A Hidden Heritage, A Deadly Secret

It’s the middle of our shared lunch hour when I told James the secret I’d been keeping since I found out a year ago. James knew there was something wrong; I’d been keeping to myself all week, avoiding his calls and messages. He and I had been friends since first grade, he knew me better than my parents did, and I’d do anything for him. But he had to know, because things were getting complicated. Very complicated.

After waiting in line for what seemed like the better part of an hour, I finally sat down at our usual cafeteria spot- in the back, furthest from the entrance doors, mostly isolated from our classmates. I never put much thought into where James and I sat during lunch, but I am so glad it’s here. What I was about to tell him could not be overheard. James puts away his phone as soon as I sit down.

“Bro! I haven’t heard from you all week and you’ve been avoiding me like crazy! What’s been going on? Did I do something to-”

“No, you did nothing wrong,” I interrupted him. I don’t try to sugar coat it or beat around the bush. “I’m a demigod, James.”

As can be expected of anyone that hears such news, he goes silent. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears as I waited for him to say something, anything.

“I’m sorry, what?”

I sighed, knowing might be his reaction; I had thought up a thousand different reactions. I’m thankful it’s this one instead of any of the others I imagined. But there was something I hadn’t imagined- what happened the next day. Giving him the knowledge of who I was gave him a target.

That night I woke to a strange kind of feeling that made me shiver. When I breathed, I could see my breath. Something was amiss and yet, when I searched the house there was nothing. I chalked it up to being stressed about a test coming up in Algebra II and went back to sleep.

At the six o’ clock the next morning, James parents shook his sleeping form, worrying he’d be late for school. Except he wasn’t sleeping. In the black of night, someone from the Realm of Darkened Stars came and took his soul.

The Realm of Darkened Stars (usual just called The Realm) is where our souls go when we die. It is a place of judgement and of guidance. Souls are judged, and then escorted to their eternal lives. How did I know that someone came from The Realm? Because I could feel it. My mother oversees The Realm and I am her son. My mother is the Goddess of Darkened Stars, yes. When I went to school the next day, James’ parents were there waiting on me; one look on their faces told me everything I needed to know.

Growing, I was an only child being raised by a single mother who taught me to never hide my emotions. Because of this, I was often picked on by other kids and singled out as being a wimp because I was “too emotional”. Some kids even took it so far as to call me “pussy” when teachers weren’t in earshot (and sometimes when they were). I cried, I got angry, I got frustrated, I got annoyed- and everyone could tell. I refused to hide my feelings; I got bullied for it. As I walked down the halls of Anderson High with tears falling from my cheeks, not one person called me out. I sat at my desk in Algebra II, the test forgotten, and stared at the wall until class was over. The day stretched into infinity and I dragged myself through it, waiting for it to end.

I had something I needed to do: I needed to find out who killed my best friend. I skipped taking the bus that day. James lived two blocks from the school. Everyday he would walk to school. On days when he slept over at my house, he took the bus. I never needed to take the bus, really. I could have gotten to school by simply willing myself to be there.

I knocked on the door and patiently waited for his parents to answer.

"May I come in? I- uh, I left a school project in James' room. I know it's a bad time to-"

"No, sweetie," his mom interrupts, "it's okay. Go. Get your project."

She said it as if she knew I was lying. I ignored the guilt I felt and took the familiar route to James' empty room. There, I stood in the middle of his absence and closed my eyes. My lips moved, but no words came out. Around me, everything began to glow green. From this light, figured appeared. One was James, whose form lay in bed. The other was his murderer.

I opened my eyes and watched the scene play out.

James awoke sometime around 3am, the same time I did. But only one of us got to see the rising sun. James woke up because the window above his bed had opened. I see his form reach to close, perhaps he thought the wind had caused it to open. Then, a hand reaches in from outside. Another hand reaches and slaps against James mouth. A figure of death climbs into the window. James lays back down and is sat on by his figure. This figure moves their hands in a swirling motion. Slowly, so slowly, James soul leaves his body. When the figure is done, they simply vanish.

There's something I didn't mention before, but maybe you figured it out: I have two moms. One rules the underworld, the other is an artist and writer who struggles to find work. For years, I never knew this. Then one day, my mother- my human mother- sat me down and told me everything. How she had met the ruler of The Realm when she was 22 and fresh out of art college. They met at an art exhibit, my mother told me. It wasn't until she became pregnant that she found out. See, I could have just been made to exist. But instead, my other mother decided to will me into been in the normal- dare I say, natural- human way. So I have two mothers, and I am a demigod. But here's the thing: only one of my mothers would have the ability to do what was done to James.

One of my mothers was asleep the night James died- my human mother. One of my mothers killed James.

My other mother, the one who rules The Realm of Darkened Stars, killed my best friend.