I guess something changed after we left the store, I don’t know what but the boys – besides Yongguk – were more lively and talkative.  They started to act the way most teenage boys I have observed would act.  They talked and joked among one another and just had a good time.  They would pull me into some conversations but I was fine just listening and observing.

  I’ve always just observed what goes on around me, so it was different to finally be a part of what I used to just watch.  I have yet to regret my decision to pull away from the shadows I lived in and walk in the light.  And after one year of having contact with my human, Zelo, I knew that I couldn’t live the same life I always lived.  Zelo changed me; even just a simple mindset was shifted.

  Zelo is the reason I am here and he will be the reason I stay.  But soon he will start to grow old while I remain the same and I cannot be around when that happens.  A few years are all I have before I have to disappear and only have his voice as a reminder that he was real. 

  “Violet?”  Zelo called as he came up beside me.  I hummed in reply.  “Why did you transfer to our school, a public school, when you have the money to attend one of the better private schools in the area?”

  His questions brought the attention of the others who were in their own conversations to pause and listen to my answer.  “Why would I willingly choose to be surrounded by many stuck up rich brats?  Money isn’t everything, it’s the connections you make that truly matter.”

  “But why our school.”  Yongguk pressed.

  I blinked at him in confusion.  Just what exactly was he asking?  “It was close to where I live.”  I stated as if that was the most obvious answer out there.  Why else would a human choose a school, it was best if it was with the proximity of where they resided.

  I looked up at the darkening sky.  Night would fall soon and the voices would rise in volume and I would be called.  Soon I would need to leave these humans to themselves and be who I truly was during the times of darkness.

  “Something up?”  Himchan nudged me.

  “I should be going.  It is getting late and I have some matters I need to complete before the evening wares on.”  I informed him.

  “So early?”  Jongup asked.  I nodded in reply.  “Do you want us to walk you home, it might be dangerous on your own.”  He continued.

  I shook my head, “I’ll be fine, thank you for offering though.”  I turned to go the opposite way, I waved back at them, “See you tomorrow.”

  I started making my way from them.  I could feel them watching me as I left.  For now it would be best if I only see them through school and out around the city.  I can’t get to close to them; I can’t let them know too much about me.

  I sighed as I turned the corner.  Making sure no one was around and watching me I vanished from the city street to my cave beyond the waterfall.  Breathing in the fresh nature air I shed my clothing and sat under the cascading glacier water.

  Smiling to myself I let the water wash away the dirt and heavy emotions I carried.  For the rest of the night I would forget about my ties to the humans and focus on doing what I’ve been doing for years.  I would concentrate on protecting and saving those that called for me.

  I would be what I was created to be.  I would live in the shadows of the night.

 My eyes flared violet as I stepped from under the waterfall as the water floated from my boy and back down the side of the mountain.

~.~

  My hair whipped around in the wind.  Blowing across my face before another gust blew it behind me.  Night had long since fallen, few were in the dark streets where the lights flickered and died.  I looked up at the moon above me and sighed.

  Too long have I been doing the same thing.  Too long has this been my life, but I have no escape.  My eyes glowed a dull purple in the black darkness that surrounded me.  The voices swirling around my mind, yet none of the reaching out to me, and none of the getting past the jumbled murmuring.

  I moved from my place in the shadows of a rooftop and started moving to a new place.  My footsteps silent as I ran from rooftop to rooftop with no destination is sight.  I just ran, cutting through the air without a sound.  For once I felt even slightly free, I loved running for this one reason.

  Time past quickly as I continued to move from place to place, not a care where I might end up when the sun began to rise.  For the first time no voices reach out to me, for once I had a night to just do as I pleased.

  I let out a tinkling laugh as I watched the sun’s first rays touch the earth.  I vanished before the first bird could sing the coming of a new day.  My home was the same as always, the walls of the cave were cold and rough the way they always were.

  I pulled bark jeans on and a white sweater before tying my hair in a bun.  Pulling my bag from the place it rested against the rocks I jumped from the mouth of my cave.  Landing softly on the grass below I looked over at the cascading waterfall that hid the entrance to my cave.