Emma Moonstone

I stood behind the bushes and watched them play.

I have been seeing them play here for a few days now and today I noticed another girl with them. She must be new here. She seemed quiet and was sitting on the park bench. They are trying to make each other fly and they are doing a great job. Wish I could also do that.

I shifted my eyes to the new girl sitting over there and she was already looking at me. She saw me. I should probably leave. They won't like my presence here. No one wants me around. I am not invited anywhere.

I decided to go back home when I saw her flash a smile at me.

Did she just smiled at me?

I didn't know what to do. It will be bad to not smile back. What would happen if I smiled a little? I need friends. I decided to smile back eventually. I smiled and she gestured for me to come to her. I am not allowed to do that. I am supposed to be at home and drinking my evening coffee. But I jumped from home. I was so bored at home. Everything there is the same as those of the past 14 years. What am I supposed to do? I feel so lonely. Even the maids are afraid to talk to me. They leave the food on the table and rush to shut themselves in the kitchen before I reach. I want friends. Who doesn't want friends?

I walked towards her regretting each and every step I took. My mind is screaming to me to go back home. But I knew from her smile, that I am safe. She is not going to run away. She is walking towards me. She is not afraid of me. She is coming to me with a smile on her face for me. She wants to be friends with me. And that's what I want too.

We reached midway. Her friends haven't noticed her absence. She looks the same as my age and she has hazel eyes. Her brown hair is in a ponytail. She is cute. I smiled at her again. My first friend. I felt so happy.

"I am Emma Moonstone." She said, extending her hand for me to shake.

"I am Austin Tyler.", I said, shaking her hands. Emma Moonstone, my first friend. I hope we will be friends forever. I don't want to lose the little number of people I have.

"Come join us!"She said and dragged me towards her friends without waiting for my reply. I smiled looking down at our intervened hands. I can't explain my feelings. I have been waiting to talk to someone other than my parents and maids for years but was hesitant. But I did it and her name and face are going to be marked in my heart forever. She is the one who pulled me out of the bushes…

"Hey, meet Austin.", She said to her friends. Their names are Mary and Rose. I have been seeing them for a while. They usually came here. I am not stalking them or anything. I just don't have anything better to do. They are so powerful and have been practicing their skills every day. The two looked from her to me, to each other.

"Is this that Tyler boy?" Rose asked, scared. I know what she meant by that. I know where the conversation is going and this is definitely not going to end well. Why does she have to ruin everything?

"Oh! Do you know him?", I heard Emma ask. She doesn't know me. She doesn't know who I am. That's why she offered me her hand. That's why she smiled at me. If she knew me, she would have left with her friends the moment she saw me in the bushes. I should have known. But I am thankful. At least I had a friend, even if it was for a minute.

"You don't know? Your parents didn't warn you?" Mary asked, surprised. "He is the cursed child. My mom said to stay away from him. He is dangerous. Move away from him, Emma!"

"Don't talk to anyone like that!" Emma defended me. She is feeling sorry for me. I don't want her to be sorry. I should go back home.

"She is right, Emma. He is the cursed child who will bring doom to Riverlook. His parents have locked him up in their mansion. How did you get out? I should get someone." She began to look around frantically like her life is in danger. If someone finds me here, my dad is going to be very angry and will probably punish me. I should go.

I left her hand and began to walk away. I can't risk that. I am happy that she stood up for me. Even for a minute, I felt like I made some friends here. But maybe I really am cursed. I should probably lock myself in a cage and wait for my death. That's what is left to do. My vision began to blur with tears. I should get back home. I started to run.

I reached home and began to walk around the house to calm myself down before I get to my cage. Her face, when they talked ill about me, was flashing before my eyes. Why did she feel sad? I stood by the water fountain and watched the small rainbow that was forming. She is empathetic...

I don't want anyone's empathy. I don't know why people feel empathy. It's just a waste of emotion. Who wants to feel others' emotions when you are already confused with yours?

I heard something. Specifically someone. Who is daring to walk around my house without permission? That has to be that 'friend' of the maid. I have been seeing him for a while now. She usually invites him over when my parents are out. Today I am going to finish their happy time. If I am not happy here, no one should.

I slowly walked behind them and saw it was Emma. My face softened. Did she followed me here?

"What are you doing here?" I asked loudly, causing her to jump. She snapped her head towards me and I know it might have hurt a little to snap your head like that. I couldn't help but chuckle as she began to rub her neck.She is so clumsy.

"Um… I came to check on you. I am so sorry for their behaviour. It was my fault." She said,

"Why are you checking on me? You don't even know me. And it's them who should be sorry, not you" I said. But she came to check on me. That felt so good to hear. Seeing someone caring about my feelings is something I won't usually see.

Afterall i am the cursed child of Riverlook.

She seemed taken back. She came to check on me and I was being rude to her. I should apologise. She is too good to be treated like this.

"I am sorry. I just_"

"It's fine. Trust me I can understand." She cut me mid sentence. "Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Yeah"

"What she said was not true, right?"

I expected it. Should I tell her? I am going to lose her if I tell her. But what if she leaves me if she hears the truth. She doesn't deserve such pain. If she leaves later it is going to hurt me so much. I should tell her. She is free to make her own choice. She is my first friend. She deserves to know and the freedom to leave if she wants. I will find someone else. I hope so.

"Yeah." I sighed. I never talked about it to anyone. It's my first time talking about me to anyone. Everyone seems to just know about me.

"Someone made a prophecy about me when I was born." I started. "As per that prophecy, I am the cursed child of Riverlook. It says I am going to bring doom to this city and destroy everything, each and every soul. Riverlook is going to be buried here if I am not stopped in time. So here I am, locked up, living my life inside these 4 walls. I just jumped out because I was bored. That's how we met. Don't tell anyone that you saw me. Everyone here is scared to let me roam. I don't even know why they left me alive. I should have been dead."

I finished my small explanation and looked back at her hazel eyes. She just stared at me the whole time. She needs time to let the message sink in. I watched her as she looked at me in shock. She is going to leave. Maybe I shouldn't make it more awkward and_

"THEY ARE SCARED OF YOU BECAUSE OF A STUPID PROPHECY?! YOU PARENTS LOCKED YOU UP AND YOU ARE DISTANCING YOURSELF FROM EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF A PROPHECY. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE MAD. THEY GOT SCARED WHEN THEY HEAR DOOM? THIS IS INSANE!"

"Stop screaming!" I said back. "Someone will hear you."

"Yeah. Right." She calmed down and looked at her feet. God she is so cute. Now she is embarrassed of herself. She has no idea about the situation. She just considered it as a joke. I should warn her. This is not a joke.

"Listen." I sighed. I hate to talk about it. Because it hurts everytime I think about it. "Part of it is already true. It said that I can't you know… I can't do magic_"

"You can't do magic?" Her voice says she won't believe any of it. Her eyes were searching mine to see whether I was joking and her hands were clenching on her skirt. She might be picturing herself in my place. I have only met her and I can even predict what she is thinking. That's what I learnt from her. She considers everyone. She is empathetic. She shouldn't be. It will only hurt you even more.

"Maybe we should go inside and talk. Please. I want to see the inside of your home." She said scanning around.

"Yeah...sure"