Breathing heavily, I collapsed onto a park bench and held my head in my hands. The pain in my head was blinding, pounding, and I needed it to stop.
"Stop, stop," I whispered to myself, ignoring all the strange looks from the people walking by. I remained hunched over for a few minutes and soon the pain subsided.
Sitting up, I looked myself over. I had a few new bracelets and I definitely wasn't wearing those socks in class. My hair seemed to be going back to its usual brown, and my skin was returning to normal too. I'd lost my headscarf somewhere in the confusion. If I was a bit shorter than average, that was probably fine. I stood up, shifting my backpack. What do I do now? I couldn't exactly waltz back into school after that exit. So I decided to take a little walk.
My creepy navigational senses told me that I was in Wellington Park, not that that really helped me find my way around anywhere. I strolled around, trying to avoid the other people (which wasn't hard, most people were at school or work), but occasionally walking by the odd picnicking family. Rotten morning aside, it was really a beautiful day for mid-April. I passed the Sir Wellington Memorial Fountain, and saw some ducks swimming. Behind me, a chipmunk scuttled by, getting awfully close to me.
Soon, I found a nice ledge on which to eat my lunch, overlooking the fountain and with no people in sight. I hopped up and unwrapped my sandwich. Chewing slowly, I examined a bit of graffiti on the concrete ledge. Suddenly, a chipmunk hopped up right next to me. I looked down in disbelief as it somehow expanded into a full-sized person.
"What did Micha put in this sandwich?" I wondered, as I watched a boy about my age with wavy chestnut-brown hair appear in front of me.
Without thinking, I shoved him. Hard. He toppled over, obviously having no balance or coordination. Some instinct that I didn't know I had but was exceedingly grateful for kicked in and I shoved my arm at his throat.
"Whoa! Stop! Okay, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you don't need training after all," he managed to splutter.
"Who are you?" I hissed, becoming more confused with every word out of this chipmunk guy's mouth. "And what was that?"
"Stop, please. I didn't mean to scare you. Geez, I highly regret scaring you."
Recovering my senses, I let him go. I stepped back, wondering what had come over me: beating up this chipmunk. Was this some kind of hallucination?
"Who are you?" I repeated, allowing my attacker to stand up and attempt to look dignified.
"Felix Cromwell. I saw you at school—"
"You saw me at school? And you stalked me all the way here? Pretending to be a chipmunk?"
Felix scratched his head. "Well, yes. But no. I had a reason."
"Which was..." I asked.
"To tell you who you are."
I stopped fuming out of the shock. He'd come to give me the one thing I needed: knowledge of my past. The least I could do was let him speak. "Go on."
"Oh. Wow," Felix said quietly. "I didn't think you'd actually believe me. I really should have waited until after school, and for my dad."
"Your dad?"
"Well, of course, he's the Ohio liaison."
"Liason for what?" I asked, feeling a little annoyed at this boy's confusing statements.
"For Mimics, of course," Felix said with satisfaction, sitting down on the ledge."
"What's a Mimic?" I asked cautiously, knowing it was probably a stupid question. Felix swivelled his head around and stared at me.
"Wow. We've really got to start at the beginning, don't we?"
Looking around, I sighed. I couldn't go back to that school, so I might as well listen to what this guy has to say. "Enlighten me."
"Okay. Okay. Well, I suppose you noticed that you can do... strange things."
"Such as speak four languages, make jewelry appear from thin air, and oh, I don't know, shape-shift my body into other people? Yes, just a few strange things," I snapped. I didn't know why I was so heated.
"Wow. Okay. Yeah, that's kinda what I meant. I didn't know it was this... severe."
"Severe? Severe? What's wrong with me?" I asked.
"Will you please shut up?" Felix shouted. "I'm trying to explain. God, why didn't I just bring you to Dad after school? He could explain better. Anyway, nothing's wrong with you, at least, I don't think so. It's called Mimicking. There's a group of people that can do this stuff, you see. Like, I can become a chipmunk..."
"Cool party trick," I mumbled, only making Felix turn redder and get more agitated.
