Falling for a phoenix

Chapter three

Valery

She had always felt like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, but her heart was stronger than it seemed. Although her adoptive parents treated her coldly, she never stopped yearning for their love. She loved them with an intensity that often surprised her, despite the harsh words and disdainful looks she received in return. Valery knew she was not their biological daughter, but that never diminished her affection.

From a young age, Valery felt a burning need to discover who she really was. Her nights were filled with disturbing dreams about a faraway place, blurry faces, and a soft melody that seemed to whisper secrets to her from the past. She would wake up with a mix of sadness and hope, convinced that these visions were clues to her true origins.

Emely, her best friend, was her only refuge. Together, they shared dreams and fears, exploring the darkest corners of the city and creating magical worlds where Valery was not an orphan, but a lost princess, destined for great things. Emely was her anchor, always there to remind her that the past did not define who she was, but the future she could build.

One day, as they walked along a hidden path in the nearby forest, Valery confessed her concerns to Emely.

“Emely, I feel like there is something beyond this life. Something that calls me, something I must discover.”

Emely looked at her seriously, taking her hand firmly.

“So, Valery, let’s find it together. No matter where it takes us, I will always be by your side.”

At that moment, Valery felt a spark of hope. For the first time, she did not feel alone in her search. With Emely by her side, she was ready to face any challenge, determined to discover the truth about her origins and, perhaps, find the place where she truly belonged.

Days passed, and Valery and Emely began to piece together small clues about Valery’s past. In the village library, among dusty old books, they found adoption records and news from over a decade ago. One afternoon, while looking through a particularly worn file, Emely noticed a name that caught their attention.

“Look at this, Valery,” she said, pointing to a yellowed document. “Here is a record of a girl abandoned in the village orphanage. She has no name, just a note that says: “Born when one of the least dormant volcanoes erupted, when the village flames burned, and delivered at the door like a flame of hope.”

Valery felt a chill run down her spine. That description resonated with the stories she had heard in her dreams.

“A spark of fire… I have always dreamed of fire, but I never gave it importance and a melody,” she murmured, her eyes shining with emotion.

Prompted by this new lead, they decided to visit the orphanage, now abandoned and overgrown with vines. The building was a skeleton of its former glory, with crumbling walls and broken windows. But to Valery, the place exuded a strange familiarity.

As they explored the ruins, they found a hidden room behind a half-collapsed wall. Inside, there was an old trunk covered in dust. Emely, without hesitation, opened it, revealing a set of carefully kept items: a small blanket embroidered with stars, a pendant with a strange symbol, and a notebook filled with drawings of a red bird.

Valery held the pendant in her hands, feeling a deep, inexplicable connection.

“This pendant… I’ve seen it in my dreams,” she said in a trembling voice. “It’s like it’s always been waiting for me.”

Emely flipped through the notebook, marveling at the precision of the drawings.

“These red birds seem to point to something,” she observed. “Maybe a place or a moment in time.”

They decided to take the notebook and the pendant, convinced that they were key pieces of the puzzle. That night, under the starry blanket, Valery felt a mix of fear and determination. For the first time, she held in her hands something tangible from her past, a fragment of the truth she had sought so long.

“Emely, I feel like we are closer to the truth. But I also feel like this is just the beginning,” she whispered, as she looked at the sky.

Emely smiled, squeezing Valery’s hand.

“The important thing is that we are together in this. No matter what we find, we will face it together.”

With her heart full of hope, Valery knew she was not alone in her search. With each step, she came closer to discovering who she really was and where she came from, ready to face whatever truth fate had in store for her.