A Monster's Heart

Part 3: The Truth

"Good morning, it's time for breakfast."

My heart jumped in my throat at the sight of a hairy wolf-woman looking down on me and gently shaking me awake with her paw-like hands.

"Who are you!?!" I screamed in my half-awake terror.

"Rainy, it's me! Your mother." She said gently.

"My name is not...Libby." I laid my forehead in my hands as I remembered the previous day's events. "Sorry...Mom." I said getting choked up. "Guess I'm not quite awake yet."

Mom didn't say anything but sat down on my bed and gently caressed my face with her paw. "Still feels like you're waking up in the abnormal world that you've always known. Doesn't it, sweetie?"

"Yeah," I whispered still feeling like I was about to cry. Mom drew me into her embrace. It was a mom-hug that told me I was loved and safe alright but it didn't feel like MY mom's hug. Not the hug Lorraine Morris would give me every night. I wanted MY mother. But Mrs. Morris wasn't my mother. Emmeline Lande was.

"Mom," I struggled to breathe evenly as she held me. "Chaney told me that you and...Dad...named me for the best of days. Is that true? Did you guys love me that much?"

"Oh, sweetie," She said hugging me tighter. I felt a tear splash onto my hair as she whispered. "We meant every word of that. You should have died early in my pregnancy and a lot of people kept saying that we needed to have an abortion. But how was I supposed to give up on something that fought so hard! I was sick a lot and we had no idea if you were going to make it through birth but you did and there I was in the hospital holding a miracle. Your father and I couldn't think of anything more beautiful than that. You have no idea how pained I am to have missed so much of you growing up. I never got to see your first steps, hear your first words or go hunting for mushrooms on starry nights with my daughter."

There was an anger laced in her voice but it wasn't directed towards me. Someone had hurt her and that pain touched the recesses of my lonely heart. What was the deeper story and when would this wolf-woman be ready to tell it? "Mama, when I was growing up, I couldn't help feeling that I was a little different and it left me lonely a lot. I guess that somewhere in me, I knew I didn't belong. But I thought that pain would leave as soon as I walked in the door and even though I felt at home...I still feel lonely."

"Things like this take time, sweetie. In truth, your siblings are responding much better than I thought they would. I hope that you can feel welcome here because you are. I just want to know my daughter."

She kissed me and wiped my tears from my face. There was love written in those wolfish eyes. Even if I couldn't think of her as my mother yet, I knew she wanted to be my friend and she seemed easy to talk to. I could tell her anything! "You go ahead and get dressed right now sweetie. I'll keep your breakfast warm, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

She gave me one more kiss she left the room. I got dressed slowly and washed my face. I knew that this was my home now, but it was still rough to uproot a perfectly good life and jump right in to another one. By the time I slid down the banister, everyone else had already finished eating. Mom was just cleaning up the kitchen but she had kindly kept my toast and eggs warm like she said she would.

"May I sit with you and drink my claw-fee?" Mom asked as she set a plate on the table.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

So she sat down and we talked about me: what I was going to do in college, what my favorite food was, and what my boyfriend was like. We had been talking for about half an hour when Chaney came bouncing into the room.

"Rainy! You're up! Yay! You should come down to the dungeon! Boppa's mixing a new potion and the best part is watching him mix it up and test it out!"

"Yes, why don't you go down with your sister, Rainy? She's normally not this perky until closer to sunset so enjoy her enthusiasm while it lasts." Mom encouraged me taking my basically empty plate. I followed my sister down through the trapdoor and into the basement. And I stood amazed at the bottom of stairs. There were cages and chains hanging from the ceiling, fog crawling along the floor, several coffins in the corner containing a whole slew of colorful potions, and a work table that could belong only to a mad scientist. Boppa turned around with goggles and a dirty lab coat.

"Rainy! Chaney!" He croaked happily. "Welcome to my lab! I'm just creating a brand new potion that's going to make millions!"

"What's it supposed to do, Boppa?" I asked intrigued by the entire scenario. It felt like something that could only happen in a movie. (I fought the temptation to look around for a hidden video camera.)

"Well, if I have mixed this all up correctly, this one can dissolve any type of metal on impact."

"Well, let's see it do some dissolvin'!" My sister jumped up and down, her voice starting to screech like a bat.

"Alacazam and zip-a-dee-ding! Bubbles and horseshoes-" His spell was promptly interrupted by a loud sound that sounded like sifting rice echoing throughout the room. "Oh, ghouls! Excuse me, girls." He went and stood on a certain spot in the room and with a flash of smoke, he was gone.

"What just happened?" I said confused.

"Have Mom and Dad not told you the story yet? Can I tell it?" Without waiting for an answer Chaney fluttered onto Boppa's worktable to tell me what was going on. "Well first thing you gotta know is that Granma Llewellyn was a real-live genie and was fiercely passionate about our Transylvanian blood. Well when Mom was pregnant with you and there were some complications, she got on guard because she was scared that you wouldn't be...you know...normal. So when you were born and they found out that you were human, she got really mad and pretty much demanded that Mom and Dad get rid of you. But they loved you, Rainy Day. So Granma Llewellyn stole you and put you through the system. By the time Mom and Dad realized what had happened, you were long gone. So Boppa, took matters into his own hands, divorced Grandma and stripped her of her genie-powers and took them upon himself. He won't be free until he grants three wishes."

I wanted to dance or jump up and down! My parents wanted me all along! I had been stolen as punishment not rejected. Everything made sense now – except for the fact that Boppa hadn't granted three wishes yet. "Shouldn't Boppa have granted those three wishes by now? I mean he's a warlock, right?!"

"Warlock magic isn't the same as genie magic and without real genie magic, Boppa hasn't really been able to grant any wishes."

Just then smoke filled the room again, and there was Boppa smiling demonically. "Silver Chains and Rainy Day!" He said dancing round and giving each of us a kiss on the cheek. "Tell your parents to get the finest blood out and have your Mom bake some of her special ginger-beetle cake! I have finally fulfilled a wish!"