"Listen, I'm only trying to help you! Do you want my help or not?"
Now I was stuck. I didn't want to accept help from this blubbering stranger, but I desperately needed answers. Plus, if this Mimicking thing was real, then maybe I could get help: learn the techniques so I don't change into others unwillingly.
"Yes. Fine. I need your help," I groaned. Felix Cromwell smiled authoritatively.
"Then come with me. We're going to my house."
Fifteen minutes later, after a long walk (more like me following a chipmunk ten blocks around the city) we arrived at a shabby old apartment building).
"Nice place you got," I told Felix, and he glared at me. He swiped a key card and the door opened. I followed him up three flights of stairs to apartment 328. Felix swiped again and let us in.
The room was furnished nicer than I thought. It was very modern, unlike the rest of the building, with a black striped carpet and a bright yellow couch and chairs. On the wall, there were canvases: each adorned with a modern-art style animal painting. Felix gestured for me to sit down, and I did. He went to a door at the far end of the apartment and poked his head in. Soon enough an official-looking man in a brown suit emerged. He had the build of a wrestler, but with slight wrinkles around his eyes that gave the impression that he was very wise.
"Ah, hello... what is her name, Felix?"
Felix shrugged, embarrassed. He'd silenced abruptly as soon as we'd entered his apartment, and now was hanging back in the corner.
"You brought back this girl, and you don't even know her name?"
"It never came up," Felix said innocently.
"It's Anya," I told them. For a moment, I swore I saw recognition in the man's wisened eyes, but I blinked and he seemed as stoic as usual.
"Anya," the man said. "You may call me Mr. Cromwell."
Cromwell? This was Felix's dad? I thought. This authoritative man seemed nothing like small, awkward Felix.
"I am the liaison of Mimicry for the Midwestern United States region. I trust that you know why you're here then?"
"No, sir. I don't actually. Your... son, he just dragged me here."
Mr. Cromwell glanced back at Felix wordlessly. "I see. Well, Anya, my son here is convinced that you possess the gift of Mimicry: the ability to change your physical form into a copy of another being. Have you noticed anything strange happen, of this sort?"
"Yes, actually," I said, and I told him about what happened at school that day.
"Precisely. Untrained Mimics often cannot control their transitions, and they often end up Mimicking unwillfully. My only question is..." Mr. Cromwell trailed off before asking his question. "Anya, how old are you?"
"I don't know, sir." I explained about the accident, and how I was found in the park. These people were strange, but there was no sense in lying.
"That explains a fair bit. My condolences for the loss of your parents."
"Oh, they aren't dead," I said quickly. "They can't be. They just..."
I stopped mid-sentence. Maybe they were dead. How would I know where they were? Perhaps I'd been an orphan all my life. It didn't do any good now anyway, they had abandoned me here in the middle of Ohio with no purpose. Mr. Cromwell's gray eyes seemed to twinge with sympathy.
"In any case, most Mimics receive their abilities, if you will, at around 15 years old. Then, no matter where they are, they make the pilgrimage to Casimir to hone their skills."
"Hold on, Casimir?" I interrupted, fairly certain that it wasn't a real place. Then again, how would I know what places were real or not? Mr. Cromwell nodded, evidently peeved by my disruptions.
"Yes, Casimir is the city where the first Mimics lived. Since then, we've spread out across the world. It is the job of liaisons like me to ensure that we are all on the same page, and that young Mimics like you receive proper training. Where was I? Ah, yes. You say you don't know what has become of your family?"
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"It could be a coincidence. Yes, indeed it could. Or perhaps..." Mr. Cromwell trailed off. "Perhaps not. We won't know."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. For a man of supposed wisdom, he certainly wasn't giving me many answers.
"In any case, you must travel to Casimir. As soon as possible, preferably. I'm fairly certain that they've commenced this year's class already, but I may be able to pull some strings and get you on the roster."
