In a large house in the suburbs of Neonara, Aelyra is getting ready for school, though still with the same questions from the night before lingering in her mind, along with doubts and a budding fear in her heart. Yet, with a childlike confidence to face them, she finishes dressing in her school uniform.
As she walks down the stairs, she can hear the news channel.
"Around 4 a.m., a conflict between individuals was reported in the southern area of Neonara, resulting in a total of 3 dead and 7 injured, including a family of 5 who lived in the area. Tragically, the mother and one of the children died after being struck by a car that was thrown during the altercation..."
When I entered the kitchen, I saw mom and Agatha, the assistant and part butler, with her usual business suit, navy blue hair and eyes, and her serious expression.
"Good morning, mom! Good morning, Agatha!"
"Good morning, dear," mom replied with a slight smile.
"Good morning, Miss," Agatha responded without changing her expression.
"What would you like for breakfast today?" the stoic woman asked me.
"Cereal!"
"How do you ask, dear?" Mom said.
"Oh, right... Please?"
"With pleasure, Miss."
I sat at the table, and Agatha served me the cereal.
"Are you ready for another day, dear?" Mom asked.
"Yes!" I replied happily.
"Excellent. And by the way, how's Selphira?"
"Oh, not very well, actually. She still hasn't gotten used to her gene, so she's a bit clumsy, and several kids are teasing her. Some even tried to feed the snakes on her head, and that really upset her," I responded, feeling sad for my friend.
Selphira awakened her gene a week ago. Her gene is called "Medusa," and, well, it turns her into a Medusa, with a snake tail instead of legs, scales on her shoulders, eyes like a yellow cat's, and snakes instead of hair. She absolutely hates her gene, and on top of that, people have been teasing her about it.
"Pobre niña, it's always difficult for people with mutation-type genes to adapt at first, and for some, it's hard for their entire life," Mom said, her voice trailing off at the end, so I couldn't quite hear her.
"Are you going to be able to pick me up from school today?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, dear. Mommy has a lot of work today, so Agatha will pick you up."
"Okay..." I said, feeling a bit disappointed. Usually, Agatha is the one who picks me up from school, and only when Mom finishes work early does she come to get me.
Maybe because she noticed how down I felt, Mom added, "But I'll ask Selphira's mom if it's okay for her to come over to the house today."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"YES!" I shouted, jumping out of my chair to run and hug her. "Thank you!" I said.
"You're welcome, dear. Now sit down and finish your breakfast, or you'll be late for school," she said, gently patting my head.
...
Narrator POV
"Have fun, dear."
"Pay attention, Miss."
"Yes, goodbye, Mom! Goodbye, Agatha!"
Car door closes.
After dropping Aelyra off at school, Agatha began driving toward the photo studio. At first, neither of them spoke until Agatha broke the silence.
"You know... sometimes I'm surprised you were able to give birth to such a sweet girl."
"Sometimes I think the same," Zerith replied with a small smile as she gazed out the window.
"I'm also surprised you asked me to follow you when you said you were leaving," said the model.
"I owe you too much to leave you just like that. Besides... I was curious about what had made you so happy," said the driver with a smile, an unusual expression on her face. "And imagine my surprise when I found out it was because you were pregnant."
"Your face when I told you—priceless," Zerith said, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
Laughter "I can imagine," Agatha replied, though a hint of annoyance tinged her voice.
Both women fell silent for a few moments. Agatha seemed to be searching for the right words, or perhaps gathering the courage to broach the delicate topic weighing on her mind.
"So... have you thought about whether they'll ever meet?" Agatha finally asked.
As soon as the words left her mouth, the temperature in the car seemed to drop several degrees. Agatha could feel cold sweat forming on her back. She wanted to glance in the rearview mirror, but her instinct for self-preservation screamed at her not to.
"No," came the curt response from Zerith.
But with doubt and fear creeping into her, Agatha couldn't help but press further. "At some point, she's going to find out. And when she does, she'll be furious."
