Chapter 3 The girl with green eyes
574 Words
Aria woke before the sun.
Not because she wanted to… but because her body was used to the routine of suffering.
Her room—if it could even be called a room—was a small storage corner behind the kitchen. Old sacks of grain leaned against the walls, and the only window was a tiny slit near the ceiling where morning light struggled to enter.
Aria sat up slowly, wincing at the soreness in her cheek from yesterday’s slap.
When she pushed her tangled hair away from her face, she caught her reflection in a metal basin filled with water.
For a moment… she didn’t recognize the girl staring back.
Her green eyes, the one feature everyone used to praise, looked dim—still beautiful, still vibrant—but dulled with exhaustion. The skin under them was a faint purple. Her lips were cracked. Her once-bright face looked drained, like life itself had been wrung out of her.
She sighed and dipped her hands into the cold water, splashing her face.
The chill stung, but it woke her up.
You’re still here, she told herself. You’re still surviving.
She braided her hair tightly to keep it from looking too wild, then stepped into the kitchen.
Selda was already there, arms crossed, frown deepening the moment she saw Aria.
“You’re late,” Selda snapped.
Aria wasn’t. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. But she stayed quiet.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said softly.
“Don’t use that tone with me.” Selda shoved a pot into her hands. “Boil water. Grind the herbs. And make sure the shop shelves are cleaned before sunrise. Customers are coming.”
Aria nodded and started working as fast as she could.
While she ground the herbs, Selda walked by and gripped her chin suddenly, forcing Aria to look up.
“Look at you,” Selda sneered. “Those eyes of yours… they’re too bright. Too noticeable. That’s why people think you’re strange. If your mother hadn’t passed on those cursed eyes—”
Aria pulled her chin away, her voice trembling. “My eyes aren’t cursed.”
Selda slapped her hand off. “Keep talking back and I’ll pluck them out myself.”
Aria’s breath hitched.
No matter how many times Selda said things like that… it never stopped hurting.
She lowered her head and continued grinding the herbs, blinking tears away so they wouldn’t fall into the mixture.
But the tears shimmered just a little too long.
They glowed faintly—her magic reacting to emotion.
Aria quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Not now. Not now.
If Selda saw the glow…
The door creaked.
Aria stiffened.
Selda didn’t turn toward the noise. Instead, she walked toward the herbal shop front.
Aria peeked.
A young man stood there—one of the village boys. He looked at Aria only briefly, then quickly looked away. Most villagers did. They whispered about her behind closed doors.
Strange girl.
Unlucky girl.
He spoke with Selda, collected a small jar of salve, paid, and left.
But the moment he stepped outside… Aria felt something.
Her heart gave a tiny jolt.
She frowned, touching her chest lightly.
That feeling…
That pull…
It wasn’t coming from him.
It came from the forest.
Deep. Whispering. Calling to her more strongly than ever before.
Her green eyes turned toward the window.
Somewhere beyond the trees… something was waiting.
Something wild.
Something powerful.
- Writer
