Smevy

2

By the time we rode through a field, through a shallow creek, through the forest, and came up to the Smith's door, the sun had started to set, casting the trees into a much darker shade. Shadows yawned like hungry teeth across the roof of the small homestead, intent on swallowing it whole. I shivered, then ran to help dad unhitch the horses.

"Thanks, Joseph," he said, handing me the reins.

I blinked, hard. Something...didn't feel right. It took me a moment to realize I'd slipped into being a girl. This was going to complicate things. I cursed under my breath, then glanced furtively at my dad. He had turned to help Esmerelda out of the truck, so he either hadn't heard anything or didn't care. I breathed a sigh of relief, turning to tie the horses up.

I bit my lip nervously. This was going to complicate things. Normally I was enough of a boy to feel comfortable with my own name, with he and him, but, during times like these, they felt like a sweater two sizes too tight. It didn't fit, and all I wanted was to get rid of it.

But of course that wasn't going to fly. Mom, dad, everyone here- they weren't going to treat me like a girl if I asked for it, no matter how it made me feel. Not that I had asked, but imagine their faces if I tried? The conversation between my parents that I'd overheard that night was still fresh on my mind, and I was sure everyone else here held the same beliefs.

I walked back around the house, opened the metal door, a relic from better times, and tried to slip inside without anyone noticing, but mom was lingering in the entranceway and grabbed my wrist.

"I was wondering where you went," she said, looking me in the eyes.

"I was just tying up the horses," I replied, trying to pull away.

"Not yet." She furrowed her red brow, her horns shifting slightly with the movement. "You're hiding something from me."

"N-no, I'm not." I tugged myself out of her grip. "I just want to go find Nathan and Matthew."

"Okay, but don't disappear again, alright?"

"Fine." I walked away as quickly as I dared, zipping around a corner before glancing back. She didn't follow. I breathed a sigh of relief, then slipped down a side hall where I knew I wouldn't be bothered, stepping into a bathroom and closing the door behind me. The mirror, cracked and warped with age, reflected it's equally decrepit surroundings along with a splintered and distorted shadow of myself.

I smiled grimly. For once my reflection actually looked exactly how I felt- utterly unsure of what I was. The thought shattered the brief moment of peace I'd felt in getting away from people, making me want to take it out on the innocent mirror. I was about to, then stopped, shaking my head to clear it. "Now isn't the time," I muttered to myself. "Get yourself under control."

I took a deep breath, suddenly wanting to get as far away from the mirror as possible. I walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me, and glanced out of the hallway. Nobody was there, but the gentle bubble of conversations from the rest of the house told me that I'd be forced to socialize if I tried walking out there. So, instead, I looked down the hall. There were five doors, including the bathroom's, two on each side and one on the end. I knew the other three were bedrooms, but I'd never gone in the last one- my mom had caught me before I could.

I strode towards it, my feet squishing unevenly into a carpet that was feeling it's age despite its owner's best attention. I approached the door, slowly turning a handle that squeaked mildly in protest. I must have jumped two feet, spinning around as if the sound had been a demon's dinner bell. No one was there, and I shook myself as penance, then turned back to the door. It creaked open, and I nearly cried out as I got the second shock in as many seconds.

There was a girl crouching in the doorway. I'd never seen her before, and I'd been coming to this house since before I could remember. She had brown skin, blue, slanted eyes, brown hair that poofed behind her, and a pair of black cat ears sprouting from the top of her head. She stood up, and a black tail whisked back and forth nervously behind her.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, as if she was afraid she was going to be overheard.

"Jo-er." I stopped myself mid-sentence. That name wasn't right. "You know what, just call me...um..."

"Smevy." She said, smiling a little.

"What?" I responded instinctually, then realized that it was a name. My name. Those sounds fit me more than "Joseph" ever did, and that was saying something. Even so, I had to ask. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, I just saw it on one of father's boxes."

"Oh." Just my luck that the first name that actually fit was from some random piece of cardboard. "Well, I like it."

"It fits you," she said. "I'm Grya."

"Nice to meet you," I said. "What are you doing in there?" I looked past her and saw rotting wooden steps leading down to a concrete basement. Then I remembered something. "Wait, did you say 'father?'"

"Yeah, my dad lives here."

"So you're Mr. Smith's daughter?"

"Yeah, but he always tells me to be quiet when there's people here." She suddenly looked very worried. "You won't tell him, will you?"

"Of course I will!" I exclaimed. Nothing about this felt right, and I was intent to get to the bottom of it. "What kind of people lock their daughter in the basement?!"

"They don't really lock me," she interjected, her hand reaching out as if to pull something back. "I can come out whenever I want when nobody's around. It's just that..."

"...There's always people around," I finished, my righteous anger growing with every word. I'd always thought the Smiths were nice- well, nice enough. I wouldn't trust them with my secret. But then they did this!

I started to run for an adult, but Grya reached out for my sleeve, catching it just in time. "Wait, don't!"

"Why?"

"This doesn't feel right."

"What about it doesn't feel right?" I looked her in the eye. "Do you want to be stuck in there forever?"

"Not really..."

"So what is it?"

"I don't know, it just doesn't fit!"

I could only stare for a solid ten seconds. Then took a deep breath and blinked, hard. "Alright," I said, "let's think of something else then. What if you just, I don't know, walked out? Then everyone would see you!"

"What if they said I wasn't theirs," she peeped sadly. "That's what they've always told me they'd do if I came out. They said it was for my own good."

"Then they are liars," I replied firmly. I paused, surprised by my own force.

She just smiled. "Thank you," she said softly. Then she stepped up and wrapped me in a hug, resting her head over my shoulder. "I've never had a friend before," she murmured. "But I think you'll make a really good first one."

"Th-thanks," I stuttered, patting her awkwardly on the back. She shook, and it took me a worried second to realize it was a giggle. Then she stiffened.

"Sorry, I thought-"

"No, you're fine," she said, pulling away. "Mom saw."

Those two words sent shivers down my spine. Then my determination hardened, and I said, "We'll just have to move quickly then. Can you think of anything you could do that would make it impossible for them to say you weren't theirs?"

"No, I-" Then she paused and cocked her head, looking all the world like a real cat with her ears. Then she smiled devilishly, and said, "You know, I think I do have something."

"Really? What is it?"

"You'll see, just follow my lead."

With that, she ran off, her tail streaking out behind her like a banner. I took a deep breath, chanced one last glance down the stairwell, and ran after her.