“Is that what this is all about?” Eiske said aloud. “Loosing you is about Geldou keeping you from going to the university? What’s at the university that she doesn’t want you to do? Is there something there that she doesn’t want you to know?”

“I don’t know. I’m tired, Eiske.”

“Let’s go home and rest a bit.”

“I’m not really physically tired. Well, maybe I am.”

“What you just went through was very emotional. That was amazing, by the way.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You stood up to your dad and provided a logical challenge to his explanation of not being able to afford things. The “magic garden” that you talked about made complete sense, once you remembered the word perennial. You reminded everyone of the odd things that happened as you grew up. What do you think was happening with the food you were preparing and putting on the counter?”

Syp looked at him. “Eiske, if any of us kids would have done anything to the food that was supposed to be for dinner, Mom would have gone ballistic. Dad has always been stressed over taking care of all of us. I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t throw away food.”

“Hm. Geldou was throwing away food in order to accomplish what?”

“She knew how the portions were going to work out.”

“Tell me what you mean.” Syp explained how the food was served. “You’re saying that you were always the last person served.” Syp nodded and turned away. Eiske reached out and touched its shoulder. “You got the smallest portion. Sometimes none?” Syp didn’t respond. They went into Eiske’s house and Syp set its things down by the large backpack.

Tears came to Eiske’s eyes. “Why would she do a thing like that?” Eiske wondered silently. “Even at breakfast? You could make more toast.”

“If there was an extra piece of bread, I would make a sandwich for my lunch.”

“From the leftovers.” Eiske nodded.

“There were no ‘leftovers.’ I put things on them from the perennial garden before breakfast.”

“What about during the winters?”

“Mom would let me fry an egg.” Syp put its hand on its abdomen. “Eiske, this hurts right here. It’s ached before, but never like this.”

“Lie down on the sleeping pad in the second sleeping room. I’ll be right there.”

He was back in a few minutes with a stethoscope and listened for quite a long time. “Syp, do you remember when I told you that the baby died?” It nodded. “How did your body feel? Was it like this?”

“My chest hurt. I could feel that I was going to make those strange noises. Yes, it felt like this.”

“That is what sad feels like. Those strange noises must be the way you cry. I think that you are sad that things went the way they did today.”

Syp sat up and began to rock back and forth. “Eiske, I need to leave. I need to run. I need to go away and not come back.”

“You want to run because you’re afraid.”

“I’m afraid Mom and Dad are going to hurt you.”

“They won’t do that.”

“But you’re helping me.”

“Syp, people are going to want to help you. It’s what they do. They want to make sure that children are cared for. Your parents don’t have the time to hurt the people who help you. They need to take care of your brothers.” He rubbed Syp’s back. “I’m going to make some tea. Then I think we should talk about what to do.” As Eiske went out the door, he stopped. “Would you gather all your things into one place, please? Empty your backpacks onto the floor in the extra sleeping room. In a few minutes, Eiske called out that the tea was ready.

Syp’s eyes and hair color changed, and it grimaced as it went to the table. "Are your muscles aching?" Eiske went to the cupboard. “I would trade you the one dress that I was saving for trade for a bottle of pain reliever for my travels. It’s good woven fabric.”

“Here’s a pill for today. Here’s a new bottle. Keep the dress. You can trade it off another day.”

“Thank you.” Syp swallowed it with a mouthful of tea.

“Your voice is deeper today.”

“It is. My bones hurt and I still itch. These,” it fingered the slits below its nose, “feel like they have opened and closed several times in the past hour.”

Eiske took Syp’s hand and pushed up the sleeve. “Your true skin color is starting to show, see?” He put his arm next to Syp’s. It looked very white in comparison to the patches that were spread over Syp’s arms.

“I’m going to be the bluish-gray of the mountains at dusk?”

“You are. My friend, Tenus, is very handsome. Its hair changes color, but not as often as yours does. When it’s happy and having a good time, its hair is usually a very light blue. Aphyxian descendants are tans and browns and blacks. Stafriez are various bluish-gray shades. People may not recognize you when this first part of your adolescence is complete.”

“That might be a good thing.”

They drank tea and he watched Syp’s face. “Smile for a moment.” Syp flexed the muscles in its face but couldn’t do it. “Think about Grandma. You smiled at her.” Syp smiled. Its hair became a light blue and its eyes alternated between brown and gold. “I wonder if the colors are reflective of the kind of person you perceive someone to be. Look into my eyes. Do you feel toward me like you do toward Grandma?”

