Georgina
"I want to tell you something, before this ends," I take a deep breath. "Thank you so much for all of your efforts, in protecting me and taking care of me. I'm glad I finally met you. I missed you, so much."
I open the box and see a fur coat and metal armor.
I gasp.
Does that mean...
"Mom?"
"Georgina," she greets me with a warm smile.
"Where are we?" I ask while looking around. "Did you bring us back to our house?"
"I just return those memories," she happily says.
"So... does that mean I'm still in the hidden village?" I ask while looking around.
I miss this.
I miss this house.
"Yes," she says and holds my hand. "I thought it was the right time to return all of this to you."
"Aunt Liz?" a girl interrupts our small talk and peeks in the kitchen.
It's a little girl.
It's... me.
"Aunt Liz," the little girl yells with her hands on the sides of her mouth. "It's Christmas day! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" she excitedly shouts while jumping.
Little George is wearing a baby pink dress. She happily runs outside.
That dress.
"That was your gift, right?" I whisper.
"Yes," my mother answers. "It looked good on you."
Her hand leaves mine. She stands up and follows the little George. I also leave the dining table and follow my mother. When I step outside, little George is gone.
"Where's little George?"
My mother chuckles. "You're looking for yourself?"
"Aunt Liz!" I hear the little girl's voice once again. She comes from the kitchen. Her tiny happy footsteps make me smile. She spins which made her emerald dress twirl.
"Can we invite Emy? Please?" little George asks and runs upstairs.
We walk to the living area. My gaze lands on the Christmas tree. Aunt Liz walks around the Christmas tree. She's busy decorating the tree.
"We celebrate Christmas together," she says.
"We do?" I frown.
But... I can't remember.
"Aunt Liz!" I hear a familiar voice of a girl running down the stairs. "I found the star!" The white lace dress bounces as little George runs.
Aunt Liz carries little George. My younger self puts the star on the top of the Christmas tree. Aunt Liz pulls something out of her pocket. "You know the routine. Wear this and you'll remember..."
A necklace.
My mouth gapes.
It's Clarkson's crescent pendant
"Where is Mom?" little George instantly asks as soon as the pendant touches her chest.
"That's... Clarkson's key chain," I point out.
"It's yours," she says with teary eyes.
We hear a knock on the door.
"Open the door, sweetie," Aunt Liz happily says.
Little George runs to the door and excitedly opens it.
"Mom!" she cheerfully says and hugs her mother's legs.
"That crescent pendant is the storage of your happy memories," she explains and walks upstairs.
"Aunt Liz! Come on! Mom is on her way here!" younger George yells from the stairs. She holds the crescent pendant on her chest.
"I'm happy to see you even if it's only thrice a year," she says while we're walking upstairs.
"Mom! You're earlier than before," she runs and gives her Mom a warm hug.
My younger selves come out of my room one by one, like a transition of how I grew up. Aside from physical changes and getting older, I also notice another thing.
"I became lonely," I whisper, as I look at the fourteen-year-old Georgina. She dusts off her One Direction T-shirt and looks at her denim shorts and black sneakers.
I'm not excited anymore.
I become empty.
"You did," she says while looking at younger George before us. She looks up at the ceiling and bites her lower lip.
"Merry Christmas, George," younger George whispers and flashes a faint smile. My gaze watches me go downstairs with heavy footsteps.
"This is our last celebration together," my Mom says.
"Am I not asking you questions? Like, why do I only see you on my birthdays and Christmas?"
"You did when you were eight. You cried and said that we have to take a picture together," she looks away and walks downstairs.
"What did you say?" I curiously ask.
"I told you that I work from a far far place. That's why I only get to see you a few times a year," she sits on the couch and looks around.
"You changed a lot," I stress. "You look much more unreal as time passes by."
"What do you mean?" she frowns.
"I mean..." I sit on the opposite couch facing her. "Blue hair, pale complexionâNo, literally glowing skin. You're like a fairy in fantasy movies."
"I'm not a fairy, though," she chuckles. "I'm a witch."
A witch?
"Witch?" I exclaim as my eyebrows furrow.
"Yep," she nods.
"Howâ"
"No. Not now. I'll tell you about me in person," she smiles.
"Mom!" the teenager George happily exclaims.
I almost forgot where we are.
"George," my Mom greets and hugs her.
"She was sad a few minutes ago," I comment.
"It's because of the necklace," my mother in front of me says.
"But..." I trail off and look at the Christmas tree. "When I touched it before, I could not see my memories. It's all about being an Alpha. Vampires. And places I don't know."
