The Tales Of Crowboy The Incredible: Of Ink and Power

Chapter Twenty Eight

"Fia, why.... why did they do this?" Mama said carefully. She had been crying in her room for most of the day, terrified of what had happened. Lennon and his friends were oblivious to the entire night and this morning, thinking that it was just really cool that Mama let them play in the basment.

I cleaned up my room. It had taken most of the night, but I did it. The place looked like a warzone. All of my drawers were on the ground, with my clothes and belongings on the floor. My lipsticks and eyeliners and eye shadow pallets were opened and tossed on the floor. The notebooks and books had been flipped through and read and re-read over and over again. But this wasn't the first time my room has been searched. I knew that I had to look for the important, vital stuff first. And then look for a searching/camera device. Zain had put one in my room before all of that happened. When I had gotten downstaires, Mama was waiting for me on the table, a glass of steaming hot tea sitting in front of her, basically untouched.

"Mama. Can we please sit down and talk about something?" I asked, carefully. This was it. I'm going to tell my mom about how I'm a Celestial. I'm going to tell her about how I have wings, and why I was actually at the hospital, and that I've been lying to her for months and months and months.

"What have you been doing? Is this what you've been doing when you go to tutoring session with the Doctor? Have you been dabbling in drugs? What have you been doing behind my back? It' almost like you have this second life that you've kept secret, Fia. Are you okay?" Her voice was small. Kind of like how I acted like when I was small. But Mama wasn't small. She was a grownup.

"I promise, it's not as bad as it seems." I tried to place my words together, but I didn't know the key to this puzzle of explanation. "I just need to figure out how I'm going to explain this to you, alright?"

"You know that you can talk to me about anything. I'm worried about you, Sofia. And I want to know that you're alright. Papa and I will always be on your side. We love you."

"I know you love me, and I love you too. This is just really hard to explain, because it's been a really big deal to me for the past couple months." I said back. I'm trying not to break. I'm trying really hard to keep it all together and not break down in tears. "Do you believe in magic?"

"What?" Mama asked, laughing. "Fefe, what do you mean? You're acting like a child." She stared at me, her face happy and bright, but slowly turned more and more scared and concerned as the seconds passed, until her expression was close to pure horror.

"Mama, do you believe in magic? This is important. Please, just believe me." I urged her. But she still looked at me, confused as shit.

"I... I guess for now, in this instence, yes, I do believe in magic. but how is that relevant? Sofia, are you feeling-"

"Mama I have magic!" I blurted out. She laughed, but then I think it dawned on her that I was serious.

"What do you mean you have magic? Sofia, you're not 6 anymore. This isn't funny or cute. I'm concerned for you." I took one more breath, preparing myself for everything.

"I have magic, and I've had magic for a few months. Basically, months ago, I started growing wings." Pause for dramatic effect. "And I'm not alone. A lot of my friends have them too. And we're not human. I have magic too. Other magic. I call them Abaddon and Asmodeus." Another pause for dramatic effect, and then a look at Mama. She seemed stone faced and cold, just not accepting. She wasn't even smiling. "I'm a Celestial too. That means I have a lot of magics in me, and I'm special. Every night and on the weekends, I go to a special school so I can control my magic and stay face. The accident that I got into months ago, it wasn't a rouge shot from a fight at Monticello, or any type of gun. Someone kidnapped me and tried to cut my wings out, because they thought it was making me unpure."

"SOFIA!" Mama yelled, and threw her hands on the table. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY! YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A CHILD! I NEED YOU TO SERIOUS AND TALK ABOUT YOUR ISSUES!" She quieted down, but she still looked furious.

"Mama! I'm not lying- please just list-" I tried to say, but she cut me off.

"Papa and I were alrady talking about how we wanted to have you to more therapy session. Tommorow morning, I'm going to email your therapist and talk to her about it. This isn't healthy. You aren't healthy anymore. Just got to bed." Mama said.

"Mama just-" I tried to say, but she didn't listen.

"I am listening. I am listening and watching, and I don't see anything than a cry for help and a desperate child. But fine. Give me something. Show me something to prove that you are magic. Show me." Mama said, with a look in her eye I had never seen before. A look that made me want to curl up and hide, that if I was lying then I would instantly confess and give Mama whatever we wanted and tell her whatever she wanted to hear. But I wasn't lying.

I took off my shirt, not caring if Mama saw my scars. It was easier to get my wings out without the shirt on. I wouldn't have to use a lot of magic. Afterword, I would show her Abaddon and Asmodeus. But not right now. Right now was time for wings.

I unfurled them slowly, and kept my eye contact with Mama. My wings felt cold, much colder than they normally do, but still cold. My wings tickled my back in a weird way that I didn't enjoy, like I was doing something wrong. I really hoped that by showing Mama my magic I wouldn't lose it. That would suck. A lot.

Mamas face went from amusement, to confusion, to horror, and finally breaking down in tears. She walked over to me slowly, and just stared.

"Sofia.... wait.... are these real?" I nodded mourfully, and Mama started to cry even harder. "Can I touch one?" I nodded again. Now I was crying, hot salt water streaming down my face and dripping down my chin. Mama took on in her hands, and rubbed it between her fingers. It sent shivers down my spine. Mama was actually looking at my wings. Mama was actually touching my wings. This was real. She was really doing it. "It's so soft. And they're green. Your favorite color." She let go of my feather and put her hands on my shoulder. "Fefe. You're really not lying. Oh my God. Look at me, please." She lifted my chin up, and wipped the tears off my face. She smiled, a loving smile. I laughed, and she hugged me. Mama embraced me tightly, unsure on how to do that without hurting my wings. "Oh baby, they're beautiful. Thank you for telling me."

"I know Mama. Thank you so much." I said, and smiled. I was starting to cry again.

"Oh, baby, is this where you got hurt?" She asked, and took one of my red feathers. They were on the base of my wings, closer to my skin. I nodded, and winced when she touched one of them. She then peeled the feathers back, and studied the bone protruding from my skin. It was a strange sight, but it was beatiful. Because of Mama.

"Mama, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I wasn't allowed to and I was scared and I didn't know how." She smiled.

"It's okay. You're a teenager. I just.... didn't expect this was the secret you were keeping. I know there were secrets, but wow." She laughed again. " Now, please, go to bed. Oh my God. I don't know what to think about this."

"Alright Mama." I said, and ran into my room. I jumped into my bed and screamed into my pillow, the tears still a rapid river down my face.

After I turned off the light, I tossed and turned for hours. I couldn't sleep. My concious just wasn't working. Up until around 2 AM. I hated Mama knew. That rush of euphoria had turned into guilt. Mama was going to get hurt now. I had just put her in danger. I made up my mind.

Hey Owen. I texted him. You can shatter memories right? Owen started to type, but the dots went away. I messed up. I told my mom and now I need her to forget.