“I’m going to close up shop; Joanna, will you please ready the stasis field?” Meredith said, hustling out of the room.

“Wait, stasis field?” Sybil asked, “What’s that?”

“Teleportation,” Joanna said, ushering them through a small pixie door in the back of the room. “We normally use it to visit clients in their homes, but I hope you don’t mind if we use it to pop on over to your place?”

They entered a room--no, a laboratory, behind the lounge. Jars and beakers, both human and pixie sized, lined the shelves, filled with herbs and various medicines. Microscopes, bunsen burners, scales and meters, every corner was filled with testing equipment. Contrary to the homey atmosphere the rest of the business exuded, this room was stark white and sterile, with the only splash of color being the gray linoleum flooring. In the far corner of the room a large ring stood, elongated and containing crystal engravings. Joanna flew over to a touchscreen nearby and began typing, hitting each button with the palms of her hands.

“What is this place?” Eve asked.

“Well, let’s just say counseling is a side-gig for us,” Joanna called out, leaning over her shoulder. “What’s your address?”

“1211 South Juniper Drive, in Goldfield.”

“Alright, perfect.” She tapped one last key and then flew up, touching various orbs embedded into the ring, imbuing them with magic. It was odd, Eve could now actually see the mist in the air get sucked into each orb, building and building until the orb was glowing. Once all were lit up, the whole ring turned white.

Meredith stepped through the door to the room, pulling on a smart-looking wool jacket. “Are we ready?” She asked.

“Yep.”

“Alright then let’s go.” She turned to Eve and Sybil. “Mind you, it can feel somewhat bizarre, travelling by way of stasis, so heads up. I’ll go first, then you two, and Joanna, if you’ll bring up the rear please.”

Meredith stepped through the white ring, and her whole body disappeared.

“Okay kids, your turn,” Joanna said, nudging them from behind.

They flew towards the field, and then the world felt blank and their ears popped.

Eve was upside down. Wait no, she was right side up, and floating in front of the driveway to her home. The sun was shining, a rare occurrence in the Northwest, and a green balloon had been tied to the mailbox. Meredith stood towering next to her, and soon after, Joanna blinked into existence behind them.

They approached the front door.

“Uh, maybe I should go first,” Sybil said, floating towards the pixie door built into the wall beside the regular door. “Mom might freak out.”

“I have to tell her, Sybil,” Eve said, “I’m coming with. You said so yourself.”

Sybil moved to argue, but decided against it. She nodded briefly, and pushed through the tiny door.

“Mom? Mom!” Sybil called out, as they alighted onto the shoe rack next to the doorway. “We’re home!”

From the kitchen, Sarah popped out. She was wearing an apron and was stained with flour. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was holding a large spoon.

“Oh, there you are Sybil, I was worried about you! Where did you two run off to so early in the morning? You missed out on buttermilk pancakes! Don’t you worry honey, there’s still a couple left, I saved them cause I know they’re Everett’s favorite.”

“Mom . . . uh,” Sybil tried to speak.

“I hope you’re excited, cause I really went all out organizing the party. I set up a gigantic treasure hunt out in the forest out back, how does that sound?” I think it’ll be loads of fun. I’ve been busy baking your cake too; I hope you’re ok with vanilla? We were all out of chocolate and I couldn’t run to the store.”

“Mom . . .”

“The guests should be arriving in about an hour or so, why don’t you go ahead and put on something cute to wear?  Oh, where’s Everett, by the way? I wanted to ask him something about his present.”

Sarah noticed Eve standing behind Sybil. “Oh is this a friend of yours, Sybil? Well aren’t you just adorable! Hello sweetheart, what’s your name?” Eve became more and more uncomfortable with every word. She did enjoy being called adorable, however.

“Mom!” Sybil cried out.

“What is it, honey?”

Sybil looked back to Eve nervously. Eve returned the look, with apprehension to match. She stepped forward, gulped, and looked her mother in the eye.

“Hi Mom,” she said, waving timidly. “It’s me, Everett.” The name tasted sour in her mouth.

Their mom blinked, then smiled modestly like she always did when someone told a bad joke.

“Hah! Very funny. You did such a good job on that illusion spell though, you should go show Mabelyne!”

Eve was confounded for a moment. She hadn’t expected that reaction.

“No mom, it's real,” Eve asserted, steeling herself again. “I was really turned into a pixie last night. Not just that, but, well . . . I’m a girl. I’m trans, Mom, and I’ve been a girl inside this whole time. And if you could call me Eve from now on, that would mean the world to me.”

