10 years ago:

"Stay here, Tory," Mommy whispered to me with fear in her voice. I could tell she was trying to hide it, but Mommy could never hide anything from me. 

"I'll be back soon, just stay quiet," Mommy added as she tucked me into the nook behind her favorite flower vase. She had shown me it a year ago and said that I would need to stay here if there was ever danger. I reached up and touched her face. It was wet with tears.

What was happening? I wondered. Mommy is brave and can protect me. The braver part of me said. So, I stayed. And stayed. And stayed. Eventually, I fell asleep. When I woke up, everything was quiet. I strained my ears for even the littlest of sound, but all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. I slipped out and crawled to the edge of the room. Halfway there, I tripped on a chair. Weird, that hadn't been there before, my mind told me. I carefully crept further and softly called out 

"Mommy?" The silence was all that greeted me. I took my walking cane and went outside to search for Mommy. I walked and walked until it felt like my feet were melting into the earth. I sat down and felt the ground. The earth was soft and liquid-like. Sand. Mommy had told me about sand. She said that it was a good place to get lost and never get found again. I cried out 

"Mommy!" Again, but again, only silence greeted me. I'm so tired, so tired. But I have to find Mommy. I tried to keep my eyes awake, but it was of no use. My tired little 4-year-old body was already falling onto the soft sand. The last thing I heard was hissing. 

"A boy...mmm, he'll make a delectable meal."

"Wait, no, he's special. We must take him back to Mother. Mother will know what to do with him."

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"Tomorrow's a full moon!" I encouraged my adoptive brothers and sisters. "You can sleep in then! Right now, we have some young, pure souls to catch!" They were all so grouchy, not wanting to get out of bed in the mornings. Even on a full moon, when the feared mirage monsters were majestic elves of old, they were still terrible at waking up early. "Early bird gets the worm!" My best friend Addie had joined me in attempting to wake up the rest of the mirage monster clan. Almost all of them tried making mirages that looked like they were already out of bed, but they could never fool me. 14 years of being blind had made my ears very sensitive, so I could sense if they had gotten out of bed or not. 

10 years ago, two mirage monsters on patrol for lost humans found me in the sands. One had wanted to eat me - he still licks his lips when I'm around, as though I can't hear him do that - but the other found some potential in me. They took me to Mother, the chief of their clan. Mother had surveyed me, and for some reason unknown to both me and the rest of the mirage monsters, declared me part of their clan. Though I look nothing like them - at least I think I don't -  most of the clan has accepted me as one of their own. 

"Up and at 'em!" Together, Addie and I managed to wake up all of our clan, except those who were on night duty, and send them to Mother. She would tell each and every one of them what to do today. We also headed there, to be told our daily duties too.