• All of my morning classes dragged on forever. In gym we were playing baseball. I sucked at it just like every other sport we played in gym (except Volleyball), but Eddy was just amazing. If it wasn’t for him would probably totally space out during gym, but this gym period really freaked me out. Everyone was either lining up to bat behind the cage or getting in position on the outfield. The spot behind the batter was open because everyone wanted to play. “Come on you guys,” Coach Perez said, “someone has to be catcher! You there, Eddie, take the position!” Eddie was one of the best players and I knew he loved to play, I figured I would suck either way so I said; “It’s alright, coach! I’ll do it!” I ran up to my position and Eddie gave me a look of gratitude, I winked at him. The pitcher, Jim, through a hard one at Eddie, but it was too high for him. Eddie didn’t swing, expecting me to catch it, but I didn’t go for it, expecting him to swing. I only realized that he wasn’t going to hit it in time to duck. The ball whooshed over my head and I ended up on my butt with a hand over my head. I looked up to see Eddie, bat slung over his left shoulder, holding out a hand to lift me up. I was about to reach up and grab his hand when another image clouded over my vision. It was Eddie, but he was older and holding not a bat, but a jeweled sword over his left shoulder. I shook the image out of my head and gratefully grabbed Eddie’s hand while he gently pulled me up. I had chills long after that and by the looks that Eddie kept giving me, I could tell he had seen something too. Gym was over I wouldn’t see Eddie again until tomorrow.
    Spanish was all about past tense verb conjugation, and I couldn’t stop myself from spacing out. Even my best friend Amber, a straight A student, almost fell asleep. Language arts was always an easy A for me, but my teacher was a total b***h, same thing for reading. Then, finally time for lunch.
    “Hey Alley! Over here!” I called to my friend, Alice. “Looks like just us today, “she said to Amber and me. “Yea, looks like it. I can’t believe Angie, Irina, Zeena, and Jenny are all absent. Damn it. This is the only class I have with you, Alley. At least I got Amber for all my afternoon classes.” “Wait, weres’ Steven?” “He moved up a couple classes and his lunch period got switched, remember? Same thing with Nadia, but she moved down.” Lunch passed by quickly and all in all it was a pretty much uneventful day (exept the whole Eddie thing), until social studies…
    Social Studies (in my opinion) is the stupidest most worthless class in the history of the universe (exept maybe Math). I loved ancient civilizations and the hippie times but American history sucked. I was nice and full from lunch, sitting in the back of the class, listening to my teacher ramble on about the Spanish American war and I began to drift off…
    It was my 15th birthday. Our hut in the small village was nice and neat. Ahhh, the wonderful smell spring. I had recently helped the villagers to plant their crops. I got dressed in my new bodice, and an old, torn dress. I was up early as usual, to feed all of the animals. After I was finished I went in the house to rest. My mother had prepared breakfast and my father was back from fertilizing the crops. “Good morning, mother, father!” “Good morning Renalin,” my father said. Mother gave me a hug, “Oh, my darling Renn, 15 already! We shall have to find you a husband soon!” “Yes, and a wealthy one at that!” said father
    “My Renna sure is a looker.”
    “Perhaps sir Christopher will take her. He has been riding around these parts looking for a new bride. I am sure Renlin will please him.”
    “A splendid idea, he is a knight of very high rank.”
    “Renalin, meet him at the pond tomorrow and see if you can seduce him.”
    “Yes, father. I will do as you wish.”
    “Now, that’s a good Renalin. You don’t have to do much let him-“
    The door flew open and a priest stood tall, pointing his sword at mother, then at me. “I sence the aura of a sorceress coming from this house. This girl is the sorce of it.” He was stepping closer to me. I backed away but soon reached the table. He grabbed my hair and lifted me off my feet. “What do you mean by this wrench?” he asked. “Wha-what is it that you mean, Priest? You have seen me in your church many times, you know that a sorceress I am not. I am but a 15 year old girl,” I said, for it was the truth I spoke. I was not a sorceress. He hit my cheek hard, “Do not lie, wench. I see you for what you truly are, pure evil. I do not know why I did not sense it before. “ She must be burned,” the priest said to my father. “If she really is what you say, then do as you will.”
    “But Father! She is my child! Is there no way you could only vanquish the evil with in her?”
    “Yes. We must burn her, and put an end the child’s suffering.”
    “The only one causing me to suffer is you! I am no sorceress, I tell you!”
    But he would not listen. He carried me outside where all of the villagers were carrying torches and pitchforks, even in broad daylight. He dropped me right in the middle of the circle formed by the angry mob, and then he left. I was hit by hard rocks, thrown by the children. I was also kicked and whaked with pitchforks. It wouldn’t have been so bad if only I was in some other village anywhere else in the world. I had grown up here, in this village with these very people. I remembered playing with Tomas as a child and here he was beating me to death. There was also Izen, who was trying to break my ribs and Elizabeth who was throwing dishes at me. My parents were there as well, my father was holding a torch while my mother cried. The crowed was preparing to step back so the other half of the crowed could throw torches at me and I could be burned alive.