Sarah took a step back. The room was silent for what felt like an eternity.

“No, this is a joke, it has to be,” she whispered. “I’ll go upstairs and my boy Everett will be in his room, playing on his laptop. You’ll see.” She slowly turned towards the staircase.

Eve lifted off and flew over to her mother.

“Mom, please,” Eve pleaded. “I’m your child. I’m Eve.” She flew down and grabbed her mother’s thumb. “See? Hold me in your hand, can’t you feel that I’m real?”

Sarah lifted her hand and cupped it. Eve landed in it and sat down cross-legged, rubbing her hand against the grooves of her mom’s skin. No illusion spell could replicate touch.

Sarah’s eyes glistened. “Is it . . . is it really you?” she asked, voice trembling.

Eve nodded.

The doorbell rang, startling all of them.

“Whoops, forgot to let them in!” Sybil yelped.

“Please whoever it is, can’t they wait?” Sarah said desperately, wiping her eyes. Still holding Eve, she opened the front door. Standing behind it were Meredith and Joanna, looking rather sheepish.

“Hello ma’am,” Meredith said, “you must be Eve and Sybil’s mother, yes? I have something important to discuss with you regarding them”--she saw Eve sitting in Sarah’s hand--“oh, I see you’ve already seen each other.”

“Who are you?” Sarah asked curtly, losing a measure of decorum she usually held with visitors.

“Doctor Meredith Reynolds.” Meredith extended a hand, then awkwardly retracted it after realizing that Sarah’s hands were full of spoons and pixies. “And this is my pixie and colleague, Doc--”

“Doctor Joanna Reynolds,” Joanna interrupted, giving a wave.

“Mm, yes,” Meredith said. “We belong to the Federal Department of Magical Research and Security, and we deal primarily with incidents involving magical accidents, as well as psychology and counseling those involved. May we come in? We’d like to discuss with you about the nature of Eve’s incident and what that means for everyone.”

Sybil and Eve stared up at the two doctors with wide eyes. Sybil looked back at Eve and silently mouthed, “Magical research and security?”

Rage boiled in Sarah’s eyes. “What have you done to my child?” she growled at the doctors..

“Ma’am, I assure you we did next to nothing. No, this was a simple accident, however rare, that no one is to blame for. It’s also true that Eve is who she says she is. Being trans isn’t something that was thrust upon her by someone else, nor is it a choice she made. It simply is. I know these things can be hard to hear, so why don’t we sit down, if you have the time?

“Mom, please,” Eve said, “just listen to her.”

Sarah stepped back slowly. She nodded absently, eyes unfocused. “Yes, yes. Please come in.” She waved at the couches in the living room. “Take a seat. I have to go pull the cake from the oven.”

Meredith, Joanna, and Sybil moved to the living room, and began to sit down.

Eve stood up and moved to go that way, but Sarah’s hand clamped down on her, tight.

Eve’s body was scrunched up and twisted around in Sarah’s fingers, her arms and legs bent at odd angles, and her wings had been all crumpled. It didn’t hurt, not in the way that it might have, had she been in that position as a human, but it was certainly uncomfortable. Unfortunately her mouth had been smothered as well, and though she tried to protest and yell, barely any sound came out. She struggled against her confinement, but it was no use, her mom was just too strong.

She heard the muffled thumps of her mom walking into the kitchen. The sounds of kitchenware clanked and banged, as the oven door was pulled open and a pan slid out. The sweet smell of vanilla cake filled her nostrils. For a split second, Eve felt a pang of terror, fearing her mom might throw her in the oven. Could pixies even survive that? They were invulnerable to a lot of things, but not invincible. Eve froze, waiting for the worst to happen.

The oven door thumped again, closing loudly. All was quiet. If Eve’s mouth hadn’t been smothered, she would have let out a sigh of relief.

The hand lurched and moved, until she made contact with warm cloth and was pressed up against something hard.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

A massive heartbeat, something Eve no longer possessed, rang in her ears like church bells. She felt the surge of blood pass under the surface of the skin with each pounding beat. Heat radiated into Eve’s body, and the faint smell of lavender filled her nose.

Sarah was holding her tightly to her chest.

Then, a vibration coming from deep within her mother’s lungs started to rattle Eve’s head. Sarah was humming. Although it was no more than a whisper to any outside observer, being pushed against the rib cage amplified things considerably for Eve.

