The Awakening

“It is not that the girl is unfit for everything, it is that she is not of this world.” ― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez       The sun is up, the birds are chirping, and I can already hear the sounds of the steps of my aunt rushing to my front door. "Alaina! How long are you going to stay in bed?! My daughter is going to be late. Get up and cook our breakfast!" she grumbled.    Aunt Emma, the number one antagonist in my boring life.  "I'm coming," I said while getting up from my bed feeling sluggish.  This is the third time I have not slept. My insomnia is getting worse. I feel even more active during the night, or maybe it's just because of our neighbor's dog who keeps howling at night. Psh. I got out of bed and did some basic stretching. I then walked into my bathroom and turned on the shower. "Seriously?" This is when I realized my mistake. I whimper to myself while moving out of the shower to take off my damped pajamas.  Wow, what a great way to start my day. I did my usual morning routine and stepped out of my room, then went down the stairs. I quickly went to the kitchen and saw... "Geez! You're so slow, hurry up!" ... Lia, my cousin. If Aunt Emma is the number one antagonist in my life, of course, Lia is the second. I am already used to this kind of scenario. I get yelled at and insulted every single day. I never met my mother and father. I don't even know their names or if I have other relatives other than my aunt and cousin. All I know is that my mother died while giving birth to me, and my father died in a car accident.  Today I made my signature fried rice and omelette. I placed the food on the countertop and went back to my room. I did not eat breakfast because it was getting late. I already had enough of getting scolded here. At the very least, I'd like to have peace at school.  I wore my short-sleeved white blouse, a dark blue coat with a matching necktie, and a pleated skirt. I look at my reflection in the mirror to see if I look decent enough. My raven black hair is now below my chest, and my azure eyes continue to accentuate my fair skin. I look pale because of the constant sleepless nights. I sat on the edge of my bed and put on my white socks and black loafers. From the table, I returned my algebra notebook and pencil case to my backpack. I stepped out the door with my room key in my hand. Just in case my oh-so-great cousin tried to barge into my room, I took one final glance around before closing the door. Just as expected, Lia and Aunt Emma had already gone out, not even waiting for me. I wonder what it feels like to go to school while riding in a car. But I'm grateful that I can walk alone in peace and ask all the saints and gods I know to help me get to school before the bell rings. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get through the day. I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked out of class. Thank God it was over. Math killed every living cell in my body. I was about to yank out my hair. I walked to the hallway making sure that no one would notice me, but luck was not with me today. I rolled my eyes when I saw who was leaning on my locker. Great, she just made my day even more dreadful.  "How's it going, loser?" The dumb blonde girl said, Oh, I mean Tiffany.  "Shut up." I shoved her aside to put my books inside my locker.  To say I'm annoyed is an understatement. I've had an unpleasant day, and I don't want anyone else to make it any worse.  Tiffany gaped at me in disbelief, "How dare you talk back to me like that?!"  Oh come on, when will I experience a harmonious day?  She motioned her underlings to surround me. It's not like I will waste my energy with these barbies.  "I hate you Alaina." The feeling is mutual. "You're just a nobody. No mommy or daddy to call. Pity," she continued.   Tiffany rummaged through my old backpack and unfortunately found the only novel possession I had. "So you're a typical loser, huh? Who in the world would read some lame storybook or whatever you call it?" I looked at her intensely, as if the most precious thing in the world to me was at stake. "Give it back," I said while trying to keep myself calm. She gave me a scornful look, "What if I don't? What are you going to do about it?"  Everyone in the hallway was gawping at our scene as if the most interesting part was about to happen.  "I don't want any trouble, Tiffany. Just give it back." Tiffany, along with her underlings, started laughing. As if I said the funniest joke ever. "You don't want any trouble, huh? Well, I do." And just then, Tiffany tore the pages of my book. I pushed her backwards, making her stumble. My hands are trembling out of anger. I had enough of this day. That book is my only valuable possession. I had to work for two months in a laundry shop for me to be able to save enough money to purchase the novel I bought for my last birthday, since no one would. "Alaina, you freak!" The barbies started to pull my hair and I lost it.  What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment every single day?  I was about to fight back when I suddenly felt a sharp and searing pain in my chest.  "Argh!" I fell on the floor, gasping for air.  What is happening to me? It's so hot, it's painful. "Somebody help her!" "Oh my God, what happened?" Those were the last words I heard before I lost consciousness.   I opened my eyes slowly. The bright light was the first thing I saw. "Am I in heaven?" I subconsciously said. "You're in the clinic, dear," the middle-aged woman said.  I used my strength to slowly get up from the clinic bed. "What happened to me?" I asked.  She adjusted her spectacles, "Well, that's the same thing I want to ask you."  Huh? Isn't she at the school clinic? She should know by now what happened to me.    "Some students helped you to get here. They said you were in pain before you lost consciousness. I checked your chest part and I saw something," she explained.    "What is that something you're talking about?" I questioned once more. "Did you get a tattoo a few days ago?" she asked. A tattoo? How can I possibly get a tattoo when I don't even have money?  My forehead furrowed, "Of course not. My aunt will kill me if I do, why?"  She stared at me with confusion plastered all over her face. "I found a weird-looking mark on your chest. I can't distinguish it clearly, but it's swollen when you get here. I applied an ointment to reduce the swelling." "Thanks," was the only thing I said before I went outside, still confused. I flopped down on my bed. This day has been tiring. I touched my chest and checked if it still hurt. "Weird" is the word that can describe what's happening to me. First, I couldn't sleep. Second, I suddenly had this unusual mark.    Out of curiosity, I went to the mirror to check. My eyes were wide open. I tried to pinch myself.  "What on earth is this?" I squinted my eyes and tried to examine it.  It looks like wings. Wait. Wings? a bird? What? Why do I have this mark on my chest? What if Tiffany put a curse on me? Geez, what am I thinking? If this is a birthmark, then why does it only appear today? Or maybe this is just an allergy? I immediately picked up my phone to search. I continued scrolling down until I saw a picture of an ancient book with a mark similar to mine and read it. "Phoenix mark. This mark resembles fire and passion. A phoenix is an imaginary bird which, according to ancient stories, burns itself to ashes every five hundred years and is then born again. If you describe someone or something as a phoenix, you mean that they return after seeming to disappear or be destroyed."  After reading this about five times now, my phone buzzed with a notification. "One week before Alaina's birthday" Oh, I forgot to uninstall this reminder app, where you enter your basic information and the tasks you need to do, and it will remind you.  I was so preoccupied that I completely forgot about my birthday approaching. But I really want to know the answer to my question first. Why do I have this mark?