Botched Past: Wreny The Wrenison

Wren's Pov

Wren Davidson is my name. Pretty boring right? And my life resides in this hell hole, my boarding school, Montes High. Am in senior year but I barely have friends. They call me a freak around here and a freak they say is best avoided. And if they avoid me, I just avoid them right back. I do not have time to be checking other's feelings. But a series of events led to this my very boring and plain life. Let me take us all back to before I was born.

For one, no one knows where I came from. I was only a day old when I was found abandoned outside my current home, the Davidson Orphanage. That is what they tell me. How they know how old I was I never bother to ask. After all, it is rude to question adults or so they say. The name Wren was given because I was found on a stormy night. It was raining like crazy and there were thunderstorms. And since it is weird to be called Rain, they thought Wren would do. Pretty lame if you ask me. Who even gets named after the rain?

Anyway, from day one, I have always been considered weird. For someone who was abandoned, I did not seem to care. It never bothered me. I was first found smiling and kicking happily in the rain. Point to note; I currently hate the rain. That shocked the Davidsons. According to them, I was supposed to be kicking and screaming my lungs out crying not laughing. And that was news in the whole damn orphanage.

Secondly, in the next few days after being found, I did not sleep neither did I cry. Everyone had scheduled into a sort of timetable to look after me since I never slept. I would just look at anyone babysitting me until they found themselves sleeping instead of me. And that was news to the whole orphanage once again. They all found it very strange and super weird. This went on for a whole week. And this stressed the Davidsons for that whole week since no one would agree to babysit. So, they had to take turns themselves babysitting despite their busy schedules. The whole orphanage was afraid that I would turn into a monster and eat them up once 'I put them to sleep'. That was the reason they gave for not helping to babysit me. Very immature thinking right there, right?

By the end of week one in the orphanage, no one wanted anything to do with me. I was avoided like the plague, well except the Davidsons. They brought me in, so they had no option but to look after me. And since the gods had nit blessed them with a child of their own, they made a rushed decision to adopt me officially by the end of week one. This was with the hope that I would be accepted by the others in the orphanage since I was their child now. That did not work out as expected. That instead had me branded as weird once again. The Davidsons, Melanie and Bryce Davidson, had dedicated their lives to helping under privileged children since they had the money but no child of their own. They had tried but failed to have a child. And they gave that up and instead decided to start an orphanage 10 years prior. They never anyone ever since. I was the first and they even gave me their surname.

Another thing was I never managed to stay with a babysitter for more than 3 days. By the third day, the babysitter would have literally run and when sought after, all they would say is that am a demon child, and they are not ready to die. Weird right? So, apparently, I never managed to keep milk down. Every time anyone tried to give me milk, I would just spit it out. And if by chance I managed to swallow it, it would only last a second in my stomach before I vomit it all out. I only drank water which was weird for a baby barely a month old. But that is not what made them run to be exact. I was quite a playful and jovial child, and the babysitter would find that cute at first. The main reason each one of them accepted the job in the first place. But once each of them held me, I would bite and not let go. And once I did let go, I would lick my lips and smile. And they would all be freaked out. I was only good for the first 2 days, by the third day, I had bitten them, and they would go running saying 'the devil that drinks blood.' And another came and the cycle kept on repeating. This went on for the first 3 months of my life until Melanie had had enough.

I was making running the orphanage difficult because the rumors were quickly spreading about the demon child in the whole village. And publicity was important to them. Good publicity though not the bad one I was giving. So, Melanie decided to keep the affairs internal. She gave up her role as the co-founder of the orphanage to actually be a mother to me. Something that no one thought she could do. And weird enough, 3-month-old me seemed to like her. I never did once bite her.

By the fourth month, I was already sitting up on my own which was unheard of especially with my diet of water only. They all thought I was going to die since I never kept anything down except water. The sitting made Melanie so happy because it meant I could easily sit with other children now and she could back to her management position in the orphanage. But me being me, it was not as simple as she thought.

Day one of daycare, I had literally made every child cry. If I had not taken away their playing toys, then I had bitten or hit them. the whole day in daycare was a disaster. I ended up being put in a room alone with my own toys. Even those in charge of daycare, usually older children, were afraid because I would bite them. Being put in a room alone as a child definitely was not easy. They say I struggled to reach for things and by the time Melanie came in the evening, I was already crawling. Melanie was angry of course when she opened that door but she almost fainted when she saw me crawling towards her. I was told she let out the most horrid scream ever heard and everyone came. They all saw me and all they could say is 'the demon child is crawling already. Someone who just learnt how to sit up just yesterday. What a weird child.' All this time, I was just giggling and smiling as they looked at me with horror.

Melanie just silently picked me up and left. That was the first and last day of daycare. Once home, she placed me in my playing area and proceeded to cook in the kitchen. That evening, she was preparing some meat and as she was slicing the meat, a piece fell on the floor. Having learn how to crawl, I was already by her feet when the piece fell. So, when she bent down to pick it, it was already in my mouth. For someone with no teeth, I chewed it, swallowed and licked my lips as she watched in horror. She told me that was the end of supper that evening. She could not find the energy nor the appetite for dinner after that.

The next few months were bizarre. I already had all my teeth by the time I was 6 months old, and I started walking by 7 months. Things that were unheard of. Melanie after that night, realized that anything about me except the physically obvious was to be kept a secret. She told me from then on, she knew I was a special child, and she decided to dedicate her whole life to me. They owned a mansion at the furthest corner of the orphanage and that is where I was hidden most of the time. She also realized my love for raw meat. I do not love it now but back then it was my thing. Melanie said after that night, the next morning I had grown a lot already and that was just a piece of raw meat. She said I was also looking healthier, almost glowing. So, she started secretly feeding me raw meat. Even her husband was not aware. It was just between me and her. I would only be given water in front of Bryce. Melanie knew he would never understand. And so, life continued.