“Oh sweet child, crying so sad,” her mother began to sing, softly and slowly, “who carries the world upon your head . . .”

Eve recognized it as a lullaby Sarah used to sing to her.

“Please blow your nose, and d-dry your tears,” her voice began to waver, and she sniffed. “Mama w-will chase away all of your f-fears . . .”

“So pull your pixie in, close and t-tight,” The fingers around Eve squeezed her until she felt like her ribs would collapse.

“I’ll tuck you into your bed tonight.”

Quiet.

She stayed that way for a long time in silence, save for the occasional sniffle. Eve didn’t know whether to try to struggle to say something, or let her mom have whatever moment she was having up there.

Sarah sighed heavily, as if letting go of a big weight.

The hand moved again, up to Sarah’s mouth, and a booming whisper came from her lips.

“Human or pixie, boy or girl, you’ll always be my child. And nothing could stop me from loving you.”

She opened her hand, and Eve gasped for breath.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” Sarah yelped. She quickly set Eve down on the counter, next to a gigantic, steaming, vanilla cake. Eve took a few deep breaths, once again feeling the sweetness from the mist on the back of her tongue. She hadn’t suffocated like a human would have, but it still had felt uncomfortable. She stood up and stretched out her arms and legs, working out a kink in her shoulder.

“I don’t know what got into me!” her mom exclaimed. “It’s like all the sudden I felt like you were drifting away forever, and all I could do was hold on. Sorry!”

“Is everything okay back there?” Meredith’s voice called out.

“Yes! We’ll be there in just a second!” Sarah called back. She turned to Eve. “Are you okay?” she said in a hushed voice.

“Yeah Mom, I’m fine,” Eve said. “I’m . . . doing pretty good, actually.” She flashed a quick smile to her mom. “I actually like myself like this. It’s weird and scary, but I’m pretty sure I’m glad it happened. Yeah, I’m surprised too.”

Her mom muffled a demure snort. “I was meaning more along the lines of ‘are you okay from me crushing you’, but still, thanks for letting me know how you feel.”

Sarah put her hand down on the counter top for Eve to step onto. “Come on,” she said, “they’re probably waiting for us.”

Eve stepped into her mom’s hand and sat down, settling into the cupped palm.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Compared to the horror stories she had heard of other queer kids coming out to their parents, this had gone relatively well.

At least she hadn’t been thrown in the oven.

“Hey Mom?” Eve spoke up.

“Hmm?”

“Thanks. Y’know . . . for still loving me.”

“Oh sweetheart . . .” Sarah tearfully hugged Eve to her chest, once again crushing her and crumpling her wings. “I’ll always love you.”

“Mom, you’re squishing me again . . .”

“Oh, right! Sorry . . .”

