Alana Stilinsk had never found her life particularly interesting. At sixteen, living with her mother in Valedourado — a small town surrounded by mountains and silence — her days dragged on in a tiring repetition. School was a boring routine, classmates were rarely kind, and bullying was as much a part of her daily life as the cold wind on autumn mornings.
"Has anyone checked if Alana has spoken to a human being today?" Luiza mocked as she walked past her in the hallway, laughing with two friends.
Alana pretended not to hear. She was used to it. In part, it was as if she had become invisible. In part... she preferred it that way.
"Hey, Alana..." murmured a boy in a dark hoodie behind her. It was Henrique, who sometimes seemed to try to be nice. "You okay?"
She just nodded, saying nothing. No one really wanted to hear the answer.
Meanwhile...
Marisa Stilinsk looked at the clock for the third time that evening. The pasta was already cold, and the television kept the empty living room company.
"That girl lives in a world of her own," she said softly, scrolling through her phone. "If only she would tell me what's going on..."
Ever since Alana's father had left, Marisa had been trying to balance work, bills, and a daughter who was growing more distant by the day. And no matter how hard she tried, she always seemed to be on the wrong side of the conversation.
Back at the park...
That night, something broke the monotony.
Alana walked among the fog-wrapped trees, her steps muffled by a carpet of dry leaves. It was her favorite time of day — there, among the twisted branches, she could breathe.
That's when she saw the glow.
Lying among the bushes was a necklace with a deep purple stone, almost hypnotic.
"What are you...?" she whispered, kneeling down.
She picked up the necklace carefully. The stone seemed to pulse gently, as if it were breathing. Fascinated, she put it around her neck — and felt a slight warmth where the jewel touched her skin.
When she got home, the tension was immediate.
"You disappeared again!" Marisa shouted from the kitchen. "I stay here worrying, and you don't even bother to let me know!"
"I just went for a walk! I needed some time!" Alana shot back, throwing her backpack on the floor.
"You never talk to me, Alana! You're always locked away in this world... this silence!"
"Because you never listen!" her voice cracked with anger. "You don't even try to understand me!"
The words turned into shouting, doors slammed hard. Alana ran to her room, wishing she could disappear. Only then, when she looked in the mirror, did she see: the necklace was glowing.
A faint but steady light — as if it were responding to her anger.
"What are you...?" she whispered, eyes wide.
She spent the night digging through obscure websites.
"Spiritual stones that channel emotions..." "Ancient talismans used by witches to amplify inner power..." she murmured, scrolling through the screen. "This sounds insane... but..."
In the following days...
Strange things began to happen.
At school, the tension escalated. A group whispered whenever she walked by. Luiza, as usual, led the teasing.
"Do you think she glows in the dark now too?"
Henrique, once again, tried to step in.
"That's enough, Luiza."
"Relax, superhero," she mocked. "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking."
In biology class, after being quietly called a "freak," Alana felt a sudden heat rising inside her.
She looked at the girl, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop. Her vision flickered, and she was sure her eyes... had glowed.
"Just breathe, Alana," she murmured to herself, trying to stay calm.
That night, Marisa quietly entered her daughter's room. She saw the computer screen still lit, the necklace resting on the nightstand. Her daughter was asleep, exhausted, curled up.
She sighed.
"I just wish I knew how to reach you again..."
Alana didn't know it yet, but her ordinary life had ended that night in the park. And a new story — filled with magic, secrets, and danger — was only just beginning.