XENOI

Chapter 2: Silver Creek

"Ever since I was a kid, I've always felt like there was something off about me, like I wasn't normal-at least not like other kids. My foster mom treated me with so much love, but I could still feel it-that sense that I was different, like an outsider even when I wasn't. It's like being a piece of a puzzle that doesn't quite fit, no matter how hard you try. Have you ever felt like that?

I can't shake this feeling that there's some place out there where I truly belong. But I don't know where it is, or how to find it.

Everyone at school calls me 'Weirdo Varese.' I get why. I'm always quiet, keeping to myself. My abilities-they're not like anyone else's. I excel at everything, way more than other kids do. Some people think it's just a natural talent, that some people are just gifted. But nothing about me feels normal. The way I talk, the things I know, how I act-it's like I'm way too grown up for my age. But my mom, she doesn't say much about it. She insists I'm normal, that there's nothing strange about me.

But I've got all these questions that never get answered. Am I even human? What am I really? Even my nationality is a mystery-I'm not American, or Australian, or Asian. No one knows where I'm from. My mom says it doesn't matter what I really am, as long as I'm here, alive, and free."

•••

- 1974 -

Years ago, when Aldien was just a small boy, full of curiosity and wonder, his mother noticed the time had come for a serious conversation. She gently led him to their cozy living room, where the afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a warm glow over the room. With a soft smile, she held his tiny hands in hers, her eyes brimming with love and a trace of concern. "Aldien," she began softly, "there's something important I need to tell you."

The boy looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes, sensing the seriousness in her tone. "What is it, Mama?" he asked, his voice sweet and trusting.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "You see, you didn't grow in my tummy like some children do with their mothers. You were born to another woman, but from the moment I first held you in my arms, you became my son. I adopted you because I wanted to be your mother more than anything in the world."

Aldien listened intently, his young mind processing her words. After a brief silence, he nodded, his expression thoughtful. He didn't fully grasp all the complexities of adoption, but he understood the most important part-that his mother loved him deeply, and that was enough for him.

°°°

As the years passed, Aldien grew up in a home filled with warmth, laughter, and an abundance of love. His mother never treated him as anything other than her own, raising him with the same care and devotion as if he were her own flesh and blood. But as Aldien grew older, so did his curiosity. He began to wonder about his origins, about the family he had never known. The questions buzzed in his mind-who were his birth parents? Why did they give him up? Did he have siblings out there somewhere?

Whenever these thoughts became too overwhelming, Aldien would ask his mother. But she always gave him the same comforting answer: "You're my son, don't you ever doubt that." And for a while, that was enough to calm his restless heart.

°°°

One bright and sunny afternoon, Aldien found himself playing in his mother's lush garden, a place that had always felt like a sanctuary to him. The garden was a haven of vibrant flowers, towering trees, and hidden nooks where he could lose himself in his imagination. He had brought out some of his favorite toys, constructing elaborate stories with them, when suddenly, he heard a sharp, unmistakable sound-a crack, as if something had been stepped on or broken.