Seeking nursing care from her birth mother, the baby slowly curled its tiny fingers around the living being whose eyes met hers. A natural instinct for a new life that had just begun—or perhaps restarted? Her mother's silky brown hair grazed her face as what seemed like a soft breeze lifted the white curtains before them. The playful face of her mother and the tears of the midwife crept up to her, blending with the soft warmth of the blanket wrapped around her. Her brown eyes, of the darkest shade, stared down at her, almost as if she was transmitting her eye colour into her. Sweet brown eyes, sprayed with emotions, slowly decolorized as the baby's saturated. Her cowlick shifted direction, marking itself as a wind vane following every movement of the wind. Her back bent, almost eye to eye with her, and her arms curled even more around the small cocoon she held. Displaying the purest emotion unique to only women… a mother's love. Her body seemed to slowly give out as the newborn held onto her finger with her hands, barely the size of a mature strawberry. Despite that… despite the feeling of being drained… she steeled herself… one last time.
"Lorelei. That is her name. Lorelei."
In front of the midwife, her body tore away into tiny particles. Tiny little particles, reminiscent of the warmth and care belonging to her. As they faded, the baby slowly lowered onto the soft bed, its fingers still gripping the fleeting remains of her finger… Then… it was heard no more.
* * *
Time passed, and Lorelei hardly grew. With no one to care for her, she was naturally cast away to survive on her own, through the long cycles of glacial winter and scorching summer. Her horizons had yet to extend further than the town she had spent the last nine years in. Her whole world was bound to the gravel road going along the town and stretching far… far beyond her reach. Out there, there was no place for her, and in here, no love to seek.
Before she was even able to develop consciousness, the town had already labeled her, attributed a nickname untrue to her mother's words: the fiend. Rather, some would call her the devil itself. Despite her attempts at clearing her name, repeating over and over the name her mother had given her, they never seemed to care—they never seemed to want to care.
"Hey. Who is she?"
"Oh, her? Don't look at her, or you might disappear next."
The curse of the fiend. The invitation of a devil.
Don't look at her, or you might disappear next.
She repeated those words in her mind, trying to learn their meaning. Having no one to rely on, Lorelei naturally wasn't educated. She didn't understand morals and values. She didn't understand what they hated her for, what they despised her so much for. It was all too shallow for her mind to process, a concept unknown to her, yet easily recognizable. But seen from the perspective of a normal person, they could tell vehemently why they hated her, why they loathed her so much. It was because she was different from them. After all, never once in these nine years did nature claim her life. It was as if something was protecting her… someone.
Faced with mystery and the unknown, humans can't help but cower and detest. A natural instinct built by countless legacies. Something that couldn't be undone or taken away, but did that justify tearing apart, from light till dawn, a child's happiness?
Simply… yes. Because they did not consider Lorelei human. Never since they had first laid eyes upon this newborn had they considered her one of theirs, and that's why they shone her away from their offspring.
"Don't get close to her, or else you will disappear."
"Don't go out at night, or else the fiend will take you away."
Lorelei was already aware of her power. A curse binding her from receiving what she craved. A curse that took away the normalcy she loathed seeing others have. By her touch, a life would crumble to bits and dust. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. But… it only seemed that Lorelei was aware of so. They had seen what happened once someone touched her, but they didn't remember who that someone was. Despite it being the closest person to them—their brother, sister, mother, father… they couldn't seem to acknowledge their existence. Only this emptiness loomed over their consciousness, soon to be shone away by the natural hatred they had to bring upon that child. The cause of their problems. The cause of their starvation. The cause of their sickness. The cause of their natural loss. The cause of their grief, sorrow, and sadness. They relayed all of it to her, to take the blame for. Like a scapegoat, she was condemned for everything. Her crime… seeking to be normal.
Even if they forgot their dearest, Lorelei would never. Every person she killed because of her touch, she still vividly remembered. Their eyes fading and the diminishing particles that seemed to be only visible to her. Not only did her curse not allow her to seek the warmth she craved, but it also forbade her from forgetting those she killed. Death… one of the first concepts she learnt.
"Hey, Lorelei. What are you doing today?"
A familiar voice reached her from the opposite side of the main road. Next to her barrel, Lorelei poked her head out. Her silvery hair flowed against the ground as she stared at the man waving at her. His heavy breath faded in visible humidity formed by the cold weather of late fall, holding a heavy bag of food by the left arm, with a baguette still poking out.
"I knew I would find you here."
He caught his breath and brightened his smile as his eyes reflected kindness beneath those big circular glasses of his. As of habit, with a swift hand movement, he adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. Lorelei clutched her stuffed bear as the man handed her a piece of bread. That fluffy animal of hers, a worthless toy Lorelei didn't see use for. She couldn't eat it, and she couldn't burn it, but even so… she kept it at all times. Through winds and rain, mud and rocks. An inanimate object she brought to life with her imagination, the only thing she could embrace fully with these frail arms. A gift she had received from him…
Curling her arms up and bringing them to her bleeding lips, crackled and busted from the wind, constantly chipping her away like an aged sword. The man's gaze lowered, and his smile turned bitter. Lorelei couldn't tell why his face looked so hurt; she wasn't even able to distinguish the change of emotion. It wasn't a concept she had learnt. But he knew. He knew why these eyes looked down. He knew why they avoided her. He was just like the others. If not, he could be considered even worse. A hypocrite. An ignorant hypocrite at that.
