The Witch's Ichor

Coming Out [14]

An upbeat ringtone manages to overcome the noisy downtown ambience. Tracy pulls her phone out, and answers. Zoe watches her curiously as she leans against the arcade's wall.

"Hey Mom, what's up?" Tracy starts.

Tracy steps out of the way of passerby while listening to her mother speak. Her face goes through a myriad of emotions.

"Okay, got it. I'll be there." Tracy confirms.

Zoe wonders what this is about, but it isn't really her business.

"Love you too, Mom. Bye bye." Tracy finishes.

Tracy pockets her phone before leaning down slightly to Zoe's eye level. The look on Tracy's face is a serious one.

"I gotta run, but I want you to promise me something, Zoe." Tracy says sternly.

"Promise you what?" Zoe replies.

"Promise me that you'll never forget you're a real girl. Ever." Tracy whispers.

Zoe nods emphatically.

"I promise."

~

Zoe is standing on her front porch. She adjusts her outfit carefully, and double checks her hair using her phone's camera. Deep breaths. She gives the door three good knocks, and waits.

There's shuffling and the muffled sound of her mother's voice. Zoe stiffens up as the door's handle turns. It swings open to reveal Zoe's mother wearing sweatpants and one of her husband's shirts.

"Oh... Oh?" Zoe's mother says.

"H-Hi Mom, I uh... I switched back." Zoe explains stiffly.

Most of the ways Zoe expected her mom to react were some flavor of negative. Select few scenarios in Zoe's head end happily. Despite going through numerous scenarios in her head, Zoe never thought up a scenario where her mother did this. Zoe's mother smiles.

"Do you feel better now?" Zoe's mother asks gently.

Zoe can't help the tears that threaten to spill from her doe eyes. She nods with more enthusiasm than she's ever nodded before, and her mother scoops her into a loving embrace right there on the front porch. The tears start gushing down Zoe's cheeks.

I just keep crying...
But girls are allowed to cry.
I'm allowed to cry now.

Eventually Zoe stops crying. Her mother gently pulls away so that she can get a good look at her daughter. Zoe smiles awkwardly at her mother. Her mother smiles right back, and wipes away Zoe's tears with her sleeve.

"Do you... have a name picked out, honey?" Zoe's mother asks gently.

"Yes! My name is Zoe, now." Zoe replies resolutely.

"That's a beautiful name, Zoe." Zoe's mother compliments her.

Zoe can't help blushing at her mother's sweet words. Hearing the woman who birthed and raised you approve of your chosen name is so gratifying it's difficult to put into words. The autumn wind reminds Zoe and her mother that they're outside with a harsh gale.

"Care to join me for some hot chocolate, daughter of mine?" Zoe's mother offers with a smirk.

Despite not wearing a skirt or any alternative, Zoe curtsies to her mother as if accepting an invitation to a ball. She even goes the extra mile by putting on a very bad posh accent.

"It would be my pleasure, mother dearest." Zoe replies jokingly.

They giggle at their silly exchange, and move into the warm interior of the house. Zoe takes a seat at the dining table. She smiles when she notices her feet don't quite reach the floor.