Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

Chapter Eleven

Earth

The day after my strange symptoms, I went back to class and acted normal. The doctor tried to check me again, but all my vitals seemed fine, and my symptoms were gone. She didn't insist on me going to the hospital, but I could tell she was thinking it and was just waiting for me to have a relapse to send me to a specialist without another word.

Thankfully, the pain hadn't returned and neither had nausea. I felt brand new. 

I was back to my daily routine: waking up, showering, getting ready for school, breakfast, school, lunch, spend time in the cabin and then return in time for dinner before going to bed. I was glad everything was okay, but I still couldn't shake a feeling away. The feeling that something was about to happen. I couldn't explain it but with every day that passed, my birthday was also closer, and the uncomfortable sensation only grew. 

Even so, I tried to ignore it as I enjoyed the last couple of minutes I had left here in the cabin. I was sitting on the porch, along the steps, just keeping my eyes fixed on the falling sun. A small smile appeared on my lips and I let out a sigh of relief. I loved the way this place made me feel calm and carefree. 

This was the place I wanted to celebrate my birthday. I didn't care if I was alone, no one was going to remember my birthday in two days, much less me when I was gone. I preferred it this way. 

So, on the night before my birthday, I was going to come here, and I wasn't going to go back to the orphanage. 

I gulped as I realized that day would be tomorrow. It was only just dawning on me how close it was. 

You can do this Mason. You don't need them. You can fend off on your own, I thought to myself, trying to give me the courage I needed at that moment. 

Taking a deep breath, I thought it was best to head back to the orphanage. I didn't want to be late and for some strange reason, I was starving as if I hadn't eaten in days. 

Getting to my feet, I got up and walked over to the forest. The smell of pine engulfed me, and I slowed down my pace to enjoy the walk back. 

Birds were chirping over me, squirrels scattered among the trees and distantly, I could hear a pack of wolves howling. This felt like home. 

When I got to the orphanage, there was one, last adult, at the door waiting for me to show up. She gave me a stern look that I ignored, and I walked inside. It was much warmer in here. It only made me feel more uncomfortable. I was beginning to sweat, and I couldn't understand why if it wasn't that hot. 

Taking off my sweater, I headed over to the dining room to see if it was time for dinner yet. 

When I got there, the staff was working to get everything ready and when their eyes landed on me, I knew I had made a mistake by coming here so early. 

"Mason! You're just in time. Why don't you help us set the table?" One of the women asked with a tight smile that made me cringe inside. 

Forcing myself to smile, I knew I had no other choice, if I didn't do it, it'd be the last to eat. I faked a smile and nodded my head as I took the tablemats from the older woman and headed towards the table. "My pleasure, Ms. Robinson," I said as I began to set the table. 

Ms. Robinson was a woman around her 40s or 50s. Her dark hair made her greying hair more visible, but she didn't seem to mind since she never painted her hair. I had known her since I had a memory. She had never gotten married and left like most of the workers that had been here during my childhood. 

She claimed she loved her job, and we were like children to her. She didn't need more than that. I had always thought that was a very weird comment but throughout the years, she had come to show me she meant it. She treated us like I suspected any mother would treat her child and behind her eyes there was no malice or disapproval of us, only warmth and understanding. 

Slowly, the woman went into the kitchen to make sure everything was on time and ready to be served while I got to work.

A couple of moments later, I had finished setting everything up and I could hear the other orphans crowding by the door as they waited to be let in. 

Ms. Robinson walked out of the kitchen and the smell of food reached my nostrils, making my stomach rumble. The woman walked towards me and smiled kindly at me. "Open your hands in front of you, Mason," she instructed with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. 

My body stiffened slightly as I studied the woman uncertainly. I had never been very trusting of anyone, I liked knowing what was going to happen. 

"Trust me," the woman insisted with a warm look in her eyes that finally convinced me. 

With a sigh, I nodded my head and extended my hands forward. 

Ms. Robinson smiled widely before placing a plastic bag in my hands filled with a couple of chocolate chip cookies. "Thank you for helping me with the table. I'm glad to see you're finally adapting a little better, Mason. Save these well, I know the kids around here and they will not hesitate to take them from you," she said warmly but sternly. 

I nodded my head and smiled, "thank you, Ms. Robinson."

The woman's smile widened until the sound of kids murmuring outside got louder. "I guess we better go and let them in before they start to eat one another," she said jokingly as she headed towards the door.

