"Every human walks around with a certain kind of sadness. They may not wear it on their sleeves, but it's there if you look deep." - Taraji P. Henson

12:12.

Twelve after midnight.

"I wish..." I closed my eyes as I faced the ceiling. Thunder flashed and rain poured down. I wish I had the ability to leave this place and go to another dimension where I can make some real friends. I opened my eyes, then sat up. My bed creaked as I shifted, then went downstairs. Lights were off and I traced my fingers along the wall to the kitchen. I opened the freezer and pulled out a jug of ice cream, then plopped on the couch taking a spoon and shoveling a bite into my mouth. I knew that wish wouldn't come true, but still...

My parents were abusive. I was an only child at thirteen, and for thirteen years they beat me and yelled in my face, blaming me for everything that happened. They never cared about me, only saw me as a tool. My dad was on the force, so the cops never helped. They only saw my dad as one of them, and no one ever believed me when I said that it was happening.

I glanced back down at the nearly empty ice cream jug. Damn. And that was a new one, too. I sighed, then finished it up and tossed it into the trash can. I'll have to take the trash out tomorrow... I closed the lid to the almost full can and headed back up to my room. I need to get to sleep. Not that I'll get much anyway... The door creaked as I walked into the room, then creaked again as I closed it and headed over to my bed. I'd have to get up at 6:00, parent's rule. I'd get another beating if I slept in even for a minute.

I reached over and set the alarm for 6:00, then quietly crept into the bed, pulling the thin covers over my body and placing my head on the hard board of a bed. Goodnight...

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

My eyes opened in haste. I flung up my body, falling off the bed. "Ow!" White sheets covered my body and I felt pain coursing through my veins. I looked at my arms. What was I- No, what happened to me? I looked around the room as the beeping continued. I was in a hospital dorm. Had people finally come and helped me?

The door flung open and nurses ran in, all freaking out and speaking with each other. One of them started yelling at another, then helped me back to the bed. Then, the room was quiet once again. The lady turned to me with a smile. Her lips moved, but whatever came out, I didn't understand. The doctor clearly saw my confusion and yelled to another nurse once again, pointing to the door. The nurse ran out, and the doctor turned to me once again, repeating the words. I shook my head at her. The doctor looked thoughtful, then smiled as she grabbed her clipboard and wrote down something, then handed the board to me. I stared at the weird symbols in distain. Where was I? What language was this? I handed the clipboard back to the lady, who looked very worried. She said something else, then shook her head. She brought her hand to her lips and made a motion. She wants me to speak? The woman than pointed to herself. There was silence between the two.

"I- think I understand..." I said. The woman looked surprised, then turned, yelling at the door once again. The same nurse as before ran in. The two exchanged a few words, then the nurse ran out once again. "Um, can you understand me? 'Cause I can't understand you. Where am I? How did I get here?" The doctor just smiled, then shook her head, motioning to her ear and my mouth. "I'll take that as a no."

The nurse came back in, handing a little device to the doctor. The doctor nodded, then placed it against my chest. I flinched and the doctor brought her hand up, showing me her hand as she twitched it. She pointed at the machine, then nodded. After a second I nodded back. I... Think I understood... I flinched and yelped as a small zap surged through my chest, reaching to my legs and to my feet, through my arms and to my hands, up my neck and to my brain. It was only a split second, but man did it hurt! I looked down at the little machine on my chest and fingered it lightly. A little zap coursed through my body once again. "Ow!"

"Sorry. Is it working?" I looked up at the doctor.

"W-what?"

"Is it working? I can understand you. The machine is translating. Can you understand me?"

"Y-yes. What is it? Where am I? Who are you?" The woman laughed.

"It is a translator, for people who come from far away and speak another language. It's much faster, and more effective. Especially for people who just suddenly wake in a hospital from a coma."

"A coma?"

"Yes. We found you sitting outside, almost dead. We brought you in, but you were already in a coma. As for your other questions, you are in Yorknew City hospital. You can call me Renai."

"Y-Yorknew City Hospital?" Never heard of it. And I was in a coma? What happened while I slept? The doctor nodded, still smiling.

"That devise is stuck firmly to you. As long as it stays, you should be fine. If it comes off, which will be very painful, you will once again be unable to understand people, and they will be unable to understand you. What is your name?" My name?

"It's Bai-" I cut myself off. My name was Baise. An ugly name my parents gave because they didn't care. I had a chance. A chance for a new name, a new life. "Basil. What time is it? What day?"

