Anima: The Bird House

Chapter 2

I tried to deny it at first. But it was too late at this point. The secret was out, and she put all the pieces together. I'm not sure if it was shock or something else, but she just gave me a blank stare when she saw me. Maybe as if waiting for the reveal that it's all a joke.

"I.... Just needed.... I....," I was just stumbling over my words. I didn't know what to say, but my brain told me I needed to say something. Finally, I got a single sentence out.

"I just found out."

It was all I could say. It's not like having your Mom catch you with drugs or even nasty stuff on the internet, and there's really no reasonable explanation.

She stared at me for a bit before responding with an equally short question.

"When did it start?"

I tried to be quick and get some conversation flowing, thinking it should help.

"Uhh, two days ago, in class. Kole helped me get it under control."

Her facial expression changed from blank to more of an irritated look.

"So that's a good enough reason to not tell me? What do you mean under control? Did you do this?" She quickly snarked back.

"I was terrified! What do you think I want this? You think I want to become some kind of monster?"

From there, the conversation switched gears. Mom tried to blame it on Kole, but I made the mistake of mentioning the doctor and how she was a human but worked with hybrids. She left my room, probably for the better.

My Mom and her family are part of the population who believes it's contagious. Anima has only been a thing for a few years and is still new territory for research. Only recently have specialists like Leslie come around. And even still, it is too broad for one person to handle everything. Because of the still ongoing research, there are many myths about it.

Mentally exhausted, I raised my hands to cup my face. Expecting to feel smooth skin, I instead felt soft bristles. I slid my hands back behind my neck, down to where they met my shoulders and feathers. I tried to relax and imagine my skin against my hands. Dragging my hands back towards my face, I could feel the number of feathers dwindle.

I stepped into the hallway, then the bathroom, and locked the door. I pulled my shirt off and tossed it aside. Stepping in front of the mirror, I checked for any changes. A few feathers were still on the back of my neck and were a dull orange-brown color. Just reaching up, I was able to lightly brush them off. They must have just been some that fell off and stuck to my skin earlier.

I left the bathroom and started my way to my bedroom. As I walked past my Mom's room, I could hear something. I stopped and listened. She was crying to herself. Although I wanted to step in, I think it wouldn't help right now. I entered my room and laid down on the bed.

I was in the woods behind the college. I walked away from the building onto the bridge. There was a figure standing at the end of the bridge, looking out over the dried-up creek that ran under the bridge. Everything was perfectly clear, but the figure looked almost out of focus. The longer I looked, I could tell something was hanging off the front of their face. As I stepped closer, I tripped on one of the boards of the bridge. Just as I started falling forward, my view changed. I was lying face-up, staring at the ceiling in my bed.

Turning to get out of bed and I saw the feathers from last night lying on the floor. It wasn't a nightmare. I stood up and then bent down to collect the feathers. After collecting all I could find, I stuffed them into my pocket. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and saw a text from Kole.