Most people would kill to have magical powers. I probably would too if I was normal-- something I longed to be. Having these powers are more like a curse.

  I would get rid of my ability if I could but I don’t know how, neither does my 

 mother. My ability is healing things. From people to animals, with a small touch they’ll be rid of their wounds. My ability can also reverse them to the point where they wouldn’t even exist anymore. It doesn't really heal, more like going back in time, but only for a certain part of their body. And so, I told myself I wouldn’t use this ability, or power, anymore.

 It wasn’t safe and I was causing too much trouble for everyone. It was also the reason I had to move to a whole new town, leaving everything I once knew behind. It was during my Freshman year when it happened. I thought I could trust my friend, Mia, to keep my powers a secret since we’ve known each other since the fifth grade. There was a bird limping on the ground after school one day and she wanted to help it.  “Mia, can I show you something?” I asked the teary eyed girl. She handed me the dove and I cupped it in both hands, closing my eyes. “I’m going to fix it.” I stated. I focused my attention back  to the small creature in my hands and I tried to turn back time for its wing. I could feel its bones shifting and going back into place, all too fast. It’s wing sprung back and began to shrink in size. 

“Rhea?” the girl asks me, panickly. “What are you doing?” She shoved me to the ground, causing me to drop the small animal. I looked up at her with scrapes along my arms and dirt under my fingernails from trying to break my fall with my hands. She was mortified as she stared at the bird and then me. The once furry creature was surrounded by a pool of blood, all of its feathers shriveling up and 

disappearing on their own. 

“Oh my God,” she mumbled to herself. “You.. you’re a monster.” Her lip quivered as she threw a hateful glance towards me, her chestnut brown hair drawn towards her face. 

“I-I didn’t mean to,” I said as I crawled towards her.

“Get away from me!” She choked out. She stepped a foot backwards, then another, and another, until she was walking away from me.

 “Mia, please,” I cried desperately. She turned her back and started to turn, leaving me alone with the now rotting animal. “No…” I whispered to myself. “I’m not-- it was an accident.” But there was no one around to hear me. I dug my nails into the skin of my arms and a violent sob shook my body. “I DIDN’T KILL IT!” I screamed pathetically. But the truth was, I am a monster. 

My phone rang at that moment and I pulled it out of my pocket. A picture of my mom flashed across the screen and I hastily picked up the phone. “Rhea, where are you?” her voice was filled with concern. 

“Mom,” I started, my voice cracking. “I’m a murderer.”

 My hand tightened on the phone as I explained everything to her. “Get home, now.” she said in a steel voice. The walk home was a short one but it felt longer than ever. 

As soon as I walked through the door my mother grabbed me by both arms. “I thought I told you to never do that again,” She said, exasperated. “Just what am I going to do with you Rhea?” she stood with her head in her hands, grasping at her already thinning hair. 

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. 

“Pack you bags.” She told me. And that was all she said to me until we moved out of that house, and town. 

It was a little over two weeks and she didn’t allow me to go to school at all during that time. I was fine with it though, I didn’t know how I could face Mia, and knowing her, she probably told everyone in her grade. She could never really keep her mouth shut. It was her only bad trait. And now, it's been a year since we moved. 

“What are you daydreaming about?” My mother asked, expressionlessly. 

“Nothing,” I responded.  She’s been like this for a whole year. I guess she’s tired of me messing things up. What used to be her silky black hair was graying in certain areas and the circles around her eyes were dark. But that didn’t change the fact that she  was still insanely beautiful with her high cheekbones and rosy lips. She had a small, symmetrical face that you could never get tired of. I was a complete replica of her. 

I noticed that the hem of her sleeve was fraying but ignored it, she’d just be late for work. “Well, get going.” She picked up her keys and left for work.  I sighed before shoving my boots on and grabbing my gloves. I locked the door behind me and started the walk towards school. 

Across the street lived Kai, someone I knew too well. Upon seeing me, he grabbed his bag and ran towards my side of the street. 

“Hey!” he said excitedly. He watched me with his big doe eyes. I could just imagine his tail wagging. 

“Don’t you get tired of this?” I asked. He’d been following me around since the first day I got here, claiming that he wanted to be my friend. And, don’t get me wrong, he’s really nice and hasn’t done anything to me but I rather stay alone. After what happened with Mia… I think it’s best if I was left alone. But Kai wasn’t taking no for an answer. He really was determined to befriend me. 

There were several times where I wanted to drop my facade and let myself enjoy his presence but I don’t deserve that. “I never get tired of this,” Kai smiled. That was the thing that first caught my attention. His smile. He had a really nice smile and I was jealous of that. I stepped over the brown stain slush that littered the ground. The sun sat high in the sky, melting the snow that fell the night before. 