"Oh, yes, it is January 11th, 1:20 a.m.." I nodded my thanks. "Um, this might sound weird, but what country am I in?" The lady giggled.

"Oh dear, you must be from really far away. You are in the country of Sahelta, on the Yorbian continent." I paled. WHAT?! That is impossible! The wish, that had to be it. Either that or, this was just a dream. The doctor must've seen my worry, because she asked, "Where are you from?"

"Um, I- You wouldn't have heard of it..."

"I'm sure I have."

"No, I'm sure you haven't."

"Try me," the doctor insisted. I sighed.

"Asia..." I said slowly.

"Oh, the Azian continent! Wow, you've come far!" I sighed. Crisis averted. "So what brings you all the way here, Basil?" I paused. I just woke up in an unfamiliar place, probably in a different dimension, and what reason did I have for being here? This could, after all, be a dream. But, no, I did have a reason. The wish. I wanted to escape. I wanted to live a fun life with friends, not sit and get abused by parents every day.

"I-my parents... They are abusive, so I ran away..." It was as good of an excuse as any.

"Oh, you poor thing! That's why you're so skinny and frail!" I looked at my skin. I was skinny and frail? "I'll make sure that you will be taken care of here. You will be able to relax, and your parents will never be able to land a finger on you ever again." I smiled at her, but it was a fake smile. I did not wish to be cooped up in a hospital room. I was free. I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out of here, and live my own life.

"Thank you," I said. It was a sincere thank you. It was nice to have someone who cared, someone who believed me. But I didn't need to stay here.

I watched as the doctor stood to get something, then turned to me. "I'll be right back, dear. I just need to go file some paperwork. If you need anything, just ring the bell." And with that, she left. I was alone in the room. I stood, walking over to the door. Second floor. Easy. I had escaped out second floor windows several times. Even some third and fourth levels. I walked over, ditching my hospital rags and wires, then grabbed bed sheets and tied them together with intense speed, I carefully took the screen out of the window, then tossed the end of the cloth rope out it. I looked down, then hopped out, sliding carefully down the line. Reaching the ground, I hopped off, then ran.

It was dark. The streets were lit brightly, and it was surprisingly easy to see. It didn't seem like a dream. I'd never had dreams as vivid as this. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't had much dreams lately at all. I looked up at the sky. It was surprisingly clear. Where am I? I continued to run. I would need to get far away from here. Find a map, find transportation, a job... Anything.

I continued running until I reached a harbor. A bunch of boats were tied out. I looked around for anyone, but everyone was out. There wouldn't be anyone until the morning.

I found a nice bundle of cloth aboard one of the boats and boarded, laying down and staring into the sky. The sun would presumably be coming up in four hours. And strangely enough, I wasn't tired. Had I been out for long? I didn't know. I continued to stare up at the sky. Finally, I sat back up, bored. I decided to explore the boat.

It was just a normal boat, nothing special about it. But I guess I was hoping to find something interesting. Something to pass time. I sighed, then sat back down in my designated cloth pile. I finally just closed my eyes.

"Hey, who're you?" I sat up, blinking my eyes open. I hadn't fallen asleep, unfortunately, but now there was someone here. Someone who I could possibly pass time with.

"Huh?" I blinked at the man, adjusting my eyes. He was short, kind of fat. He looked like a captain, with the stiff white beard and mustache, red nose, and sailor cap. He kind of reminded me of a sailor Santa crossed with Rudolf. I tried to hold in a giggle.

"Who are you, little girl? What is your name?"

"Basil," I replied.

"Why are you on my ship, Basil? Are you wanting to take the Hunter Exams?" I paused at that. Hunter Exams?

"Um, well, I can answer truthfully, or revised truthfully. Which would you prefer?" The man started to laugh.

"I like you kid. How about you give me both?"

"I need a ride out of here. I don't know what the Hunter Exams are, but they sound interesting. I might try them. What are they?"

"The Hunter Exam is a yearly event that one must pass in order to become a Hunter; an elite member of humanity. These exams consist of several tests and stages. So far 289 Hunter exams have taken place," the man started. This spiked my interest. These Hunter Exams sounded really interesting so far. "There are many benefits, which will be obtained when you pass. You will get a Hunter License, which will allow you to use 95% of all public facilities at no cost. Access is granted to about 90% of countries which normally restrict the entry of outsiders, and access to 75% of areas that the general public is prohibited from. Not to mention you get a lot of money. Now, the registration ended on December 31st, but you are an interesting gal, if you're interested, stick with me and I can let you take them."

