☪Name: Deva - a Hindu name for the moon goddess ☪ Age: Thirteen ☪ Gender: Female☪
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They think I’m quiet and withdrawn
because of everything that’s happened. Nothing could
be farther from the truth, but I will let them think that
they are right because it means that they will leave me
alone.
Deva scribbled in her journal then hastily shoved it back in her bag. She had been told she could unpack; to make herself at home. What no one understood was that the ability to get up and leave is what made her feel most at home. She leaned her head back on the pillow and let the memories take over.
“Deva!” Her father’s voice carried though the house and out onto the roof where she was sitting. Even though it was quieter up there than it was in the house, she could still tell by the tone that he had been drinking. He’d been drinking a lot since her mom left. The young bean ignored her dad’s calling and tilted her head back to look at the stars.
“Would you come back if you knew mom?” She whispered to the sky, blinking hard to keep the tears in check. She often wondered why her mom didn’t take her along, and if she had any idea how badly her father would take it when she left. Deva had replayed the day her mom left over and over in her head and couldn’t pick out anything specifically wrong. It had seemed like any other day; until it wasn’t. Her mom left to go out with friends and never came back. At first her father had worried. He had spent days calling everyone they knew. Then days turned into weeks, then months and he was always either angry or sad; and Deva spent most of the time that he was home on the roof.
“Deva! I swear when I find you…” Her dad’s empty threat was lost in the crashing of furniture that he knocked over; the coffee table from the sound of it.
“Want company?” The question came as a soft whisper. She knew without looking that it was her neighbor, Aylah. She shrugged in response and heard the other girl scurry onto the roof. Aylah came and sat next to Deva without speaking. They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
“I made you something.” Aylah said quietly as she handed Deva a spiked collar with some kind of charm hanging from it.
Deva took it and turned the charm over in her hands. It was a moon with two long stick looking pieces forming an X over it. She looked at Aylah questioningly.
“I don’t know; just something to make you smile. You’re always up here looking at the sky and talking to your mom. So I thought the moon was fitting. And the X represents us.”
“Thanks. It’s awesome.” Deva smiled as she clipped it around her neck.
“You should just leave Deva. You could do it. You could find somewhere better than this. I know you could. I would miss you…but…it would be better than always seeing you sad.”Deva ran her hand absent mindedly over the moon charm that still hung from her neck as she remembered. That night, that conversation, seemed like an entire lifetime ago. It was that one simple suggestion that landed her where she was now.
Most orphans ended up at an orphanage because they didn’t have parents anymore; mostly because their parents had died, or they had never known them in the first place. Deva guessed she was probably the first to be in an orphanage because she had chosen to leave.
“Where would I go?”
“Anywhere. Where ever you wanted. You could start over. Be whoever you want to be…it’s not right Deva, the way your dad makes you steal things so he doesn’t have to work…”
Deva chuckled at the memories. The first time her dad told her to steal something it was food. They didn’t have any and they didn’t have any money. It started small; a loaf of bread here, a few pieces of fruit there. It gradually became bigger, more expensive things. He then started having her be a pick pocket. Deva hated it, but she was really good at it. They never wanted for anything.
It was those skills that had allowed Deva to leave and never look back. She knew she could take care of herself; and she had, for a few years. Then she got tired of always being on the run or on the brink of being in trouble.
“I know…I guess part of me is waiting for her to come back.” Deva spoke softly and curled her tail around her, the metal ring around it clinking softly against the roof.
“I’ve always meant to ask you…what is that?”
“The band on my tail?”
“Yeah.”
“It was my moms. I think it was a wrist cuff when she was small, but it doesn’t fit me.”
“So why wear it on your tail?”
“To try and remind me that she’s behind me now, in my past, where she chose to be.”
Aylah smiled sadly at her friend and they spent the rest of the night sitting quietly on the roof watching the stars move above them. When it was almost dawn Deva turned to Aylah.
“Thanks…for always being here. You’re a good friend. We should probably go in now. I’m sure my dad is asleep and I don’ t want you in trouble.”
“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow night?”
“Maybe.”It was their typical parting response, but it ended up being the last time the two saw each other. Deva didn’t sleep. She had gone in the house, packed a few things she thought she would need, and left. It had been a little over two years and she had never stayed longer than one night in one place; until now.
