Keira woke up. Isolfar was still sound asleep beside her daughter. Mom looks so pretty, Keira thought. She looked around the room and got up to take a piece of notebook. Within this world, there are many things her innocent mind doesn’t understand. “It’s been a day since my birthday and it was still surreal to have gotten out of the real world,” she wrote. “Being isolated almost all my life has been something I’ve grown accustomed to yet there are still many questions I wish I had the answer to. I love my mother more than anyone else but I have a sliver of doubt that I can’t ignore. Perhaps, the reason she’s the only one I love is because she’s the only one I have ever been with. I don’t like having these feelings but I find comfort in writing them out. At least they don’t stay inside me longer than they need to.” She heard a grunt coming from the bed. As soon as Isolfar opened her eyes, she was greeted. “Good morning, Mom.” Keira smiled at her mother.
“Good morning, sweetie.” Isolfar smiled back. Keira noticed that Isolfar’s eyes are not as full as they usually are. Or maybe she’s just not used to seeing her mother waking up after she does. She was quick to dismiss her observation.
“I’m so excited for today’s adventure! We’re going to meet new creatures as well. I wonder how different the Witches are from the Meoon? I’m also curious as to how they look like in cat forms!” Keira’s eyes shone brighter than a twinkling star. Isolfar couldn’t help but smile softly at her daughter.
“Let’s eat breakfast before going.”
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Keira and Isolfar were on their way to a Witch’s hut. Keira was immediately fascinated by the differences between the societies of the two races. Meoons obviously want a society with as many creatures as possible. It was safe to say that it’s the opposite for Witches. In a single hut, there’s either one Witch or one family of them. They had settled in one particular hut that had different shades of blue. The mother and daughter knocked.
“Who’s there?” asked a voice from inside.
“Visitors,” Isolfar said calmly. The door creaked as it opened.
“Come in.”
Keira and Isolfar politely entered the hut. Keira saw the interior and immediately got struck by how organized yet jarring it was. There were many books on several tables, piled on top of each other. Candles on almost every corner of the house and an animal head that looks like both that of a goat and a tiger. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the situation. The Witch told them to sit down.
“Hello, my name is Asher, it’s nice to meet you. I haven’t been visited in a while,” said the Witch. She was wearing a black coat over a white undershirt, paired with dark blue shorts. She had a black long hair, no taller than 5’0, way shorter than Keira. However, Isolfar towered over them. So tiny, Keira thought.
“Hi, thank you for letting us in. My name is Keira and this is my mother, Isolfar,” Keira introduced themselves with excitement. “She accompanied me on the way here because I wanted to visit both races. We just got to a Meoon village yesterday so we wanted to visit Witches this day.”
“I see, that is certainly an intriguing reason.” Asher took a sip of her coffee. “What about you two? Are you Meoon or Witch?” Asher raised her eyebrow. Keira didn’t know how to answer so Isolfar took over.
“We’re Witches as well, but you see, we’ve been living our lives separate from the two races for as long as we’ve known,” Isolfar answered calmly.
Didn’t Mom say we were neither? Keira thought. Maybe she doesn’t want to reveal it to anyone yet.
“I see, do you have any contract with a Devil?”
“Pardon?” Isolfar asked.
Asher grinned with intrigue. “You guys are really unfamiliar. I wonder what your parents taught you. I think I knew about Devil contracts as soon as I was born. Well, my scholarly knowledge will be finally put to use." She got up and fetched one of the books on her table. “This is a book that my father made me read to make a decision. Long story short, Witches don’t live very long. To Meoons, they have what they call a Guardian, almost like a God to them. With Witches, we have four Devils we can make a contract with. This book shows you how to contact each of them. When you make a contract with them, you are granted powers that come with a cost.
“The Devil of Life grants you the ability to bring back creatures from the dead. Though, it’s not permanent, it is especially helpful when in combat. The ones with this contract are called Necromancers” Isolfar’s eyes widened as she heard the information. Her body shook slightly. The two didn’t notice.
“The Devil of Gravity grants you the ability to manipulate gravity within a radius. It’s considered to be the most dangerous type of Devil but it costs you one of your senses every time you use it. The ones with this contract are called Pullers. Next up, the Devil of Time gives you the ability to see slightly into the future. Again, this is mostly used for combat. The ones with this ability are called Miraizards. Last but not least, the Devil I have a contract with, the Devil of Security. We are called Wardens because we are capable of imprisoning a life force for a time. However, imprisonment doesn’t mean death. We have spatial manipulation, which is where we confine our prisoners.”
