Part 1

Lila was a curious and adventurous girl who always wanted to know more about the world. She loved to read books, watch documentaries, and explore new places. She had a special interest in astronomy, and she dreamed of becoming an astronaut someday. She had a telescope in her room, and she often spent hours gazing at the stars and planets.

But Lila also had a dark and painful past. She was an orphan who had lost her parents in a mysterious car accident when she was only five years old. She had no memory of them, except for a locket with their pictures that she always wore around her neck. She had been adopted by a couple who seemed nice and caring at first, but soon turned out to be strict and abusive. They treated Lila like a servant, and they forbade her from doing anything that they didn't approve of. They especially hated her passion for astronomy, and they often punished her for using her telescope or reading books about space.

Lila didn't understand why they were so cruel to her, and why they hated the stars so much. She wondered if there was a connection between her parents' death and her adoptive parents' behavior. She wanted to find out the truth about her past, but she didn't know how. She had no clues, no friends, and no hope.

Until one night, everything changed.

It was a clear and starry night, and Lila couldn't resist the temptation to sneak out of her room and use her telescope. She climbed out of the window and ran to the backyard, where she had hidden her telescope under a pile of leaves. She set it up and pointed it at the sky. She was amazed by the beauty and wonder of the cosmos. She felt a sense of peace and joy that she rarely experienced.

She decided to look for her favorite constellation, Orion. She had read that it was named after a mythical hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the goddess Artemis. She admired his courage and strength, and she wished she could be like him.

She found Orion easily, and she focused on his belt. She noticed that one of the stars was brighter than usual. She zoomed in on it, and she saw something that made her gasp.

It was not a star, but a spaceship.

It was shaped like a disc, with a dome on top and lights around the edge. It was spinning slowly, and it seemed to be sending signals with its lights. Lila couldn't believe what she was seeing. She wondered if it was an alien spacecraft, or a secret government project, or something else entirely.

She felt a surge of curiosity and excitement. She wanted to know more about the spaceship, and why it was there. She wondered if it had anything to do with her parents' death, or her adoptive parents' hatred of the stars.

She decided to try to communicate with it.

She grabbed a flashlight from her pocket, and she turned it on and off in a pattern that matched the spaceship's lights. She hoped that it would understand her message, and that it would respond.

To her surprise and delight, it did.

The spaceship flashed its lights back at her in the same pattern. It seemed to acknowledge her presence, and to invite her into a conversation.

Lila felt a connection with the spaceship that she had never felt with anyone before. She felt like it was trying to tell her something important, something that could change her life.

She continued to exchange signals with the spaceship for several minutes, until she heard a loud noise behind her.

She turned around and saw her adoptive parents standing there, looking furious.

They had heard her sneak out of the room, and they had followed her to the backyard. They saw what she was doing with the telescope and the flashlight, and they were enraged.

They grabbed Lila by the arms and dragged her back into the house. They threw her into her room and locked the door behind them.

They yelled at her for disobeying them, for wasting time on stupid things like stars and spaceships, for being an ungrateful brat who didn't appreciate their kindness.

They told her that they knew what she was really up to: she was trying to find out why her parents died, but they wouldn't let her.

They told her that they were the ones who killed them.

They told her that they were part of a secret cult that worshipped an ancient evil god who hated the stars and everything they represented: light, life, knowledge, freedom.

They told her that they had been ordered by their god to sacrifice Lila's parents as an offering to him, because they were scientists who worked for NASA and who were planning to reveal some secrets about the universe that would threaten his power.

They told her that they had been ordered by their god to adopt Lila and to raise her as their own, but not to love her or to teach her anything. They were supposed to keep her ignorant and miserable, until the day when they would sacrifice her too.

They told her that they had been waiting for a sign from their god to tell them when to do it, and that they had finally received it.

They told her that the spaceship that she had seen was not a spaceship, but a portal to their god's realm.

They told her that their god had sent it to them as a gift, and that they were going to use it to bring him into this world.

They told her that they were going to take her to the portal, and that they were going to throw her into it, and that she was going to die.

They told her that they were going to do it tonight.

Lila was shocked and terrified by what she heard. She couldn't believe that her adoptive parents were murderers and cultists, and that they had killed her real parents and planned to kill her too. She couldn't believe that the spaceship was a portal to an evil god's realm, and that he wanted to destroy the stars and everything she loved. She couldn't believe that she was going to die.

She felt helpless and hopeless. She didn't know what to do or how to escape. She cried and screamed, but no one heard her or came to help her.

She wished she could talk to the spaceship again. She wished it could save her.

She looked out of the window, and she saw that the spaceship was still there, shining brightly in the sky.

She felt a spark of hope.

She remembered that she had a connection with the spaceship, and that it had responded to her signals.

She wondered if it could help her in some way.

She decided to try.

She grabbed a mirror from her dresser, and she used it to reflect the moonlight into the sky. She aimed it at the spaceship, and she flashed it on and off in a pattern that spelled out "SOS" in Morse code.

She hoped that the spaceship would see it, and that it would understand it, and that it would do something.

To her surprise and relief, it did.

The spaceship flashed its lights back at her in the same pattern. It seemed to acknowledge her distress call, and to offer its assistance.

It did something else too.

It sent a beam of light down from its dome, and it hit Lila's locket.

The locket opened up, and it revealed something that Lila had never seen before.

It was a small metal disc with strange symbols on it. It looked like a key.

Lila felt a shock run through her body. She felt something awaken inside her. Something powerful. Something magical.

She realized that the locket was not just a locket, but a device that contained a part of her parents' legacy. A part of their secrets. A part of their magic.

She realized that the key was not just a key, but a tool that could activate the locket's functions. Functions that could help her escape. Functions that could help her fight back.

She realized that the spaceship was not just a spaceship, but a friend. A friend who knew who she was. A friend who knew what she could do. A friend who wanted to help her.

She realized that she was not just an orphan, but a star child. A child of the stars. A child of magic.

She realized that she had a chance.

She took the key out of the locket, and she held it in her hand. She felt its warmth and its power. She felt its connection with the spaceship.

She heard a voice in her head. A voice that sounded like the spaceship's lights. A voice that spoke in a language that she didn't know, but somehow understood.

It said:

"Hello, Lila. I am Orion."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***