The sky was tinted in an explosion of colors. "Don't linger too far," she heard her mother cry. But that meant nothing to Cassandra because she never heeded her mother's words. She saw the woman as nothing more but a bane. A leech. A slimy, foul, spineless excuse of an existence.

If anyone were to ask why she felt that way. The answer was simple. Her mother left her in the care of her aunt, a woman who turned her life into an everyday nightmare. A woman who barraged her with words of loath and regret.

I never should have allowed my sister to leave you in my care. Those were the words that stung the most. Nobody wanted her. She could call her existence a taunting, a joke, or perhaps a mistake.

As her mother's voice faded in the distance, she fought her way against a crowd of smiling people with their heads tilted towards the sky to watch the fireworks that didn't seem to appeal to her. She must have mused too deeply at that moment that she accidentally bumped into someone which caused her to stumble and fall to the ground.

In a normal circumstance, she would have yelled at the person, and demanded that they watch where they were going. But that night was different for her. Her normal self was lost in the anger that bloomed from the return of a mother who had abandoned her without care. So, instead of growling words that would perhaps result in a messy situation, she pulled herself up from the ground, dusted her jeans, and wiped the pad of her hand—which was unfortunately smeared with the mud from a puddle she fell into—on the hem of her shirt. She was about to make her way towards nowhere in particular, when the stranger asked, "Where you spaced out on purpose?"

She scowled but didn't throw that look toward the owner of the voice. It wasn't a night that one would want to argue with or tease her. It wasn't a time when she would be lenient or manage self-control. So she ignored the question and continued to walk forward, uncaring of the numerous bodies that blocked her wake.

Soon, she arrived at a place far from the crowd. It was a ridge facing a river that seemed deep, possessed an obsidian hue, and was void of any ripple. The basin's tranquil and calm disposition brought a euphoric feeling inside her, so she decided to spend her hours there.

Choosing a spot near the river bank, she sat on a tuft of grass that perhaps thrived there without worry, then tilted her head towards the sky. When the dark blanket peeked back at her with all its grace, she couldn't help but smile. The stars looked so much better than the colorful fireworks that claimed the horizon a few meters away. She still saw the display of lights in the corner of her eyes but at least from where she sat, she managed to find an area above where the stars twinkled brighter, shadowing the foreign lights that she believed did not deserve to paint the horizon. Only the stars and the moon was allowed to dominate the night. Nothing that was out of place should ever dare to claim the stillness of the dark expanse she loved so much.

"I believe I asked you a question."

The voice startled her. She froze in place and a frown marred her forehead. But whatever emotion she felt at that moment wasn't enough to make her want to turn and see who it was that spoke to her.

"Are you mute? Perhaps you are, you seemed to have had a problem with balance,” the speaker added.

That did it. She stood from her spot, turned on her heel, and glared at the person who was behind her. His face finally clear before her eyes, she yelled, "Did you follow me just for taunting? If you're bored, go away and leave me alone. Find someone else to talk to."

"I didn't follow you. I was on my way here when you bumped into me.” The person replied, as he shifted his weight from on leg to the other, looking as though he had been standing for hours and needed reprieve.

There were many things she could have said to him, but she shut her mouth instead. There was no point in perusing something petty. She turned her back on him and sat back down on the grass she abandoned, then raised her face toward the night sky once more. Soon, she felt him drop his weight on the space behind her. He was a bit too close, but her tumultuous mind didn't gather trepidation from it. She was too occupied to bother herself with her uninvited companion.

Silence dominated their surroundings, but soon, "You seem a bit weird,” the boy murmured.

She could have retorted something, she always spat back words of defense when someone presumed something about her, but once again, she had chosen to remain silent.

"Are you sad?"

Why won't he stop talking, she thought to herself, but once more, she refused to let out those words. Attention from her was not something that one would easily gain. She was extremely cautious that way. But why did she fail to discern any form of foreboding from the strange boy behind her? She was careful, always careful.

"I will leave you to your perusal of whatever it was. Perhaps, we will meet again,” the boy finally spoke when she left his question hanging.

