Mimic [ON HOLD]

Chapter Three: Bond

"Who says I want you on my side?" I laughed.

"Technically, I am your brother. I have to be on your side. So do it. Transform yourself into me."

"You?"

"Yeah, me. Go."

I studied him for a moment. I squinted my eyes and tried to imagine myself in Micha's body. My hair would have to be shorter, for a start. My eyes would need to be a lighter gold colour. I'd need to be wearing that grey shirt and jeans. I tried hard, but nothing changed.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I can't just do it. It just happens, usually at the worst moments possible."

Micha sighed, looking very upset. He stood up and went to the door. "Okay. Well, I'll need to see it to believe it. But for now, I have my eyes on you, Anya... what's your last name?"

"Rescottoll. Anyijaverra Rescottoll."

Micha's eyebrows raised at the unusual name. "Goodnight, Anyijaverra Rescottoll."

He left the room. Feeling tired out by my attempts to transform myself, I curled up on my bed and fell into a dark sleep. I didn't open my eyes until it was morning and I could practically see the sunlight through my eyelids. I cracked open my eyelids and was nearly blinded by the light coming through the turret windows. Groaning, I sat up and blinked. The little clock next to the bed said it was only 6:37 am, but I could hardly imagine trying to sleep again in all the light.

I rolled out of my bed quite literally, and dressed in some new clothes courtesy of Sonya's daughter. Then, I crept into the hall and down the stairs as to not wake anyone else up at this ungodly hour. Unfortunately, they were already awake. I stopped halfway down the stairs to listen.

"We can't. We just can't, Renee," Mr. Bisset was saying. "We've signed the papers, she's in our custody."

"That child nearly stole my grandmother's pendant!" Mrs. Bisset responded furiously. I tiptoed down the stairs and poked my head around the corner. The Bissets were in the kitchen, and Micha was eating cereal at the kitchen table. "That wretch! I know what I saw, and I saw a sneaky little thief!"

With that, Mr. Bisset frowned out of sympathy for me, but Micha didn't even look up. Why wasn't he defending me? Did he even care at all?

"Renee, I'm sure it was all one big misunderstanding. You saw her, she had a heart necklace. It wasn't the emerald at all."

Mrs. Bisset wasn't having any of it. "No, no, you'll see. I'll call the hospital and that social worker, and we can get her handed off to some other family somewhere."

"Please don't," I cried, stepping into the warm kitchen. The Bissets stared at me in disbelief. Micha dropped his spoon, looking just as confused. "Please, please, don't send me back. I swear I didn't steal anything. I'm sure my family will come soon, and I'll be out of your hair. Just don't give up on me now."

I stopped pleading at the sight of their shocked faces. What did I do? I just happened to overhear them. "What?"

"Anya. You speak French?" Micha asked, breaking the silence.

"French?" I repeated. "What do you mean?"

"You spoke French. We were talking, and you just joined in," Mrs. Bisset said, wiping her hands on her skirt. "Rather rudely, might I say. Who taught you French?"

"I..." I paused, unsure of how to proceed. "Uh, yeah. I do speak French, I guess. I'm sorry."

Suddenly, I realized that the words I had heard and spoken were not English, yet they felt just as natural. Still, though, neither language seemed like the one I was born to speak. Micha looked at me quizzically, Mrs. Bisset glared accusingly, but Mr. Bisset looked overjoyed.

"That is great news! See, Renee, she belongs in our family after all!"

"Oh, do be quiet, Olivier! Belong in our family, ha. She's only here for a little while anyway," Mrs. Bisset snapped, expertly flipping an egg. "Here, have some breakfast, child."

I took the plate of eggs and toast offered to me, and sat next to Micha. The Bissets left to go chat more privately in the study.

"Do you really know French?" Micha asked. I took a sip of water and shrugged. 

"I didn't until now. I guess I learned it before I lost my memory."

Micha nodded.

"But the weirdest thing... I didn't even realize what language it was until after. I didn't know."

"So can you understand me?" he asked.

I frowned. "Of course. Why couldn't I?"

"Oh, maybe because I'm speaking Russian," Micha said casually. "Seems like you didn't only learn French in your mysterious childhood."

I touched my hand to my mouth, shocked. "You speak Russian?" was all I could think of to say.

"Duh. My name is Micha. That's a Russian name. My parents were Russian, and I grew up there until... well, until they couldn't really care for me."

Micha left it at that, so I didn't press him. "Anyway, made any lockets lately? We could start a business, you know, selling your knock-offs."

I shrugged. "I told you, awesome magical powers don't work like that. They only seem to kick in when you need them least. Sorry."

But somehow, when I went back to my room later that day, both the locket and the bracelet were missing. I asked Mrs. Bisset, but she claimed she didn't know where they went. It was as if they'd simply disappeared.

All questions about my strange talent were pushed aside that evening, though. Mr. Bisset took me and Micha out fishing on a local pond, and even though we didn't catch anything, we had a good time. In fact, in my short memory, I couldn't recall ever having as much fun as we did. It was almost, almost, as if I'd found a place in the world. In some ways, I enjoyed being with the Bissets and Micha, but I really wanted my family to find me too. It was only a matter of time.