• The sun is placed high in the sky, and not a cloud can hide it’s light today. Birds sing of their freedom while the flowers all boast their fragrance. This small town is quiet for a Saturday afternoon. But none of this matters after you just watched your father kill somebody.
    My shoes make a clomping noise as I run through the town. Tears threaten to spill over, but I push them back. I don’t know where I’m running to, but all I know is that I don’t want to go back.
    I stop near the middle of town, near the Blue Point Café. I feel like screaming, but I can’t utter a sound, not even a whimper. I am breathing heavily, and my lungs feel like they might burst. Finally the tears fall, but I quickly wipe them away. How could I have looked up to my father for so long knowing he does things like this? Maybe because I never actually witnessed him do it, just heard the tales. But now I feel that things are different. After this mornings incident, I don’t believe that I’ll ever be able to look at my father in the same light again.
    Still panting, I walk into the café. The cool air from inside hits me like a brick wall, and tears teeter on the edge of seen and unseen. I can’t break down here, I think to myself. Not in front of all these humans.
    I quickly take a seat in a corner booth and notice that my necklace is dangling freely. I look at it, study the upside down star that signifies my race. Then I hide it in my shirt, away from the world. Humans can be very judgmental about things like that.
    I feel exhausted, like I just swam across the Pacific. I bury my face in my hands and close my eyes. I don’t want to think about this morning, or him. So I think about her. A human that I shouldn’t be taking so much interest in. Her hair is a golden blond, with lighter streaks in the summer. She has crystal blue eyes, the most beautiful I have ever seen. Her lips are-
    “Can I help you?” a voice asks. I look up and find her. Her eyes are even more amazing than I imagined.
    “Adrian?” she chimes. “Are you all right?” She slides into the seat across from me, looking genuinely concerned. I study her for a moment. She is wearing the Blue Point Café uniform, and her name is engraved on a small metal name tag. When did she get a job here? But the last thing I notice is the cross dangling from a thin silver chain hung around her neck. I feel the inverted pentagram on my necklace burn into my chest.
    “Yeah, I’m fine,” I say as I look down at the table. My voice comes out in a hushed tone, giving away my lie. I run my hand through my hair, knowing that even a human could catch that. I wait for her to reply, to call my bluff. But instead I hear silence. I look up, thinking she had left me to dwell in my problems, to find her still there, watching me. Studying me.
    Suddenly I am paranoid. Could she know my secret? Does she know of demons? Did she know the person my father destroyed? Were they close? I want to shut my mind off, but the questions keep coming back. Before I know it, I am standing up and walking out the door.
    “Goodbye, Riley,” I whisper as the bell above the door chimes me away.



    I watch Adrian disappear into the bright noon sun. What was wrong with him? Did I do something wrong? I push these thoughts away. I still have fifteen minutes before my shift is over. I scoot out of the booth and go to a table occupied by two greasy looking men. I take their order and report it back to Danielle, my friend, the cook. I hope she didn’t notice the whole situation with Adrian.
    “Hey, who was that you were talking to?” she asks as she takes the slip of paper from my hand. My hopes are crushed by a measly eight words.
    “Just some kid,” I reply nonchalantly. I go behind the counter and refill the salt shakers, trying to keep myself occupied so she won’t catch my lie
    “Do I know him?” Danielle questions as she stuffs loose stands of hair into her hat. I shrug. “Well, thanks for sharing,” she says sarcastically while turning into the kitchen. I watch her as she adjusts her necklace, one that is identical to mine. The ding of the bell that signals the end of my shift startles me, but I shrug it off and head for the locker room.
    I turn the lock on my locker, enjoying the small clinking sounds it make with every turn. I enter the combination and my locker opens. I shed the ugly, plain blue uniform and replace it with a light green shirt and shorts. I comb my fingers through my hair, then toy with my necklace as I head for the back exit. My head starts to throb and I look up and down the small alley to find no one around.
    Soon the pain in my head becomes worse. My vision is pushed away by a milky light, and I grasp the door frame. I can hear my heart pounding, matching the throbbing in my mind. But then it stops, and my vision returns. My hand drops from my necklace and I turn to face a mirror on the wall behind me.
    My eyes are completely white, something that used to scare me tremendously. Now the sight is as normal as breathing. Behind me are feathery white wings, tucked as much as possible behind my back. I stand there for a second, looking at my reflection. I think of Adrian, and how I have taken a liking to him over the past couple of years. I know I shouldn’t get involved with a human, but it’s hard not to. I wonder what he would think if he saw me like this?
    I sigh, then turn outside. My eyes find their way to the sun and I take flight.