Looking for Heaven

In which we find someone

It has been two weeks since we had to run away, we still haven’t gone too far, but at least we passed the state line without problems. Josh and I are a little dirty from sleeping on some tree branches last morning, our food reserves are on the low and the other egg we got is getting a strange blue color on its extremities since last night but I haven’t got a chance to look on the books from that house to see what it is. I hope it’s nothing serious.

As we go on our night journey we look for possible houses to stay the night, even if we walk less tonight I need to discover what is going on with the little guy.

We are walking for maybe 3 or 4 hours when we see a possible house, it looks abandoned and the porch door is open ajar. I put the bags down, crouch in front of Josh and ask him to stay on the tree lines with the shells. There may be someone in the house and I can’t let a stranger find them but it’s too good an option not to go and see it.

As I prepare myself to go I look behind one more time and see Josh on the ground with the shells bag on his lap, each hand in one shell, talking to them as if they already are born. I smile as I turn my face back to the house and go ahead.

The walk is short and in less than 5 minutes I’m on the doorsteps, I enter and all I see are shadows, passing my hand on the kitchen table I can’t find the dust that should be there if it was abandoned. As I start to walk away I can hear steps on the dark hall getting closer, that leads me to wait for the worst to happen, I continue to go outside hoping against hope that they won’t see me while some part of my head can already see Josh staying alone all night long in the bushes waiting for me.

As I put my feet on the doorsteps, someone, at the inside of the house calls out a “Hey!”. It’s a female voice, somewhat younger than I was expecting. As I hear the gun being prepared all I can do is stop and look to the position where Josh should be and be grateful that he is no visible from here.

As I’m staying there waiting for them to do whatever it is they will, the same steps start again, louder and louder as the female approaches me from behind until the barrel of her gun is against my back.

-Who are you? — she asks while pressing the barrel more tightly against me.

-N-nobody. —All I’m thinking right now is that I have failed with my parents, with the shells, and with Josh.

Josh, my brave little brother who will have to somehow continue without me.

-Wanted to see the girl created by the freaks, huh? —she asks mockingly and I'm left without speech as my insides battles without comprehension of what is going on.

-what? —I answer as the best I can muster at the moment, brain freezing.

-Oh, come on, you won’t be the first to come here see the helpless little girl who was raised by the non-humans. —she says matter-of-facts.

-well… won’t you turn to get your little show?

I couldn’t turn, if I turned, the way my emotions were getting the best of me, I would show her my non-human eyes.

A fact I may have forgotten to mention is that once we gain our first shell our eyes and claws will, in times of need, became as when we are first hatched, the non-human eyes can see better, especially in the night, and the claws can protect our hatchlings better than human hands. As time passes we get a better hold of it and can prevent it from happening. I for once, have never seen my parents' eyes or claws change. But, since it’s been just me and Josh these past weeks I haven’t even tried to grasp in this self-control thing, what, as you can all see, is something I’m regretting pretty much right now.

The girl decided for me, with the barrel always against my side, she came to my face and then I could see her for the first time, and she could see me. But for a moment I didn’t care, she was beautiful and a part of me sang that she was the one, even if she was a human female. As I'm left frozen in the place with the information I just received, she is not in such a state and can show her true colors at any time, shooting me or who knows what.

But looks like today is the day to let Antuan surprised because what she does is better than I could expect in a thousand years with all that is happening in our country. She must know that I'm not human at all, yet she drops the barrel of her gun to the ground and opens her first smile.

-For one moment I thought that you were a human, boy, don't do that again.

What she says hits me hard, she is clearly human, smells like one, looks like one, but apparently is happy that I'm not one. It doesn't make any sense at all.

-How? --I ask still uncertain of what is happening, not only it was a shock to discover my mate is a human female (an impossibility for all that I know) but looks like she is the only human immune to the fear of non-humans.

She then proceeds to tell me all about how she was adopted by the Frachins, Ms. and Mr. Frachin were an old and infertile couple of Taurins who had nobody to let their lands to when they died. Ms. Frachin was a loving woman to whom the chance to procreate had been denied by some hormonal disorder and at the late age of 234 had a lot of love to give to the human little bundle that she finally could call Daugther. Mr. Frachin wasn't a man of many words but taught Morna (Did I tell you my mate's name is Morna?) all he knew about their farm and life, as well as the secrets he would teach their children had the Gods provided them with any blood ones.

Morna Elizabeth Frachin was taken as well as her parents to the concentration center where they tested them all and with the results and adoption paper was released as a Human. All the apologies made, she would be sent to the orphanage once again if it was not for how she played the cards. Morna spun a tale of how she had to live with the non-humans for all of her life because of the secrecy of their kind until that point and how she feared them since nobody would believe her before and should receive their property and funds as compensation being emancipated.

As a result of the government own fear of non-humans the idea of a human girl having to live with non-humans by all her life as well as the horrors she must have suffered in their hands was easy enough to instill in them the desire to give the girl as much a compensation as she would ask, and not being a normal teen she knew exactly how much ask to get what she wanted and not make them suspect her.

The fact is, Morna was loyal to her parents, her only family and the first ones to show her love, and wanted to grant them their secrets would always remain like that. She vowed to them to always protect her family history and provide help to the minorities when she could.

Her story makes it easy for me to decide to grab Josh and the shells and come to her house when invited. She was my mate, she would never put me in danger, the instinct repeated over and over as my brain tried to tell me it could be her way to get us all inside and call the cops once the day got bright.

It was already getting bright when we came inside and the excitement of the day was wearing me down, as soon as she showed us to a cellar secret room where we could sleep the day off, I was out, clothes on, shells in one side and Josh on the other.

The idea of looking for what was wrong with the second egg momentarily forgotten.