Labyrinth of White - The Moon Trilogy - Book #1

Chapter five:

"I don't think you'll believe everything I say, but all of it is the truth." Rachel said, still talking in a low tone.

"I don't care if I won't believe it or not, I want to know." Clarity said stubbornly.

Rachel sighed again. "I'm an alien." She said after a brief pause. "Or at least partially alien." She added.

Clarity felt the old fear of aliens rising up in her chest, but Rachel wasn't exactly the kind of alien she had always imagined. She'd always envisioned slimy creatures with large heads and slanting, black eyes.

Rachel must have sensed her confusion. "I told you it would be hard to believe." She said.

"How can you look so much like a human if you're an alien?" Clarity asked, both fearful and confused.

"A long time ago a bunch of aliens came to earth. When humans saw them, they thought we were monsters. You know the old legends of vampires and werewolves?" the longer Rachel spoke, the louder she got, and soon enough, she wasn't speaking in that quiet tone anymore.

"Yeah?" Clarity replied still very confused.

"Well, almost all of that kind of legend originated because of aliens coming to earth. Ghosts, giants, dragons, witches. Back then some aliens were even thought to be gods." Rachel said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"How come there are no aliens now?" Clarity asked, getting no explanation from Rachel's words.

"There are aliens. We've just gotten better at hiding" she replied. "Actually, almost all of Earth's inhabitants have at least one alien ancestor somewhere along the family line."

"So that means I'm part alien?" Clarity asked incredulously.

"Most likely." Rachel said.

"All of this is fine and dandy," Clarity said, rather sarcastically. "But I still don't know why you've been stealing from people."

Rachel looked thoughtful for a moment. "My family died a while back and I was left to fend for myself. I tracked down some distant relatives and stayed with them for a while but they couldn't support me. I started living on the streets. I tried begging for food but no one would feed me. That's when I learned that, if I covered my face, people would be more prone to give me a few scraps." She paused and rubbed her eyes. "After I got a little older, people stopped giving me food and I almost starved. I decided to break in to a house and found it loaded with food. I took as much as I could eat and, for the first time since I could remember, I was full. Ever since then, I've been stealing food." At this she stopped talking.

Clarity looked over at her mom. She was awake now and staring at Rachel in disbelief. Clarity wondered how long she had been listening. Mother stayed silent and gawked. Clarity looked back at Rachel and realized for the first time why she was so skinny. She had been malnourished for all of those years. She must not have taken much from each house because she was very, very skinny.

"Do you know any aliens from around here?" Clarity broke the heavy silence.

"No. I try not to get involved much. I move as soon as the cops come looking for me." Rachel said, looking down at her feet.

"You are an alien?" Mom asked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yes." Rachel said, her shoulders slumping in relief, presumably because Mother was finally out of her state of shock.

"And all those years you were alone on the streets? With no family or friends?" Mother questioned.

"Yes." Rachel said again.