Adira Wellesley
17 years old

Bio: Adira is a cheerful and curious girl, in spite of what she's been through in life. As a young girl, her father left the house one night for work and never came back. All she was ever told about him was that he was a hunter of sorts. A few years later, when she was ten, her mother succumbed to illness and died, leaving her in the care of her mother's nasty sister and her nastier children. But she keeps her spirits up, doing well at school and maintaining a reasonably good social life, with her two best friends Lillian and Ella.

@xnovax

Adira was walking around the marketplace, just biding her time until midnight, when she knew her aunt and cousins would fall asleep. She had run out after a fight that had turned a little violent; her cousin had found college brochures in her bag for schools that were out of state, and her aunt had accused her of being an ungrateful wretch who wanted to run away from home. Her aunt hadn't been wrong. Adira did want to leave and go to college outside of school.

The marketplace was a friendlier place than the place that was supposed to be her home. The butcher kept watch over her while she loitered, and his wife often came out to give her a snack or a drink if she seemed hungry. She wished her friends could come to her, but they would be home and fast asleep by now. She could only see them at school tomorrow.

She walked over to the plant nursery, which vegetable seeds, flowers, pots, and even medicinal herbs. "Hey Mr Tanner!" she greeted the owner of the nursery cheerfully. "Can I help you with anything?"

For the next few minutes, Adira was organizing Mr Tanner's plants for him, making sure the pots were easy to walk through, and plants of the same type were grouped together. If any customers came along, she tended to them too.

@xnovax:

A customer had walked in, and greeted Mr Tanner, although he wasn't there. Adira looked up to see a boy, probably her age, or a couple years older at best. On closer inspection, she realized that he couldn't see. Oh no, she thought. Immediately, she went forward to help him.

"I'm sorry, but Mr Tanner is in the back managing his accounts," she said. "I'm taking care of things out front for now, though. How can I help you, sir?" Her tone remained cheerful and pleasant as she spoke to him.

@xnovax:

The man in front of her looked young, but Adira got the distinct impression that he spoke like someone far older. She had only heard old men, in their seventies or eighties, speak the way he did. She thought it equally as odd as it was charming. She also noted the fact that she didn't seem to remember seeing him before. She was no stranger to this town, and her abusive home situation often brought her out to the market until late in the night. She found him intriguing.

"Well, he didn't say anything about that," she said. "But if it's an assortment, and you're regular customer, he might have packed it and put it somewhere. Please wait here for a minute, sir. I'll go and check."

She went around the back by the storage and looked until she found a box wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string, with the name 'Allen' written on it. She picked it up and took it back out front.

"Here's your package, sir," she said, cheerfully.

@xnovax:

She wasn't sure what had prompted her, or what made her think it was even a good idea; but when the man turned to leave, she spoke.

"Adira," she said, letting the man know her name. "That's my name. I just thought... maybe you could call me that instead of 'Miss'. Everyone here calls me th-" Just then, she heard a scream that made her blood run cold.

"ADIRA!'

Gasping in shock, she abruptly ran inside the store, hiding in the storeroom where Mr. Tanner was doing his accounts. On seeing her state, the old man seemed to know what was going on.

"Your aunt is drunk and looking for you again?" he asked. Adira nodded, almost in tears. The old man sighed and got up, moving to the storefront.

Outside, Adira's aunt, Patricia was stumbling through the market, screaming out Adira's name along with some rude expletives mixed in. She happened to see a young man, and with neither any warning nor respect for another person's personal space, she rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Any of you seen that good-for-nothing niece of mine?" she screamed at the crowd, to the disapproving stares of every shop owner. "Answer me!" She turned to the nursery, where the owner was tending to some herbs.

"Tanner, you keep getting her help, don't ya?" she drawled. "Did she come by here again?"

Mr. Tanner simply shrugged. "I'm sorry madam, I haven't seen her today," he said, not looking at her, but tending to his plants instead.

