Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Fantasy

Reykja sat hunched over a paper, pencil in hand.  Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose knot and she frowned deeply at the assignment, looking around the room.  In the room to her left, her sister fought with the dog over some soggy rope. In the room to her right, her mom was sitting with her brother teaching him how to properly wing his eyeliner.  Reyjka returned her attention to the paper.  ‘My Family’ it was titled, asking about her parent’s childhood and upbringing as well as careers and such.  It was supposed to be a fun and easy extra credit assignment but Reykja found herself at a loss of what to write.

She knew that her mom grew up in Wisconsin as a part of a large family.  She also knew that her Ma was a different case, born in another world from this one.  A country called Gelasia.  Reykja herself had never been to Gelasia, but her uncle Feliks sometimes visited with his partner Envie, a shapeshifter and stay at home parent.  Their son, Nick, was only a few months old and occasionally turned into different animals.  They told her that Gelasia was a beautiful country of magic and mysteries.  Envie brought her jewels and shiny rocks and told her stories about them and her mom.  As much as she knew about Gelasia, however, Reykja was not allowed to tell other people.  Even if she was allowed to, Reykja reasoned, she wouldn’t know how to answer the questions that would come. 

Like the first one on the paper: How did your parents meet?

Reykja stood, walking over to where her mom sat with Liam, clutching her paper. 

            “Mom,” she started, getting her attention.  Her mom looked at her with wide gray eyes, smiling. “Can you help me with my homework?”

Her mom grinned, tilting her head.

            “Of course, give me a second.” She said, brushing blush onto Liam’s cheeks.  “What’s the class?”

Reykja bit her lip.

            “It’s for my English class,” she explained.  “It’s extra credit.  About our family.  I just realized that I don’t know how you and Ma met.”

Her mom froze, caught off guard. Shaking her head, she slowly put down the makeup and kissed Liam’s forehead.  She avoided eye contact with Reykja as she cleared up the room, putting everything away. Reykja waited patiently, moving over so that Kiki could rocket into the room with the dog.  As if called, Ma entered the room looking like a mess.  Her shirt was unbuttoned and untucked, leggings tucked into untied boots.  She had tied a heating pad to her lower stomach and glowered at them all. 

Reykja’s mom smiled softly, wrapping her arms around the taller woman. 

            “Hello, beautiful.” She said, kissing her cheek.  Ma rolled her eyes, placing a hand on Mom’s hip. 

            “Your brother’s here,” she snapped.  “So is Envie.”

Reykja’s ma had better sense of this. Whenever someone used the portal to enter this world, she felt it. 

Reykja, Liam and Kiki all gasped, looking towards the door to the basement.  Sure enough, footsteps pounded up the stairs, boisterous laughter signaling Envie’s arrival. 

            “Where are my children?” Envie shouted, bursting into the room.  Reykja had always thought they were impossibly beautiful. Their dark eyes were framed by choppy dark hair that glinted green in the sunlight and a body as lithe as a cat’s.  They wore what Reyjka called an edgy crop top over a skirt and was barefoot, as always.  Reykja hurtled herself into their arms, laughing.  Feliks rolled his eyes, Nick on his chest.  Mom cooed at the small baby, giving him her finger to suckle on.  Feliks leaned forward and kissed the top of her head in tired greeting. Kiki and Liam huddled around the baby.

            “Has he spoken yet?” Liam asked with wide eyes.

            “Can he sing?” Kiki wondered, giggling. 

Feliks gave them a small smile.

            “He still doesn’t speak,” he told Liam apologetically.  “And that means he can’t sing.”

            “I’m trying to teach him to use magic,” Envie whispered into Reykja’s ear.  “Feliks would kill me if he found out so shush.”

Reykja stifled her laughter.  Envie peered down at the paper in her hand, frowning.  They grabbed it from her, looking now at Reykja’s mom.

            “Ava, have you seen this?” they asked, glancing through the questions.  Ava sighed, walking over to them and taking the paper. 

            “Reykja mentioned needing help with it,” she admitted.  “I guess we never really told them about…you know…who we were.  In Gelasia.”

Feliks coughed, giving Ava a warning look but she ignored it.  Reykja’s ma placed a hand on Ava’s shoulder.

            “I think the kids should know,” she murmured.  Reykja, Kiki and Liam exchanged confused looks.

            “Know what?” Kiki asked, tugging on Feliks’ sleeve.  He patted her head with his free hand but said nothing. 

            “Mom?” Liam furrowed his brows, puzzled.  “Ma?”

Ava grabbed her wife’s hand.

            “I think you guys need to know some things,” she said slowly, looking to Envie for support.  They smiled wide, hands on their hips.

            “You guys are in for an amazing story,” they winked.  “You mom was just a little badass.”

Rose snorted.

Reykja pursed her lips, taking a seat on the pink loveseat.  Feliks sat next to her, Kiki squeezed up against him.  Envie sat crisscross on the floor, eyes narrowed and full of mirth.  Liam rested his head on Rose’s lap and they all waited. 

            “I found Ava in the woods behind my house,” Envie started. “Gods bless me, she was a mess.  But who cares about that?  Let’s talk about who we were.”
. . .