Hunted by Shadows

I was tired. Too tired to run, too tired to think but not too tired to dream. Dream fantastically. My dreams were the only thing that kept me going on my path. The path I had been on since the day I was created.

A path towards peace. Peace from everything. Even my thoughts. I remembered how they used to be bright and pure and full of innocent delight. Now, they haunted and mocked me and I began to doubt myself as more and more lies were murmured in my soul stemming from the horrible fear of the monster chasing me.

Why does it chase me? What have I done to it? Unless he’s from that village I burnt down.
Yes, I have burnt down a village. Not on purpose, I would never in my darkest thoughts even try to fathom up such despicable ideas. The day I burnt down that village was the day I started running.

And I haven’t stopped since.

I was in my keeper’s study playing with a bowl of water he had placed at my feet. With just a mere touch I sent steam rising into the air only to be caught by a draft and be blown away. I watched fascinated as, with both hands in the water, a large steam cloud rose and stirred up my hair.

Not for the first time I listened longingly to children playing in the square. I wanted to show them my trick, enchant them, befriend them, be their best friend. But I was not allowed outside.

I knew I was different. But children were such strange creatures, maybe they would accept me?

I had never disobeyed my keeper.

And thus I found myself, standing in an empty fountain crying while my beloved village, which I had sat and watched for years, burn down. I heard people cry out in pain, in fear and others in anger as they threw and shot strange things at me, things that melted on my skin or erupted in flames but things that hurt me, jolted me as they struck my alabaster white skin. I had never felt pain before and I had never felt hate before, but the experiences were highly unpleasant and they scared me.

And I have never trusted anyone since then. And if you have no trust you fear blindly and fear makes you run. Run without any purpose in mind but to not be in that place of fear.
But I was soon to find out I didn’t know fear yet. Not completely.