Chapter 3: Mom

Is my life a lie?

***

The afternoon sun took it's position right at the centre of the sky. The heat, accompanied by a light breeze, created an atmosphere of calm and quiet. Not a life stirred, only the crickets sang in the nearby trees.

Sarah stood at the porch but would not ring the bell. Who knows how long she had been standing there collecting all the data she needed to process a proper question to ask. The words appeared, disappeared, and collected again until she came up with the most probable question. But when she finally pressed the button and a middle-aged woman opened the door, she could bring to her mouth only these words, "are you my real mom?"

The woman stood there in dead silence.

They sat at the dining table in complete silence, each contemplating what to do next. The woman had her hands on the table, her fingers interlocked, "What makes you say so, Sarah?"

It's a difficult question to answer. All mothers feel that their child is their own, regardless of whether or not they birthed them. A question like this is not something a parent expects to hear from their child, rather something they bring up on their own in time. Even so, for Mrs. Roberts, she never wanted to bring it up in the first place.

"Mom, am I adopted?"

"Has anyone been bothering you at school, dear? You know you shouldn't say such things".

"Why won't you just tell me? It's not the first time I thought I look nothing like you and dad anyways".

Sarah kept asking even when Mrs. Roberts tried to steer away the topic. Something in Sarah's heart told her to believe in the words the winged boy told her. After quite a while of bickering and struggling from both ends, Mrs. Roberts' eyes welled up in tears, "did you meet him? The white haired winged man?"

"Do you know him?"

She sighed, "Fine. I will tell you. Sarah, you are not our daughter," then she broke down in tears.

Sarah sat where she was, unable to move. An unknown force crushed her inside forcing tears to her eyes as well but she held them back.

"Then who am I?"

"I don't know, but to us you are our Sarah".

***

The storm had begun to take its real form and the wind caused the windows to rattle. The sharp crackling noise of the thunder caused Mrs. Roberts to shiver as she desperately held onto the small woolen hat. She had intricately woven it with love expecting to see the smiling face of her child who never came to this world.

Someone banged on the front door. She looked up, wondering who it could be at such an hour in the middle of such a storm. Mr. Roberts opened the door and a man rushed inside before he could stop him. He held something in his hands. Mr. Roberts raised a chair in defence, but the man motioned to stop. He unwrapped the little figure revealing a baby roughly a few months of age.

He limped over to the crouching Mrs. Roberts and held out the baby to her. She took the child in her arms. The hood fell off the man's head revealing brilliant white hair.

He struggled to get words out between loud pants and whimpers of pain, "...You must take care of her...give her a name and raise her as your own child. Do not let anyone... know of this secret. When time comes, she will know. She is yours now...lost her parents, so give her a new life. Be her parents...I must take leave".

As he turned to leave, Mr. Roberts attempted to grab his clothes to stop him and inquire about his identity. The strange man let his cloak come off at the pull, exposing his back where he had neatly folded his wings stained in blood. Mrs. Roberts gasped. The wings she saw were certainly very real. Even so, instead of wondering what this creature was, she rushed to his aid, but the man took flight and disappeared into the clouds.

She looked down at the baby fast asleep in her arms. So small, so fragile. Her hand involuntarily slid into the baby's palm. Almost instantly the tiny fingers wrapped around her fore finger. Mrs. Roberts stared at this event and a rush of emotions in her told her to claim this little being as her possession. Mine. She thought. She's mine.

She smiled for the first time since she lost her own Sarah.

***

Sarah got up from her seat and walked up to her mother. She placed a hand on her shoulder and wiped the tears off her mother's face,

"Mom, why do you worry so much? You will always be my mother, you know".

Mrs. Roberts looked up at her adopted child and wept again. This is the one thing she always feared she would not hear. She did not want to lose the only child she had. She did not want her to know if it meant lying to her forever. But hearing her say that she still saw her as her own, Mrs. Roberts felt ashamed.

Neither of the mother or daughter realised that Phileas had already appeared in the dining space and sat cross legged on the table. He watched them for a while then, unable to bear his the lack of attention, spoke up, "just so you know, Mrs. Roberts, I am not Hanns. I am his son, Phileas, and I also happen to be the servant of the Rokav family".

Mrs. Roberts turned to him and dabbed at her tears using her sleeves, "Oh my. You have the same hair!"

She paused to look at him clearly again for it is unusual to see something that is out of the ordinary and cannot be explained, "His name is Hanns? How has he been? He was in very poor state when I saw him".

"He is fine now. But he is busy looking over the Rokav kingdom. The king left everything in his hands before he died".

"Were the wings I saw an illusion?"

"No, I hid mine to fit in".

Your eyes look tattooed though, thought Sarah.

Phileas took his time to explain to her that he came from another dimension, one with magic. He told her what he told to Sarah, no details just a summary including the name of the kingdom he belongs to, his position there and Sarah's position as the royal princess. When they had all calmed down, Mrs. Roberts tried to lighten the mood a little.

"You know, you are one handsome young man. Sarah is single -"

"Mom," Sarah cut in, "I don't know why you do this whenever you see a guy, but for your information I have a love interest. Unfortunately this handsome young man here wouldn't let me near him".

"Is that so?"

"Mrs. Roberts, that boy is the Ankur heir and is a threat to the princess' life".

"Quit calling me princess. Call me Sarah".

"Rhea," he said with his eyes closed, as if though the decision had been made.

Sarah glared at him but he sat cross legged, the usual firmness in his expression. Mrs. Roberts giggled. She shot her a look too.

She knew that the right thing to do now was to let Sarah find her identity. Now that the winged people had returned for her, it was no longer her place to keep what did not belong to her. She knew she had to let go. Thus, with a very heavy heart, she gathered all her resolve.

"Well, Phileas, I guess Sarah is in good hands. Keep her safe and let me know if I am needed. Help her find origins".

Phileas disappeared from the table top and reappeared next to Mrs. Roberts to bow down. Mrs. Roberts giggled again and pat him on the head. Just bring her back to me again when she needs a parent...no...just bring her back soon.