Taken Away - Was It The End?

A few years later, after what seemed a lifetime had passed and the times

of joyful moments and carefree thoughts had faded away...

One night when the sun was almost below the horizon and the moon was starting to rise,

I remember the sound of the slowly ticking clock and the ever darkening white walls as I sat in my room.

It had been a quiet day and I was finishing up my homework.

I was stuck on a math problem which I just couldn't seem to answer.

As I was beginning to figure out the rest of my homework, I heard footsteps outside my door,

followed by sound of a familiar voice calling my name...

He I heard a knock on the door and as I was getting up, Damion walked through the door quickly.

He had just gotten back from Freshmen football tryouts and was still in his workout clothing.

I was concerned because he had a worried look on his face as if something bad was going to happen.

For a moment before he was able to say a word, 

the only thing I could think about was

how we were only a few years apart, 

Iwas eleven years old and he was fourteen, but he looked so much

older than me and had gotten a growth spurt so early in his teen years.

I couldn't help thinking about him because my feelings for him have grown stronger with the years.

And then the silence was gone...

"Jovi, you need to listen to me right now. I have heard talk about plans

to get rid of you or something horrible like that. I really need you to listen to me, okay?"

Damion said to me with fear in his face and the saddest expression I have ever seen on his face.

I stood there with my head down and listened to him.

"Jovi, no matter what they do to you or where they take you, just remember one thing...

I will always be here for you. If you remember where we always go when we want

to be alone, that is where I will be waiting for you," Damion said as he held himself together

and tried not to cry.

"But I might not see you for awhile because they are keeping an eye on me, 

so you must be strong, okay?" he asked me.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was just sitting here

doing my homework and all the sudden I am being told I am being taken away!

I started to freak out and panic. 

"Damion! WHY didn't you tell me before?" I yelled at him.

"Do you think I was keeping this a secret? I JUST FOUND OUT!"

Damion yelled in defense.

"Jovi, stop this nonsense now! I wouldn't betray you and you know it," Damion exclaimed.

Damion held his breath and waited for my response.

Before I could get a word in,

he turned around and told me, "I am not talking to you until I see

that you aren't going to yell anymore."

I was angry, but decided to try and keep my cool.

Suddenly, I burst into tears and couldn't keep my emotions to myself.

"Damion! I LOVE YOU! Don't leave me please!" I begged him.

"Calm down, darling. Breathe, I love you too. It will be okay,"

he reassured me.

Damion knelt down and hugged me.

I grasped onto him tightly and closed my eyes

trying to hold on to the moment as long as I could.

He whispered, "Good-bye love, see you, be strong."

I tried to keep him in my clutches, but he insisted that it was time for him to go.

I watched as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

He was gone...

My worst fears had yet to come,

but eventually as the clock read past ten in the evening...

He came for me...

I grasped onto my last fond memories of this life I had

as he stood in front of me with only the intent of harm...

"YOU PIECE OF CRUDE! I am sick of watching you whine about your needs

and wants as you feed off my wallet. DO YOU EXPECT me to just accept that?"

he yelled at me as I trembled in fear.

"I am done with this! YOU are done here and I am getting rid of you!" he shrieked in disgust.

He flung his arm toward me and I braced for the worst.

I felt a sharp slap across my face, a pain I had never felt before...

I was in shock...

I couldn't believe it...

He hit me and gave me a black eye...

I was in disbelief that a man who never said even a word to me,

all the sudden, out of no where had slapped his hand across my face.

I know we were not on good terms and that he hated children, but

this was just too sudden for me and I couldn't understand it.

And that was the last time...

I had a childhood...

It all fell apart so quickly...

It seemed like everything was over...

I thought I would never see Damion again.

I held on to the last memory of Damion in my mind

as I sat alone in the dark wondering...

What was my life to be like...?

The Beginning of A Destiny

 My name is Joviana Louisa Santiago.
Since the early stages life, when I first began my journey,
had always been full of broken memories and unfinished stories.
I never got an explanation on where I came from or who I was.
All I knew was that I was a girl with a destiny and I was the only one who could fulfill it.

From the time I was a young child, no older than four, I had a hunch

that I was different. I was born with magenta hair with aqua highlights and bright blue eyes

and looked nothing like the family I was told were my blood.

Damion Santiago was a young boy, about the age of seven, who I admired from afar.

He and I were raised to believe we were siblings, yet we looked nothing alike.

