A normal life

The secret

Walking to my room, still licking off the delightful taste from my fingers I see a light flicker at the end of the hallway. As curious as I am, obviously I can’t not snoop.

As I creep closer, I can hear two male voices. It is my dad and Pieterre.

Dad: “I knew it. That thing has been a menace from day one. It is not wise to keep on losing good men in the hopes that one day he will save good men in battle. We lose them either way. I think it is time we give up on him. It is just…. It’s a lost cause.”

Pieterre: “We knew it would be hard. His breed is extremely rare. And we are all aware that all albinos tend to be more stubborn.”

Dad: “Stubbornness, I can handle. I have two teenage daughters after all. But he is just downright destructive. It costs a fortune to maintain such a beast. Not only in feeding, but the maintenance to fix everything he destroys. That, and the medical bills of course.”

Pieterre: “Sir, not to sound too forward, but don’t you think it is time…?”

Dad: “I know what you want to say, however, I don’t think she is ready. She is still so young, and you have seen how dangerous it can be. The kids still think their grandfather died in the war. I don’t think telling them the truth will help the situation in any way.”

Pieterre: “Maybe, but they do deserve to know.”

Dad: “I know, I know sometimes I wonder if you are wiser than me. I just do not understand why this always falls on the third child. If it fell on the second or maybe the male, we would not be in this scenario in the first place. But then again, I am kind of relieved that it did not go to Nasteljè. She might be a strong leader, but her fear for every living critter would definitely not help in this scenario”

Third child? Him? The scenario? What on earth…

Dad: “The girls have no idea why their mom and I fight all the time. And I have a feeling that if they knew it would only make things worse. The truth is I love that woman so much, but her history, her family curse, it has complicated so many things in our relationship. It created a rift in our relationship that tore us apart. To be honest, I cannot even blame her for having the affair during those cycles. I drove her away when I found out the truth. I wish there could be more honesty in this family or that the introduction as siblings could be made to the girls though that would ruin the monarchy. Having a son is a blessing I just wish it were by blood. The rift will not heal naturally, but maybe once it does, we can sort these things out.”

Oh my fudge! What THE HELL? I NEED TO GET AWAY FROM HERE. Yes, I have so many questions, but this is just too much to process.

I run to my room, locking the door behind me. I can see from my window that they are still talking. How much more can there be? The real question, do I really want to know.

As I fall back on my bed, the entire room started turning, not spinning like the planet this time. Even though we could not go upside down like other planets, yet mine just turned on its head.

I fell asleep just like that, fully clothed on top of my sheets. Didn’t wake up like that though.

My mom hovering over my bed.

Mom: “Casoritania, wake up. You have been sleeping for half of the day. The moons have already passed each other. That is never a good sign. You are normally awake before anyone else. Admittedly, it is nice to wake you for once not the other way around. Are you feeling okay?”

“Thank you for asking, but I’m fine mom, I just had a rough night. I didn’t sleep well.”

Mom: “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yes, I guess. Or something in that line at least.”

Mom: “You haven’t had those in many cycles. Must have been really bad. As far as I am aware there is nothing that can scare my little princess.”

“I might be a princess, but I am definitely not little anymore. I am almost as tall as dad. Quite a bit taller than you and Nessy.”

Mom: “You and your silly nicknames. Last night when I came to check on you, you were shivering on top of your sheet in a fetal position. I don’t know if it was because you were cold, but you did look quite scared. When I covered you up you started crying in your sleep. I wanted to wake you, but I just started singing to you like I did when you were small. It seemed to calm you down.”

“Thank you, mom. It is nice to know that you still do that. No one sings anymore. No wonder there is no more magic. No one but you magically soothing me”

Mom: “No problem, but you better get up. By the way, your sister is coming home for the weekend. Thought that might cheer you up.”

Mom leaves the room.

Nessy is coming home. I am so happy but it's most definitely not a relief. I thought I would have some more time to sort things out on my own.

The thing is she might be the older, wiser sister, but truthfully, I have always been the one protecting her in the background. Her unknown guardian angel. From silly things like running her bath to switching off the lights because she feared the dark, to removing insects and spiders in her room without her knowing just so she does not freak out when seeing them. I know how much they scare her.

I love her and where I can, I will protect her. There will be no mention of a brother or curse or me being the third born.

I will act like nothing is wrong. This is going to be hard.