I let out a cloudy breath as we reached the school gates. The old building loomed ahead over us. Vines crawled up the side of the building and two gargoyles were placed at either side of the front entrance atop the staircase. I always had a feeling that our school was haunted. Kai and I headed our separate ways as the bell rang, signalling for class to start. “See you later,” he waved. In which I grumbled in response.

 I sat in the corner of my first period class, homeroom, and right next to the window and placed my head down. Ms. Wright didn’t mind us doing whatever we wanted as long as we were quiet. I plugged my headphones in and closed my eyes in an attempt to take a quick nap. Thirty minutes later I awoke to the sound of the bell ringing again. The rest of my classes passed in a blur until it was lunch time. I headed over to a table in the corner and took out a bag of chips, eating silently while scrolling through my phone. It would only be a matter of time until my peace would be disrupted. 

“Rhea!” Kai called out. I knew this was coming. 

“Hey,” I mumbled. He sat down beside me and pulled his lunch box out of his bag. 

“Is that all you’re eating?” He asked, shoving a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. He chewed silently as he waited for my response. 

“I had a big breakfast.” I lied. He was just too nosy. 

“You know,” he said, changing the subject. “I really think we’re friends now. I mean-- up until 3 weeks ago you wouldn’t even look at me.” Kai said with a toothy grin. 

“That’s because you won’t leave me alone. And I don’t like being mean to people.”

 I stuffed a couple red chips in my mouth. He lifted his finger to talk before he was cut off by Lindsay. The most popular girl in the school. Her blonde hair was pulled back into her signature ponytail and she stood with her hand on her hip. Lindsay’s eerily blue eyes looked directly into mine. “Well if it isn’t little Miss emo,” she chuckled. 

“You know, that was really lame.” I said. She was honestly terrible at insults. 

“Lindsay,” Kai frowned. 

“What?” she dragged. “I don’t know why you like to hang out with this weirdo, she can barely even speak.” 

I scoffed rolling my bag of chips up and stuffing it into my bag. “You know what, if it bothers you that much then you can have him.” I picked up my things and left the cafeteria. Kai called out my name but I ignored him, putting on my headphones and drowning everything out. 

The sound of my shoes slapping against the tiled floor echoed throughout the hallways. Not a single person in sight. Lucky for me, since I did not want to encounter a teacher. 

I left the building and walked towards the back of the school. The frosty air bit and nipped at my sensitive skin. I let out a cloudy breath as I walked towards the back of the building. It was vacant, as always. I sat upon the rusty old bench and traced over my initials that I carved. The bench I silently claimed. A howl sounded out in the distance, causing my heart to leap out of my chest. This town was famous for their wolves and usually they weren’t this far away from the woods. I looked behind me and into the stretch of trees. I could hear the faint snapping of branches and the crunching of dead leaves. I jumped out of my seat as a large silhouette appeared, swaying with each step it took. “It could be the wolf,”I said to myself. Without thinking, I ran towards it, leaving my belongings behind. The animal wasn’t too far so I didn’t have to walk for very long. 

I slowed my pace and walked slowly towards the wolf who was still limping. It growled at me, but I didn’t falter. I heard a branch snap behind me and I whipped my head around but there was no one. Turning my attention back to the wolf, it layed on the ground with its limbs sprawled. I rushed to its side and felt my pockets for my phone. “Where is it?” I mumbled in frustration. Do I have to use it? No, I can’t. But no one’s here. Just do it. So many thoughts were circling around my head. I looked around one more time before giving my full attention back to the wounded animal before me. I crouched down to its height. “I’m going to help you, okay?” I said slowly. The wolf growled again, swiping its paw at me. I rolled my eyes, waving my hands around it in circular motions. A yellow light emitted from the palms of my hands and surrounded it’s entire body. “Not too much.” I reminded myself. I drew my hands back at the sound of a camera clicking. 

I whirled around to see both Lindsay and Kai staring at me. “What are you two doing here?” I questioned, leaping to my feet. 

“What were you doing, you freak?” Lindsay said in disgust. My mouth went dry. 

“Rhea…” Kai started. 

“I am posting this everywhere.” Lindsay interrupted. Her nails clanked against the screen as she typed away. 

“You can’t!” I screamed. I hauled myself towards her, trying to grab her phone but she was too far away. She pressed one more button before smirking proudly at me. “Why are you doing this to me?” I cried out. She ignored me and turned around, walking away. Kai still stood there silently with his eyes downcast. 