Quickly, I reached my sweater and wrapped the cookies with it before heading towards the table to sit down in my usual spot. 

As soon as Ms. Robinson opened the door, the other orphans rushed inside and headed towards the table. Some of them gave me confused looks as they passed but no one said anything as they sat down and kept on talking amongst themselves. 

When the adults finally sat down, the cooks walked out of the kitchen carrying plates filled with food. My stomach growled louder, making the person next to me look at me in surprise. I ignored him as my eyes remained fixed on the plate heading my way.

Two slices of homemade pizza were on my plate and I cheered in my mind. Unfortunately, I had to wait until everyone had their plates and until they had said their prayers so that I could eat. But as soon as that had passed, I took the pizza and placed it in my mouth, holding back a moan of delight. 

The orphanage had wonderful cooks but this time, they had exceeded themselves. Or maybe I was just so hungry. 

In a matter of minutes, I had devoured the slices of pizza and was now reaching for the leftover slices in the middle of the table. Everyone's eyes stared at me in surprise. Normally, I was the boy who ate very slowly and never grabbed any seconds, but tonight that wasn't the case.

I happily ate another two slices until the hunger subsided and I was able to think more clearly now. A smile appeared on my face as I grabbed my plate and headed towards the kitchen with the rest of the orphans who had also finished eating. 

After washing my plate and throwing out my trash, I rushed to my room and took out my sketchbook. My hands felt restless and eager to draw something. Anything.

I let my mind wander as I slid the pencil over the thick paper and when my attention returned to reality, I was surprised to see a girl staring back at me. My eyes widened as I took in the portrait of the girl. She wasn't from the orphanage, of that, I was sure. But she did seem familiar somehow. 

The drawing was in black and white but in my mind, I saw her in color. Her long dark hair almost reached her waist. It wasn't curly nor straight, somewhere in between. Her eyes were grey and filled with authority and determination. Her small nose made her look younger in a way and it complemented with her thin lips. 

I was sure I had never met this girl before, so why was I drawing her? 

Confusion filled me as I stared at the page. It wasn't until Jason came into the room that I quickly reacted and shut the sketchbook. 

"Is that your mother?" He asked unusually calm.

I stiffened as I realized he was referring to the drawing. Knowing it was better to lie than to have him asking me questions I didn't have answers to, I nodded my head. "Yeah, I have a couple of photographs of her, and I wanted to see if I could draw her," I explained with a shrug as I got to my feet.

Jason nodded his head and smiled cockily. "She's hot. I wonder why she left you here," he said bluntly, and I flinched. 

Jason already knew the story about his parents. Both were drug addicts and he had lived with them until he was about to turn five. Then, the authorities showed up and took him away, and brought him here. He didn't seem to mind where he came from but I noticed he didn't like being around any parties that involved alcohol or drugs. 

"Don't know and I don't care," I said with a sigh and Jason didn't say anything as he made his way to the closet. 

"Me and a couple of other guys are going to go out in the deck to spend some time together. Do you want to come?" 

Shocked, I turned to look at him with wide eyes. He had never invited me to hang out with his friends. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. I didn't think I could trust him. 

"That's alright, I'm going to stay here. There is some homework I need to finish and I'm feeling pretty tired. Maybe next time," I said faking a yawn.

Jason shrugged and headed towards the door, holding a sweater. "It's a Friday night, Mason. Just take a break."

I pursed my lips together but didn't respond as I looked at him. Jason finally sighed in defeat and nodded his head. "Alright, but if you change your mind, you know where we'll be. See ya," he said with a final shrug as he walked out of the room again.

Once he was gone, I let out a sigh of relief and I let my body drop on the bed. The image of the mysterious girl was still on my mind and the more I thought about her the more a headache began to form on my head. I winced as a piercing pain hit me and my hand instantly flew to my forehead.

My skin felt hot to the touch and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself. 

When the headache and fever didn't subside, I got a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. 

Not even the coldness of the water could take away the headache and it only seemed to worsen. 

When I got back to my room, I was in my pajamas and I quickly got under the blankets as a shiver ran through me. Not again, I murmured to myself. 

I closed my eyes and willed sleep to overtake me. 

The last thing I thought about before I drifted off was the strange girl and the ring of fire that seemed to circle her eyes.