“Grandma is wonderful. She has cared for me so often and taken me to her house when she found me hiding in the magic garden.” Syp’s eyes returned to the brownish-gold color. “She is so good with children. When I was three and names were drawn for the middle of the year class assignments, everyone wanted to be in her class! Some of the girls cried when they were assigned to other teachers. I was devastated.” Syp looked at Eiske. “I admire you. You know so many different things.” Syp’s hair became wavy and its hair and eyes were suddenly a deep brown, like his. “You care for a lot of people and are available to them around the clock. You went off-world for your education, put yourself through it with a lot of hard work and sacrifice. You could have lived anywhere in this solar system, but you chose to come home. You’ve worked so hard. You were so sad when Siedeske died. I wanted to make things right for you, but I couldn’t,” Syp sighed.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Eiske looked at Syp oddly. He didn't think Siedeske had spent much time with any of Geldou's children. Geldou always had an excuse that kept the children home or prevented Eiske and Siedeske from visiting.

“Think about the future for a minute.”

“Oh, no! Please, no! I’ve already done this! It hurts my head so much!” Syp’s eyes changed rapidly from one color to another. Its hair bristled and stood out at all angles. The strands suddenly turned different colors. Syp closed its eyes and covered them with its hands. Whistles emanated from the openings below its nose.

“Look at me, Syp.” He pulled its hands away from its face. “Look at me,” he demanded. Syp’s eyes became black then turned red. Its hair turned grey. “You’re going to be okay. I’m not going to let you go from here until you tell me that you’re confident that you can live on your own.”

“That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

“You don’t know how it’s supposed to be! There are no rules for this process. Boys do not get sent out the door with a tent, a sleeping bag, and all their worldly possessions in a backpack. Some go to work in the city and have a living space organized before the loosing event. Some are apprenticed to tradesmen and a living space is provided as part of the compensation. Others go off to educational institutions that have dormitories. Some men are never loosed. They live with their parents and work the family business. When they are joined to a wife, the wife comes to the household. Sometimes a new house is established on virgin soil. Girls go off to college or get jobs in the city. They share living space with other girls. Some live with their parents until a young man asks them to marry. There are no rules. Especially for five-year-olds.”

Eiske took a deep breath. “I won't let you go until you can tell me that you're ready to leave. If you decide that you want to find a job, I'll help you. If you'd like to return to school, I’ll figure out how to help you make that happen. I don’t know the process that a young Stafriez goes through when it's an adult. I’m willing to help you learn as much as you can so that you can be the best possible person you can be.”

They looked at each other, and slowly the colors stopped changing. Eiske, convinced that education was critical, fetched a paper and pencil and wrote down the steps that would lead to a career requiring training past the standard eight years. Syp couldn’t imagine returning to school. It would be teased mercilessly. When Eiske asked why Syp said this, it said firmly that it had made a decision. Eiske waited. “I am a Stafriez. I’m not dressing like the people who live here on Iragos who are Aphyxian descendants. I altered my clothes to meet my needs and the challenges I’m facing.”

“Good for you! I’m so pleased to hear that!"

"I will continue to use toileting facilities for females, but please don’t refer to me as ‘her’ or ‘him.’”

“You prefer ‘it.’”

“What I prefer is that he, she, her and him, aren’t used. It’s hard to explain. ‘It’ will do. Let’s not tell people I’m a Stafriez. It will be obvious after the old skin is all off. When it is, I’ll braid my hair into a different style.”

“People may not recognize you.”

“That’s okay. I’m not the same person that I was. I’m an adult now. I need to act like one.”

Eiske’s heart sank when he heard this, knowing Syp's childhood had been cut short. Syp was very matter-of-fact about it. When Syp pointed out that it would need to take care of itself eventually, they agreed that learning to live independently was a good idea. The two brainstormed options of what Syp could do and Eiske wrote them down. A tent was a starting point and learning to walk lengthy distances would be helpful. Eiske hadn’t done much camping but knew a young man who lived nearby. Perhaps he would help in Syp’s education. Eiske made a list of skills that they agreed Syp needed.

“If I just could live with a Stafriez for just one year, I could learn how to use this body,” Syp remarked off-handedly.