She didn't have to answer, she haven't answered his previous question, did she not? But at that moment, she felt like she needed to say something. So, she turned toward him and asked, "What is your name? Are you from around here?"

He smiled. She wasn't supposed to stare, but his eye color appeared darker than any shade of eyes she had ever seen. It looked unnatural. She would be lying if she said she wasn't weirded out by it.

"Why would you want to know my name?"

"No reason," she answered.

His piercing dark globes stayed on her as if he was reading through her. Would he see? Would a stranger, who knew nothing of her possess the aptitude to dive into the labyrinth of her head?

"Would you tell me yours," the boy asked as if purposely deviating from giving her his name.

Would she? Perhaps not. She didn't answer.

Silence. There was nothing but silence and then, "Daniel." The boy answered. He then turned and walked away. She gaped in silence as he navigated his way up the slippery slope that she knew would be a challenge. But he never once slipped or lost balance. He climbed with grace.

When finally the odd boy was out of sight, she whispered, "Cassandra, my name is Cassandra

***

It was easy to discern that she had sat beside the lake for hours because when she heard her mother's voice which seem to have pulled her back to reality, the sky had already taken a different hue. Splashes of amber had already washed over the horizon. She felt the morning sun’s rays that were broken in strips by the tree in front of her give warmth to her night-frozen cheek.

"I thought I told you not to linger. Do you have any idea how many of us have searched for you? I almost gave the event organizer a heart attack,” he mother yelled.

But those words were lost to Cassandra even before her mother worded those thoughts because Cassandra couldn't care less when it came to her mother's opinion. She got up, walked past her fuming mother, and made her way up the slope that the boy had tackled hours ago. It was exactly as she thought, it was difficult, yet that boy made it seem easy.

Soon, Cassandra found herself in the belly of her mother's car. The vehicle felt too small for her, it made her feel trapped. Perhaps, that's what her mother's return truly made her feel. Trapped...

"I brought you out here so we could have time to talk things out. I can't believe you strayed and left me to search for you. I have searched for you my entire life! Did you know that?” Her mother yelled while steering the wheel.

Searched for her? The words were nothing but blasphemous in her ears. Her mother knew where she was. She had left her in the care of the devil, yet she dares to say such words.

"I told my sister I would return in a year Cassandra, but when I came back to the house, the two of you had disappeared."

Cassandra could have said something, but her eyes caught sight of a figure on the side of the road. It was the boy from the previous night. He was under a tree, eyes glued to whatever was from above it. She followed his gaze but failed to see what it was that caught his attention because her mother stepped on the gas and their vehicle flew past the boy which left her to wonder, what was it that consumed him so?

"We need to pack your belongings, Cassandra. Albert expected us to have arrived in San Cristobal hours ago."

Albert, Cassandra thought. He was the man her mother had spent years with. A man whom her mother proclaimed to be her new father.

"Are you even listening to me, Cassandra?"

Was she? Yes, she was, but she didn't care for her words or what she had planned for her. Her mother is a stranger. Everyone to her is a stranger. At only thirteen she had been broken, in ways that no one would ever believe.

She felt reluctant to plod the new path that people had decided for her, but who cares. She didn’t.

***

It didn't take long for her to pack her things when they got to the house where she and her aunt lived. Soon, everything was ready and they headed out. She didn't have to say goodbye to anyone. She never had anyone, to begin with.

People gathered as she mounted the car once more. Some of them were there not because they cared, it was more out of curiosity for the luxurious car that was parked in front of the run-down house she lived in. Her aunt wasn't there. The woman said her departure was good riddance.

Not long after, she was on a plane. A machine that would take her to a place she knew nothing of, towards people she wouldn't dare know of, and towards life, she didn't look forward to.

Cassandra heaved and fidgeted as her mother who sat beside her on the plane lovingly smiled. She scowled and turned to look the other way. As her eyes caught sight of the darkening sky against the window, she thought to herself, nothing good or bad awaited someone like her, she was good as dead. Unbeknownst to her, it wasn't a thing or a what that lay in wait, it was a who. An existence that would rattle her very core and eventually define her future.