Night Child

Esta does not give much thought to taking the young owlet home.

She can raise it; of that she is sure. The people of her village, on the other hand, find that this confirms what they always thought.

The strange girl who seems able to understand what others are thinking and feeling can also tame the wild.

The daughter of the local midwife and healer, Esta is seen as something special and perhaps other.

It is concluded that she must be a creature of the night, shrouded in whispers of superstition, witchcraft, and magic.

Rumors swell to the point of peril, and for Esta, to the point of pain.

Tragedy befalls her village with the arrival of outsiders who search for "the seer," but no one knows to what end.

Yes, Esta has been gifted with abilities she has tried hiding from others.

Now that her secret is out, she is determined to follow her own fate, on her own terms, deriving power from compassion and insight rather than physical strength alone.