Prologue: Left to die

"Holy shit! the Willows aren't kidding. This girl is so dead!"

In the dead silence of the forest was two rugged men with a mission to accomplish. One man was holding a rifle on his left hand, fully aware of his surrounding.

The other was carrying today's target on his right shoulder. His footsteps were quick, unbothered with the target's weight.

"Hey, how 'bout we left her here. I'm pretty sure the wolves could smell her," the men with a rifle spoke again to get his partner's attention.

"Yes, this is far enough. Let's go!" finally, a response from his partner.

The man with the rifle grinned happily but when he saw him tossed the target on the ground like tossing a bag of unwanted thing, his stomach churned uncomfortably.

He turned around not giving a second look, afraid that his heart would weaken.

Running for hours, the man who carried the target earlier made a sudden stopped, "Wait! we need to take something off the girl as proof. Let's go back!" his suggestion sent the man with a rifle into a frenzy. A state where he almost wanted to kill his partner with the gun in his hand except that he couldn't because that man was an asset of the organization he was in.

They'd definitely get back to him to avenge him. In the end, it would be his lost. Still, there was no way he would return to the forest after running for hours.

"I don' t think so. Their instruction was 'to dispose of the target and leave nothing'. Do you think they'll want us to bring back a piece of her? Besides, the wolves must have eaten her by now. It's a waste of journey to go back," he said with a hope that it would change his mind.

He hated their mission tonight. Right now all he wanted was to return home and enjoy the company of his lover.

"Heh, it seemed that you pity the girl? a softie?" the other man spoke, full of mockery. Even with the complete darkness, he could almost see the disapproving look on his face.

'Who wouldn't? She's only eight,' he spoke under his breath.

"Remember, you're still on probation. If you can't even handle this much, I'll report..."

"Hehe...partner. It was a momentary weakness of an amateur like me. Don't worry, the mission is my top priority," he immediately interrupted knowing that his partner began to doubt his professionalism.

If he would be reported, his source of income would be gone together with his life. 'Good luck, little girl!' he cheered in his mind.

The other man sneered at his quick reply but without commenting further. Soon, their shadows disappear leaving the forest once again in an unperturbed state.

***

Ava had regained her senses long ago. All the heavy breaths, shitty talks, and the smell of Earth penetrated the inside of her nosehole.

She didn't dare to make a single movement afraid to alert the man who was carrying her like a sack to be thrown away.

From the voices she heard, Ava knew she wasn't in the city and neither was she at the house she resided in since two years ago. The word forest entered her mind as the smell of Earth once again poked her sense of smell.

Ava wanted to laugh but the throbbing pain on her lips put tears in her eyes instead. 'They really hate me,' she thought as her heart sank with sorrow.

With the dark surrounding, time seemed to slow down. Ava tried to lift up her head, but the sudden sharp pain on her forehead made her whimpered on the spot.

The man who carried her on his shoulder, had decided to save his energy by simply throwing her small body on the ground.

Remembering that, she felt like crying but decided to bite her lower lips. Hoping that an extreme pain could curb the tears that were about to fall.

Still, the tears of pain broke the wall of courage that she had. Soon, the sound of muffled cries echoed in the forest breaking the absolute silence.

Ava tried hard to get up. However, the pain all over her body stopped her every time. Her face was swollen from the tears and bruises from the fall. Her lips hurt every time she tried to open them up.

Still laying on the ground, Ava curled to a ball and recalled the incident that happened since she entered the Willow household two years ago.

She wondered, what mistakes had she done to make them hate her so much, it escalated to taking her life away.

'Zen, Grandpa, save me.' She hugged both her knees, wishing for someone to come and save her.

A droplet of tear fell to her nose and touched the ground. Soon, it turned heavy like a rainstorm and Ava, with her small body trembled as the two years memories made today's event felt more hellish.

***

"Ava, Mdm Jin called you to her office. Right now!" the shout was very clear and sharp. Ava looked up to meet the eyes of the girl with a ponytail hairdo. There was disgust apparent on her face, something she had gotten used to.

"Thank you," Ava responded and walked out of the classroom. She ignored all the noises she heard as she walked past the other children.

The moment her senses, mind, and soul understood the world she was living in, hostility was the first thing that greeted her warmly baby smiles.

Ava was an abandoned child left at the door of Caring Orphanage with only a note about her name and date of birth. And those note was the reason why she was avoided by her peers at the orphanage. Simply because she was born on Friday the 13th. Those with the knowledge of her date of birth would look at her strangely as if she exuded bad luck.

Abandoned and alone, Ava felt that her peers could provide the emotional support she needed, for they too, shared similar fate as hers.

But the reality told her otherwise. Here, she was ridiculed and alienated. She couldn't count the number of times she had run away from the crowd and hid inside the bathroom all because of the unwarranted attack.

The adults at the orphanage had tried to ease the situation by reprimanding some who were caught to verbally and physically assaulted her, but behind closed door, the attack continues.

At the age of three, Ava learned that the best way to survive was to live only for herself, unbothered by the popular opinions of others about her.

She brainwashed herself to turn unlucky to lucky and self-taught on how to motivate herself when no one else cared.

The amusement from peers interaction often made her envy those who could easily blend into the social circle, but the more she spent on thinking and caring for herself, the more it was visible to her, that feeling cannot be forced on someone. To add, she learned that a relationship with yourself was crucial for the health of her mind.

This was Ava's moment of growth. The struggle had matured her. Still, she feared of getting hurt therefore she began observing their behavior; predicting the cause of their action and its outcome. Having mastered this, she became a calculative child. Everything she did was the result of her analytical mind .

Little did she knew that this habit eventually developed into a terrifying ability similar to mind-reading.

Still, being a child in her lonely world, no matter how self-sufficient she was, there were times it broke down and made her crave for protection.

Ava was a gifted child but very much humane and one that still so young.

Ava cleared her mind as the view of Mdm Jin's office door come to sight. She halted before proceeding to knock the door. A voice asking her to come in was heard from inside the room.

Without delay, Ava walked in. Her eyes were not looking at the people inside, but straight to the painting behind Mdm Jin's chair. Only when she got closer did she lowered her gaze.

That was the time she noticed an old man with a black and white attire sat on one of the chairs facing Mdm Jin's desk. The old man turned around with excitement flaming his eyes.

"Young Miss," the old man abruptly stood up and bowed to Ava. Speechless, Ava could only stare at the old man feeling unsettled with the sudden display of respect.