A metal hummingbird flapped its wings. Adonis looked at her dresser; the bird tweeted as it hovered above its wooden perch for a few seconds then settled on it in silence. Adonis smiled. She had been summoned, and other than her, only two people had remote controls for her bird. Both of them, she really liked. She ran out of her room and down the stairs. She ran across the black wooden floor of the semi-circular front entrance and left the house through the front door.
Her friend, Jonas, waited outside. Like her, he wore his black hair long and unrestrained. He smiled at her. Her grin faltered. She wanted to tell him the truth— that she was a girl. They had been friends for two years now, and this was the year she had planned to come clean, but she couldn't.
She had promised her mother she would become a boy, so she was going to try her best to live as a boy from now on.
If only women had more freedom.
If only men didn't see women as something beneath them.
She was young, but she could see that most men thought of women as something to be controlled rather than appreciated. Before her father left, he would hit her mother for not doing things exactly the way he wanted.
Her mother would always hold her chin up and accept the criticism like it was wholeheartedly her fault. Adonis knew a good friendship couldn't be built on lies, but she didn't have the freedom to do otherwise.
She and Jonas sat together in the tire swing dangling from the fat branch of a maple tree. Jonas talked about a guy he had seen on Relar who had slashed someone's neck, and blood had squirted everywhere. He grinned as he retold the story, and they gazed at the old, gothic manor which was hemmed in by tall western hemlock, spruce trees. Today's breeze carried a gentle warmth.
"I hate blood," Adonis said. It made her nauseous.
"I know. But it's really cool. Relar is the only reality show that allows you to fight someone to death. It's a legal duel like the ones they had back in the 1800s. I like it." Jonas reached into the pocket of his jacket and took out a clear bag with two chocolate chip cookies. A red ribbon tied the neck of the bag.
"You want to kill someone some day?" Adonis asked.
Jonas frowned. "Well, not in cold blood. But if someone tried to kill my friend or me, then I'll kill them first."
Adonis took the cookies from him and removed the ribbon. She smiled and said, "I love your mother to hell and back."
"One of those is for me."
Adonis handed him a quarter of one, and he frowned but didn't complain while she had the rest. Jonas' mother made the best cookies; the chocolate chips melted on her tongue. It sucked all the sadness out of her bones. If heaven had a flavour, it would be this sweet.
Jonas said, "By the way, your father invited us to his new house for a ball. Are you not living together anymore?"
Adonis' father had always left home for long periods of time, so she didn't know if they had every truly lived together. They had their good times when they had played and had fun. But after seeing her in a dress, her father hadn't called or visited to see if she was alive. A month had passed since then. She said, "I don't want him if he doesn't want me." She rested her head on Jonas' shoulder.
"He loves you."
"You think he does; I don't. He's a rude man and I hate him."
They didn't talk much after that and focused on watching the sunset. A single mention of Adonis' father ruined her mood for the entire day. Jonas knew her well enough to leave her head on his shoulder and stay quiet. But he also realized that she was sad and held her hand to comfort her.
***
Gus' ball was a grand affair. A valet took Adonis' mother's car key and hurried to park the car. People marched up the wide concrete steps in their best suits and dresses; the night sky looming over their heads with an endless stream of twinkling stars. Women clung to their husbands' arms as they walked. Bored-faced children trailed behind their parents.
Her father had upgraded from the old mansion she lived with her mother.
This new house was white with tall pillars and elegant arches. A pair of butlers held the front door open, and the guards waiting by the inner walls took turns escorting the arriving guest across the marble floor into the ballroom.
Inside the ballroom, they saw long wooden tables covered with white cloth. The amber lights coming from the overhead chandeliers reflected off the glass dining ware and silver utensils. Roses sat in tall vases, and ivy ran along the centres of the tablecloths.
Adonis' mother went to talk to friends and acquaintances. None of Adonis' friends had showed up yet. She was about to go over to a corner of the room when she saw the grand piano off to one side of the dancefloor. Its ivory and ebony keys, and its polished black body called her. She pushed her way through the clumps of adults and children and sat on the bench.
It was second nature to her.
She put her fingers on the keys, and soon started playing some of Chopin's more advanced pieces. At nine years old, she was a musical prodigy. She played advanced pieces better than most adults. Her fingers raced over the keys; she told herself, 'Quiet'. Her fingers barely pressed the keys, and the music was faint like the soft tapping of rain on the window. 'Loud.' The sound strengthened; the rain was no longer gentle. It was battering the windows, wanting you to hear it. To see it. The song carried the haunting wail of the wind in his ghastly melody.
Her brows furrowed in concentration. She didn't notice that she had gathered a small crowd. The man who was hired to play stood nearby, waiting for her to finish.
She ended on a sweet note like the aftermath of a lover's kiss. Not that she knew what that felt like. She had kissed Jonas once on accident when she had run into him full force, and their lips had accidentally touched. It didn't feel nice at all. A matter of fact, it had hurt a lot. But the older kids at school were always bragging about how good a proper kiss felt. She played her final chord, then her hands fell to her sides. There was a loud applause around her. Someone asked, "Who's child is that?"
"Gus'."
"I heard the kid was a dunce," a man whispered, but Adonis sitting close by overheard.
"Seems pretty smart to me."
Her cheeks flushed. She wasn't sure when all these people had snuck upon her. She stood and made a hasty bow before hurrying off the scene. As she passed, the piano player chuckled and said, "I don't know how I can compare to something as wonderful as that, but I'll try." He took his seat and filled the ballroom with harmonious music as he played a smooth waltz.
Adonis found a secluded corner in the back of the room and sat, not caring if she dirtied her white tuxedo. She waited for Jonas to show up, but he never did. A hush went through the crowd as her father walked down the aisle that divided the sets of tables in half. Augustus Sarris carried a pretty, young blonde woman on his arm. She wore a blue dress that showed off her perky breasts. Its train trailed on the ground behind her. Her skin was as white as snow. Her cheeks had a rosy colour. A small boy close to Adonis' age held her hand.
He had pale blonde hair and skin that was as fair as his mother's, but he was ugly with bug eyes and a protruding lip. Her father stood in the centre of the room and said, "As you all know, I've recently divorced my ex-wife due to some problems we had in our marriage. We are still on friendly terms as you have all seen by her showing up tonight. I love her as much as I would love any good friend, but we have no romantic interest in each other. I have remarried, and I have invited you all, dear friends, to meet my new wife, Karina, and my son, Achilles." The wife smiled and waved at the people like a princess from a movie. Something felt wrong about this, but Adonis wasn't sure what she thought was wrong.
'Divorce'. 'Remarried'. These were terms Adonis had never thought about. She didn't fully grasp what they meant. Her idea of marriage was a man and a woman standing at an altar. At the same time, a priest talked about something uninteresting for what seemed like forever. They kissed, put on each other's rings and the audience cheered.
Her father did that with a woman that wasn't her mother because he no longer liked her mother? Was it because of her? People congratulated him on his new family while Adonis sat, forgotten, in a corner.
Adonis' mother strutted across the room and pulled her daughter to her feet; she didn't lecture Adonis about sitting on the floor. She dragged her out of the room. Whispers followed them to the door.
"What a slap in the face."
"She must be so humiliated."
"What about the other son?"
Over her shoulder, Adonis saw her father wrap his arm around his new wife's narrow waist. Then, a butler closed the ballroom door to a silver of light before the party was completely out of sight. Adonis' mother gripped her hand so tight it hurt, but she could feel the anger radiating off her mother, so to avoid getting hit, she held her tongue and didn't complain.
***