 

~~~

 

The whole family had accumulated in the living room by the time Sarah and Eve made it out of the kitchen. Julianne sat sideways in a chair in the corner, scrolling on her phone, while Naomi, her pixie, blabbered to no one in particular about a school assignment she was struggling with. Mabelyne had entered and was trying to hold a conversation with Meredith, who in turn was trying to juggle between said conversation, and fending off the affections of Jimmy the dog. Trevor and his pixie, Lucas, had cornered Joanna and were now pestering her with questions.

“If you’re from the government, how come you don’t have a badge?”

“We’re just consultants, and we’re not here to arrest anyone.”

“Oooh so you’ve arrested people before?”

“Well, uh . . . not technically.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“Heavens no!”

“Do you have a secret identity? Is Joanna a codename?”

“No.”

“Have you ever hacked into a mainframe?”

“I’m a doctor of magical studies, I don’t know anything about computers.”

“Do you keep horrible monsters inside glass tanks back at your lab?”

“No.”

“I read a story once about how the government could take control of your mind using radio waves, and--”

“Trevor, you certainly have a very . . . uh, active imagination, don’t you?”

“Yeah, Mom says that all the time too . . .”

“Ahem,” Sarah said loudly, gaining the attention of the room. “Well, I guess since everyone’s here, might as well get it out.” She held up Eve for everyone to see. “Everett’s been turned into a pixie.”

All eyes shot to Eve. Julianne even dropped her phone.

If Eve had had any blood in her little body, it would have drained to her feet. 

“Mom!” Eve hissed in protest. “My name’s Eve!”

“Uhh, right dear,” Sarah stammered. “I mean, Eve’s been turned into a pixie.”

“I thought that wasn’t even possible,” Julianne remarked, sitting up.

“According to the amount of times it’s actually happened, it might as well not be,” Meredith piped in. “Eve and Sybil are now a dual-pixie pair, one of the rarest Bond combinations in the world; roughly only one per every five million or so.”

“But how can two pixies even survive?” Julianne said. “There’s no human to live off of.”

“Contrary to what most people believe,” Joanna said, floating to the middle of the room as if she was about to give a professor’s lecture, “Pixies don’t live off their humans, we live off the air around us. The reason we die without a human is because there is no Bond to facilitate that process, so as long as the two pixies have a healthy Bond they should be able to survive just fine. Now about what happened . . .”

And so Joanna and Meredith began to explain the whole series of events that led to Eve turning into a pixie. They did conveniently skim over the part where they offered a minor a potion in a technically non-life threatening situation, however. Eve had her doubts about the legality of that move. Honestly though, Eve was mostly just grateful to have all of the eyes off of her for a little while.

Sitting on the edge of the table next to the couch, she found herself relaxing more and more, and realized that she was actually exhausted. Waking up and receiving the shock of a lifetime, finding out it was more or less permanent and having to deal with that, reconciling with Sybil for the fifth or sixth time now, as well as having to come out to her family all in the same day had really taken its toll, particularly on her emotional energy. She yawned and blinked slowly, trying to stay awake for the discourse, but damn, it was getting hard.

“But why was Ev turned into a girl pixie?” Trevor asked. “Wouldn’t he be a boy like Lucas?”

“Eve has been a girl inside the whole time, even though she looked like a boy on the outside,” Meredith responded.

“How?”

“It’s called being transgender, dweeb!” Naomi called out from across the room.

“Ey! Be nice!” Sarah hissed. She turned to her son. “That’s something we can explain to you later, Trev.” 

Somebody knocked on the door, jolting Eve alert.

“Hey dudes!” Kevin said, walking in before anyone could stand up to open the door. “I know Rowena and I are pretty early but we wanted to come help you guys get everything set up and--” He saw everyone sitting in the living room, staring at him. “Yo, what’s up?” he said, running a hand through his short hair. “Somebody die?”

“Ev’s a girl, she goes by Eve now,” Sybil said, flying up and giving the two fistbumps. Eve stood up, and wanted to greet them as well, but she was just so tired. Eh, Sybil could deal with them for now.

“She also was kinda . . . turned into a pixie,” Sybil said, pointing at Eve, who faintly waved back.

“Whoa,” Kevin said. He moved closer to Eve and crouched down, looking her up and down. "Seriously?"

"Y-Yeah." Eve clutched her arm self-consciously. She was way too tired to explain the whole thing over again, and was getting rather sick of everyone inspecting her like a porcelain doll. "I'm a pixie girl now... and I'm happier this way."

Kevin paused and clicked his tongue a couple times.

“What a fuckin’ mood though bro,” he said.

“Huh?”

“What? Isn’t that like, every guy’s dream?”

“Uh . . .”

“Sorry for interrupting, Kevin,” Sarah said, standing up, “But I think we need time to sort this together as a family. We’re probably going to want to postpone the party for a few days, too. Could you please come back some other time? Oh, and tell your mother I said hi.”

“Ey alright bro, no problem, I’ll catch you Monday after school then, alright?” Kevin said, blundering his way back to the door, stumbling over a pair of boots on the way. “You gotta tell me all about it then dude--I mean uh, girl? Sis? Whatever, catch you later guys!” He slammed the door shut.

Silence reigned in the house. Eve plopped back down on the side table.

“Uh, so what are we gonna do about school?” Sybil asked. “You’re not gonna expect us to go so soon after this, are you?”

“Yes I will, young lady,” Sarah responded stately. “You’ve already missed so many days already.”

“Come on!” Sybil groaned. “Look at Eve, she’s positively spooked! She’s shook! Absolutely restitute with shock!” She pointed at Eve.

Eve, who was only barely paying attention, blinked slowly and yawned.

“That word doesn’t mean what you think it does, dear,” Sarah said, “and whether or not Eve is going, you will be for sure.”

“Ugh, it’s not fair!” Sybil moaned. “Joanna, Meredith, tell her why I can’t go next week!”

“Ma’am,” Meredith said, “don’t you worry, the Department will handle all of the paperwork involved and we can get Eve back to school in no time at all. We’ll have to transfer her from the human classes to the pixie ones, and some accommodations will have to be made, but overall it should be a very smooth process. We’ll make sure of it.”

Meredith threw Sybil the faintest of a self-satisfied smile. Sybil pouted angrily.

“Now, about more legal business, Sarah, I’d like to speak privately with you, if you will.”

“Yes, absolutely,” Sarah said, and they left for the kitchen.

