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Username: iii-Jamie-iii
Name: Riley
Age: 15
Appearance:

Riley sat silently on her bed, staring at the faded wallpaper, which was beginning to peel off above her closet. She slowly turned her head as a knock sounded on her door. A nurse peeked her head inside, the place was crawling with them; especially riley’s room. “Are you coming downstairs for lunch dear?” the nurse asked quietly. Riley just stared at her. What did the nurse expect? Riley hadn’t talked to anyone in over five years. She stopped talking the day her mother had sent her to this place, the insane asylum. It had all started when Riley began to have strange dreams. An old woman would come to her with warnings and predictions for the future. Riley told her mother about them every morning. At first her mother didn’t believe her, but soon realized that Riley’s predictions were coming true. When her father died, Riley had been warned by the old woman more than a month ahead of time. That was when her mother lost it.

She called Riley a demon and kicked her out of the house. Later that day, her mother changed her mind and came to find Riley at a park down the street from their house. Riley thought her mom was calm and over her accusations, she trusted her mom to take her home. But no, her mother took her to the asylum instead. For a while, Riley’s friends came to visit her every once in a while. But because she wouldn’t talk, even to them, eventually they stopped their visits. Riley was now all alone, except for her roommate. But soon even her roommate tired of her silence and moved to another room.

About a year after she was left in the asylum, she began having what she thought to be visions. She would see things happening, or have very strong feelings about things. She no longer received predictions from her dreams though. Even the old woman had also ceased to visit Riley. But from that, Riley developed a new ability. If she touched someone she could hear their thoughts, experience their fears, even read their feelings and desires. But it wasn’t often that Riley would get close enough to someone to even get a glimpse inside their head. So Riley sat in her room, talking to no-one and marveling over her newest discovery. If she pointed her hand at an object and concentrated extremely hard, the object would twitch, and begin moving towards her. She practiced this with small objects like her tooth brush, and the locket she was wearing when her mother left her.

Riley slowly got up off the bed and followed the nurse downstairs into the crowded cafeteria. As she waited in line to get whatever mess the cafeteria was serving that day, she daydreamed about escaping and being free from the horrid place. She had been reading books about a land where there were others who were different as well. Those who could control the elements, and speak to animals were said to live there. It was the kingdom of Anthurium. Riley vowed that she’d find it one day. All she had to do now was escape. It wasn’t going to be easy with nurses stationed at every door, window, and gate.

After lunch, Riley slowly walked up the creeky stairs. As she walked down the deserted hall, she stopped to peek in on her old roommate. The girls in the room were laughing and talking, and didn't notice her standing in the doorway. As she stood there, her eyes grew wide as a picture appeared in her head. It was hazy, but Riley could see peeling wallpaper, a single bed, and a desk. It was her room. With a loud crash, her window shattered to pieces and a large rock landed in front of her. As she peered out her window into the darkness a frantic voice yelled "jump if you ever want to escape this place!" Riley silently stepped onto her window seat, and jumped.

Riley hit the ground on her feet and looked around for the person that had helped her escape. She found no-one. As she finally walked away from the asylum for good she heard shouting. "What was that crash?" "I think it came from Riley's room!" "I knew that girl was no good" Riley scowled and held her hand, palm out, toward her shattered window. Her door immediately slammed shut. She smiled to herself as she heard more shouting. "It won't open! These doors don't even lock!" Riley turned away from her personal prison and continued down the unfamiliar street.

She looked up slowly as small droplets began landing on her head. Soon, the droplets got bigger began to come down more quickly. Riley walked more quickly until she was hidden in a grove of trees a few miles away from the asylum. She sat in the dry dirt just a few feet away from the fringe of oaks. Riley sat still and watched headlights as they washed over her refuge.

By now the rain had stopped and Riley began searching for better shelter. Officials from the asylum were surely looking for her by now and Riley didn't want to be caught. As she walked deeper and deeper into the forest the light dimmed and seeing became more difficult. "Turn left here" a voice in her head suggested. She followed the directions and turned left. After a while Riley became tired and her breathing became labored. "Shh" cautioned the voice "stop and listen."

At first, Riley heard nothing but the patter of drops of water descending through the leaves. But then she heard it; the rustling of leaves and something that sounded like the voice of a girl in the distance. Riley continued toward the voice, slowly and silently. She was suspicious of the person making the noises. could she trust them?

Riley froze in place, unsure of what to do. "Don't be shy" the voice coaxed, mockingly "Go say hi" Riley took a few more slow and delibrate steps towards the receding figure. As she got closer, she held out one hand, as if to show that she meant no harm. And if need be, she could also use that hand to destroy anything that posed as a threat.

Riley frowned and hesitated a bit before coming close enough to see the person's face. It was a girl, around her age. Riley tried to smile and hold the girl's gaze. "Look for something to help her understand" the voice urged. Riley looked around and found one small flower growing up through the moss. She moved her hand toward the flower and it came flying into her palm. She offered it to the girl.

Riley smiled back at the girl, happy to have a companion. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but closed it unhappily. Instead, she just smiled again and shook her head.