Chapter 3:True Self – Part 2
1213 Words
True Self – Part 2
Rhoda’s POV
“Oh my God… what happened here?”
Jenny’s voice broke the heavy silence the moment she stepped into the house. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the destroyed living room.
Rudolph and Johnny followed closely behind her, both freezing at the sight.
Their expressions mirrored hers—confusion, disbelief, and something else… something uneasy.
“Thank goodness you’re all here,” Mom said, her voice tight with worry. Her eyes scanned each of them carefully. “Nothing happened on your way home, right?”
“Nope. Nothing,” they all answered at the same time.
The tension in the room didn’t ease.
If anything, it grew heavier.
I crossed my arms, my patience already running thin.
“Okay, Mom,” I said firmly. “We’re all here now. Start explaining. Because I’m really not in the mood for secrets anymore.”
She hesitated.
For a moment, she just stood there, looking at all of us like she didn’t know where to begin.
Then she sighed.
“I guess… there’s no point hiding it anymore.”
She gestured for us to sit.
We all took our seats, though none of us were comfortable. The air felt thick, suffocating, like the walls themselves were listening.
Mom remained standing for a second before finally speaking.
“Kids… I’m sorry I hid this from you,” she began, her voice softer now. “I didn’t want you to find out like this. You weren’t ready.”
My chest tightened slightly.
Ready for what?
She took a deep breath.
“I don’t even know where to start…” she murmured, then looked up at us.
Her eyes locked with mine.
“I’m a witch.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
For a moment, I thought I had heard her wrong.
I turned to look at Jenny.
Her face mirrored mine—shock, confusion, disbelief.
Then—
Rudolph and Johnny burst into laughter.
“Good one, Mom,” Johnny said, shaking his head. “You almost had me.”
But Mom didn’t laugh.
She didn’t even smile.
Her expression remained serious.
Dead serious.
Slowly… their laughter faded.
The realization hit them just as hard as it had hit me.
She wasn’t joking.
Not even a little.
Johnny’s smile disappeared.
“Wait… I thought witches were just myths,” he said, his voice now uncertain. “You’re the one who always told us that.”
Mom looked down, guilt flashing across her face.
“I lied,” she admitted quietly. “And I’m sorry. Please… forgive me.”
Her eyes were already glistening with tears.
Jenny shook her head slowly, trying to process everything.
“Wait… if you’re not human…” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Then what does that make us?”
Mom hesitated.
For the first time since we had known her, she looked unsure.
Like she was afraid of what her own answer might do to us.
“I had to lie,” she said again, her voice almost breaking. “It was the only way to protect you.”
“Protect us from what?” I asked sharply.
She exhaled slowly.
“From your powers.”
That word hit differently.
Powers.
I stood up without realizing it, running my hand through my hair in frustration.
“Okay, I’m not understanding anything right now,” I said, pacing slightly. “Are you seriously saying we have powers? And you just… locked them away like it’s nothing?”
“Rhoda,” Rudolph groaned, rubbing his forehead. “Can you sit down? Your pacing is giving me a headache.”
I shot him a glare but sat down anyway.
Mom nodded slowly.
“Yes… powers can be locked,” she explained. “But only under certain conditions.”
We all leaned in slightly, listening.
“For children who are not born in the supernatural realm,” she continued, “their powers can be sealed… especially if they grow up without believing in magic.”
Jenny frowned.
“So… all those times you told us magic wasn’t real…”
Mom nodded.
“It was intentional. If you don’t believe in magic… you won’t practice it. And if you don’t practice it, your powers stay dormant.”
Her words sank in slowly.
“So basically,” Johnny said, “you lied to us our whole lives just to keep our powers locked?”
Mom winced slightly.
“Yes.”
Jenny looked down at her hands.
“So… what are we?”
Mom’s gaze softened.
“You’re half human… and half witch.”
Silence filled the room again.
This time, it felt heavier.
Deeper.
Like something inside us had just shifted.
“It’s no wonder…” I murmured quietly. “Every time we asked you about supernatural things, you shut it down immediately.”
Rudolph let out a bitter laugh.
“And we believed you,” he added. “Because we trusted you.”
His voice hardened.
“We thought you’d never lie to us.”
Mom’s tears finally slipped down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry…”
“But you did lie,” Rudolph snapped, standing up suddenly. His eyes burned with anger. “You took away our right to know who we are.”
The room went still.
“You took away our choice,” he continued, his voice rising. “Why? Why would you do that, Mom?”
I could feel the tension rising again.
No one interrupted him.
Because we all felt it.
The betrayal.
The confusion.
The anger.
“I had my reasons,” Mom said, her voice shaking. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect us from what?” Rudolph shouted. “You keep saying that like it explains everything!”
“Hey,” Johnny stepped in quickly, placing a hand on Rudolph’s shoulder. “Calm down. Let her talk.”
Rudolph clenched his jaw but didn’t pull away.
Mom wiped her tears, trying to steady herself.
“You think I wanted to lie to you?” she said softly. “You think that was easy for me?”
No one answered.
“Everything I did… I did because I had no choice.”
Her voice dropped.
“There are things out there you don’t understand yet. Dangerous things.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Dangerous?
My mind immediately flashed back to the man from earlier.
The way he had looked at me.
The way he had smiled.
“What about the man?” I asked suddenly. “The one you were fighting.”
Mom froze.
Her expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
“You saw him,” she whispered.
“Yes,” I replied. “And he didn’t just disappear for fun. So start talking.”
Mom looked at all of us, like she was finally realizing there was no going back.
“That man…” she said slowly, “is part of the reason I hid the truth from you.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“And if he’s back…”
She paused.
Her hands clenched slightly.
“Then it means…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
But somehow—
We all understood.
Something was coming.
And whatever it was…
It was big.
- Writer