Suddenly the wolf jumped up and ran at full speed towards Lindsay. She turned around and let out a shriek as it began to claw at her her hand. Her phone fell into a muddy puddle and immediately, the screen shut off. 

“Stop!” I yelled at the wolf. It immediately stopped in its tracks and looked me dead in the eye. I silently begged it to turn around and leave. And if magically, it turned around on its heels and walked away. 

“Oh my God,” Lindsay screamed. Blood gushed out of the open wounds on her arms. “GO CALL A TEACHER!” she screeched, clutching her arms. She sobbed hysterically. I snapped out of my thoughts and rushed towards the school but Kai was already two steps ahead of me. I turned to look back at Lindsay, she was curled up on the ground. 

“Am I really about to do this?” I grumbled to myself. Sighing, I trudged back over to where she was, slipping my arms under her shoulders to support her. “Can you walk?” I asked. Lindsay nodded. We took our time walking back to the front gates and Lindsay was quiet the entire time except for the occasional sniffle.

 We were almost there until a pair of medics rushed towards us and took her out of my arms. “Can I come with her?” Kai asked, appearing out of nowhere. The medics shook their heads and pulled her onto a stretcher into the ambulance and sped off without another word. “I can’t believe that just happened.” Kai said. I didn’t know what to say so I stood there, fiddling with the sleeves of my hoodie. 

“Do you think I’m weird?” I spoke after a while. 

Kai turned to me. “Of course not I was just… Surprised. Who knew that people could actually have powers?” He laughed. I smiled a little, it was nice to know he didn’t think I was a freak too. But Lindsay… What was I going to do about her? 

“The picture..” My smile faltered. “Lindsay took a picture of me and uploaded it everywhere,” I panicked. I paced back and forth thinking of what I could do. 

“Rhea- Rhea, calm down. We’ll think of something.” Kai placed his hands on my shoulders, reassuring me. “Why don’t we go visit her? If we call a taxi I don’t think we’ll be too late.”

The ride to the hospital felt like forever, I picked at my nails the entire time. I prayed with everything I had within me that this problem would be resolved quietly. By the time we got to the hospital my hands were clammy. I rubbed them dry on my jeans and hopped out of the car. Entering the hospital, I waited for Kai to get her room number and visitor passes before following him up to the elevator. Once we got her floor I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. We walked down the quiet hallway until we got to Lindsay’s room. I stood in front of the door, my nerves catching up to me. 

“It’s going to be fine. I’ll talk to her alone if you want me to,” Kai looked at me with a worried expression on his face. 

“It’s fine, this is actually something I should do on my own. Thank you for coming with me,” I gave his hand a little squeeze before pulling the door handle and walked into the room. 

Lindsay was wide awake with bandages around her arms and legs. She stared out the window quietly, unaware that I was within her presence. “Lindsay..” I started. 

She slowly turned around and looked me straight in the eyes. “Rhea.” She whispered. Tears started building up in the corner of her eyes. I rushed to her side without thinking and engulfed her in a hug. “No one-” she hiccuped. “No one came for me.” Lindsay clutched my hoodie, burying her face into it. I ran my fingers through her hair, saying nothing. 

Where were her parents? Weren’t they called? Why weren’t her friends here to see her? Or were they waiting until after school? My thoughts were scrambled up but I didn’t dare ask her anything. “I’m really sorry,” Lindsay sniffled. “I’ve been such a horrible person to you, yet you still helped me out despite everything.” She looked up at me with her bloodshot eyes and runny nose. “I’m such a bad person. I even uploaded that picture of you, and I don’t even have my phone to delete it.” she sobbed. 

I sighed, rubbing small circles around her back. “It’s okay really. But I have my phone with me.” I said, pulling it out of my pocket.

 Lindsay wiped the rest of her tears away and I unlocked my phone for her and let her get into her social media accounts to delete the pictures. She handed my phone back to me once she was done. “I hope you can forgive me.” Lindsay said. 

I stared at the girl in front of me. Despite her bloodshot, puffy eyes, red face, and tattered hair, she was still beautiful. “Lucky,” I thought. “I mean, I guess I forgive you,” I joked around, rolling my eyes. 

“Oh, thank you!” Lindsay pulled me into a hug. She smells nice. I blushed. 

“This is so stupid,” I mumbled, hugging her back. A knock sounded on the door. 

“Come in.” Lindsay said. Kai appeared before us, looking a little shocked. “I guess you didn’t really need my help after all.” We all laughed and Kai joined us for a group hug. I sighed in contentment. I wished that this day would never end.