Abandoned

Violet's POV

The daughter born on a blood moon with the violet eyes will change the balance in nature. She will either lead the world to war and destruction or bring peace and prosperity. Blood will be spilt. A sacrifice will be made. Destiny and Fate will collide. But only she will choose her own path...

It's the damn prophecy that has cursed my life. I honestly don't even know where the hell it came from, but I guess my mother believed it.

I have no idea what sacrifice they are talking about or whose blood will be spit, and I don't think anyone else does either. It's just one of those damn vague prophecies seers make just to make people's lives miserable... I guess I may be in good company then.

I've known my whole life I've been cursed. It's the reason my mother abandoned me at the age of two.

It doesn't matter if she abandoned me at 2 or 99. Being disowned by your first connection to the world hurts like hell. I was left all alone in a dreary world of pessimism. They are blaming a child for whatever the hell is going to come next. How is that even fair?!

Who's to say I would end up bringing war and destruction? Why can't I bring peace and prosperity? Why did they all of a sudden decide that because there was a choice (just like every other person on this planet) I could not make the right one, but instead she just dumped me assuming the worst of me?!

I grew up in an orphanage. None of the other children liked me. I was different. They teased and picked on me. I was bullied for being strange and having 'purple' eyes. I don't know what gave them the nerve to bully me when they had also been abandoned, but I guess I was different enough for them to gang up on me.

I can't help but think about that damn prophecy as today is my 18th birthday. The day I am officially kicked out of the orphanage. My entire life had been leading up to this moment. The moment when I have absolutely no one else in the world.

Not that I regret it. Not even the women running the damn place were nice to me. It's like they had been left with instructions on how to make my life even worse than it already is. And they did. They turned a blind eye when I was beat up. They gave me extra chores the others didn't want to do. And they sent me to bed starving more than once... Maybe they had hoped to help me end my life faster...

I look down the empty road my feet are on. No one there wished me happy birthday. No one wished me good luck. They just handed me my pack and said, "It's time to leave."

Not that there was much in the pack. Just some old clothes that had been donated and happened to fit me. That is what I have to take with me. They didn't even give me bread or water. I guess I didn't earn it.

Now I need to figure out what I'm supposed to do with the rest of my life. I know I probably need to find a way to make some money so I can... ya know... eat. And maybe find a place to live that is not on the sidewalk... People here don't like it when you beg for handouts.

I don't mind working. Even in the orphanage, I was expected to work. I just didn't get paid for it. I know they say don't expect anything for free, and I guess they expected me to work for the privilege of staying with them for 16 years.

I have been trying to figure out what I was going to do the moment they would kick me out since I was 10 and learned that on my 18th birthday, they would no longer be obligated to take care of me.

It was a scary thing for a kid. No home. No family. No one who loved them. I was just... a burden. Abandoned because no one wanted me. I have no idea if mother had family who could have taken me in or not. I don't remember much, other than her neglect, and eventually she just... left.

I thought mothers were supposed to love their children no matter what... but I guess I was wrong. Or maybe it's just mine.

It's a hot, semi-muggy day, and the damn ocean breeze is doing nothing for me. It's the middle of July... the 18th to be exact. I'm hot, sweaty, dirty and walking around Salem, Oregon looking like a damn homeless person... because I am.

Maybe I should just take up residence under a bridge and pretend to be a troll... But I'm not a troll, I'm a dryad. Honestly, I don't want to be in the city. I would much rather end up in the forest. I'm sure I could survive... maybe.

I've spent the last year wondering if it was even worth staying alive. Not that I want to die. It's just no one thinks I'm worth keeping alive... I guess if I died there would be no war or peace... what would happen then?

I sigh in frustration. "What the hell am I even doing?" I grumble to myself as my stomach makes a gurgling noise, reminding me of its emptiness. "Quiet you," I huff in annoyance. I can't do anything about my empty stomach right now; I don't want to have to listen to it complaining to me too.

