Wolves (English)

Chapter 10

My father is the first to notice me. 'Oh, Ester. I hadn't seen you at all today. How is it going?'

He is not as happy as he looks like. He pretends. I notice it in everything. The small tremor in his voice, the way he looks at me, his tense posture... All signs of nervousness. I understand that somehow. He is of course afraid that I have heard all about their conversation, which is true.

But I really won't let that stop me. I now want to know what is going on between those three.

I lean against the counter as casually as possible. 'Don't worry, Dad. Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about.'

He is already starting to sigh with relief, and my mother looks a bit more relaxed too. But then I fold my arms and continue in a normal tone: 'The only problem is that I have no idea who Danny and Erik are. New friends? Colleagues? Say it. I am very curious.'

The atmosphere in the kitchen immediately changes. It suddenly becomes suspiciously quiet. My mother looks with a visibly shocked face at my father, who rocks uncomfortably back and forth. Finn gives them a meaningful look, and he clearly still has trouble controlling his emotions.

I know enough.

'Oh, just two people we happen to know,' my father tries to answer evasively. 'It's not important, Ester.'

Now I'm fed up. 'Oh, really? Because it sounded like it was important.' I turn to my brother. 'And you seem to know them too because it was about them all along. But the biggest question I want to ask you is what the hell you all got involved in today. I was really worried, you know that?'

I know my voice sounds angry and reproachful, but I just don't care at the moment.

Finn shrugs, defeated. 'I'm sorry, Ester.'

'You're sorry for what?'

'I'm sorry for everything.' New tears appear in his eyes. 'It's all my fault you're in this shit now too.'

'What shit? What the hell are you talking about?'

I see my mother looking at us with an annoyed look because for the first time in a long time we use open swear words in the house again. She always hated that, and so we decided to quit at some point. Unfortunately, that promise has now been broken. But to be honest, I am not worried about it.

Now my father intervenes, 'Ester, it is time for you to know the truth.' He looks at my mother. 'We can no longer hide it from her, Anja.'

'I know,' my mother sighs. 'She's old enough now to hear about the Shadows.'

I no longer even ask who or what that name has to do with. I look at my parents and brother, and say, 'I think so too, yes. Just explain it all to me. I will sit down at the table.'

After my mother has poured us tea and coffee for my father and Finn, the four of us sit down at the kitchen table. The three elders look at each other interrogatively. I can almost hear them think: who is going to tell?

Ultimately, my father is the one who clears his throat and starts telling, 'Okay, I'll just start at the beginning. That seems the easiest to me. It's like this: a long time ago, when humanity had just emerged, very special beings lived on Earth. During the day they looked like wolves, but at night, when it got dark, they transformed into some kind of human-like thing. Their coat disappeared, as did their two front legs, and their long muzzles turned into the noses we know today. Only their eyes, teeth, and long hair betrayed the animal behind that human body.'

My mother continues, 'These animals were virtually unknown to all other people on Earth. No one knew if they were wolves or humans, and how they managed to survive for so long. They had the strength and instinct of a wolf, but they became as old as a human. Their food consisted mainly of meat, but when a difficult period came and there were few animals to hunt, they just as easily chose vegetables and fruits.'