Unwanted. Unloved. These were the thoughts plaguing Amy's mind as she approached her thirteenth birthday. She put on a smile when the others were around, but deep inside, there was darkness. It wasn't a darkness born of malice, but sorrow. She had no desire to turn against her friends or lash out in anger. Rather, she preferred the calm of solitude, filling her day with a variety of activities one could only embrace to the fullest on their own. As the days passed, her pain began to lessen, and she discovered she could be everything - everything to herself. She could be her own friend: her own lover. She could be a source of comfort when all light seemed lost, and the further she withdrew, the stronger she became. When evil threatened to consume all she loved, she would be ready. At the time, such a thing seemed so far away, but the jaws of death were always closer than they seemed...
