PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

′′ Don’t worry, I was just finding the right words. . . but I suppose I could choose to start with a classic: once upon a time many years ago in a cabin like this. ′′ Sasha exclaimed with a wry smile as she began to tell me about her past.

(10 years ago Sasha POV)

Fire, if someone asked me what my first memory is, that would be being surrounded by a sea of ??fire, I don’t remember why or where I don’t remember why I was alone in the flames; I only remember feeling the fire caressing my skin and how comforting that feeling was.

My next memory would be the front of a cabin in the woods. I don’t remember how I got there or who left me there, I only remember the person who opened the door and took me in her arms; that woman I call master. . . the person who was a mother to me.

It took me a couple of years, but now I was able to walk and speak fluently, over time I learned that my teacher whose name was Semíra, never talks about her past and spends his life in the forest practicing alchemy.

Alchemy is super interesting, you can do all kinds of things with it, but the teacher does not let me enter her laboratory, she says that it is not the place for a little girl like me; I can’t wait to grow up to show my teacher that I can also be a great alchemist like her.

Today it happened again, I was accompanying my teacher to pick some flowers nearby and I fell into a rosebush of thorns, I remember that it hurt a lot when they cut me and the next thing I remember was the fire consuming everything while I fainted.

When I woke up I could see the worried face of my teacher and the ashes around me, the only thing that comforted me was that my teacher had never been burned by the fire that seemed to live in me.

.....

′′My little Sasha, are you okay? ′′ my teacher said with concern in every word that came out of her.

′′ Yes, I’m fine, but teacher. . . I did it again, I burned it all up again. . . you think that’s why my parents abandoned me?; because I’m cursed. ′′ There was bewilderment and sadness in my voice when I said those words as I looked around me full of the ashen and lifeless remains of what was once a beautiful portion of the forest.

′′ Of course not, you are not cursed, you are special, you are loved by fire; That is why it always comes to protect you when you are alone or hurt and that is why I gave you that name. ′′ A motherly and protective tone came from my teacher as she stroked my hair tenderly.

′′ my name? ′′ I asked for.

′′ That’s right, I call you Sasha Kor Ignis, in the ancient language it means rose born of fire. ′′ My teacher said with her hands caressing my cheeks.

′′ seriously? But why a rose? ′′

′′ Partly because of the color of your hair and your eyes, but also because you are the most beautiful and adorable little thing that I have ever seen there; Come here and give your teacher a few kisses. ′′

I remember the warmth of being in her arms, the softness of her long brown hair caressing my cheeks and I remember her scent of her tea; my most precious memory.

′′ teacher? ′′

′′ Yes, my little Sasha. ′′

′′ Can I call you mom? ′′ There was a tinge of doubt in the tender childish voice that came from my lips as I asked that question so important to me.

My teacher stopped her steps on the way home, and she seemed to ponder her response for a few moments while she continued to hold me in her arms; Before the disappointment of the lack of an answer had filled me, I could see the most beautiful smile I have ever seen on my teacher’s face.

′′ Of course if Sasha, nothing would make me happier, but soon I will start teaching you alchemy so while we are studying you should call me teacher, okay? ′′

I remember feeling loved as I had never felt before and I remember that from that moment on I stopped looking for a family because I had found it; I did not know where my parents were, but I knew where my mother was, she was by my side.

′′ Yes, mom. ′′ I was not able to see the expression on my face when I called her mom for the first time, but I hope it was as overflowing with joy and love as I felt at that moment.

′′ say it again. ′′

′′ mother′′

′′again ′′

′′mother ′′

′′ Just one more time. ′′

′′ Mom I’m thirsty, so I’ll call you mom all you want when we get home and drink some tea; How about? ′′ I said with a face full of longing for my mother’s delicious tea.

′′Well, don′t worry dear we′re almost home and when we′re there you can have all the tea you want and have some cookies. ′′ Said my new mother with a face that was not able to show the overwhelming happiness that she felt at that moment.

′′ Yupiiii cookies, mommy I love you ′′

And that’s how that memory ended, with a smiling girl kissing the cheek of the woman who decided to be my mother when the real one abandoned me, both women looking for a family where they could find comfort; They were good times and these moments did not end soon.

But no matter how much time passed or when I changed and grew, there were always two constants that remained in my life: my teacher and fire. My teacher stayed by my side caring for me and loving me while she began to teach me things about alchemy, she said that my affinity with fire made me the perfect candidate to study this profound art; With this, I spent more and more time near the fire and the more time I spent near it, the more I felt a connection with it.

Unfortunately, there are things that are destined to change, as the years passed my body continued to grow and change, that would be normal for any child, but I was not just any child and my changes were not normal; at least they weren’t things I saw in my teacher or the children I saw when we visited town from time to time.

The first thing I noticed was my ears. As I grew older, they became more elongated and pointed, not in an ugly and abnormal way; according to my mom, they made me look more adorable. Then my forehead started to itch one day, I did not know why, but it caused me a horrible itch, my teacher used an ointment to make it stop hurting and that worked wonderfully, but it did not stop the change that occurred within me.

It was not until my teacher was bathing me that while her hands were rinsing my hair that she noticed the source of this discomfort, a pair of tiny horns began to grow on my small forehead, normally they were not seen because they were hidden by my hair, but they were definitely there; Mom insisted that they only made me more beautiful and special but I couldn’t help but notice more than ever that I was not like other children.

And it was that thought and realization that led me to the next stage of my life, one full of curiosity and study. . . but also of tragedy.