WARNING!

Please be advised; the following contains violence, and other adult themes

Thank you for reading

The day was warm and birds soared through the sky. The hustle and bustle of the northern mountain village of Ako was as per usual. Ako village was a busy little settlement with decent trade. The people who lived there felt comfort in their way of life and lived without fear. As for any town, Ako village had an underbelly. A place for transients and the lesser-off. 

In the country of Azael, year 1642

-Near the eastern edge of Ako village, in a dank alleyway-

“Freak! Creep!” These terms were all too familiar to the 13 year old Mia Sanju. Born with half-black and half-white hair, she often fell victim to bullying. “You're disgusting, you freak of nature!”. The insults repeated as she sat on the ground crying, tears poured down her fair skin. Her dark green kimono lay caked in mud and grime. Other than her hair Mia seemed like an ordinary girl. She wore her ordinary kimono and no shoes as she had no money to spend. 

Mia looked around hoping for help. Her hazel-brown eyes overflowing in tears, all she could feel was sadness. She was cornered. The weathered buildings of the slums surrounded her and she had no solid escape route. It was late and light seemed scarce. The smell of smoke and filth filled her nose as she weighed her options. In front of her were three bullies. They constantly berated her for her hair as long as she could remember, it was something ingrained into her brain. To the left was Mobo. He was slightly taller than the rest standing at 5’6’. To most he seemed like skin and bones but to Mia he was a giant. Towering over her by a whole nine inches was enough to make her shutter. He wore a ripped blue kimono and wooden sandals. His messy brown hair wafted in his face covering his dark brown eyes. When it came to bullying he was the ringleader. In the middle and to the right was Ebrin and Oozua, henchman would be the most accurate term. They both wore shabby brown kimonos and old wooden sandals. Ebrin, born with short blonde hair and blue eyes, was in the eye of many girls in the village, Oozua on the other hand has shaggy black hair down to his ears and covering his left eye. The three of them tormented Mia on a daily basis, calling her names, occasionally beating her up, and today was no different.

“I don’t understand why you’re even here, why the adults let a freak like you live here”. Mobo exclaimed while laughing. He took a step closer and hit her across the face causing her to fall over. The other two bursted out laughing and began to throw mud at her. Her cryingcontinued and dark thoughts crept into her mind. “Why do I exist? This damn hair is nothing but a curse”. Ebrin knelt down beside her, “you should kill yourself”. The words made her shutter and she grasped her kimono tightly. Tears continued pouring down her face as she sobbed relentlessly. “Good one Ebrin!” Oozua shouted, clearly amused by the former's comment. Mobo spoke up, “yeah, you should do it, no one would miss you”, he snickered as he spoke. Mia looked up to him in fear with no words to say. In her mind it made sense, she had no family or friends and the entirety of the village shunned her. The girl had nothing except for the clothes on her back. 

The boys continued to berate her without an end in sight. The darkness of the alley they were in hid them from prying eyes and they knew that they could do whatever they wanted.

“Wait, stop”, Mobo spoke up from hitting her. The other two looked over at him with a confused look. Mobo looked over to them and down at Mia, now covered in bruises and a busted lip. “I have a genius idea”. He licked his lips and both Ebrin and Oozua immediately knew what Mobo was thinking. They all licked their lips as they looked down at her. She sat there, with fear in her mind and her thoughts scattered. Oozua looked back towards some trash sitting beside the wall. Broken glass and rotten food sat in a small box. He grabbed the box and looked over at Mia. “Hey brat, are you hungry?”. She looked over in terror as he held a combination of glass, rotten food, and other garbage. Oozua slowly walked over to her as Mobo and Ebrin stood back applauding. 

Minutes passed and screams echoed from the dark alley. The boys, having the time of their lives watching Mia suffer, raised their voices louder as she gave in to their torment. 

“Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!”, they chanted. Mia, feeling broken and useless, looked towards Oozua’s outstretched hand holding the box with the vile scraps. Whilst shivering she opens her mouth, still not mentally prepared for what's to come. Mobo and Ebrin while standing a few feet away are watching and snickering, clearly enjoying the show before them. Oozua slowly creeps closer, shaking in sadistic excitement.

Suddenly everything goes silent, there isn’t a sound anywhere around them. Mia edges closer and closer to the nastiness and praying that this is just a dream… But out of nowhere footsteps grow louder and louder. Oozua jolts his head and looks back to immediately receive a foot to the face, WACK! He falls to the ground writhing in pain. A shadowy figure slowly steps forwards and walks up to Mia. Now silent and covered in snot and tears, she looks up. The kind face of a young girl maybe a year older meets hers. She wore a pink kimono and had long beautiful black hair. Feet away, and in shock, Mobo and Ebrin stand silently staring at their friend lying on the ground. 

“Are you okay?”. She asks. Mia, with barely any words to describe how she's doing, simply nods. The girl puts out her arm and gestures to help Mia to her feet. “Hmph…  They’re horrible for what they’ve done to you”.

 “Oi! What the hell do you think you’re doing??” Mobo yells. He balls his fist and his voice echoes throughout the ally. “What am I doing? How can you ask that?”. She turns around and looks him dead in the eye. “How can you stand here and bully this girl? What has she ever done to you?”. Mia limps a step forwards looking down, “it’s fine-”, “IT’S NOT FINE”. The girl yells back, stomping her foot in protest. “It’s never okay to do something like this”. Mia looks over at her and sees the face of anger staring towards the boys. 

