I was sitting on the swings, humming along to one of my favorite songs. I was around 10 at the time, so childish and still the most mature kid in school. Or rather, I WAS, before Dad pulled me out. Mom had argued with him over that, but when she saw how happy Leo was to have me at home, she agreed. So I was home schooled, taught all I needed to know by Dad. I no longer had to spend hours in a building with blinding white rooms. I could have all the freedom I wanted. So here I was on the swings, a little disappointed that Lani didn't want to play with me, but happy all the same. It was peaceful.

Until a young teen barreled into me, her pink curly hair flowing after her. She apologized about 50 times, but I was interested in her pretty orange eyes. I could almost picture a warm fire in them as she looked me up and down.

"I'm so sorry I ran into you, what's your name?" she asked, blinking slowly, bringing my attention to her sparkly makeup.

"Akita," I responded softly.

"Oh cool, that's such a sweet name! You seem sweet too, can I adopt you?" she joked with a laugh. Or at least I thought she was joking. I would consider her offer more later but for now, I just laughed it off. "I'm Ash, by the way," she added, smiling widely. "Ooo, you like to draw?" She gestured to my sketchbook.

I handed it to her. "It's not very good..."

"Still cool! Keep at it and you'll be an amazing artist," she responded. Then she asked it. "Why are you all the way out here, and what're those scratches? Are you ok?"

I shook my head, trying to remember how I had gotten them. "I...don't remember. And Mommy and Dad let me out on my own sometimes..."

She seemed to think I didn't want to talk about it and instead talked some more about random stuff. She seemed nice, so I listened, thinking about what type of character she could be.

"Oh, do you want some of my chocolate?" she asked, taking out a candy bar. "It's not poisoned, I promise."

"No thank you, Dad says I shouldn't eat a lot of chocolate..." I responded nervously, hoping I didn't offend her.

"Oh." She didn't say anything else, but I felt strangely comforted by her presence.

________________________________________________________________

6 years later

I was sitting on Azora's couch, reading to take my mind off of...well, off of everything. I mean, I was a kid whose dad tried to murder her and killed her sister, and was staying with a new INNOCENT person in safety after escaping that place. Thinking was dangerous. Plus, I had so many therapy sessions and doctors telling me there was something wrong because of these gaps in my memory.

"Akita! Akita!" my brother yelled, shaking me. "There's someone at the door!"

I glanced at the camera feed on my phone and there was indeed someone there. When I enhanced the quality, I nearly gasped. It was HER. The girl from my memories. The one with pink hair...She glanced up at the cameras and smiled.

"Go get Azora..." I told my brother, eyes locked onto hers through the camera feed.

A second after he came back, Azora came running down the stairs like a lightning bolt to meet the girl. Through the cameras, I saw them talking for a while before Azora let her in.

"Sooo, you're finally letting me meet these kids you've been talking about for ages?" the girl asked, her pink curls bouncing as she ran up the stairs. She still had that infectious grin, the one I saw on that day...

"Yes," Azora answered shortly, though she looked happy to see this girl... "They're going to love you... There they are. Kit, Leo, Ivy, this is Ash."

"I'm her girl friend," Ash announced. "Platonic, I mean," she added after a strong look from Azora. "So you're the ones Zor Zor has been talking about?'

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Zor Zor?"

"What'd I tell you about that stupid nickname?" Azora demanded in a teasing tone, shoving the girl slightly.

"That it's the best thing ever," the girl laughed, twirling away from Azora. She had this odd sparkly sword earring in her left ear, oddly fitting with her pink sparkly outfit. She had this odd glow about her, faint, but very much there. A warmth of a star.

Then she turned to look at us fully, and her grin wavered for a second before turning into recognition. "Oh! The artiste!"

I gulped. So I was right. I nodded slightly, but I couldn't put any enthusiasm into it.

"Have you been improving since we last met?" she asked curiously.

I nodded, then turned to Azora. "Can I...show her...?"

Azora smiled. "Of course, go on...You two art really art nerds..."

I gestured for her to follow me, and led her to my new room, where every wall was covered with drawings.

She whistled. "You've gotten really good...pretty dark art, cool cool!"

My eyes widened as I realized that my darker drawings were on my work table...The ones I had no memory of making except for the fact that they resembled some of my nightmares... I didn't want anyone else to see them. What if she star