For as long as I can remember I have been different from all the other people who surrounded me. While other young kids wanted to run and play I wanted to be isolated and alone with my teddy, always whispering to him my every thought. Talking to yourself will generally get you shunned by your peers but talking to another inurnment object will get you obliterated verbally and mentally by your peers.

“Look Magdalene’s at it again”
“What a freak!”
“ No one wants to talk to her so she talks to her bear, what a weirdo.”

My strange appearance also didn’t help win anyone over. I was a pale lanky girl, with long black hair and deep gray eye. I didn’t look like any of the other kids so it made me an easy target for bullies. The kids treated me like I was some type of evil supernatural creature who would eat their soul if they ventured too close.

I never saw my tormentor as bullies because their word never bothered me. When they called me a freak it didn’t hurt any different that if they had called me by my name.  When they pushed me down I gathered teddy and got back up without retaliation. When they stuck gum in my hair and thought I didn’t notice I waited patiently until I arrived home to assess the damage with my mama and see if peanut butter or scissors would be my savior. Its not that I was taking being bullied its that I was against going to the same level as those around me. I’ve always tried my best to rise above. I truly thought that when I got older the bullies would move on focus their attentions else where and find some other weird kid to invest all their hate in, but I was wrong. High school was the worst time of my life. Everyday I was met with some girl telling me how ugly I was because I wasn’t tan enough, and then it was I didn’t wear the right clothes, or drive the car.

When everyone else went threw puberty I did not. No random hair growth in places where it once didn’t exist and no monthly visit from Mother Nature. The only thing that did changed was my eye. When I was fourteen years old I began to notice them transitioning from a dark gray to a pale blue. That pale blue transitioned into a deep royal blue. On my eighteenth birthday I got up went to shower and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror that would change my life forever

“MOM!” I screeched

She came flying up the stairs opened the bathroom door and just as she was about to scold me for screaming in the house her mouth dropped almost straight to floor.

‘Your eyes Mags… they’re, they’re purple” my mom stuttered
“You think? What is happening to me why are my eyes suddenly this color” I lashed back

Concerned for my health my mom and I rushed to the hospital where we were met with the same general shock then lack of answers.  One hospital turned to dozens and days turned to months before I had my answer. We heard of a geneticist named Carol McCasden who might be able to help me find an answer. 

“When did you first start menstruation?” asked Dr. McCasden
“Never” I replied
“ When did you start developing hair on your legs, arms, underarms, etc…” she asked
“Never I replied”

She stared at me like I was a liar but after my mom enforced everything that I was saying her doubt began to drift.

“ We are going to do a full genealogy of your body, take some blood and run a few more test after those results come in we should have our answer.” Dr. McCasden assured me

Doing a full gene workup of one human takes months and is extremely expensive. MY years of being harassed have paid off because I had learned patience.  However after month three my patience was wearing thin and by month sixth I had accepted never knowing the awner to the mystery of my violet eyes. Dr. Carol, at this point because we had grown to become quite close and there was no need for formality, called me on December the fourth with the answer I was looking for.

“Magdalene are you sitting down, because if not you need to find a seat. We got your gene work up back and found something truly extraordinary. You have an extremely rare genetic mutation so rare in fact that you are the only living and documented case that modern science has. This mutation is called Alexandria’s Disease, and it explain your symptoms.” Dr. Carol said excitingly.

The diagnosis didn’t make me feel anymore extraordinary. I still felt the same, acted the same and dressed the same. It wasn’t until the mass media got wind of my “rareness” that my life changed. The phone never stopped ringing and I got offers to be on Good Morning America, The Wendy Williams Show, Dr. O basically every housewife TV show wanted me to talk to them about my mutation. I agreed to do Good Morning America because you don’t turn down Diane Sawyer. On the plane ride to New York mid-flight I feel this strong sense I’m being watched. I turn and catch a glimpse of a brown haired freckled boy. Even after I caught him starring he still didn’t stop. After the flight I waited to confront him.  He darted past me so fast I almost missed him in the first rush of people off the plane. I ran after him and grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt causing him to jerk back and almost fall.