    A flash of purple light came out of nowhere, thrusting the crowed back and a woman in a black cloak appeared. “Do you see what they have done to you Renalin? Your friends and family tried to kill you! They have deceived you for all of these years, Renalin! You were never loved Renalin. Now you must kill them, before they kill you, Renalin!” My whole body ached. It didn’t feel like I could move at all, I knew I should have been dead by now from the villagers’ beating. I tried to move, and the pain almost took over my whole body, but this woman had saved my life. If she wanted me to kill the village then I must do it. She was right. These people, I thought of them as friends for all of these years, had tried not only to kill me, but deliberately cause me pain and suffering.
    They all deserved to die. The hatred pulsed through me with such intensity that I had never felt before. Suddenly I had the strength to stand. Green strands of light lifted me up and healed my wounds, inflicted by the villagers. Normally, I would have been calm after this. I would have just run away, but the hatred did not disappear, instead it grew stronger. I looked at the villagers, and they looked back at me, their eyes wide with fright. I took a step forward, they took a step back. I laughed at them. What cowards. So, they could harm a helpless girl, but when that girl became not-so-helpless, they ran away. Well maybe, then they shouldn’t have harmed her in the first place.
    My hatred grew yet stronger, and one of the green strands was attaching its self to my right hand. I held my hand back like I was preparing to whip a horse or a slave. They backed up even further, now shaking their heads. “Renalin please,” they begged, “spare us.” “It’s a little late for that!”I said, my voice pure hatred “If I am evil, then it is you that made me so. I’ll see you all in hell!”I laughed again and lashed out my arm. Some of them tried to run, and some simply huddled together. I slaughtered them all, lashing out with my arm, all but one. I cared about none of them, except for one. When I came to my parents, Father trying to use mother as a shield, I took her aside and incapacitated my father. I put my mother behind me while I killed the rest.
    My best friend, my first love, my mentor, the list goes on and on. I killed them all. When I was finished, the hatred and the insane pleasure were gone and I was left to face a large pile of villagers, burned and broken huts, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. It was everywhere, on the ground, on the trees, in the water, even the sky was red. No, that was impossible it was me own vision, that made me see the whole world in a bloody color. I cried. What have I done?! I ruined my home, my village.
    “But if you didn’t kill them, they would have killed you, Renalin. You must do what must be done to survive, Renalin, for you hold much power and must learn to use it wisely. Come with me and I will teach you, Renalin.” I couldn’t see what choice I had. There was nowhere else for me to go. I would not be accepted into any village where my aura would be able to be sniffed out. “Alright, I shall come with you, Lady Margaret,” I said, the name popping into my head. The lady looked pleased so I must have gotten it right…
    I jumped in my seat. My friend Amber was elbowing my ribs “Wake up!” she whispered. I was scared. I could feel my heart pounding almost out of my chest. I had not fallen asleep in school for a long time and I promised to myself that I never would again. I probably looked like crap. Well, mind as well act normal, even though I didn’t look it.
    “What the hell was that for? You couldn’t let me enjoy my nap?”
    “You have to pay attention, but you were having a bad dream anyway. That’s why I was trying to wake you up. Wanna tell me about it?”
    “Um…Let’s see, there was… this lady with blond hair and… blood…I’m sorry Amber I really can’t remember anymore than that.”
    The bell rang and I ran off to the bathroom to wash my face and calm down. This was too much for me. I didn’t know how much longer I could take it. All of these restless nights and damn visions, I can’t get a moments rest can I? I sighed and headed off to my next class. “Renna?” It sounded like Eddie, but he had class with Nadia all the way at the other end of the school. I turned around anyway, unable to keep myself from hoping. It was Eddie. He went out of his way to come and see me, how sweet! “Eddie?”I must have looked surprised because he laughed.
    “Hey, are you alright?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine.”
    “You looked pretty bad in Social Studies, you sure you’re not sick or something’”
    “I’m fine, Eddie. You don’t have to worry about me, I’m used to taking care of myself”
    Then he did the unforgivable. He looked at me with such a large amount of pity in my eyes, I could have killed him. I felt the anger rush through me. “Don’t you dare look at me like that Eddie!” my voice was ice and I had sliced through him with it. “I-I’m sorry. Thanks for caring about me, I gotta get to class.” I turned away before the tears spilled. I was a horrible person. Who yelled at someone for worrying about them? I had shown Eddie a horrible side of me, a side I had never seen myself. I felt horrible, I could still see the mixture of hurt and shock in his eyes. It reminded of something…Betrayal. I feel like I have seen those eyes filled with betrayed before, and (knowing myself) I was probably the one who caused it. I was overcome with guilt, so on impulse, I dropped my books and ran back to him. I was already several minutes late for class, but it was killing me to leave him that way. He was still standing there, deep in thought. I ran up to him and hugged him. “I really am sorry Eddie! Please don’t look like that, I didn’t mean to lash out at you! I’m so sorry, Eddie!” I cried into his soulder, really hard. “I am so sorry Edward. Forgive me, I beg of you.” I didn’t even know what I was crying for! Those last words did not belong to me. “I’m sorry too.” He said and I realized that he was crying too. Why? Why was he crying? What was he apologizing for? “I am the sorry one, Renalin.” We stood there just holing holding each other for what felt like eternity. It felt good, standing there. I felt loved. This was true and pure love. It wasn’t my own personal bliss shared with anyone, it was our personal bliss.
