Chapter 2

I walked into my aunt Wendy and uncle Kevin’s house, quietly dropped off my bag in my room down the hall, before I went into the kitchen to grab a snack.

My Aunt Wendy and my two cousins all work at the Manhattan hospital while my uncle is a graphic designer working at home--two very different job pathways but make good money.

I poured some party mix into a small plastic bowl, before I put the bag away in the cupboard. As I was sneaking past the open door of my uncle’s office trying my best not to disturb him, he spotted me and motioned me to come talk to him.

Stepping into Uncle Kevin’s office, he took out his earbuds and pushed his chair back away from his computer desk, before turning his chair to face me.

“Hey V. How was school?” he asked, in a gentle tone.

“It was okay. Nothing very exciting happened”.

“Well, I um, have some sad news”.

I locked eyes with my uncle before he continued.

“Your other uncle----Kelly---your foster mom and my brother---died from Leukemia last night”.

My neutral face became a frown.

“I thought I’d tell you so you can tell your teachers that you’ll be missing school on Friday to go to the funeral”.

“We’re having his funeral that soon?“.

Uncle Kevin nodded his head.

“Yeah, but it’s not just for him; It’s also for your foster dad too”.

I felt like the world just stopped for a moment, as if time paused itself, before I replied back to him.

“Thank you for telling me, I appreciate it”.

I started to turn to go to my room when my uncle called my name.

“And V, one more thing”.

I turned to face him again with a deep frown.

“If you need anybody to talk to, I’m here” offered Uncle Kevin, before slid his chair back to his desk, slipped in his earbuds and continued to work away on his computer.

I continued down the hallway and walked into my bedroom, before I closed the door and collapsed on my air mattress bed.

I thought, sighing out the stress.

Then an idea popped into my head.

Getting up from laying on my back, I pulled out my ‘Miss Marvelous’ superhero costume, threw it on and opened up my window, before shapeshifting into a harpy eagle and flying out.

I flew up high over my uncle’s house, ascending high enough to safely land on the forty-story apartment building next door.

Lately, I’ve been coming up here because the beautiful view comforts me.

Once I landed softly on the rooftop, I shapeshifted back into my human form and sat down on the edge, with my legs dangling above the constant New York traffic below.

I thought, completely mesmerized by the cityscape of Manhattan.

Especially at night with all of the bright lights. That thought reminded me of when I was on top of the apartment building next to my foster parent’s house for the first time and almost fell to my death.

I can smile at the memory now of how I overcame that, knowing at that moment I was paralyzed with fear, I continued to revisit memories I’ve made being Miss Marvelous, before it got dark and I had to go back down into my uncle’s house.