Bia

For the first time in my life, I found myself standing at Calyx Baker’s front door, somewhere I’d wanted to be for a long time now, and I could not ring the doorbell.

“What’s wrong?” Fable asked, her blue eyes staring up at me in concern.
“I don’t… know. I’m afraid, I guess.” I swallowed hard.

Fable’s big eyes pierced mine and suddenly I felt invaded, as if she was undressing me with her mind.

“What are you doing?” I cried.

She snapped back to attention and glared at me with anger.

“I was trying to find what was bothering you. I was helping you,” she told me.
“How?”
“Your thoughts say more than you do,” she shrugged.
I laughed nervously. “My thoughts?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty interesting. I mean, I didn’t read all of them, because that would be rude. But I wanted to see why you’re afraid of Calyx. And now I know.” Fable gave me a confident smile.

For a little girl, she certainly had a lot of energy. Fable had woken me up before the sun rose this morning, claiming she HAD to see Calyx right away and if I didn’t take her, she’d go herself. I couldn’t let a nine year old girl wander the streets by herself, so I dragged my ass out of bed and tried to look semi-presentable.

Now here we were, at Calyx’s doorstep.

“And why am I so afraid of Calyx?” I tugged on my arm full of bracelets.
“Because.” Fable looked at my wrists. “She has everything you’ve ever wanted and she seems to live without effort. You, on the other hand...”
I sighed. “I know, I know. I’m struggling.”
“No, you’re hiding.”

I yanked nervously on one of the bracelets, moving it around and around my arm.

“I’m ringing the doorbell now. Stop talking,” I ordered.

My finger pressed into the hard plastic of the black button and I heard happy chimes ring throughout the house. How fitting.

The door opened slowly and an exhausted Calyx peered out at me, her hair matted to one side. So there was an imperfect Calyx, she just hid from the world. Like me.

“Bia?” she said in surprise.
“And Fable,” Fable jutted.
Calyx looked down at the gypsy girl. “Right.”
“She wanted to come see you, I couldn’t really stop her,” I tried to explain.

Calyx glanced at both of us as if she was still in a dream. I knew the feeling.
“Well, come in,” she offered.

And suddenly I found myself standing in Calyx Baker’s perfect kitchen, the granite counter tops gleaming seamlessly. Fable had climbed up onto one of the counters and was sitting cross-legged. Calyx had taken a seat at one of the bar stools. I was standing, for now.

“So when I saw your house, I knew that I needed to be with you. You have everything and you’re lonely, and Bia has nothing and she’s lonely,” Fable continued.
I blushed.
“And you needed me why?” Calyx repeated.
“My first instinct was to see Bia, but I’m afraid of her powers. I don’t like animals,” Fable admitted. “They scare me.”
“Wait, wait. Powers? What are you talking about?” Calyx turned to me. “What did you feed her?”

I burst out laughing. “I fed her nothing. I found her wandering the streets last night, calling your name. I took her home so she could sleep, but she woke me up early. I have no part in this.”
“You do now,” Fable breathed.

Calyx stood up and walked over to open her fridge. She took out a Tupperware container full of sliced strawberries and started counting them.

“Are you okay?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I think I made an error.”
“With what?” Fable giggled.
“The strawberries. I think I cut them too thin. They don’t look right,” Calyx said hurriedly.

I snatched the container from Calyx and snapped it shut. She was hiding.

“I have a weird power, alright? And apparently so does Fable. She reads minds. It’s weird,” I shuddered.
“It’s not weird!” Fable defended. “It’s my normal. And I don’t just read minds. I can read your memories and I can talk to you in your head and I can control your thoughts.”
Calyx and I stared at her.
“No, I mean… I wouldn’t do the last one, but I can,” Fable flailed.

“Right.” I put the Tupperware container back in the fridge and gazed in amazement at the almost-identical rows upon rows of Tupperware containers lining the shelves. Some had fruit, others vegetables. But they were all full of slices.

“What’s your power, Bia?” Calyx asked.
I stared at my arms. “It’s kinda weird.”
“Duh, it’s a super-natural power. It’s going to be weird,” she laughed.
“Well,” I started, taking in a breath. “I can make creatures out of blood. My blood. Maybe the blood of others, but I wouldn’t know.”
Calyx let out a low whistle. “And all this time I thought you were into self-mutilation.”
“Thanks for that,” I snapped. “But no. I make animals. They don’t have souls, though. They used to, but not… not now.”
“Why?” Calyx asked me quietly.

Fable opened her mouth to say something, but I shot her a look. Her voice appeared in my head, saying “don’t worry, I won’t tell. Your secret’s safe.” I smiled at her.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I don’t question these things.”
Fable opened her mouth again. “Calyx moves things with her mind.”

I choked on the small amount of saliva in my throat.
“WHAT?”

Calyx smiled sheepishly. “I don’t really… I mean, I can, but… I don’t. It’s weird. Strange. I can’t really control it either, so I just...”
“Let it be,” I finished for her.
She nodded. “Exactly.”

I understood.
All this time I thought Calyx Baker was the all-American perfect icon, but she had her secrets. Go figure. We shared something.

We were freaks.