Keira was eagerly listening to each word Asher was saying. The Witch was obviously taken aback. “I’m willing to entertain further questions if you may have some,” Asher offered.
"How old are you exactly, Ms. Asher?" Keira asked.
Asher put her hand on her chin. "I genuinely can't remember."
"Huh? That's weird. But maybe there's a lot of smart people who just don't remember simple details like that," Keira commented before thinking for a bit. "I don't mean to offend you but are these Devils bad?"
“Firstly, yeah, I don't pay attention to my age as much as I do other things. And for the second question, not necessarily. There’s a bad connotation to them but they only ever remain to be the counterpart for the Guardian. They play a necessary role in maintaining the balance of the world. However, there have been many cases of rogue Witches and Meoons lately. Ever since the war, or even the original sin, the world hasn’t been as peaceful as it once was.” Asher closed her book.
“Thank you very much for your time, Asher but I’m afraid we have to go now,” Isolfar asserted and quickly stood up.
“Already?" Asher tilted her head in confusion. "It’s not nighttime yet but thank you as well for visiting me."
“Can I stay?” Keira asked, to Isolfar's surprise. “I know the way home and I want to talk with Asher for a little bit more.”
“Sweetie, I don’t wanna be worried too much at home. I would rather have you come with me now or we stay together but only for a little bit,” Isolfar coaxed.
“Alright, but can we visit Asher sometime in the future?”
“Of course.”
"Before you guys go, since you asked about my age, may I ask about yours, Keira?"
"I'm sixteen." Keira smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Miss. See you around."
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
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Before sleeping, Keira wanted to chat with her mom. She asked, “Hey, Mom, both the Meoons we visited and Asher mentioned the original sin. Do you know what that is?”
Isolfar sighed. “You are growing up after all so you deserve to know. The original sin is a legend among Meoons and Witches where one of each race did the forbidden by falling in love with each other. They bore a child, half-Meoon, half-witch. That child is called “the original sin.” Part of the deal that the two races made was that they couldn’t ever breed with each other. Breaking that deal caused the parents of the child to be executed immediately upon notice. Sometimes, I feel bad for the child, I don’t even know if she’s still alive. Maybe, if society would’ve given it the chance, the war, the emergence of the rogues, maybe none of those would have happened,” Isolfar empathically proclaimed..
“She? So it was a girl?” Keira asked. Isolfar was taken aback, not quite sure how to respond.
“Well, at least that’s what the creatures refer to her as. I’ve only heard stories.”
“I see, thanks, Mom!” Keira smiled. “Maybe when I grow up, I’ll know more about the world. I wanna explore all the different regions and visit all the villages and huts. It’s been my dream for quite some time now.”
“I’m sure you’ll achieve those dreams, sweetie, I’m sure you will,” Isolfar kissed Keira’s forehead.
Minutes later, Keira was fast asleep and Isolfar wrote a note for her to read. She stood up and by the door, she looked at her daughter with motherly eyes before heading out. Nothing will come between you and me, Isolfar thought. Now, it’s time to settle some business. She went to the Meoon village they visited. To Halber, Jina, Solthor, and my other children, I won't let your sibling be taken away from me. She will be with me for as long as I want to.
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The life of Isolfar with Halber was one of regularity. They didn’t go out of their huts that much outside of certain occasions. They would usually just roam the forest, not meeting with anyone outside of their circle. And Isolfar were never seen by Halber’s playmates or their parents. So, this is what it feels like to have a child, Isolfar thought. During Halber’s 16th birthday, there were three words that Halber said that forever altered Isolfar’s train of thought.
“I love you, momma!” Halber said with enthusiasm. She looked confused as to what he could possibly mean. The warmness of her heart came back, and the only sensation left in her body was a tingly feeling. She went to hug her son and uttered the words:
“I love you, too, Halber,” she said with much passion. She was teary-eyed. She finally had a word to describe what she had for the child that she raised. Am I a real parent now? Isolfar thought before she began to cry. If I tell him the truth, would he still accept me as her mother?
“What’s the matter, momma? Why are you crying?” Halber asked. Isolfar let go of the hug and sat down. Halber put a hand on her shoulder. “Momma, why?”
“Sorry, Halber,” Isolfar said. “There’s something that you need to know. I’m sorry if you’ll hate me after keeping this secret from you for a long time.” Halber tilted his head.
“I’m listening, momma.”
