Happy New Year, Lovelies!

Welcome to Omen! I am terribly excited about this story so lets jump right in! As always, a huge thank you to Mel and Pamela.

Prologue

BELLA

24 April 2349

Nouveau Stockholm, The United Republic of Nye Europa

The bird had been dead no less than ten minutes when five-year-old Bella found it.

She gasped, tears of confusion immediately springing to her eyes as she knelt to the ground and carefully picked the creature up. There weren't many birds left; she had never seen one this closely before.

The creature was small and warm in her palms, with a breast of bright iridescent feathers that caught the light in a shimmering display.

She wanted to be as shiny as that bird.

"Bella?"

She looked up at the sound of her name being called and saw Maman drawing near. Instinctually, Bella knew what to do. Maman would fix it. Maman could fix anything.

Bella rushed to her maman with wide eyes and held the bird in her direction. "I think it's hurt," Bella said, her tears welling for reasons she didn't understand. "Can you fix him?"

Maman dropped to one knee. "Oh, mon cœur." She sighed. "This poor creature is dead."

Bella blinked. "What is dead?"

Maman reached out, tenderly brushing Bella's hair back from her face. "He is done living in this world. He has moved on to the next."

Bella didn't understand. "But he is still here," she said, motioning with her hands.

Maman smiled gently. "Oui, his body is. But his soul has moved on."

Bella wasn't sure what that meant. Maman had told her about souls before, but how could they just leave?

"In the old days, we buried the dead," Maman said softly. "But now, we burn them."

Bella shuddered at the thought of the bird's magnificent feathers burning. "Can we bury him?" she asked, looking up.Maman had an indulgent smile on her face. "Oui," she agreed. "We can bury him. Come, Bella. Let's go home."

Bella followed as Maman began walking, keeping both hands tenderly but firmly around the body of the bird. "Maman?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Where do souls go?"

Maman glanced at her and let out a breath. "No one knows for certain," she said slowly. "Though many have had their theories and often have the same idea though they call it by different names."

Bella wasn't sure she understood what Maman was saying, but she was just happy to listen to her. She felt like she could listen to Maman talk all the time.

"Maman?" she asked again.

"Quoi, mon cœur?"

"Does it hurt to die?"

Maman stopped walking and turned to Bella, dropping to her knees before her. Bella was surprised by Maman's sudden movements, but then Maman was taking her by the shoulders and pulling her into an embrace.

"This is not for you to worry about," she whispered. "Death is not an enemy. It will not harm you."

Bella didn't understand, but the tone of Maman's voice was starting to scare her. It sounded like Maman was wishing for her words to be true, maybe even praying for them.

If there was nothing to be afraid of, why did Maman sound so frightened?

Maman pulled back and smoothed down Bella's hair with a shaky smile on her face. "There are things in this life, Bella, things far scarier than Death, do you hear me?"

Bella nodded, terrified now at the prospect of this dangerous world.

"Oui," Bella whispered.

Maman sighed. "Come, mon cœur. We must get home and bury your bird. We do not want to draw Death's attention any longer than we have."

With that, Maman stood, took one of Bella's hands, and marched her home.

When they got there, Maman burned the bird to ash after all then sent Bella to wash the death from her body.

Bella scrubbed until her skin was pink and raw, and the pain of it helped to take her mind from the shift in her maman. She was young enough to forget it and move on, but deep in her memory, in a place she did not yet know about within herself, that moment in time was planted and began to root in Bella.

Death might not be her enemy, but it wasn't her ally either. And what could possibly be worse than death?