Welcome to Gaia! ::

Theme 1: Introduction
Prologue

Theoretically, darkness should have been a safe haven. People don’t have shadows in the dark.

But Amaya had Shadow. And in the dark was where Shadow thrived. Because in the dark, your shadow does not disappear. Oh, no, Amaya had learned that long ago. Shadows do not disappear in the dark…instead, they are given the ultimate camouflage.

Shadow was a creature of the dark. Darkness was what Shadow thrived on, and darkness allowed Shadow to be anywhere at all. No longer was it constrained by the light to one specific spot. Shadow was darkness, and in darkness, Shadow could move freely and be anywhere. Darkness was one big Shadow, pressing upon every surface from the outside and creeping into every corner of the mind.

Shadow haunted her. Everything she did, Shadow was there. Mocking her. Taunting her. Insulting her. Voicing her innermost doubts and fears. Employing every method possible to break her willpower.

And then she'd give in. Giving in was the ultimate defeat. Shadow took over. Amaya became Shadow. She lost herself.

She hated herself when she gave in, and so she trained. Trained day after day to fight Shadow, both physically and mentally. Sometimes she trained so hard she became sick.

But that didn't matter. All that mattered was fighting Shadow.

Shadow fought back. Because when she grew stronger, Shadow grew stronger. The never-ending cycle that was Amaya's life. She could not win, because one cannot defeat oneself, and Shadow was a part of Amaya. Shadow was not an external demon, but an internal one. She could never win. But she could fight.

And fight she did. She knew it was a losing battle, but it was a losing battle that mattered more than anything else. To give in meant becoming a monster. She battled that monster. She battled giving in. She would not, could not be overtaken.

But it was always there. Shadow followed her, lived in the semi-repressed corners of her mind. She had no escape.

Theme 2-Love
Weapon

Just fight the beast with
Something it cannot master
Pure and perfect love

Author's note: my first Haiku.

This is sort of a plot point: pretty much, Shadow's weaknesses are anything 'good': love, light, happiness, laughter, etc.

Its about time! And I am going to make sure you finish it.

Theme 4-Dark
Me

I am the dark. The thing you feel lurking? Me. That tingling up your spine, like something is about to go wrong? Me. Fear? Me. The presence you are sure is haunting your every step? Yes, me. You feel these things because they are true. You're not going crazy. I am there. In the darkness. I am always there, unassuming, who ever thinks twice about a harmless shadow? Just a little dark spot, right? Everyone has one. Nothing to worry about...but I am everything to worry about. You cannot ignore me any longer. You will not ignore me. I am here, I will be known. I will come out of the darkness. And I will control you. I know you're afraid of the dark. You should be afraid of the dark, Amaya. I am the dark. And I know you are afraid of me. I am you. I know everything about you. I can see those things you’ve tucked away from the world, the darkest corners of your mind…and when you sit alone…you are never really alone. I am there. I have always been there, until now you simply did not know it was me. I am here. Fear the dark. Fear me.

Author's note: Voice of Shadow. Written...sort of as being before Amaya knows about Shadow, which until she turns (age still a bit in the air) 13 or so, she doesn't. This may be used as dialogue in my novel eventually, for the scene when Amaya first discovers Shadow.

Sorry, these themes aren't necessarily going to be in chronological order, story-wise. I hope I don't confuse anyone.

Theme 6-Break Away

***also a placeholder until further notice***

Theme 8-Innocence
Shadow's Beginning

Let me tell you how I lost my innocence.

I was twelve. Twelve measly years old. I knew nothing. I’d grown up, lived, I was a normal twelve-year-old kid. Nothing strange about me. I was adopted and I knew it…mom and dad were always very open about that. The only strange thing, they said, was that my birth parents, both of them, were nowhere to be found. I was found when I was three. I was wondering the streets about a half mile away from a lab explosion and taken to an orphanage. Mom and dad always got a bit funny at this part of the story, I could see it in their eyes. There was something about that night that they knew and weren’t telling me. One day I might find out what that is. But they adopted me 6 months later, I was four. And until I turned twelve, I lived a sheltered, innocent, normal life.

I turned twelve. It was 3 days after my birthday. I had gotten everything I wanted for my birthday: including that shiny new bike. It was purple, my favorite color, a great bike. I loved it. I had gone out every day to ride it. This day was the same: I went to the side of the house where I kept my bike.

But my brand-new bike was gone. The bike lock hung there, but with nothing to lock up: the space was empty.

I had never been so angry in my life. Who would dare steal my new bike? I raged and fumed for 10 minutes, and mixing with my rage came a new, strange anger…one that was separate from me but yet altogether the same. And then standing in front of me was the most evil thing I’d ever set my eyes on. It was me, but it wasn’t. It was dark, so dark…and those eyes. Those red, glaring, evil eyes. It grinned an evil grin and spoke.

“Hello Amaya. I’m Shadow. And you’re mine now.”

Three hours later I was laying on the floor in my room with no idea how I’d gotten there or where I’d been for the last three hours. I pretended, although some part of me knew otherwise, that I had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole encounter. The rest of the day went on without incident. I avoided the side of the house where my bike was kept.

Mom and dad always made me watch the 6 o’clock news with them after dinner. They said I needed to keep up with current events or something stupid like that.

That night they turned on the news. A report came in of mayhem throughout the city…cars trashed, shop windows broken. Many people were injured. In a string of mysterious fires along main street, five people were killed and many more suffered serious burns. The strangest thing, police said, was that no one had been seen in any of the incidents, despite broad daylight. The only clue was graffiti on the wall of one of the vandalized shops.

When the words flashed on the screen…that was when I lost my innocence.

“I am Shadow. Fear me.”

Author's note: The first in the new "flashback" series I have decied to incorporate into the novel. This scene is planned to actually appear as my way of showing the reader how Amaya actually became the way she is. There will be several crucial flashbacks/dream sequences throughout my book.