She curled in a ball on her side and sighed as she tried to fall asleep. She was finally in a place where she could truly start over. No one here knew anything about her. There was no way for them to find out who she really was; she could create herself again and they would only ever know exactly what she wanted them to.
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PersonalityIntrovert – Deva is typically quiet and hard to get to know, especially if asked about her past. She much prefers to spend time alone rather than with others. In social situations she tends to blend into the background. If she has to be around others, she would rather watch and learn about them before actually speaking to them.
Sarcastic – 99% of the time Deva’s first response to anything is a sarcastic one. It is her first line of defense against keeping others from getting too close to her. Her delivery is usually dry, so it is sometimes impossible to tell if she is being sarcastic or serious and that’s just how she wants it.
Observant – She is uncannily adept at reading body language for someone that is so young. This comes from having to gauge the mood of her often volatile father. She is incredibly observant in everything and often notices many things that others do not.
Fearless – because she is quite, Deva is often mistaken for being shy and timid. She is neither. She is often the first to try new things. She can sometimes be reckless when it comes to physical things and is somewhat of an adrenaline junkie
Stubborn – tell her she can’t do something and she will prove you wrong. This is not always a good trait, as she will often take it too far and be stubborn to her own detriment.
Loyal – she doesn’t make friends easily. It is almost impossible to make it past her defensive walls and most will consider her a friend long before she will consider them one. Once she does consider you a friend though, you won’t find a better one. She considers friends the family that she has chosen for herself.
Imaginative – She can get lost for hours in worlds of her own creation. One of her favorite things to do is fine a quiet place to be alone and write. It’s her way of forgetting everything for a while and re-grounding herself emotionally.
Over-Thinker - combine her imagination and the fact that she is so observant and you have what is probably her biggest downfall. She over thinks many situations, especially those concerning others who are in the “not quite a friend yet” category. She often creates situations in her head that aren’t really there and problems that don’t actually exist. This is often times why it is so hard for her to trust others.
Chameleon – Despite the fact that she is introverted, Deva can fit in anywhere she goes if she decides to make the effort. She can easily act any part from social butterfly to out-going party girl. This makes it difficult to know if you are getting to know the real her. Deva sometimes does this to figure out who is going to stick around long enough to know her. One the occasions where she decides to do this, it leaves her emotionally exhausted and she needs a significant amount of alone time to recharge.
Quirks and HabitsDeva loves to write. She has a collection of journals and composition notebooks that are half full of stories in various degrees of completion. She also keeps a personal journal, but that one is quite different. It is a black leather journal that is full. All pages, front and back, are completely full but she keeps writing in it. She simply writes on top of what is already there. If you asked, and she trusted you enough, she would tell you that this way the writing gets the thoughts out of her head but anyone who finds it won’t know what she’s thinking.
She develops an unusual attachment to items. In addition to her collar, charm and tail band she has one of her father’s beer bottle caps and a glass marble that is the first thing she ever stole. She keeps both things in her pouch and they are a reminder of who she never wants to be again.
She is incredibly annoyed by nicknames and will not allow anyone to call her anything but Deva.
Her favorite holiday is Halloween. Her least favorite is Christmas. She doesn’t mind the gift giving part of Christmas, but she doesn’t like receiving gifts.
Stargazing is one of her favorite ways to unwind. She will often seek out the highest place she can find at night so she can be closer to the stars. This usually leads to her being on roofs she’s not supposed to be on, or up in trees that she shouldn’t have climbed.
In addition to writing, she also likes photography. She’s never tried it herself because she’s never had access to a camera, but she is specifically drawn to black and white photographs. The idea of taking the color out of everything is very intriguing to her. It forces the viewer to look at the details and it reminds her of how she often looks at everything in life.
She’s not a fan of having a lot of stuff. It’s very comforting to her to know that she can pick up all of her things and leave at any moment if she needs to.
The FutureShe doesn’t think about it much, but when she does, she would like to find some place that she can consider home. She would be happy with a few really good friends, maybe a mate, but maybe not. She would love to be a writer so she can get paid to create the imaginary worlds that she finds so much comfort in.
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Full Size Art/Credit
Head ShotFull BodyBoth done by Cerestes
Word Count: 1988 (includes all titles and quote in header picture)
*Aylah is a made up character used to tell the story of her past; she is not a real bean.