I nodded. "Yes! I definitely want to take them! Why wouldn't I?"

"Alright then. But let me tell you, due to the large numbers of people who want to become hunters, the Exam phases tend to be very hard. Many end up dead or handicapped." I nodded. It was going to be dangerous. But if she could succeed... It would be worth it. "You still want to do it?" I stood.

"Yes," I replied. The man sighed.

"Kids. Why do so many want to take the exam, knowing there are so many fatalities?" He started forward. "We'll be taking off at six. Get some rest." I shrugged.

"I've tried. Can't sleep."

"Fine. Then help me get the boat ready."

"Yes sir!" I quickly ran over, helping him get the boat ready for its travel in the morning. The two of us cleaned, scrubbed, and put up sails and other items in the boat. The man taught me much about how to work a boat, though I knew I wouldn't remember it all...

He soon fell asleep on a hammock he set up, while I continued to clean. I scrubbed every inch until it was spotless. In the end, I was really proud of myself. The boat looked great! In a way, I was kind of glad that I was forced to clean up after my parents. I had to make sure I got every single speck of dust off everything, or else I would get punished. I had a lot of experience with cleaning and cooking, and whatever else had to be taken care of. The pain no longer hurt; I was very pain tolerant. So when I accidentally cut my finger on a fishing hook, trying to get the rod ready for storage, I payed no heed and quickly cleaned up the blood down to the last speck. I wrapped my finger up, then grabbed a net. I was done, and the sun had already started to get up. I walked out to the deck and threw the net into the water. Minutes later, I pulled it up. I had caught two crabs, four fish, and a clam. I tossed the clam back into the water, then started to gut and cook the fish and crabs.

The man was woken by the smell of the food. He got out of his bed, yawning, then sleepily walked over and stared at me. I handed him a fish on a stick, and he took it. "Thank you." He sniffed it, then took a bite. His eyes widened slightly, then he smiled. "This is good." He quickly ate it, as well as his second fish and crab. I ate my share, then cleaned up. "Thank you, Basil," he said. "You're sweet. And a good cook. Well, it's time to head out. You ready?" I nodded happily, then he started towards the captain's room, me on toe. He continued to glance around. "Wow, it's never been this clean. You sure you aren't magical or something?" I laughed.

"No, I was just... Taught to do this. Thanks." Well, taught was one way to put it... The captain and I finally reached the room where the wheel was. He pointed out buttons and rods, switches and other obscure objects. I tried my best to learn all the names and uses, then he finally got to teaching me how to man the boat. I placed my hands on the wheel while the man stood behind me, guiding my movements. My eyes widened in wonder, and I grinned at the man. I had never done something like this before... All these people, they were so kind, and I-

"Hey, why are you crying?" The man asked, slightly panicked.

"It's just I- No one's ever been this kind to me... I was always abused by my parents, and I finally got away. And now it finally seems like life is, better, you know?" The man smiled, pulling me into a hug. I buried my face in his chest. "Thank you."

I would have liked to say we spent the rest of the day on the sea. It was only six hours later when my world suddenly fell apart.

"Hey, I'm going to catch something for lunch!" I said happily, running outside to the deck with a fishing pole. The other man grinned, following with a fishing pole of his own.

"Care for a competition?" I grinned.

"Sure!" The man and I ran over to the edge, then, at the same time, threw out ends off the boat. We sat there in silence, waiting. The smoke from the man's cigar engulfed my nose. It was really bad for people's health... I was thinking too much. I had learned to be able to smell out poisons and chemicals, and tell what they were. I had to. Several times my father had tried to poison me, so I knew I had to be able to tell, or die. It was hard, but after nights of puking up blood I found it useful, and I decided to learn. I was a fast learner, and once my parents discovered I could tell, they tested me constantly, and made me sniff out their own food. Like someone would poison them. Besides me. But I wasn't that kind of person.

The line on the older man's pole started to move and he grinned. He started to pull it in. It was a big one.

"Wow, you're really-" I was cut off as I started to fall. The last thing I saw before blacking out was the man's concerned face as he reached out to catch me before I hit the ground.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-

I slammed my fist into the alarm clock beside me, causing it to fall off the desk and onto the floor. I shifted my feet off the bed, then yawned and looked around the grey room. I blinked, then a tear somehow found its way down my face. So... It was just a dream then? I sighed at I cleaned up the mess I had made from the alarm clock and quickly got dressed in a matter of seconds, then went downstairs to make breakfast for my parents. What a long day this'll be...