ADRIAN GONZALEZ

When Madeline wakes up hours later, she's in her bed and it's nearly light out. She can see the sky through her open window.

She groans softly and turns on her side, her throat is painfully parched. She would be turning 18 in less than two weeks, it is a huge milestone for her, for any teenager at all and she wants to be in top shape to celebrate it.

After all, it's a legal adult age where she can do whatever she wants. Especially, leaving her foster parent's home which is quite a big deal to her.

She slowly tries to get up from her bed, putting one foot down gingerly before the other. She still feels woozy and weak even though she has been resting for over 8 hours. She'd go downstairs and get a drink, coffee or orange juice, whichever she finds first.

She slowly gets down from her bed, her legs finding her flip-flops as she slips them in and walks out wearily.

Just as her body fully pops out of the little hallway into the sitting room, she runs into Aida who seems to have been coming to her.

"Hello, Madel. How are you feeling?" Aida asks, her eyes taking a quick observation of her.

"Fine," Madeline replies solemnly.

"Have some fresh orange juice. Got it from the farmer's market yesterday."

"Thanks," Madeline gulps the drink in one long swallow.

"Sit with me let's talk for a while."

"Okay."

"So…big 18 next week?" Gushes Aida with enthusiasm.

Honestly, where does Aida get all this energy at 6 am? Wonders Madeline.

But she remains calm and allows Aida to continue, she knows she isn't done.

"Well, I've been thinking. If to arrange a dinner party for you and your friends, and book a table or two at your favorite restaurant. Or a house party with a deejay and some food, drinks, and cake or–"

"Whatever, mum." Madeline cuts in. She just isn't up for Aida's semantics this morning, she'd rather be left alone.

But a dinner party with just she and her friends didn't sound bad at all.

"Okay, okay. Maybe we'd discuss it another time before Friday so we can get plans underway," Aida says as she carefully retreats.

Madeline bobs and walks off too into the kitchen. She noisily pours another cup of orange juice into her cup and opens the fridge looking for dinner leftovers she could microwave.

She missed dinner time after all last night. But just as she turns from the fridge, she's hit with a profound bout of weakness accompanied by flashing lights before her eyes.

She staggeringly grips the back of the kitchen chair to support herself and not fall to the ground again.

She maneuvers and sits in the chair, taking slow deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. This is entirely strange, these episodes of crippling weakness are becoming too often and of concern to her. 

Maybe she'd just lie in bed all day and call in sick at her afternoon shift at Pete's.

•

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you," sings Aida and Nathan tunelessly as they walk into Madeline's room, a cupcake in hand and a single lighted candle on top.

Madeline grins sheepishly and blows the candle out,

"Thanks, mum. Thanks, dad."

"We weren't sure what to get you, you were much easier to please when you were a child. So here's some cash, you can take your friends to dinner at Petal's, there's a table booked in your name, and buy whatever you want," Aida mumbles and Nathan nods in agreement.

Madeline's smile widens more and she kisses both of them on the cheek, thanking them again.

She stretches like a cat in the sun and giggles, she feels excited about the rest of the day already. She runs to her closet and selects a beautiful black dress with a patterned crisscross at the back combined with a slit up to her thigh to the left of the dress.

She picks out her real mother's silver hairpin, her saving grace on the night of her attack, and polishes it lovingly. She would wear it tonight when she goes out with her friends, it's her good luck charm.

By the time she's done moving through the house and making arrangements with a few of her friends for the dinner party, it's late evening already, so she starts to get ready.

When she makes her way down the stairs, Aida gushes about her appearance, and Madeline giggles some more.

The restaurant is beautifully lit, scenting lightly of rose petals. She walks in and her friends scream "Happy birthday!" clapping, whistling, and hugging her.

The first course of the meal is duck liver pâté, followed by poached salmon with mousseline sauce, and finally, dessert as chocolate ice cream with strawberry toppings which they all gobble up happily, chattering and gisting away.

"Madel, would you walk home with Cindy and me after now?" Jani, Madeline's friend asks.

"Nah, I'm good. My house isn't so far from here, remember? You guys can go now if you wish, I'd be alright. Promise."

Cindy and Jani come over to Madeline's chair and hug and kiss her goodnight.

"We had fun tonight. Thanks, Madel. Happy birthday one last time."

Madeline smiles at them, “Thanks for the gifts.”

Madeline finally heads out of the restaurant, waving a cheery goodbye to the manager. 

She pauses outside, takes a deep breath of the fresh night air, admires the stars, and skips home happily. She's halfway home when she notices the moon, full and shaped like a big white saucer.

She feels utterly strange when she stands under the moonlight like she should yell at the full moon with all her voice's strength.

A blinding light suddenly flashes before her eyes and she cries out in pain and confusion, dropping onto her knees and feeling like her body is no longer hers, as if something or someone within her wants out at last.

The blue shade of her eyes deepens as Madeline raises her head and yells at the full moon with all of her might, trying to let out this abnormal feeling within her.

She feels a bit calmer after that and attempts to take deep breaths to help her feel better but there's a sudden movement to her left side which immediately draws her attention as she realizes that she's no longer alone.

Turning her head in that direction, she tries to discern who it is.

Oh, it's a male figure. "No, wait. It can’t be." She groans but the person is none other than the rude stranger Adrian Gonzalez.