I was homeschooled most of my life. Melanie would never allow me to be out of her sight. I would misbehave at any given time, and she did not want that. And since virtually everyone knew about me in our village, she would get my teachers from a neighboring village. And so, I grew. She shielded me from the world and together we created a world of our own behind the closed door of the mansion.

The much I remember was from when I was 5 years old. I would always look outside the window and long to play with other children. But Melanie sensing my sadness, always took me away from the window and made sure we played. We had developed a strong bond over the years to the point I started calling her 'mom.' I still remember the first time I called her that. She stood frozen in her step for a good minute. I was only 8 years then. She turned and asked what I had I just called her. In my bravery, I answered "Mom." I do not know how it happened, but she was on me so fast, hugging the life out of me and crying hard. She kept on repeating,

"Do you know how long I have been longing to be called a mom? Thank you so much Love." I have never forgotten that day. She was so happy that she forgot I eat my meat raw. That day she introduced me to cooked meat and surprisingly I loved it.

I do remember everything especially the homeschooling. The teachers were nice. I remember all the shopping sprees. People would always look at us funny because of me but some were good enough to attend to us. And if no one was willing, we would hop to the next village literally. We would hold hands and skip and hop to the next village like children. That was usually my favorite, but I never told Melanie that. We would shop crazy. Everything and Anything until Bryce would complain once we got home. We did this every month.

Another mother-daughter moment was when she read books to me. There is a vast forest behind the orphanage and every evening we would go into the forest, and she would read me a book. Usually, a werewolf related story and I never understood why, and I never bothered to ask. I just found myself flowing with the stories. I know so much about werewolves till date all thanks to her. And Bryce would complain about this every day. He always found something to complain about. Me and him never shared an actual bond. I always found him staring at me funny like someone who is disgusted. After all, I took all of his wife's attention. I bet he thought I was a nuisance. And boy, was that true? I found that out the harsh way some years down the line.

But Melanie always protected me form him. Every time he would try to complain or say bad things about me, she would always stand up against him. And that made us become even closer with her. She taught me everything I know, how to be a lady and everything. Though I was hardly a lady. She saw me through my adolescence and teen days. She was and is still my absolute best friend. But am sure you must be wondering why I have been referring to her as Melanie instead of mom. There is a very valid reason.

I was 15 years old back then. Am currently 17 years old almost 18 in a few months. Anyway, it was her birthday that day. I was super excited since we always went out of town for her celebrations. She was always the first one up especially on her special day. But this day was particularly different. I woke up before her which was strange. She was a hard worker. She woke up before us, cleaned and made breakfast. But that day, the house was as we left it last night and the table was not set. There was no smell or even signs of anyone cooking.

Naturally I was worried so, I went up to her room and found her still in bed. Bryce had already left. He had an important meeting to expand the orphanage. The forest behind us had its owners and he needed to convince them to sell him a small portion for development. And when he had such meetings, he would be too nervous to eat, and he left too early even before his wife could wake up and force him to eat. There was a wrapped gift on her side table with a note that read, 'Happy birthday, my lovely wife. I have left this for you to show you that I have not forgotten your day. I had an early meeting, but I will catch you later. Love you, Bryce.' So, he had not noticed anything was wrong under the circumstances.

Melanie was deep asleep. She did not even hear me coming in which was unusual. She was usually a light sleeper due to the fact that Bryce usually came in late. She was a good and devoted wife. She always wanted to hear him come in so she could serve him his dinner. That usually meant a lot for her. And Bryce appreciated her for it. He only had utmost respect and love for her. They only argued when it came to me. Anyway, I listened to her breathing. It was quite shallow, barely there. She was also very cold to the touch like the waters of the river in the morning. My touch woke her up though. She winced and slowly opened her eyes. The white in them had turned yellow. I could not understand anything. She was fine before we went to bed.

Over the past few months, I had gradually started to notice some changes. She was a short woman, usually 5'3 but of late she was starting to look taller. She always does not play with her food. She could give the pregnant women a run for their appetite but of late she barely ate. She always gave some excuse that she was cutting on weight since she felt heavy. She was a chubby woman, do not get me wrong, but she was curvy. She was now starting to look slender like me. I found it disturbing but she always reassured me it was nothing. But what surprised me was her skin color. People easily believed we were related since we are both fair in complexion. I am slightly fair than her but of late she was looking too pale for my liking. And this day especially, she was looking as white as a sheet. I had begged her time and again to go see the village healer, but she was as stubborn as they come. And she usually said Bryce was stubborn. She always said it was not that deep. I should not think much about it. But I was worried, and my worry came true that day. I still remember that moment as if it was yesterday.

She attempted a smile once her eyes set on me, but she failed miserably. I returned her smile with all the energy I could gather. She stretched her right hand, and I met it halfway. She was too cold, so I covered her more. And she started talking, barely whispering. I literally had to bend over to hear.

"Do you know why I named you Wren?" I replied looking at her, "No. I always thought it was because I was found during the storm." She genuinely laughed.

"That was the rumor they spread. Wren is my family name, Wrenison in full. Am from afar away village. I always thought I would take you there but now it is impossible. Our village is called Blossom and am the only living survivor of the Blossom massacre." She closed her eyes briefly and asked for water. I went to get some from the kitchen since her bedside jug was empty. She must have been thirsty overnight. I was shocked though. 'The bloody Blossom Massacre! How?'

I brought back the jug of water and a fresh glass and poured her some. I helped her sit up and drink. She downed the whole glass and asked for some more. She only managed to take half, and she continued speaking.

"I know you are shocked, but I promise I am going to tell you everything in details. I do not have much time, but I know you deserve to know. Here is my story. "