"Agatha... what are the two things I value most?"
Though hesitant, Agatha knew she had to answer. "First, your freedom, and second, your word, ma'am."
"Wrong, Agatha. First, my daughter. Second, freedom."
"!..."
"I know they'll meet eventually... but when that happens, I don't know if Aelyra will still be able to keep her freedom. So I prefer to delay that meeting as long as possible... though even I'm not sure for how long."
Silence settled once again until, for the third time, Agatha spoke.
"You know, ma'am, you've changed more than you think since having her. And I believe it's been for the better."
"Do you?" Zerith asked, a small smile on her lips.
...
I walked into the classroom; it was still early, so many students hadn't arrived yet. Among those who were there was Selphira, looking visibly down.
"Hi, Selphira."
"Oh, h-hi Aelyra," she said, lifting her head slightly as she responded but not fully. I sat beside her and tried to start a conversation.
"Have you gotten used to your tail yet?" I asked, unsure of how else to begin.
"A little, I can now do the equivalent of running for a snake, but the real problem is the ones on my head," Selphira said with a clear tone of frustration, swatting one of the snakes that had slithered in front of her eyes.
[Remember, Aelyra is only 6 years old.]
"And what about your brother?"
"Lyon... Lyon stopped crying when he sees me yesterday, but now he hides behind Mom and Dad. He doesn't talk to me anymore."
I couldn't help but notice the snakes on her head becoming restless. Something I've learned is that her snakes reflect her emotions. Restless meant she was upset. I decided to try to cheer her up.
"But look at the bright side! Having snakes on your head is like having pets with you all the time!" I said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
In that moment, I saw her body tense. She looked at me, her eyes filled with complete rage. The snakes fell silent and stared at me, poised as if ready to strike, and then... she exploded.
"NO!" she screamed at me, her voice full of anger. "It's awful having snakes in my head! They never stop making noise, they wake me up at night, and people either stare at me or avoid me!" She yelled right in my face as her snakes started acting wildly—some hissed at me, others fought each other, drawing blood, and some of them just looked... sad.
"I-I don't want to be ugly. I don't want my little brother to be scared of me," she sobbed, collapsing into tears.
The other kids began whispering among themselves, and the teacher rushed over to comfort Selphira. He managed to help her up and said he was taking her to the nurse's office. And me... I just sat there, frozen, not knowing what to do.
...
A few minutes later, more kids arrived, and the teacher came back. The ones who had been there earlier told the others what had happened, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd done... I made Selphira cry, and that hurt me.
But what did I do wrong? Was it talking about her Gen? About her brother? About the snakes in her hair? What?
I spent the entire class thinking about this until the bell for recess snapped me out of my thoughts. The teacher must have noticed I wasn't paying attention, but after what happened, I guess he didn't mind.
I left the classroom and sat on a bench alone, I didn't even take out my lunch. I wasn't hungry and I kept thinking about what I did wrong, and I would've kept doing so if someone hadn't spoken to me.
"Hey Aelyra, I know you're scared, but don't worry, that thing won't hurt you."
I lifted my head, and it was Arnold, a kid from a grade above us with a gene that enhances muscles and is known throughout the school for always bullying others with his gang of four.
"Hurt me?"
"Yeah, you know, when the snake girl wanted to attack you, but your teacher stopped her."
"Are you talking about Selphira?" I frowned at the way he referred to her.
"Oh yeah, that's her name. But as I was saying, you should stop hanging out with that freak, or else she might bite you, hahaha."
He and his friends started laughing, and that upset me, so I stood up and said, "She's not a freak, she's my friend!"
"No, she's a monster, plain and simple. With any luck, one of these days a hero will see her and kill her, so we can all be better off, right?" He said this last part to his friends, who also nodded while laughing. That's the last thing I remember before my wings came out, tearing through my uniform, and I jumped to punch Arnold.
[This is the first time I've written something so emotional like this, tell me what you think]