so they wouldn't fill with tears.

Only a few seconds passed but it felt like hours.

"Disculpe, señorita?" I opened my eyes and saw the boy had returned and his eyes… his eyes looked so sad. He was reaching for me.

"I don't understand."

"Lo siento. I mean. I'm really sorry. My name isn't Hernando, I'm only Hernando when someone wants to hurt me."

I sniffed, " I don't want to hurt you."

"Bueno… está bien. I don't want to hurt you, either. My name is actually Bruno… and I'm scared of everything."

I slowly got up and stood before the mirror again, not taking my eyes off of the boy.

"You talk funny."

"It's Spanish."

"Okay."

There was another pause and we both started giggling as the fear melted away into curiosity. Each new question descended us into more pearls of laughter. He has pet rats. His favorite color is green. He wants to be just like his dad when he grows up. His mom is his hero. He has two sisters, but he only likes one of them. His favorite food is arepas, whatever those are. No, he doesn't know what pizza is.

His birthday is October 17th. Ten-one-seven. Seventeenth day of the tenth month. Bruno enthusiastically cheered, "Feliz cumpleaños!" when I told him my birth date. He didn't even have to go to a calendar to check!

I asked him what color his eyes were. He told me I had to guess and I had to get so close to the mirror I had to take my glasses off until I fogged the mirror with my breathing. Triumphantly, I announced that he has green eyes and that they are my favorite eyes because green is my favorite color, too!

Bruno giggled and held his sides.

"Tell me your name!"

"My name is Lilly and," I took a breath, "I'm scared of everything, too!"

It was my turn for a question, "Can we be friends?"

"Si only… I've never had a friend before." Bruno's eyes left mine and went to the ground, and he rubbed his arm like he was embarrassed.

"I haven't, either. Can we try?"

There was a pause as he considered this.

"Only if you promise me two things." I nodded for him to proceed.. "One, you have to always be nice to me. Two, you can't ever ask me for a prophecy."

"Okay, and I don't know what a prophecy is so okay for that too." He smiled so wide.

"Bueno!"

"Bueno!" I repeated. We both laughed. I saw his head jerk to the side like he was being called by someone he was scared of. I don't know why I knew that, but I knew.

"I have to go. My mama is calling."

"Your mother?"

"Si…" I could tell he didn't want to go yet.

"Will I see you again?"

He smiled, "We're friends, right? You will see me again."

I placed my hand on the mirror. "Do you promise?"

Bruno placed his hand on the same spot and looked me in my eyes, "I promise. Adiós. Feliz cumpleaños!"

"Bye Bruno!" I remember thinking that this was my favorite birthday ever. My room is brand new and all done. I'm wearing my new dress. I made a really cool (and handsome) new friend. It's a little early for it, but maybe it will even snow!

Just then my door was flung open and the voice that scares me the most yelled at me saying that it doesn't matter if it's my birthday, I'm not allowed to be this loud in the morning. If I keep this up, she'll cancel the party.

"I'm sorry Mommy."

She slammed the door and walked away. I took Bugs in my arms and held him tight. It's okay. I have a new friend, and he wished me a happy birthday (twice!). So it's okay if she didn't. Maybe she will later today when I'm not being bad.

Thank you for reading this first chapter. I really appreciate it. The original character's experiences are very much like my own growing up and this is honestly a lot of me working through my trauma while also working through Bruno's trauma because it makes me mad, haha. He's honestly the friend we wish we all had on those dark days, which is why I think so many of us are drawn to him. Not everything shown in here will be directly tied to my experiences but... enough of it will (oof).

I plan on making multiple works for this series. This first will be through their childhood, but there will be more as they get older. Writing styles may be a bit different because children ultimately think differently than teens, adults, etc. So please comment! Let me know what you think!

Additionally, I am not fluent in Spanish at all and Google has been helping me incorporate words here and there into this fiction. If, at any time, I misuse this feature and the Spanish is incorrect, please let me know and I will fix it! Also, if at any time I am incorrect about Colombian culture, please let me know and I will fix it.

Thank you all so much again