Yes, I have resorted to talking to myself because there is no one else who will talk to me. It's a sad existence, but if I don't speak, I may end up mute. Not that anyone would care, but I might. I have too many opinions to keep them quiet, even from myself!

I shift the pack on my shoulder and turn down a back alley and freeze as a man I didn't know was there, looks at me like I'm his last meal.

His eyes are almost black, and the clothes are hanging off his body like he hasn't eaten in quite some time. His hair hangs in greasy black chunks. There is a large scar across his left cheek down to his chin. I'm not sure what he is, but I know damn sure he is not human, and he is not safe.

Little warning bells are going off in the back of my head. "You need to leave..."

"Yeah, ya don't say?!" I snarl.

Great! Now I'm being sarcastic to myself, which is still not helping my situation right now, but it still makes me feel better on the inside...

There is no way out of this alley. It's a dead end. I should have just gone the other way. The only way out is the way I came. I check over my shoulder, and I'm surprised to see another man I must have walked right past looking down at me with disgust, but he was blocking my exit.

The greasy man takes a threatening step toward me and I slowly back away, not wanting to make any sudden moves. The other man makes his way to block my movement. I don't want him to touch me, but there is no way I am staying here!

But the smirk on the other dirty man's face is not giving me good vibes. Are they working this together? I really don't want to stick around to find out.

I drop my back pack and spin on my heels and kick my feet on the pavement, trying to dodge my way around the man blocking me, only to be tackled to the ground by the first greasy guy.

"HELP!" I call out, hoping some kind stranger will take pity on me. I know sure as hell the second man won't do a damn thing, but maybe someone nearby can help me? Aren't there cops somewhere?! They could come in charging to save the day...

But that's not what happens.

Of course not.

Even as I struggle, the man rips my clothes from my body. I scream as he penetrates me from behind. Pain jolts through my core. The man's filthy hands are digging into my hips, pulling me closer to him, as he slams deep inside me. I'm sure I'm going to have bruises after this.

The other man just stands over me laughing like this is the best form of entertainment he's had in decades.

"HELP! PLEASE! ANYBODY!" I scream as I continue to struggle to get away from the man. I don't even care that he is stealing my first time. I just want to leave! I can't stand this pain right now. It hurts so bad. Is it supposed to feel like being stabbed by a knife?

An ache through my lower half of my body has me screaming louder. My echoes bounce around the alley walls. Tears are streaming down my face and my body is shaking. I don't even want to think about what the hell is happening. I want to close my eyes and disappear. I never wanted to be dead so badly as I do right now...

I think I black out at some point and wake up alone and shivering in the heat of the day. I don't want to think about what just happened to me.

I don't hear anything. I think I'm alone. I don't know if that makes me glad or angry. Right now, I just feel so damn empty.

Maybe if I just close my eyes I can die right now... Only there is a small whisper in my mind demanding I get up. It's annoying and persistent, and I can't seem to shut it up.

"Violet, don't give up. You are needed..."

I'm pretty sure I'm losing it now. I'm hearing voices, and they don't even sound like me! It's softer and somehow familiar... And who the hell would ever need me?

However, the voice is right. I don't want to end up on front page news as another unknown victim found in a back alley. But there is no way in hell I'm putting those clothes back on.

I reach for my pack I'd dropped a while back and pull out a new pair of clothes. I pull out a clean tank top and a pair of cut-off shorts. I clean myself up as good as I can and start walking down a main street... at least I hope it's a main street.

"And a happy birthday to me," I mumble under my breath as I take a look around.

I actually have no idea where the hell I am. I've never been into town, and at the moment, I don't want to be here ever again.

I need to get out of here... I don't want to be here. I don't want to remember what happened. If I was given the chance to live through this, then I will use it to get the hell out of here.

And then I come upon a help wanted sign. And for the first time in forever, something almost like hope slides into my heart.

Vernie's Diner.

I take a deep breath and send a prayer up to whoever is listening before I push through the door, hoping I can change my own fate.