“ what the hell are you doing” he barked
“ what the hell were you staring at back there. The whole flight even after I caught you , you kept staring so hard it almost burnt a hole in back of my head.” I snapped back “ didn’t your parents ever teach you that if your gonna stare you gotta at least introduce yourself.”
“ My names Berkley.. and well, well”
“Well what” I snapped

HE reached into his pocket and pulled out this beautiful purple gemstone

‘ Your eyes, they’re the same color as my Taaffeite” he said
“ The same color as your ta-what”
he chuckled “ It’s a gemstone, quite rare actually, my father gave me this one.
“ is that who your visiting here in New York” I inquired
“ Yea, he lives in time square”
I could feel the dark shift of Dred in his voice once I brought up his dad so I steered clear from why
“ What brings you to the big apple” he asked
“ Good Morning America, I’m going to be a guest on the show because of  these stupid eyes of mine. I’ve got this mutation where, well some of the details are well personal but I don’t really get sick and my eyes are purple”
“ that doesn’t sound like anything to be on TV for you sound like just a regular healthy kid.”  He replied
“ I am a regular kid.” I said unconvincingly
“ Regular Kids aren’t on Good Morning America” he replied back

By this time we had reached the end of the airport and were waiting outside for our cars to take us into the city. We waited and talked some more and waited a little while longer. I finally turned my phone off airplane mode and saw that I had a dozen missed calls and a one voicemail. I pressed play

“ Hi, Magdalene this is Good Morning America’s head right Steve, we just got some breaking news that a women in Kansas gave birth to septuplets whom are identical and she took your slot with Diane, we will no longer need you on the show, but we can offer you tickets to see another one of our shows. Thank you for your time”
I guess my time to be extraordinary had passed and I was oddly okay with it. The only thing that deeply upset me was now I was in the City with my couple thousand dollar hotel room and no way to get there.

My mouth dropped and I knew Berkley could tell that it was some sort of bad news

“ Uh-oh what happened” he asked
“ dianae just cut me out of her segment to interview some women who gave brith to seven identical septuplets .”

Right as I told him this his car pulled around he paused a second looked at me and began to walk to his car then paused again and turned around.
“ well your first time in the city shouldn’t be a sad one, let me show you around the Big Apple the right way” he said
A thousand and one reasons went threw my head as to why I shouldn’t get into the care with the person whom I just met

“Why Not!” I exclaimed

We began to drive away from the airport and the little regret I was feeling was consumed by my adreline forgetting in the car with this vibrant stranger.

“ do you wanna know something funny” he asked
“ What” I said
“ I never got your name”
we both let out in a laugh, after we both caught our breath I replied.

“Magdalene”
The car ride to his place was not nearly as awkward as I expected. This for all intensive purposes stranger had made me feel as though I had know him forever. We joked and played I Spy all the way to his townhouse.
“We have arrived young madam,” Berkly said with a funny accent
I chuckled and nudge his shoulder and we both got out of his car. His home truly shocked me. You would think that a town house would be smaller than a regular house but I guess things are much different in New York.  I was greeted by his mother whom was on her phone
‘Hold on sec.” she whispered into her device. “ Why hello, Berkley whose your friend,” she asked.
“Hi, Im Magdalene,” I replied
“Mom shes going to be staying at the hotel three blocks away and while she’s here I plan on keeping her company,” he exclaimed, However it was too late you and you could tell her entire focus had re shifted back to whatever conversation she was having on the phone. I could sense that this had effected Berkley in some way but I wasn’t quite sure. He paused for a second as if to let his emotions sink and fade and then looked at me. 
“Come, were going upstairs I have more to show you,” he urged
We walked up the beautiful spiral mahogany stair case all the way to the very top room on the left. There stood two huge white doors that looked as  if they led to a different world. I was so used to the typical suburban home not a multimillion dollar brownstone.
My mouth dropped almost to the floor once I saw his room. It was magnificent, There were bookshelves covering the walls filled with everything you could imagine. There was a telescoped and in the corner was this glass cases that help dozens of beautiful rocks.
“ These are amazing”, I exclaimed ,” where do you get them”
“My dad brings them home for me when ever his company mines something new,” he responded. I could tell by his voice that dad was sore subject so I quickly divereted the conversation.
“Do you want to get out of here I still haven’t seen New York,” I asked He nearly sprinted out the door and said “ I thought you would never ask..”