Trevor, who had been wriggling and squirming in his seat since the very moment he sat down, immediately jumped up and hurried towards his room. He stopped at the base of the stairs and looked back at Eve. His face crinkled into a frown.

“I wanted a brother,” he said with disappointment, then dashed up the stairs.

Julianne slid out of her chair. She stood around awkwardly and avoided eye contact, opting to stare at her phone, shooting occasional glances at Eve. She finally squared herself and opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. She shuffled her feet, then blurted out, “Whatever makes you happy, squirt,” and bustled towards the stairs. “Good luck,” she called out as she brushed past.

Eve was still trying to process what that interaction was all about when her vision filled with cerulean. Naomi appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her by the shirt collar, pulling her to her feet. Seeing her up close for the first time, especially now that Eve was on her same scale, Naomi was surprisingly intimidating. She wore her hair into pigtails tied with multiple ribbons each, her neck had a spiked collar, and she was wearing clothes that were ripped all over the place with some kind of netting covering everything.

“Listen up,” she said, sneering from lips covered in black lipstick. “You’re a pixie, and that means you live in my world now. You give me any shit and I’ll beat you the fuck up ‘til you want to scatter yourself. Got it?”

Eve’s eyes widened and she nodded weakly. She knew that Naomi was referring to “Scattering to the Winds”, the ability for pixies to self-immolate by letting go and allowing their bodies to dissipate into the Magisphere. It wasn’t a bad way to go, she heard, but she wasn’t at all eager to try it out.

“You’re a girl now too,” Naomi said, letting go of Eve, “and being either a girl or a pixie in this world is already hard enough on their own, but being both is on a whole different level.” She jabbed a finger into Eve’s small chest. “So if anybody tries to fuck with you, you let me know okay? I’ll set ‘em straight for ya.”

Eve nodded again.

“Oh, and like, congratulations and everything, I’m glad you figured out who you are,” Naomi said, stepping back and shoving her hands into her pockets. “I got a buddy who’s trans, I know it must’ve been hard and shit.”

Eve, in confusion, nodded one more time. She saw Sybil land on the table behind Naomi and shot a bewildered look to her companion. Sybil mouthed a “you get used to it” back.

Naomi turned around. “Oi Sybs,” she called out, “been wanting to talk to you all day. Listen, your wardrobe . . . it kinda fuckin’ sucks.” She grabbed Sybil’s arm and started dragging her towards the stairwell. “And since you’re fifteen now, I think it’s time I taught you the finer points of fashion, so c’mon. Now, how do you feel about black leather?”

They drifted out of earshot, and the living room was quiet. Eve was alone.

She felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

Behind her stood Mabelyne, smiling benevolently. Her lavender skin was very close to Eve’s lilac, and her blue hair--draping over her shoulders--was only a few shades lighter than Eve’s. Eve could definitely see the family resemblance. She wore a button-up shirt over top of a pair of capris, and stood on a pair of flip flops. Without a word, she pulled Eve into a tight hug.

“Wanted to wait until everyone was gone,” she said softly into Eve’s ear. “How are you holding up, dear?”

“Pretty exhausted, to be honest,” Eve said, once again feeling the weight of drowsiness fall upon her.

“Well then,” Mabelyne said, breaking the hug and smiling once more, “c’mere, sit down and just try to relax.” She led Eve to a couple pixie-sized cushions sitting on the coffee table. “Would you like me to braid your hair?”

“Oh please yes,” Eve spouted, accidentally sounding more desperate than she intended.

Mabelyne smiled knowingly at Eve. She tapped the cushion next to the one she had now kneeled upon. Eve sat cross legged in front of her pixie mom.

She felt a soft tug on her hair as dexterous fingers ran through it. A small brush, one she didn’t even know where Mabelyne pulled it from, started combing through, starting at the bottom and working up to the top.

“I have to confess,” Mabelyne said, splitting Eve’s hair into sections, “I wanted to play a bigger part in your life, I really did, but so far I’ve been doing a pretty bad job at it. Sometimes it just can feel so alienating to be around humans--they’re so big and I can easily get intimidated, and often I find myself just sinking into the corner and hiding without even realizing it. And I didn’t want to step on Sarah’s toes with you kids either because well, she’s the one who gave birth to you after all. It just didn’t feel like my place to really get involved. Maybe if I had, I would have caught on to what was going on earlier. I’m rambling again, aren’t I? I guess what I want to say is I’m sorry.”

 Bit by bit, strand by strand, she started to braid Eve’s long hair together. Eve felt the gentle tugging on her scalp as her other mother deftly weaved the strands.

“But now you’re a pixie like us, and that means I get to be your mom too,” Mabelyne said.

“Whaddaya mean? You already were my mom before,” Eve said back.

“Technically, I suppose, but I was never there for you when you needed it. I didn’t even say hi to you after school like Sarah did. I guess it’s hard to feel like a parent to someone who’s twelve times bigger than you.” She paused for a moment. “Alright, well let’s make a deal. To make it up to you, let’s start by spending a day out together? You pick the day, you pick where we go and what we do, and I’ll happily go wherever you decide.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. I’m looking forward to getting to know you for real this time.”

Reaching the end of a section, Mabelyne pulled a ribbon out of seemingly nowhere, and tied it into a neat bow at the bottom of Eve’s hair. Eve yawned again as Mabelyne started working on the right section.

“Whatever your friends at school may say and whatever your siblings say too, I’m glad to have you like this. Not just a pixie, but I’m glad you can be my daughter too. See, we pixies are really good at noticing things without being noticed ourselves, and I've seen how much better you’re feeling already. You look down at your body and get the cutest little grin on your face that shines so bright, no matter how hard you try to hide it. You’re already much, much happier, I can tell.”

It was true. As tired as Eve was, she could not fight, nor force down, the overwhelming euphoria bubbling from a near limitless source within. She was happy, truly. The world was brighter and more vibrant now, and a whole lot mistier too. Knowing that she had Sybil, and Mabelyne, Sarah, Meredith, and Joanna, and even Naomi of all people, she knew things were going to be okay.

Mabelyne was saying something again, but it didn’t matter, because Eve was already drifting away from consciousness. She closed her eyes and finally let herself rest.

 