    ~.~.~.~.~.~
    “Edward. My Edward,” I said “you have no idea how much I love you.” I was seventeen again in my burgundy sorceress robe (more or less). Edward was on top of me kissing my neak. “No Renalin, you are the one with no idea,” he paused and then continued to kiss me down to my breats as low as the bodice would let him. He tried to take it off but got tangled in the strings. I laughed good-naturely.
    “Here let me help.”
    “Sorry,” he blushed
    “For what?”
    “Being so stupid and inexperienced”
    “Yeah? What would you call me then? I’m not exactly a slut either, you know.”
    He was still blushing
    “Here it’s done.” I said taking off the bodice…
    I rolled over, moaned, and opened my eyes. It was morning! Unbelievable!!! For the first time in months I had not had a bad dream! Actually, not only did I not dream at all, but I had had a good dream! I looked at the calendar. May 21, 2009. My birthday was tomorrow! I was going to go out for dinner with my family and then the day after (Saturday) I would hang out with my friends. Today I was also tutoring Eddie. Could this day get any better?! The answer was no, but you know what they say “Every good thing in your life is matched by an equally bad one and vice versa”.
    ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
    I strode into the library lugging my heavy backpack, looking around for Eddie. Someone grabbed me from behind and scared the living hell out of me. “Sorry,” Eddie said, blushing “I didn’t mean to scare you or anything! You just looked like you needed some help.” He took my backpack and walked down the aisles of books.
    “Thanks,” I said, truly gratified.
    He laughed, “It’s the least I could do. After all, without you I would fail, right? Besides I feel like I have a special connection to you.”
    I frowned, “You wouldn’t without me Eddie, you could find someone else to help you, I know most of the female race would be more than happy. Everyone likes you Eddie, you’re so lucky, you don’t ever have to be alone.”
    Now it was his turn to frown, “I didn’t mean in school, in life. You’re so creative and you don’t care what anyone else thinks. You’re not all uptight and you go along with whatever comes your way. I think that’s pretty awesome. And if you left, I wouldn’t want another tutor.”
    I blushed insanely now.
    “But, Eddie that’s ridiculous! You’re the one who’s awesome, and pretty! You try so hard in school, and don’t give up. You’re funny and good at sports. And you’re a really, really good person! How could you possibly like someone like me? I’m lazy and stupid and selfish and careless… and I hate little kids. I’m a horrible person. And I’m really boring to be around.”
    I was close to tears, but Eddie needed to know the truth about me. If he was going to like me then he needed to know my ugly sides too, from the beginning. Otherwise when he found them out he would leave. Eddie grabbed my chin so that I looked straight into his eyes. “Don’t you dare ever think that.” he whispered, his eyes stern, about an inch from my face, “you are not a horrible person. You are the best person that I know.” He leaned in closer and slipped his hand behind my neck. “And I love you,” he whispered, I could feel his breath, warm on my lips before he closed the space between us. It wasn’t a French kiss or anything, just a soft kiss on the lips, but it meant the world to me. It was my first kiss, and it came from someone I truly loved. I was living in absolute bliss for the rest of the day, and Eddie seemed happy too. He was really getting this whole atom periodic table thing. I asked him the study questions in the back of the book and he got all but two correct. In the end he thanked me and said I was a great teacher. We went to the park afterward, just to talk. I told him about the divorce and everything. Eddie’s mom died when he was born and he was raised by his father. No siblings. His father was the senator of our state, Illinois, and was hoping to rise to presidency. He lives with his grandma while his father is away at Washington. I told him about how my mom worked long hours in the bank. I usually wasn’t much of a talker, but I felt a weird connection with Eddie. I trusted him, even enough to tell him about my crazy dreams. It got dark really fast, though, so I had to home. Walking down the street that twilight, with Eddie (who insisted on walking me home), I was on cloud nine and when my mom asked about “that sweet boy who was walking with you” I actually told her.
    When I got into bed that night I prayed. I am not a very religious person. I do believe in God, but I do not go to church every Sunday and follow every aspect of the bible. I live life my own way, if part of that happens to correspond to religious ways then so be it, but I will not change for any one, not even God. If He wanted me to be different, then he would have made me so. I do not pray often, only on religious holidays, new years, and my birthday. I prayed for a good year for myself. Good health and happiness to my family, friends and Eddie. I also added in for Eddie to get good grades (at least in science), last second. Then I turned off the lights and wondered why it was that I got these dreams in the first place. Could it have something to do with a past life or something? I did live my life my own way, but was it the right way? Who was I anyway? And where was my path taking me?