Fear, love... and betrayal; that's what I feel about my new life.
It's a life I never asked for, at least not like that.
I certainly dreamed of adventure, of escaping from my ordinary life, but nothing prepared me for what would happen when my norma...
Ok, that's not what I was expecting for an answer... she must be senile, the poor dear. I sit down on the sofa trying to avoid the springs that literally replace the usual cushions. I have to close my eyes. Maybe if I do, when I open them I'll find that all this will have disappeared. The stench is so bad that I can't stay here for long. Opening my eyes, the décor seems to have stayed the same, but the woman is no longer there, where can she be? I lower my eyes for an instant and what do I see at my feet? Nyx! I am instantly calmer. I must grab her as quickly as I can and go home before Gertrude returns with a pot to cook us in. As I advance towards her, she backs away. Already she has betrayed my heart once today, this little feline who shares her life between us, it's unbearable.
"Nyx, come here sweetie, let's got back to your real house!"
The next second, the velvety creature transforms under my eyes into...Gertrude!
"What? I can't understand any of this. What's going on? What do you want from me? What did you do with Nyx?"
I feel completely hysterical and get up to shake the woman with all my strength.
"Lou, I am Nyx! I've been her since the beginning. I have the power to transform into animals, that's part of who I am."
I back up to catch my breath; I pace the living room and grab a pastry as I walk by. At least they're still as tasty as before.
"Ok, if I admit for a moment that all this is real, which it most certainly isn't, why would you have come to my house for so many nights over all these years?"
"Lou, I promised your mother I would take care of you and that's why I'm here."
"My mother! You don't know my mother, I've never seen you with her."
"Your biological mother, dearest, I was one of her closest friends."
How dare she say something like that? Incredible to think that she would play with someone's emotions without the slightest concern about the impact it might have. She certainly did find out many details about her neighbors; that's for sure!
"Lou, I can see that I've upset you and I knew your mother whether you like it or not. I think that the time has come for you to know the truth and she is part of that truth."
I am furious and if she weren't so old and frail I would clock her good and hard, the old bat. But, I must say that the rest of her story is intriguing...I really want to know how far she wants to go with this.
"Fine, I'll listen, but no creative explanations or lies, only the cold, hard truth. I want to ask a few questions and I insist on answers," I say firmly.
"That's all I ask, my little Lou. I've tucked you in and watched over you for so long! I've been waiting impatiently for this day!"
"Perfect! First of all, if it is true that you're Nyx, why spend all that time with me without revealing the truth? Why did you wait for me to figure it out on my own?"
"Today is the first full moon since your twenty-first birthday and I wanted to wait until you reached that age to reveal the truth. You weren't ready before, and I'm not sure you're ready now, but time is of the essence."
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