1.

It was a cold winter night. Not a leafy tree in sight for miles. Snow

painted the earth's grassy surface. It was the winter Ben and I

became friends. The flashback is so vivid, even now. My parents.

The richest in the village, owned four houses, seven farms, and ten

slaves. Yup, you'd think my lifeis great. Wrong. My all mighty parents

abandoned me in a small cottage in a distant village. At six years old

I taught myself to read. Reading came naturally to me.

I started off easy. Snow White, Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella. Then

wandered to the big literature. And that's how I discovered the dusty

big book of alchemy. Alone in my cottage, I studied this form of witch

craft and learned of equivilent exchange. Once Alchemy was mastered,

I could turn wood into tables. Rocks into pearls, cloth into clothing,

even paper into money.

Of course they were counterfit...but the villagers didn't know that.

You see, every day a villager would bring me food. I decided to repay

them.

* * *

The breeze has chilling and the soup was warm. "Thanks, " I'd reply.

The man smiled, "Your welcome Zola." So I took out a piece of paper

and turned it into a couple of crisp bills, "Take it." The villager looked

shocked... then ran out of my cottage shouting, "Witch! Witch!" No one

brought me food again.

* * *

The winter nights were harsh and bitter. My parshed stomach would rumble.

I was ready to die any second. Then, outside my lonely cottage, I heard noises

Slaughtering noises. My eyes glowed red and I looked threw the walls. I

saw groups of ninja, killing people in the village as they went. I prayed

one would get me. My eyes went back to their natural blue green.

Just then a man with a sword came in. He was tall with a mean look on

his face. "I've been ordered to kill anything that breathes," he said.

I shrugged. He was shocked, "You're not scared." I looked at him,

"Death is a part of life."