“There’s an idea! It would help you learn your strengths and weaknesses. I only know two of you. But surely there are others. We can search around.”

“Dad says there is a colony of freaks that live in the Northern Province.”

“Syp, what do you think a ‘freak’ is?”

“I don’t know. Dad said I was a freak and I belonged there.”

“There is no colony like that in the Northern Province, Syp. The kids at school call one another names, don’t they?

“Yes. Like stupid, and dumb ass. There was a group of them that were mean.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Of course. They weren’t allowed to disrespect me at home, but they did it plenty at school.”

“The word “freak” is also used to disrespect people. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

A wave of shame washed over Syp and it blinked its eyes repeatedly. Its chest ached. “My dad disrespected me, even though he told us not to do that,” it whispered.

Eiske had heard enough for one day. “Let’s go to the community center this morning, then we'll have lunch. I would like to take you to “Limke’s Table.”

“Eat in the village? Why not here?”

“It’s a special day for you. I would like to help make it memorable.”

“I’m pretty sure that I’ll remember.” Syp hesitated. “I’ve never eaten anywhere except home or at Grandpa and Grandma’s.”

“It’ll be good. Limke makes great potato pancakes. Her meatballs are outstanding. You do feel better, don’t you?”

“I do. Eiske, can we do something on the way to the village?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I need to run. You fly, and I’ll run. I’ll stop at the corner by the community information center."

"You want me to fly next to you on the road?” Syp nodded. “That sounds crazy. You can’t keep up with me.”

“I think I can.”

“The movement of the air around the hovercraft will blow you off the road.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay. I’m going to use the toilet first, then I’ll catch up to you.” Syp went out the door. “You need your coat!” Eiske called after it.

“I'll put it in the hovercraft.” Syp took off down the track to the road at a slow trot. It lengthened its stride bit by bit. At the road, Syp flexed its muscles and stretched backward to grab its ankles.

Eiske found Syp standing at the corner by the feedstore. It hopped into the hovercraft. “Syp, how long did you stand there?”

“A little bit.”

“What? You’re teasing me!”

Syp smiled. “Let’s do it again.”

“Let’s go to lunch. I’m hungry.”

“Then I can run again?”

“If you’d like.”

Later, as they looked over the menu at Limke’s, Syp was amazed. “I don’t know what to eat. What do you think I should have?” Eiske ordered a sampler plate for each of them.

When the waitress asked about drinks, Eiske hesitated. “I’d like a beer. Water for my, my companion please,” he stuttered. He had very nearly said niece but caught himself. It only took a few minutes before the waitress returned. Eiske named each food as Syp ate it. After tastes of Bavarian pot roast, bratwurst, and meatloaf, Syp asked whether there were vegetables. “Try that,” Eiske answered. “It’s a cabbage dish.”

After one taste, Syp turned its plate. “No, thank you.”

“Those are German fried potatoes.” Syp decided these were okay and gobbled them down. “Potato salad, kohlrabi schnitzel and pork schnitzel.”

“This isn’t anything like Mom cooks,” Syp commented.

“No?”

“We ate bokan sandwiches, bokan stew, bokan stroganoff, bokan meatballs, bokan sausage. Sometimes we had a chicken that Grandma brought to us. We ate a lot of eggs, breads, and root vegetables.”

“I thought Geldou had a garden.”

“She did. I’m just saying that we ate a lot of bokan. When she went to town for supplies, sometimes I would go to the magic garden to pick leafy vegetables and eat them while I walked through the forest.”

“That’s how you survived,” Eiske said.

“I guess. It helped that I was sent to Grandma’s frequently. Do you think that eating food that no one eats is bad?”

“It depends on what the food is.”

“Lightening bugs. Bees. Worms. Things I could catch with my tongue.”

“Did they make you vomit?”

“No.”

“I don’t know what a typical Stafriez diet is, Syp. Maybe those things are part of it.”

“Do you have any information on what the diet is?”

“No, but we can find out.”

“Meat is okay, but I think there are other things.”

“Hey! We could go fishing. You’ve never done that, have you?” Syp shook its head.

“I think we should go to the lakes that are northwest of here. There were clams there too. Let’s work on basic cooking skills to start with. I’ll call Dirk Groen and see if he’d like to go camping. We can teach you how to fish.”