"I told you that that's yours. It's different from what Clarkson had. I sent replicas to werewolves that are assigned to look for you," she explains.
"You already knew where I was. Why didn't you look for me instead?" I ask while watching younger George celebrating and dancing to the One Direction song.
"I am not allowed to. The vampires are also looking for you. They're also waiting for anyone who knows where you are. They knew that I am still alive. But they don't know where I am. It'll be a risky move if I am the one who'll look for you," she startles when younger George sits beside her.
"You said you visited me thrice a year," I frown.
"Yes," she nods and crosses her legs.
"Birthday. Christmas. And?" I ask.
The Christmas tree vanishes together with younger George, Aunt Liz, and my younger mother. The house becomes empty.
"Aunt Liz!" I hear my younger self again. "Do you know that Emy and I are classmates?" she excitedly says. She opens the door and runs to the kitchen.
"Every first day of school," she answers. "But you can't see me."
"Aunt Liz!" another younger George cries while entering the house. "Someone stole my lunch."
"I'm standing here. But you won't see me," she explains.
I watch how my mother looks at my younger self.
"Why do you have to hide? Why do I have to be hidden?"
A sharp pain occurs in my head. The chanting of villagers becomes audible once again.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resiliens."
The surrounding glitches. The view of the village overlaps with the illusion my mother created.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resiliens."
"Come out, human," a cynical laughter echoes in the house.
A man comes out of the kitchen, running to the living area. He has a pair of green eyes similar to mine. He carries the younger George who is quietly playing on the floor of the living area.
"Georgina, hide in your room."
Who is he?
"Why, Dad?" little George asks.
Dad?
"Do as I say, okay?" he seriously commands.
"Dad?" I say in shock. My gaze moves to my mother. She looks at the man with lonesome in her eyes.
"Knock knock," a stranger says from outside our house.
The front door of the house slams open.
"What do you want?" my father growls.
"They say you're hiding someone that will cause the end of my boss' life," a man with a pale complexion says. His gaze moves to the kid standing at the stairs.
"To your bedroom!" my father says.
"Georgina!" my mother exclaims while running downstairs. She carries the kid and looks at her husband.
"Georgina, huh?" The stranger smirks and walks towards the stairs. My father attacks the stranger by grabbing his neck. The stranger laughs and runs his fingers through his long black hair.
"Ahhh!" the pain in my head occurs as I am slowly brought back to the present.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resiliens."
"Don't you dare, Gustavo!" my father snarls and transforms to his werewolf form.
Red fur...
Green eyes...
The surrounding glitches again. The view of the village continues to overlap with the illusion that my mother created.
"Giorgio," he smirked. "You know werewolves are weaker than vampires, right?" he smiles which shows his long fangs. The vampire slams my father to the wall.
"Dad!" I exclaim and quickly stand up.
My father tries to bite Gustavo, but the vampire holds my father's jaw. I try to run to him and stop the vampire.
"Georgina," my mother stops me. She looks away as her tears roll down her cheeks.
The vampire raises his claw and digs it into my father's stomach.
"No!" I yell and try to take a step.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resiliens."
"Georgina, we better go back," my mother stands up and hugs me tight to stop me. "You won't stop this."
"No! Let me go!" I say while pushing her away.
The familiar pain in my body occurs again. I watch my father fall on the floor. The vampire takes a step back and looks at the stairs.
"Georgina... Come out, tiny human."
"Monster!" I growl as if the vampire can hear me.
My father slowly stands up. With trembling knees, he runs to the vampire and bites its shoulders. The vampire hisses and punches my father's face.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resiliens."
As my father fell to the floor, everything went black.
I open my eyes and see myself in the village. Looking up, I open my mouth and howl.
"Georgina."
"Integritas."
"Strengthe."
"Empatheia."
"Resilieâ"
The villagers stop. All of them howl and bow down.
So this is what it feels like to be in full werewolf form.
I look around. Everyone bows down. My gaze lands on Clarkson's sleeve. His right arm is wrapped in a cloth.
Wound.
And, it's because of me.
Clarkson lifts his head. Our eyes meet. He waves at me and smiles. I give him a weak smile. My mother falls to the ground. The fireflies forming her slowly fly away.
"Wait!" I yell. But the fireflies continue to fly away. "I realized that... I don't know your name." I whisper.
"Esperanza," my mother answers as she completely vanishes. "I am Esperanza."
Esperanza.
* * *
:>