THE STORY IN AUTUMN....

"Hey Tashy!" The children giggled at her. Tasha chose best to ignore them all. They were all full of themselves, there wasn't anyone who was left out.

"Oh no, she's ignoring us again,"

"Such a weirdo!" Another one said.

In Springdale, she was the one everyone talks about if she just walk pass. It was annoying, every single time it happened. A wrapped paper from behind, hit her on the head. She felt it, but only tightened her hold on her pencil almost snapping it in half.

'I will not cry,' she continued muttering to herself. Gently, her lips began to tremble and tears slipped from her eyes, thoroughly against her request.

Her sobs began at first, gentle and silent but later, she couldn't hear their laughter anymore.

When she got home, she bolted the door behind her and crash on her bed, still moody. Events of school replayed in her head again and again, she didn't know when her fist began to tighten in anger all over again.

It was the gentle knock on her room door and the sweet voice of her favorite nanny that drove her out of her thoughts. She turned to the sound of the door, totally aware of her belongings hanging on air around her.

"It's Jennifer, Tasha,"

Her belongings dropped with a thud.

"Are you okay in there?" Jennifer aid again with a British accent very obvious.

Tasha's reply was to open the door and crawled back into bed.

"Oh my God, look at the mess you made in here,"

"Every one hates me Jenny, I might as well take it out on what I can." Tasha told her.

"Oh my sweetheart, they don't hate you," Jennifer sat on the bed besides her.

"You know that's not true," Tasha replied.

"They're just jealous y'know."

"Jealous of what? It's not like they  know I can do magic," Tasha said.

"And they shouldn't know," Jennifer said. "That's your secret, that's what makes you special and unique."

"But I don't want to be special. I want to be like the rest of them," Jennifer took the hair that fell on the eleven year old girl behind her ears.

"Remember the story that I told you a week ago?"

"That doesn't happen these days, there's nothing supernatural here. Just me and my crappy self." Tasha said to her.

"Do not worry my love, one day you'll finally believe all that I have been saying. You'll find out," she cupped Tasha's chin. "that there's more to it. Believe me when I say that there is, okay."

Tasha nodded.

"Now, now, Anna's been hovering around the door, scared to come in. I'll go get her now,"

Tasha nodded and brought her blanket closer to her chest. When Jennifer left to get Anna, her mind couldn't help but play back to the story she was told.

Werewolf? Pfft, almost ridiculous. But there was a shift in the air that night when Jenny was telling the story to Anna and her that night. As if, it was so true.

The door opened again and Anna walked in. They locked eyes for a bit but Anna continue further into the room to take off her uniform.

"I'm sorry," Tasha's voice rang in the silence.

"For what?" Anna said after a while.

"For locking you out,"

Anna went to bed instead. "I'm telling Mrs Williams, I am switching rooms with Yvonne then you can't Lock me out anymore."

When Tasha didn't reply, Anna shut her eyes blocking out everything.

---

"You have magic Tasha," Jennifer whispered to her, touching her chin affectionately. "It's not a curse, that's what makes you special."

"But I don't want to be special, I want to be like Phina and all the other girls." She said to Jennifer.

"Oh my sweetheart," Jennifer cooed at the 7 year old Tasha. Tasha was lucky everyone dismissed the event like it never happened.

......"no you can't play with us," Theo said snatching the ball she had managed to grab when Anna couldn't catch it.

"We should just let her play with us Theo." Anna tried.

"Why?" Sky said. A boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Mrs Walter said she is weird remember? We don't play with weirdos," They all burst out in laughter including the girls that played on the swing.

"But I am not weird," she whispered to herself mainly. "Nanny Jennifer said I am special,"

"Yah we know, you're special alright." Theophina yelled from where she stood at the swing.

Her fists began to tighten in anger. Distant thunder roared above but they all were oblivious to it. All except Jennifer that had been watching from the window. She was quick to find her way to the playground.

"I am not weird!" She screamed. This time, the thunder that struck was enough to send them in shock.

"Alright children, it's about to rain, it's best we go inside and out on something thick for the cold." Jennifer said to them grabbing the ball from Theo.

"But we just began," Stephen complained.

"Not now Stephen, go inside. Inside, everyone, now!" The began to move in without much complain. But they still spoke amongst themselves.

"She scares the hell outta me,"

"I told you she was weird," someone said, Sky maybe, she wasn't sure because they were already inside the house.

"Come Tasha, let's go in" Jennifer said to her before grabbing her hands and leading her inside.

The rain that began was very heavy, diminishing the sound of giggles coming from each of the children's room. They already had dinner and headed off to bed early to whirl away the time. It was just 6:30pm.

"I told you to never lose your temper like that?" Jennifer warned.

"Why won't they let me play with them? Why won't they let me?"

Jennifer sighed and covered her properly with her blanket instead. "Good night," she said to Tasha before walking away and shutting the door behind her.

***

'Tasha...'

Tasha frowned in her sleep unconsciously. 'Tasha..." The voice called again but this time, she jerked awake.

It was morning already, she noticed. The chirping of birds enough to bring a smile to her face.

'Tasha..'

She turned to the direction of which she heard her name. The same voice again again, the same voice that led her here into the forest. The same voice of the woman in her dream, telling her to come home.

She got up and placed her sleeping things in the bag she had been carrying for the past 2 days.

Walking in the direction she was called, she met with an old cottage. She look around for anyone but the only thing she noticed was smoke emitting from the woods that probably stayed up burning the previous night.

The aroma that struck her immediately she opened the door of the cottage was one of food. Tasty, and very much inviting.

"Anyone home?"

When no one replied, she helped herself in, shutting the door behind her. There was no furniture apart from a rocking chair that sat before a fire. Someone old must be living here, she thought. The house was decorated with a few flowers. It wasn't dusty or filthy or showed sign of an abandoned house. Her fingers felt the edge of the chair and then-

"Who's in here?"

Tasha turned in alarm, sticking the kitchen knife she had stolen from her orphanage home into the air, directly pointed at the source of sound.

Standing before her was a woman looking very much in her forties or even younger with herbs in her hands. Her stare alone made Tasha unsure of her stance. The woman sniffed the air softly perceiving the sweet aroma of food.

"Breakfast is ready?"

"Who are you?" Aaliyah walked pass her to drop the items she held on the table.

"Is that what you say to the woman  whose cottage you stand in?" Gently, Tasha lowered her knife. "You shouldn't hold what you can't wield,"

"I might not be good at fighting but I can do you harm, if I must." Tasha said.

"With what you have, yes but with what you hold, you wouldn't even get very close."

"Do you know me?" Tasha asked, confusion flashing her features. 

"Yes. Come have something with me first." She said but Tasha hesitated. "Fear not, I need you more than you need me. I won't make a mistake of causing you harm for the same reason." Aaliyah said. "Feel free, I insist."