Mr. Cromwell pulled what looked like a large seashell from his briefcase, and proceeded to tap out a long rhythm. Glancing occasionally at some papers, he finished tapping and set the shell down. Felix, Mr. Cromwell, and I waited for a minute in silence. Suddenly, the shell vibrated, in a rhythmic pattern. Mr. Cromwell listened and shook his head.
"Answering machine. Academy's been busy these days. I'm sure they'll return my calls soon."
Trying not to look too naive or baffled by the strange conversation, my eyes followed Mr. Cromwell as he stood and surveyed the room.
"Thank you for coming here Anya," he said, shaking my hand. As if I really had a choice, I thought. His hand was dry and wrinkled like an old man's. Then, with no warning whatsoever, he transformed into a tiger, and padded into the other room.
I stood there, shocked. I still remembered the man's touch on my palm, a human hand which was now a paw. A man was now an animal. This Mimicking stuff still confused me.
"So..." Felix said awkwardly. "That's my dad."
I nodded. "Cool guy. Can I go home now? Or back to the school, at least?"
Felix nodded. "I can walk with you, if you want."
We exited the apartment building in silence. Walking down the tree-lined street, I remembered the question I had.
"How come you aren't a tiger?"
It was a question I never thought my lips would speak, but there it was. Felix crossed his arms self-consciously.
"It doesn't work that way. Families don't inherit true forms."
"So, your dad ended up with a super cool tiger, and you got... a chipmunk?" I can't help but smile.
"Shut up," Felix said, smiling a tiny bit. "Yeah."
"So fierce, and noble," I joked.
"But," he added, "I happen to be a very early bloomer."
I grinned. "Do you?"
"Most Mimics don't find their true form until they're at least 15. I'm only 14 and I know mine. That's why I get to go to school here and not in Casimir. I'd get to start my year of training at the Casimir Academy next year, but since my dad is an official, he taught me a thing or two now. Like this!"
Felix squinted his eyes shut and his hair turned a deep shade of purple. He opened his eyes, and his irises were bright blue. He was clearly showing off.
"Nice," I laughed. "But watch this."
I didn't know what to do: my powers were sort of uncontrollable, to be honest. I kind of just hoped that I'd mimic someone around us, change my skin tone or something. I did not, however, expect to be thrown to the ground by a mysterious force. My stomach twisted and I felt myself getting smaller and smaller. My vision got sharper, and my hearing enhanced. Suddenly, every vibration felt like an earthquake. Looking up, I saw Felix's eyes wide with shock.
"ANYA!" he yelped. I didn't know what to do. I moved my arms and suddenly I was floating. No. Not floating. Flying. Suddenly, the pounding in my head stopped. I was a bird.
Felix, help! I tried to shout, but I couldn't say anything at all. I concentrated, and instinct took over. I flapped up to a nearby tree branch and perched myself there. What do I do?
Felix walked as unassumingly as he could to the base of the tree trunk. "Close your eyes. Breathe," he murmured. I tried, but it was hard to relax when you'd just been transformed into a pigeon. "You won't be able to switch back unless you're calm. Just feel the weight that's on you. A transformation besides your true form isn't effortless. There's something tying you back to your human form."
Closing my bird eyes, I tried to internalize what Felix was saying. It was true, this did not feel natural. Although I couldn't just switch back, it was tiring to hold this form. I felt like I was running a marathon, but unable to stop moving.
"Now just tell yourself to let go," Felix said, a tiny bit of panic in his otherwise calming voice. "You can do it."
I breathed in and out, and felt myself getting heavier and heavier. At once, my keen vision faded and I was no longer startled by the footsteps and noises around me. Feeling ridiculously uncoordinated, I lost my balance and toppled out of the tree.
"ANYA!" Felix cried again, racing over to me. "Are you okay?"
Looking up at him, I realized he wasn't so big anymore. Felix took my arm, as if to make sure it was truly human. Coming to my senses, I snatched it back and sat up.
"Am I okay?" I fumed. "No! I'm not! I was just changed into a bird, all because of your people's freaky magical powers. I want nothing to do with you Mimics! Never come near me again!"
I stood up, brushing dirt off my legs, and picked up my backpack. Then, I ran.