Zyla: The Last Chapter

=ZYLA=               I love my family, at least I know that I feel bad whenever something bad happens to them and I also don’t like seeing them worry, it makes me very uncomfortable. If that is not what you call love then I really don’t know what is. In my opinion, no one really knows what love really feels like. Scientifically, those feelings and emotions are caused by hormones and chemicals produced by the body. However, there are also times when science could not explain emotions and feelings but right now, I do know that I am sad for my sick niece and most of all, I am frustrated that I could not find any solution or rather the cure for her “strange” disease.               My niece, Day (weird name), is probably not what you call sick but rather just have an accelerated growth. We call it an illness because there is really no other term for her condition and also because illness causes death. Her accelerated growth would cause her to grow old quicker and then death. However, what makes everything very complicated at the moment is the fact that my niece is a hybrid, half vampire and half werewolf. My sister, Zoya, is a werewolf while her mate, whose name I forgot, is a vampire. Maybe there really is a reason as to why werewolves and vampires are not really on good terms, our genes just don’t really match. However, maybe this is just a sign from the moon gods that it’s time for peace or something like that. Yes, I am a scientist and yes, I do believe in the moon gods because how could I not when me and my siblings have a grandmother who is a moon goddess. I haven’t had a chance to meet the one they called grandma Moona but there really is no reason for me not to believe my family. Eventually, grandma Moona already broke too many rules when she started helping my family way before I was born and that is why she’s not showing up. Another one is that we have another grandmother who is a witch, grandma Saff or aunt Saff, as she prefers.               I sighed when I saw the result of my 3 days experiment, no reaction to Day’s blood. I sniffed the air and smelled a bit of heat from the sun and sat there for a while before deciding to go home for a nap. I cleaned up the lab and went out. Instead of a house, I had a secret laboratory built in one of the plots my family own, the one that is located deep inside the forest but still a short walk from my parent’s house.  I plan on building my own house on top of the lab but I don’t really see the point of a house when my parent’s house and also my sister’s house are nearby. I mean I have my own room in my parent’s house and there are also extra rooms in my sister’s house but of course, I will not intrude in my sister’s life especially when she and her mate are together. I may not fully understand what romance is but I am not that naïve and clueless of what I should or should not do around people like this, every member of my family have already met their mates, this is why it is a useful knowledge to have around. Also, I could not build a house because I am rarely in one place. My research and interests always take me to different places that I am rarely home and maybe this is the longest time I had been home, since my niece was born.               I exited the forest and passed by my sister’s house. I slowed down to check and heard my niece and her vampire father reading a book somewhere in the house while my sister seems to be humming somewhere else in the house but her humming stopped and I heard her.   “Zyla?” I heard my sister through my super hearing, an amplified “superpower” of werewolves and vampires alike.   “Just passing by.” I answered as I continued walking. I heard the humming return a moment later.               A few blocks later, I arrived at my parent’s house. The house is technically home but we, me and my siblings, stopped calling it that when all of us left for our own jobs and life. My father, Alex Harper, was the previous alpha of our werewolf pack while my mother, Tamara Harper, is a doctor and the owner of the only hospital in town. Technically, these are the reasons why my parents remained in this town even though they are already free of the responsibilities of being leaders of the pack but still, times have also changed for the werewolf world. My father is still an acting leader of the pack because my brother, Zane Harper, along with his mate, Abigail, is focusing on the family business empire in another city where the main headquarter is located. Meanwhile, Zoya, my sister and Zane’s twin, also left home to start her own fashion business and it was only recently when she got pregnant that she came back home to settle here. The other additions to our growing family are my niece and my sister’s mate.   “Zyla Harper! What time and day do you think it is?!” This would be my mother.               I opened the door and as expected, my mother came into view immediately. I don’t think she’s really mad though and it seems like she’s the only one home, I don’t sense my father anywhere in the house.   “How long has it been since you burrowed yourself in that lab of yours? 2 days? 3 days?” My mother continued and I stood in front of her obediently.   “3 days and 13 hours.” I answered and my mother scowled before she sighed.   “Maybe I should just bury that lab of yours.” She muttered under her breathe as she turned around to go back to the kitchen. “Eat before you do anything else, I’ll heat up the leftover foods from dinner.”               I followed her to the kitchen and saw the clock on the way.   “I can do it.” I said and motioned to the clock when my mother looked at me. It’s time for her to go to work.               Everyone’s life have seemed to have stopped since Day fell into comma but it seems like everything is going back to a part of the normal life that we used to have when Day woke up. My parents have started to do their usual routine and Zane and Abigail have stopped dropping by more often.   “All right, fine. Get some rest.” My mother said as she came closer to give me a small squeeze.               A moment later, I was alone in the house but as much as I love food, I want to rest my brain and the only time I could actually do that is by sleeping. I went upstairs to my room and saw that it was recently cleaned. My mother had developed this habit of cleaning around the house when she’s worried but it didn’t need any sort of thinking to know that she’s still worried about Day. Well, everyone is worried. I changed my clothes, a sweater and leggings, for an oversized shirt before going straight under the cover of my very soft bed. I remember that it took me a while to find this perfect softness and I am very satisfied with it because I won’t deny or hide the fact that I am a lazy person who values comfort. However, this laziness came from the fact that I am too immersed on my work that sleep is forgotten but when I’m not working, I enjoy lazing around which means food and sleep.               Sleep came a few minutes after my head touched the soft pillow but it felt like only a moment when I opened my eyes again. Light is peeping inside the gap of the curtains but I know that it’s not the same day. It’s already morning the next day. I stayed in bed for a while before getting up and going to the bathroom. After dressing up, I started packing my usual stuff in my backpack before going down to eat something. My father was already in the kitchen when I arrived there. I greeted him politely before going straight on fixing my chocolate milk. My father and I have a quiet relationship but between my parents, my father is the one who spoiled me the most when I was a mere child. The reason for this is because he was not present when my elder twin siblings were born. My parents had not been together since the beginning and they had been telling their story to us as a “lesson” as to when we meet our own mates. I don’t, or maybe the word is can’t, read emotions like normal people do but relating to my parent’s story, I think my sister Zoya feels like she repeated our parent’s history.               I sat down one seat apart from where my father is sitting and stared at the shiny table as I started planning the day by mentally checking the things I packed in my backpack earlier but my concentration broke when my father started making that loud slurping noise while drinking his coffee, an indication that it’s too quiet but we heard my mother approaching so I guess my father cannot attempt a conversation this time.   “Is that boy still at Zoya’s house?” My father asked and the “boy” would be my sister’s vampire mate. I remember his name is Josh, I was too distracted to remember his name yesterday. The question was directed to my mother who just entered the kitchen.   “It seems so.” My mother answered with a yawn but she became fully awake when my father intentionally made a sound when his cup hit the table. “Just leave them alone. He is Day's father and Zoya's mate, he is not a danger to your daughter and granddaughter."               This was an indication for me to drink faster. I drank the remaining liquid in one gulp and got up. Even though earphones cannot really drown my parent’s voices because of our super ears, I still put them on to at least listen to something else. My parents are not really fighting, it’s one of what my sister calls “sweet quarrels”. It’s just that, it does not interest me and I also know that my mother will win by guilt-tripping my father about the past. Although my father or dad always have mom have her way, mom’s most powerful weapon is their past. I shook away the unnecessary thoughts and went upstairs to get my bag. My parents were still bickering when I came back down with my bag.   “I’m going away.” I quietly said but it was enough to stop the bickering in the kitchen.   Mom appeared a second later and her eyes travelled to the bag on my back.   “Where are you going? I thought you were staying for a bit longer?” Mom asked.   “I’m going back to the big lab, there’s a new research for me.”   “Well, all right. Come back soon.” Mom said as she walked closer to give me a kiss on the head.               Then before dad could come out, I ran away. It’s not that I hate being touched by my parents, they are just overly “sweet” and I am not really a child anymore. One more thing is that dad gives the most suffocating hug, not that it really suffocates me…just a bit tight.