There is only so much I can do… I'm sorry.
Seeing the brown bear he had gifted her, all tattered and aged, it struck him why he had stopped in town. If there was only so much he could do for her, he would do his best.
"Come, Lorelei. I've got something to show you!"
Cocking her head to the left, Lorelei seemed utterly puzzled as to why his face had suddenly lightened up. These golden-brown eyes of his sparkled with tiny fireworks, just like the first time she had seen him. Without really knowing why, she also spread an innocent smile across her face. Lorelei had learnt how to do it by mimicking others, a reaction which didn't come naturally to her. Contracting her muscles, her cheeks were pulled upwards; even though some practice was needed, the man found it cute.
"Come on, come on."
Waving his hand and marching on, Lorelei followed him, clinging to that stuffed animal of hers. His carriage was only a few steps away, but across the gravel road where horses pass by. Despite the rare comings and goings of merchants, wild horses and other animals weren't an unusual occurrence. After all, the town was surrounded by a dense forest mostly composed of conifers pointing their spear-like edges towards the heavens. Carelessly crossing the road could result in a grave incident, and so Lorelei found herself absent-mindedly following the man.
Nee-igh!
Turning from the nearby alley, a horse came rushing at her. Her mind froze, not receiving any orders from its master; naturally, the body was devoid of all force. Lorelei felt time slow down… but even then her body still refused to move. It was the man who dragged her hand by force, pulling her out of the way. The wind's current shifted around them as the man lay on the ground, motionless. Passersby stopped and gathered around her as she crept up to his body, slowly evaporating into tiny specks of yellow particles, fading the murmurs accumulating around them.
Dead? Lorelei wondered.
Not… dead?
Not… dead… you?
Her hand reached out to what remained of his hands, but as if to not let her experience it again, the particles vanished in an uproar, lifting her silver hair back.
"Get lost!"
Someone screamed from the crowd.
"Go die!"
Another voice joined in.
"Why is the devil with us?!"
"Get lost! Go die!"
They chanted, parting away like seas revealing the end of the gravel road leading to the forest. Lorelei didn't understand them. It wasn't words he taught her, but from simple hand signals, she could deduce they were pointing at the forest. She could deduce they were shooing her away, something they ought to have done when she hadn't learnt to be alive yet. They should have ended her right here and there, when they saw the midwife screaming for help. They should have strangled the newborn… to death.
Lorelei let go of the brown teddy bear and ran towards the gravel road, spiking her already bloodied foot with the uneven spikes of rocks. Leaving a trail of the life she once spent here, she dived into the unknown, into the darkness awaiting her from the deepest depths of this new world. The colossal trees towered over her, forming a canopy blocking the thin rays of the evening sun. Giving way to the moon, as per the cycle, the forest loomed in deeper darkness. One Lorelei wasn't fazed by, but still… she was only a child.
One foot…
Two foot…
Three foot…
She counted her steps silently with the little vocabulary she knew. Not to know how to return to this cage, but to know just how far this world she was oblivious to stretched. Suddenly, the bush around her shook abnormally. Lorelei could tell it wasn't the wind; in this dense forest, the wind seemed to be sliced into millions as soon as it entered and softened by the spiky leaves. She backed away, whilst the noise got closer to her, until a strange creature leaped out of it. By instinct, her body reacted before her mind could process what was happening. Sacrificing her arm to defend her vitals, the oddly shaped creature, about the same size as her, biting on her arm. Lorelei felt its sharp fangs pierce through her flesh and crush her frail bones. The impact sent her flying along with the creature, still clung to her arm, against the back of a tree. She felt the pine bark poking into her ragged shirt, but a pain even greater than that distracted her. Her left arm was being slowly torn off. Like little strands of cheese, it stretched as the beast pulled on it, revealing part of the bone.
"Ah! Ah… Ahhhhhhhhh!"
She screamed, tapping around the ground with the arm still able to move, trying to find something to defend herself with. Then, she landed on a tiny branch. A tiny but pointy branch. She leaned closer, using the beast's force and making it fall back with her arm stuck in its mouth before stabbing it in the most natural part: the brain. Again and again, Lorelei drove the stick into it until she felt the beast motionless under her weight. The sudden lack of adrenaline established an obvious fact. Her arm had been torn off, with the humerus bone poking out. Lorelei screamed and shivered. It burned ever so painfully. Almost like daggers being stabbed into that single part of her body and spreading into her nervous system. Like a scorching fire embracing her from inside. Her mouth twitched as her facial expression contorted, flexed, and relaxed. She curled her right arm to grab the side of her missing limb, but at this instant, she heard a loud voice.
"Stop! Don't touch it!"
Lorelei looked in the direction of the voice, but without much success. Her vision slowly swayed and blurred before her consciousness sank, overwhelmed with pain.