As a young child, I accepted it, but he was not my brother as it was genetically impossible.

Daron Santiago who claimed to be my father, was in fact only the biological father to 

Damion. There was always doubt in my mind about who he really was and why I was here.

 I didn't have a mother, but instead had a caretaker named Clara Gammett
who was a young woman with the kindest heart. She never received a word of
appreciation from Daron and was always standing alone if she wasn't caring for us children.

Daron had a girlfriend named Bianca Sanchez, who is probably the ugliest woman you have ever seen.

I classified her as a pink-haired scumbag of a freak who only wanted him for his money.

She hated children and couldn't stand to see us for even a moment or she would

scream and yell at Clara to get us out of her way.

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Most days around the house were filled with anger and screaming.
Daron was a dysfunctional man who was always angry.

He never smiled nor did he laugh. I can't remember a single time where

he spent time with us children. Let's just say, he wasn't a family man...

Daron only had a girlfriend around because he wanted to keep up his image

when he was with his peers. He never laid with her in bed as he was disgusted by her.

I would have to agree on this one because she was an old hag who lied and cheated

when she had a chance!

Her moment in his life was very short lived and he got rid of her after a few months...

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After she was gone, I was a very happy child. I was finally able to sing and dance
without being told to quiet down or to get out of the way.

I remember sitting in the back yard as happy as could be, listening to the wind blow across the 

lush greenery, when I began to hum to myself and swing back and forth joyfully.

Suddenly, the sun disappeared and before I knew it, a dark shadow

 appears right in front of me. I stopped and looked up with surprise and excitement.

It was Damion!

He bent down and hugged me with a gentle squeeze

 as I tried to return the favor by wrapping my tiny arms around his neck.

The hug seemed to last forever...

The world stopped and I felt something strange inside.

A thought came across my mind for the first time...

I realized...

what love was.

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Now, when I was about two years old, I remember having had spent much of my day

alone in my room with Clara. She would sit by my crib and sing to me all night until I fell asleep.

I grew quite close to Clara over my early years and felt a bond only a mother and daughter could

have. She was my mother-figure and caretaker, but she had a secret that only I knew...

She was a vampire...

Clara being a vampire didn't bother me one bit.
She was just as human as I was...

Most of the time I spent in my crib, I was thinking about what

 I was going to be like when I grew up.

Whenever I looked in the mirror, I saw a person who was different...

No one else was like me and I wanted to keep it that way.

Time flew by...

                   And I grew older...

Even though I was years apart from Damion, I still kept him close in my mind

and held on to the feelings that I had for him as I grew.

By the time I was seven, Damion was reaching his teen years,
he was about ten years old as we were about three years apart.

One night, we were sitting down on the couch in our vacation home

talking about how great the summer had been that year.

We were getting ready to go back to school and were not thrilled about how

short the summer vacation had been.

"Jovi, don't you think the summer break was too short this year?" Damion asked me.

"Yea, it was and I am not ready for school again," I replied in agreement.

"Well, let's try and ask Daron if we can stay another week?" he suggested.

(We never called Daron by anything, but his first name as he was not to be 

announced as father or Dad, according to his rules.)

We sat in silence for a moment as we both thought about it.

There was no way he would say yes, but it was worth a shot.

"He might say yes if we tell him school starts the week after next and change it

in his schedule on his phone!" exclaimed Damion.

"Maybe, but I don't think he will fall for it," I replied with concern.

"Aw, man. I don't wanta go to school," Damion pouted.

I sat there with a smile on my face as I thought about how cute his disappointment was.

"I'm sure we will be fine Damion. I mean, we have each other don't we?" I asked.

Damion paused in thought for a brief second.

"Yes we do have each other, Jovi!" he said with joy.

I smiled and closed my eyes for a moment longer than a blink as
a thought crossed my mind. I had a strong desire to ask him something...


He looked at me and smiled slightly as I prepared to ask him what was on my mind.

"We aren't brother and sister, are we?" I asked Damion.

We both paused once more as we thought about it...

before he said...
"No."

From that moment on, we realized that our relationship was actually farther than we knew
and wasn't just a brother and sister relationship, but a deep friendship...

As we grew closer in our relationship and became best friends,
I started to feel a change in myself...

Whenever I hugged him, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

Over time, I started to blush and giggle after hugging him

or when he gave me a compliment.

It was the strangest, but most extraordinary feeling in my life...

I couldn't help wondering what it was...

Was it a different love than what I had felt before?
What was it?