Instead of struggling, I kept still while hoping my mother didn't decide to rip me apart. Faint, dry whispers echoed around me striking fear throughout my body. "Save us, save us," the airy voices flowed from the hands inside the wing.
"Hush hush, my children," a soft, calm voice came from inside the children, followed by a wicked feminine laugh. "My lovely, lovely children."
A long beak stuck out the portal accompanied by wide owl-like eyes surrounded by fur exposing nothing but dark pupils. The second wing slowly grabbed me, it's fur pricking my skin. The portal closed and Morphan slithered out until she was over me, staring into my frightened eyes. Whatever beated inside her chest-a heart perhaps, I felt it against mine. What kept me from crying or screaming is the fact that I knew it was my mother. But I still felt hesitant. Even in this form; this demonic creature, did she know it was me?
"You're not afraid, suicide child?" She asked in the feather-like, airy voice that didn't sound like my mother.
I had to keep her from looking above her. Emmit didn't move. I knew he wouldn't dare to. "I-is their any reason I should be?" I replied.
A mouth I didn't know it had, formed. Two slits shaped a smile. "What were you doing here?" She began rising above me, standing on two large stilts of legs. The wings were stretched out as if to intimidate me, calmly floating around in the air as she willed. It almost seemed like a distorted dance from a creature. Something that would traumatize anyone if they saw it.
"I was looking around but got curious," I said. "I'm new here."
"Who accompanied you?"
"What?"
"You were with someone."
My heart started beating, and I did my best to maintain my fear. "No one was with me."
"Then how did you get out?"
"I-I flew."
Morphan chuckled then reached a wing towards me. I thought she would hurt me, but the wing part didn't even touch me. Instead, a long brown arm stretched from her wing and poked me in the chest then rested on my heart. "You can't fly," she said.
In the blink of an eye, Morphan shaped into my mother. Her eyes and facial expression was full of anger and hatred as she stared at me. Grabbing my arm, she began looking around. "Who helped you?" Her voice was no longer soft and quiet.
I jerked my hand away from her. "No one helped me. And even if someone did, what does it matter to you?" I stumbled a few steps back.
"Who are you looking for? Sunny? Amber?"
"Perhaps I was," I told her.
"I take you in, my own daughter and welcome you here with everything you can ever imagine and you still chase the ones that did not love you," she crossed her arms then circled me. "I bet you feel bad for your father too, hm? Do you want to go back? Back to those who hated you? You'll only be miserable, hated, unloved. Just like I was. Think about what you have now, or lose it all and repeat the lonely life you had on Earth."
With that said, mother walked away towards her palace. I let out a deep breath as soon as she closed the door. My heart felt like it was melting inside of me, that's how afraid I was. I finally looked up to see Emmit descending. I smiled at him. "That was cl-"
Emmit let Robert's body fall to the ground in front of me while staring hard into my eyes. "So, she's your mother," he clenched his teeth as he talked. "I can't believe I was so naive to let you in. I almost...I trusted you!" He blurted out.
"Emmit shush! Please, you have to let me explain," I stepped towards him.
He backed away, beginning to float. "You should have done that when we first met," he went on. "now how can I trust anything you say?"
Before I could speak, he flew home without me. I quickly nealed down, unwrapping the sheets from Robert's head. His body wasn't cold, but his skin seemed faded. I touched his cheek. Still soft as if he never died. Resting his head on my lap, I wiggled my legs around to try and wake him. "Robert? Can you hear me?" I said.
I looked at the moon, rubbing his withered and dry hair. As much as my heart broke inside to think I would never hear Robert's sweet voice again, I didn't cry. I just kept looking up at the sky.
"Remember that poem, Robert? I think it went-" I tried my best to remember it. "You can run away with me. If you want to. I know a perfect place. The moon. Forget this place and fly with me. If you want to. Are you the love of my life? Or are you the nightmare I hoped to avoid. Danger. We love it. She loves the thrill more than-."
"I do."
My ears perked up, and my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest. My hands unwillingly squeezed a hand full of Robert's hair. I couldn't look down. I was too afraid and excited at the same time. Excited it was him. Afraid it wasn't.
"Olivia?" His voice sounded weak.
I looked down, and to my happiness, I saw Robert Parker. Eyes open, hand rubbing against mine, and that smile that made everything okay. Though everything was still wrong and we were in danger, I felt safe at that moment with him. I had Robert back.