The girl turns back around and holds out her hand. Mia, being the timid girl, staggers and freezes up. The feeling of warmth crept on her face as she opened her eyes. The girl's hand gently grasped her cheek. Mia looked towards her to see a welcoming smile. 

“BAH!” scoffed Mobo. Clearly enraged by the events, he began running towards Mia and the girl with violence being his only driving force. Nearing close, he steps over various puddles of soured drink and other discarded waste. A few steps away Ebrin looks down at Oozua who has now gone unconscious, visibly scared he doesn’t dare to make a move. 

As Mobo closes in, the girl takes her hand away from Mia’s cheek and faces him head on. He lunges forwards trying to tackle her to the ground but is instantly stopped. In that moment the girl had put all her strength into one swift kick to the shin causing him to fall to the ground in pain. “AGGGHHHHHHHHH! AGHHHHHHHH! YOU BITCH!”. He screams in pain cursing her. Now lying on the ground grasping his shin, “this is what you deserve. Well, you deserve much more but for now this is enough”. The girl towers proudly above her defeated opponent. Mia, who is standing in shock, is unable to comprehend the situation. She falls to her knees and sobs uncontrollably. The girl simply looks back, gives a reassuring smile and returns to face her final opponent.

Ebrin slowly stands up, shaking and barely able to speak. “Yo-you’ll pay for this one day, I’ll make sure you’ll pay for this”. He looks towards the exit of the alley and starts running, his sandals clapping against the cobblestone. 

Mia, still shaking from the earlier events suddenly feels a sense of ease. This feeling, completely unknown to her as she’s only experienced pain and suffering made her cry tears of joy. “Are you okay?” the girl asks with a concerned look on her face. Mia looked up to her with teary eyes and a crooked but calm smile. The girl pats her on the head, “you must’ve gone through so much and experienced so much pain”. Mia, looking around frantically, “Where is it? Where is it?” she falls to her knees and begins rummaging through trash and the like. “There it is!” Mia exclaims happily, a look of relief painted over her face. A silver necklace with an oddly shaped pendant attached now dangles between her fingers. She holds the necklace to her chest tightly and sighs a sigh of relief. Mia then looks up at the girl; “thank you, c-can I ask your name?”. After putting her necklace back on she wipes away her tears and clasps her hands together. “If not it’s okay, I’m used to people not wanting to associate with a freak like me”. She looked down to the ground already assuming the girl would view her the same way as everyone else has always had.

“Aira”. Mia suddenly looks up in a mix of confusion and shock. “Huh?”. “My name is Aira, Aira Salasca”. The girl looked at Mia with a comforting smile. For the first time in Mia’s life someone looked at her with something other than hate, she felt happy and wished to hold onto this moment for as long as she lived.

“And my n-name is Mia, Mia Sanju”.

The girl smiled.

“Um… w-why did you h-help me?” Mia, still dwelling in self-deprecation, couldn't understand why someone would help her. “I mean, you can see why they attack me, I'm an abomination”. She stood there slightly shaking as she waited for Aira’s response.

“You? A freak?” She paused, “what are you talking about”. Aira seemed baffled at the thought. She took a step closer and looked Mia straight in the eye. “Because of your hair?” Mia’s heart sank. “Yes, I hate it and so does everyone else, I want to cut it so that I can finally fit in”. Mia quivered as she spoke. 

“I don’t think it’s ugly at all. I think it’s cute”. Aira smiled again, giving a glimmer of hope to Mia.

Mia looked back at the two bullies laying on the ground, both motionless. “I don’t know how to repay you for this”. Mia, who was stricken with poverty, felt that she’d have nothing to give to Aira as a means of thanks. This feeling of guilt pained her and she looked down at the ground yet again. 

“You don’t have to do anything or give anything, I'm just glad I got here”. Aira, with her face seemingly brimming with care, calmed Mia. The air seemed lighter, as if a cooling breeze swept through the alley. Slowly Mia grinned and a tear fell down her face. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you”, Mia continued to repeat these two words continuously as she began to cry. Her kimono, still covered in filth, was now being bombarded with tears. 

Aira, took a step back and turned around gesturing to leave. “Come on,” she said softly. Mia, after wiping away her tears, walked towards her. “Where are we going?”. Aira looked back and with a smile she said; “Home”. “You don’t have any family right?” So from now on I’ll be your family, and I’ll protect you”. Aira with blue eyes glimmering with delight; “no matter what happens, you can depend on me. And in return I’ll depend on you”. She smiled and turned around and began walking towards the exit of the alley. Mia stood there in shock, she thought to herself; Can I be happy? Will I finally have a family?. For the first time in forever she smiled and skipped after Aira, bliss painted across her face. The joys of life were only beginning.

Starting that day, the two girls lived together in complete happiness. They stood up for each other and held a deep bond. Mia now lives happily with Aira in a small one room wooden house. The floorboards may creak and at times it may seem draughty, but their day-by-day was for a better word bliss. They woke up together, ate food together, practically did everything together. For Mia, Aira was a big sister, she idolised her, and felt that whenever she was around it was safe. For Aira, Mia was her precious little sister whomst she loved deeply. The bond between these two was unbreakable.