@xnovax:

Adira could hear her aunt outside the shop, her tears actually falling from her eyes after trying to hold them in for so long. She could usually escape her aunt's violence whenever she came to the market, but on days like these when her aunt specifically came looking for her, she knew she would actually get hurt if she were to be caught.

She wasn't one to particularly believe in God, but during moments like these, she always found herself praying to whatever gods that existed in the world, hoping at least one would listen.

Outside, Patricia had lost the only source of her balance, and fallen to the ground in a most unflattering manner. Enraged, she turned to the young boy.

"YOU!" she yelled, as she struggled to get back on her feet. "How dare you push me, boy!" She moved to slap him.

@xnovax:

"Who do you think you are, telling me to leave?!" Patricia growled, her drunken state not letting her acknowledge the fact that she boy in front of her couldn't see. Barking out a laugh, she kept stumbling through the market, moving past the plant nursery and away from sight, screaming Adira's name and other profanities as she went. Mr Tanner watched the woman as she left, and when he was satisfied with the distance between her and them, he called for Adira.

"Your aunt is gone, you can come out now."

Slowly, Adira peeked out from behind the door, and cautiously came into view. "Thank you," she said, quietly. "Did she cause too much trouble?" By way of an answer, Mr Tanner looked at Allen; Adira gasped in shock and ran over to him. There was a red mark on his face, and she instantly knew her aunt had struck him.

"I'm so sorry, Mr Allen," she apologized to him. "My aunt usually goes through the market without doing anything more than screaming out my name. Her hitting someone like this is rare." Rare, but not impossible. Her aunt was a violent drunk, and even if she usually restricted that violence to Adira, it didn't mean she didn't branch out occasionally. "And... thank you, for not giving me away. Please tell me if there's anything I can do to make it up to you."

@xnovax:

She hadn't been the one to strike him, it was true. And yet, Adira was guilty that he had gone through that for her sake, at the hands of a member of her family. But she chose not to respond, save for making a small noise of affirmation when he asked her whether she was her aunt.

His offer stunned her; she looked up at him to check for any signs that he may not be serious, but she found none. An assistant? Adira could cook, clean and do a lot of other things, so being an assistant if sorts for him wasn't such a bad idea. It wasn't all that different from what she did at her aunt's house anyway.

"Really?" she asked him, wanting him to be sure of his offer.

@xnovax:

Adira thought about it for a moment. If she really took this man up on his offer, it could be great. All her life, she'd had three wishes, that she believed would make her life way better: a way to deal with her aunt and her family, a part time job so she could earn after school, and a boyfriend. These were three wishes that she often found herself praying for whenever she chose to believe in a God.

If she did take up his offer, two of those boxes would be checked: the part time job and the opportunity to leave her aunt. But there was a lot she'd need help with, if she truly was going to make the move. Besides...

She looked at him. He lived alone, and he'd said he needed someone to look after his house. She wasn't entirely sure about staying with a man alone, even if she wouldn't be there all the time, and even if it meant escaping her aunt.

"Can I take some time to think about it?" she asked him. "For now, I'll help you take these back home." She took the box of herbs from his hands. "Mr Tanner, I'm going to help Mr Allen take this back home."

@xnovax:

Adira watched him walk away, feeling equally relieved at not having to make a decision right away, but also sad to see him go. She then went back to Mr Tanner's shop, asking for his permission to sleep at the nursery for the night, which he gave readily. She was afraid of going home, for she didn't want to go home to fall into the violent clutches of her aunt again. She'd sleep here for the night, and then go over to Lillian's and get ready for school.

When morning came, she left Mr Tanner and walked to Lillian's, where she had managed to leave a few sets of clothes to wear. She usually kept some clothes at Ella's place too, just in case Lill couldn't have her over.

After school, the three girls sat in the town park discussing things. She'd told them about Mr Allen, and the opportunities he presented.