“I’m not really your momma,” Isolfar said. Halber’s eyes widened. “When you were a newborn baby, you were crying in this very hut. I was young then and was envious of other creatures. I saw them, at all my life hiding in the forests, being happy, raising mini creatures to grow. I wanted to experience that because maybe, I will be finally noticed by someone but there didn’t seem to be anyone who bothered to talk to me. My life has been a monotonous cycle of seeing others, getting jealous, and having no power to do anything about it until I met you. I saw you on the floor, crying, flailing, trying to hold onto something. I picked you up and it was the first moment I ever felt anything, let alone love.
I planned to tell you about this for a long time now but I was afraid that you would leave me. I’m not something you understand. I knew that even if I did my best to act the part of being a parent, I will never become a real one for you. I was afraid that you'd become afraid of me. I’m neither a Witch nor a Meoon. Everyone hated me and if you become a part of that crowd, I’d feel the most painful sting ever. I didn’t want to lose you so I kept you. Nobody ever came back to this very hut that I found you in to look for you. And so, I committed to parenthood. I don’t know how you would have reacted to this information so I kept it from you long enough until I think it’s finally the perfect time. I’m sorry, Halber.”
Halber retracted his hand from Isolfar. His body was visibly shaking. “You’re not my momma? Why did I call you that?” he asked. “Why did you not tell me sooner?”
“I was scared.”
“Scared for me or scared for yourself?”
Isolfar couldn’t reply.
“I always heard from my friends about an unusual creature. I didn’t want to believe them when they said that there’s someone who exists that is neither a Witch or a Meoon. I asked their parents about it, they said such a being cannot exist because if it did, the world would be in chaos,” Halber said. “Momma- No, you’re not my momma. Are you that… monster?”
Isolfar felt as if gravity grew stronger for the sole purpose of pulling her heart to the ground. The words of what she considered to be his son felt like a deafening sonic boom that rendered her senses useless. She was frozen in place. Her mind and body were as one in every sense of the word. Both her mind and body didn’t bother to command any action.
“I… I hate you! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Halber began to sob as he was shouting. “Is that why you said you’re unique? Is that why you’re so tall? Please tell me, you’re lying. You’re still my momma, right?”
Again, Isolfar couldn’t utter a word. Her lips were involuntarily still.
“Fine, if you’re not gonna say anything, I’m gonna run away!” Halber dashed out of the hut’s door. Isolfar finally moved an inch but her eyes couldn’t stop pouring. She slowly walked to the door, seeing her son sprinting away from their home. I have to do something, she thought. She began running, trying to chase her son but he was already out of her vision. She paused frequently to decide which direction she should head towards. Hours upon hours of running, she finally saw him sitting underneath a tree, leaning on the bark. “Why did you come?”
Say something! Isolfar commanded herself. Her lips were still as frozen as a dead body. It wasn’t moving. Halber grew more frustrated. Why can’t I talk? But after a while, she was able to mutter, “I…”
“If that’s all you have to say, please leave me alone,” Halber demanded. “Even if you were the one who raised me, you aren’t my real momma, and you will never be.”
Isolfar’s mind went blank. She had awoken the next day inside the Witch hut. To her surprise, Halber was there, laying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. He was in such a deep sleep that it was considered to be too peaceful. Isolfar grabbed his head, and checked his pulse. Zero. There were zero beats to be heard from any part of her son’s body.
“Halber? Halber!” Isolfar kept shouting to wake Halber up. “Wake up! You’re not dead, aren’t you? Wake up! Momma is here, we’re going to go somewhere! You told me that you want to meet Meoons, right? You haven’t seen them yet. Please, wake up!” Isolfar tried everything she could. Halber was still. Frozen as her lips were just the day before. Halber. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that. That was too much for you.” Isolfar leaned down to kiss her dead son’s forehead. Sobbing at the sight of the person she nurtured to the best of her abilities, dead. “Rest in paradise.”
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I won't let that happen again. Isolfar remembered the first child that he raised. I will save Keira from the burden of knowing who her mother truly is. All she needs to know is that I'm her mother. Nothing else. She knocked on the door of Sylvia and Draver’s house. It was awfully quiet as it was still midnight. To the couple’s surprise, they saw Isolfar and she cut her wrist in front of them. And then the roof of the hut buried the entire thing. Meoons heard the noise and immediately went outside to see. Isolfar stood in front of the befallen structure as she looked around the village. Under the rubble, a hand was visible with a ring on it.
“I think an earthquake just occurred,” Isolfar said calmly. She noticed the Meoons shaking as they are looking at her. Her wrists' wound from the cut looked to visibly bleed but the blood didn't drip. She couldn’t quite put a finger on what they looked like. She was unsure how to describe the expressions on their faces. Terrified. She maniacally grinned and continued, "Did the creatures of the village like this couple? You have my condolences. I'll help bury their bodies since they deserve a proper burial."