by Kelly Risser
***
David didn’t live far from the clinic, and without thinking, I found myself standing on the cliff that Ula first showed me. Was there anyone that hadn’t deceived me? Lied to me?
The cold bit my nose and made my eyes water. The sun, high in the sky, did little to warm the brittle February air.
“So you know.” A cold voice came from behind. I turned to face my aunt, Brigid. She studied me with sharp, clear eyes. “Humans are spiteful creatures. They destroy more than they create. That is why I do not associate with them.”
She didn’t move closer, but continued to assess me. I felt like a bug under a microscope.
“I’m human,” I said, when it was clear she was waiting for me to say something.
“You are not.” Her voice was clipped. “You are…more.”
“Why were you and David fighting this morning?”
She raised her eyebrow, a look of surprise on her face. “He told you?”
“No.”
“Then how did you know?”
“I saw it in my dreams,” I said. “And you didn’t answer my question.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at me. I felt exposed, as if she was peering into my soul.
“You are stronger than I thought.” She ignored my question again. She looked like she was about to walk toward me, but her eyes flicked to something over my right shoulder.
“I must go,” she muttered before her strange, violet eyes locked on mine. “I will see you again, niece.” Her image wavered and, seconds later, a seal sat before me. It turned and dived into the sea.
“Are you okay?” It was David. How did he find me? I turned to look at him, but he was glaring at the point where my aunt disappeared. “Brigid was not supposed to be here.”
“Why not?”
“Do not trust your aunt,” David said.
“What do you mean?” She wasn’t friendly like Ula, but she didn’t scare me either.
David pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on my head. My arms hung at my side. I didn’t move from his embrace, but I didn’t hug him either.
“I fear she does not currently have your best interests at heart,” he said after a moment.
Who does? I thought.
