Kiena

I watched as momma and Coralin smiled at each other. It was nice seeing them happy. Momma hadn’t been this happy since I knew her. Grandma always said it was because she was worried about me, but something inside me knew it was a lie. Sneaking over, I pounced Coralin, causing her to fall to the floor. I really love tackling her. It makes her laugh, which makes me laugh.

After a while, momma and Coralin left the house, leaving Nival and me alone. She was a weird creature, but she was cute and funny. Sometimes I wished I had wings like her. Then I could fly in the sky, away from all the badness.

“Where are you from,” I ask. Nivtal looks at me for a moment, then sighs and crosses her legs.

“I am from a forest not far from here. It is a forest of living trees. I help keep them safe during their sleep,” Nivtal says as she dusts off her legs.

“But all trees live,” I said, confused in her statement. She laughed and nodded.

“Yes, that is true. But these are special trees. They can talk like you and me. They move around and can even make things,” Nivtal said. Naturally, this made me want to see them.

On the other hand, I couldn’t picture trees that move. What if one day our homes decided to move. Where would we live then? “By the way, what are you,” Nivtal asked. This question made me uncomfortable.

“I am a Keyama,” I said. I know it was only half true, but I didn’t like the names I had called the other kids. It hurt.

“But you’re not like the others. Why is that?” Nivtal asked. At this moment, I wanted momma. So she would be able to tell her what she wanted to know. I sat there for a few moments, trying to ignore that she was there. But it wasn’t working. I was still aware of her. I felt a tear fall down my cheek as I thought about what I was.

“Momma says that I am half-human,” I said, then covered my face. Maybe she would hate me too. But, instead, she got up, walked over, and placed a hand on my knee.

“I am sorry I asked. I can only imagine what happened. And I am sure that the others treat you poorly because of it,” Nivtal said. It was the most marvelous thing that anyone had ever said other than momma and Coralin. It seemed that she really cared about me.

“The other kids call me names and even beat up on me. It makes me sad. Sometimes it makes me mad. When I get mad, lightning bugs shoot from my hands. Momma doesn’t know, though,” I said. Then I put my hand over my mouth. What if she told momma? I would be in trouble.

“Lightning bugs? Do you mean like this?” Nivtal asked. Then she raised her hand, and the next thing I knew, I saw lightning bugs coming out of her hands. They were pretty. Then they were gone. I nodded and pouted as the last lightning bug disappeared.

“That’s not lightning bugs. That’s magic. You have magic. I mean, I have heard that the Keyama possesses nature magic, but pure magic. I wonder if it has to do with the human part of you,” Nivtal said. I didn’t like the thought of that. I didn’t like being half-human, so why would I want their magic?

“Don’t worry. Your magic is nothing like that of humans. At least, not from what I can feel. Sure, it may help you, but it is a unique kind of magic,” Nivtal said. I wondered how she could know what I was thinking. Maybe it was something about my face, or perhaps she could read my thoughts.

“I have unique magic?” I asked, feeling a little confused in her comment. How could my magic be unique when I was a hybrid? Someone everyone picked on or whispered about when they thought I couldn’t hear them. I laid on my momma’s lap many nights and cried myself to sleep because the kids were so mean.

“Yes, your magic is different than anything I have felt. Well, besides Coralin. Her magic is special too. Her magic comes from the goddess,” Nivtal said. She sighed and looked out the door. Something about the way she talked about Coralin made it sound as if she was jealous. Did she want Coralin power all to herself?

After a few minutes of quiet, I decided to go outside. I wanted to go for a swim in the lake. After all, momma said that it was good to be clean. I tried to invite Nivtal, but she seemed too busy to go with me, so I went by myself.

As I walked across the bridges through the village, people looked at me and whispered to one another, but I ignored them. I wasn’t going to let them bother me today. It was the first day since momma and Coralin’s bonding. I couldn’t believe the party grandma had made. I wondered if she would do the same for me when I bonded. I wanted to be just like momma.

When I reached the cave, I didn’t see anyone else. It was nice. I would have the cave all to myself. Following the glowing stones, I headed towards the lake. It was my and mommas’ favorite place in the world. Here, we could not think about anything. We would spend hours splashing each other with water until it was time to go home. It was fun. I hoped that Coralin would play with me like that too.

When I reached the lake, I jumped straight in. Momma had taught me how to swim when I was just a baby. It was so fun, plus the water was always warm. Sometimes I would swim down to the bottom of the lake and collect rocks. The glowing ones were hard to get out, so I didn’t bother them.

After some time, I got bored. It was different not having momma or Coralin with me. So I decided to go back home and wait for them. I knew what I was going to do when they got home too.

As I got home, Nivtal was still sitting there. So I didn’t disturb her, instead of going to my room. I had been working on a carving for the last two days. I was making a statue of a fox. I wanted to give momma and Coralin something for their special day, but I wasn’t as fast as momma. It had taken me some time. I had seen one when momma had taken me out of the village for a day. It was so pretty, and Coralin kind of looks like it.

I was hard at work when I heard footsteps approaching. My tail swayed back and forth rapidly as I knew who it was. Hiding the statue again, I ran out of the room just in time for momma and Coralin to come through the doorway. Without warning, I launched myself at Coralin. I laughed as we fell to the ground, which made her laugh while momma watched.

“Got you again,” I said, rolling off her. She just laid there for a moment laughing.

“Oh..no…I’m…dying,” Coralin said, pretending to die. I just shook my head and poked her nose.

“Chu are not dead,” I said before poking her again. She laughed and grabbed me, pulling me into an embrace. It was one of the best feelings in the world. I knew that with her, I would always be safe. To me, she was like another mom.