~~~

 

Sarah accepted the held out business card and began the process of ushering Meredith and Joanna out the door, with many “thank you’s” and promises to stay in close contact. Once they were out on the porch, she hadn’t even closed the door yet when they disappeared in a blink.

“What the--” she exclaimed. She’d never seen anything like that before. Comparatively though, it was the least of all the weird things happening today.

She closed the door and heaved a deep, ragged sigh.

What would become of poor Everett--Eve--and Sybil? The government agents had made it very clear that this was an accident, at least the pixie part. Still, she had trouble grasping why. Why be a girl? Why be so unsatisfied, why want to change? If this was something so important, why not just live in a more feminine way? The agents had said that this was something Eve needed, and it couldn’t be chosen. Well, at the very least, she hoped that Eve was happier now.

Even more concerning, what would their future be like as two pixies? So many things in the world required a human to do, like driving a car, or casting spells, or lifting anything more than a couple pounds. Not to mention that dual pixies were such a rare thing that there was next to no actual logistical framework for them, for pretty much everything.

“We’ll be in contact shortly, much needs to be done in the way of accessibility for those two. Call us if you need anything.” The words Meredith said earlier filtered through her head. She didn’t know what that meant for them, but Meredith and Joanna had sounded so official and in control. She got the feeling they had dealt with this kind of situation many times.

She looked down at the stack of resources the agents had given her--fliers, pamphlets, forms, and business cards. At the very top was a contact for a support group for parents of LGBTQ+ youth. She sure was going to need all of the support she could get.

Realizing the party guests were going to be arriving any minute now, and she would have to turn away lots of disappointed youth, she began to clean up the foyer area. It had already been cleaned today once before, but now she cleaned just to pass time and settle her own frazzled nerves.

She passed by the entrance to the living room, and in a passing glance saw a large light-purple ball of light on the coffee table. She halted and looked again, recognizing the pulse of Mabelyne, her companion.

In Mabelyne’s lap, Eve had fallen asleep. Two long royal blue braids hung from her head and spilled around her, the bottoms tied up with baby blue ribbons.

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but Mabelyne vehemently put up a shushing finger. Mabelyne lowered it and began tenderly rubbing Eve’s back. Quietly she hummed, slowly and softly. Eve squirmed a little and curled up tighter.

And Sarah saw, for the first time, her child was smiling. Eve was really smiling.

 

 

The End.

Or perhaps, The Beginning of Something Better.