New Life

1993 Rossland, Canada. a girl born to a family containing two hard working parents, and two older brothers named Beckett and Thatcher. The girl's name was Zahara; she wasn't very big for a baby, however the doctors didn't find this to be concerning. "With proper nutrients, she should grow into a strong and healthy girl with no issues.'' the doctor explained. Denali, the woman who had just given birth to this lovely girl, nodded while being handed her baby. The father, who's name was Madik, however did not care about the girl's health. He was fixated on Zahara's face, "why does she look like that?" Madik mumbled, trying to keep it under his breath. "What do you mean dear?" Denali responded, with a little confusion in her voice. Madik took the baby, and Zahara started to cry almost instantly, "what is this?" He pointed to his daughter's right eye. It was oddly smaller than the other; "oh yes that's right I apologise, but I forgot to mention..." The doctor paused for a moment rubbing his face, he was rather exhausted from this long night's work, "your daughter was born with Microphthalmia.'' Madik's face turned confused. In the moment of confusion, he was also mesmerised by this deformity. "Well, is there any way to fix it? Will it show any issues down the way?" Denali chimed in. He shook his head and explained to the two adults that Zahara would just have to grow up with this deformity. If the parents were uncomfortable, they could cover it with an eyepatch.

On the drive home everything was quiet. There was an awkward silence in the car; no one was speaking. Denali was asleep with the baby, the boys were looking out their own windows, and Madik was busy driving. Everyone should be happy right now, Zahara's birth was a success and Denali didn't pass from complications! So, why was this family so quiet after such an event? Maybe there is a secret yet to be uncovered.

2003, Rossland Canada, Zahara is 10 now. She was still healthy as can be, and her deformity hasn't affected her life too much. She's just a bit clumsy. The only major problem is that people at her school found her weird. Zahara is a slower kid when it comes to learning, and she has already been held back once. She hasn't matured at the same pace as other kids, so they like to make fun of her for that. To add to the problem, it certainly never helped that the girl was born with a deformity that was rather noticeable. Hiding it still made her stand out. This world is cruel to those who are different, and this school was a great example for how the rest of the world can think. For her entire life she will have to learn how to deal with the true ugly in this world; those who discriminate. Unless of course her mind doesn't process the insults as being bad, it all depends on the day and the situation. "Maybe we should take her out of School. These children keep treating her unfairly and are motivating her to do dangerous things like this." Denali sighed as she was cleaning up Zaharas long hair that had to be cut. Zahara got stuck up in the old pine tree behind their house after school, and some of her hair ripped out of her head as she jumped down. She didn't land correctly either and ended up hurting her leg. Madik grumbled, growing annoyed, "Denali we don't have the time to do that, you know this.'' Madik was acting quite aggravated after Zahara's little incident today...he had to hide it. However, that thing made it so difficult to keep control of himself. Madik could constantly feel its presence. When his mind went fuzzy, and his surroundings started to dim, he knew what would happen next. Putting the hair outside for the birds, Denali walked to her husband and placed her hand on his boney shoulder. "We have plenty of money; I can arrange new hours at work so then I can have time to teach her.'' Madik tapped his foot and stared at his wife. He had to get out of this conversation.

Denali knew Madik wasn't the most caring for their children's futures. This man has much larger problems to deal with that can't be ignored at the expense of his children's lives. He let out an audible sigh, "fine, fine. Yes, I'll allow you to do that." Madik then forced a smile. "I need to continue my work now." He then pushed Denali's hand off of his shoulder, and walked into the living room over to the basement door. After fumbling with his keys, he unlocked the old, but sturdy, door and went downstairs into the unfinished basement. Each stair creaking under his weight.

Night time came and everyone besides Madik was asleep. Ever since that conversation with Denali, Madik has been in the basement. He wasn't working on anything job related, but instead trying to control his...urges. These urges used to be tortuous when he was a child, but after all these years he managed to accept it; to accept that the thing that operates his life won't ever go away. The 35 year old man walked back up the stairs tiredly. He drug his dry fingertips down the wall and up the door feeling all the grooves in the wood; touching the cold metal of the door handle made his entire body shiver. He finally exited the basement. However, instead of grabbing a meal, getting a drink, or going to bed; Madik walked out of the living room and into the hallway. He walked all the way down to Zahara's bedroom. "I can't control it, just one look is all I need to satisfy myself." Madik thought to himself. He walked into his daughter's room. The room was painted pink with stuffies, toys, and clothes littered all over the place. There was glow in the dark butterfly stickers and stars scattering her walls. Her curtains were a pale pink almost white, and they had childish drawings printed into them. "This girl is so messy and her mother honestly thinks she's responsible enough for home schooling?" Madik thought to himself again, while carefully maneuvering his way around the clutter over to her bed. The man brushed his hair back and leaned down closer to Zahara, moving her hair out of the way, Madik looked at the patches of hair missing. The patches were still red and irritated; the hair was ripped from her head so violently that her skin was originally bleeding. Madik just stared; shivers running up his back and neck, he began to reach for the wounded skin, he wanted to feel it. He wanted to see if his daughter would react. Madik's mind was racing with anticipation as his hand drew closer, his mind grew fuzzy. "Madik?" Denali whispered while standing in the doorway. Madik jumped a little looking over at his wife. She appeared to be smiling, but the darkness twisted her face into one that was lacking compassion. "I was just checking on Zahara before I came to bed" He explained as he stood up straight.