The field was full and in complete chaos. People of all colors, shapes and sizes were moving around, talking, laughing and introducing each other.
Regina couldn’t believe it.
This was her family, everyone here was somehow related to her. She couldn’t get her mind around it.
She went from a lonely girl, wandering around in some forest to becoming part of a giant family that had a major role in the werewolf world. If it wasn’t there right in front of her, Regina wasn’t sure if she could believe it.
‘You okay?’
She glanced over at Xander, not even hiding the tears streaming down her face.
‘I’m perfect.’
She clutched her husband’s hand and Mary’s excited to see what the day would bring.
Reaching the table that was pointed out, Regina ran into a person she actually knew.
“Regina!”
‘Jo!’
The two rushed forwards, meeting together in a hug.
“It’s been so long, way too long. I mean, look at your babies!”
She reached over to pinch Nora and Sammy’s cheeks; Mary was hiding behind her father.
“And you have an actual baby!”
Xander took the moment to hold up Rich whose baby eyes were wide in attention. Jo coed, touching his chubby cheeks and making him giggle.
“Well, as much as I love your children, let’s get you signed in and in some activities. Our family is part of the Dirk and Olivia side of the line so we have,” She paused, waving a red shirt with a flair. “these for you, even the little ones.”
Nora and Sammy got their own shirts, Jayden awkwardly followed.
“We have a story center where we can talk about our families, a bunch of people brought games from their homeland, along with food. Right now we are mingling, letting more people get here. Tonight, we are supposed to hear from the oldest person in the family, but we don’t know what time she’s getting in. Until then, feel free to explore.”
One of the first tables after the gate was full of cameras and a giant book. Next to it were directions written out in various languages. There was a couple already there, whispering in another language while a little girl played with her mother’s shirt.
“It says that this is a family album and we can either print out a picture inside or take one now, what do you think?”
“We should do one now, Polaroids always come out so much cooler than digital.”
At Nora’s comment, Sammy went over to pick up the small device. Nora picked up Mary so Jayden could take a selfie. Satisfied with the picture, Regina taped it next to the couples. Underneath they had written their names, Rosa, Fernando and Grace Rodriguez.
The book was full of pictures. Regina slowly flipped the pages, seeing who was her family.
Maria and Daniela Ramirez.
Ava and Dylan Lona.
Mary, Hamza, Valeria and Zack Ansari.
Aelita, Maxim, Yeva and Dimitri Tsoy.
Astrid Jones
There were so many, no way would Regina be able to know each person.
It all felt like a perfect dream; she was afraid to wake up.
“You ready to go? The girls want to head to the story center to see whos talking. If you want, you can walk around and I’ll take them inside.”
Regina just shook her head, wiping her tears away and leading Mary inside.
Right to the left of the entrance was a large doorway into a grand room. Chairs filled the area, wooden, cushioned, even bean bags. At the front was a man in a chair, his green shirt showing which part of the family he was from.
“We thought the problem was solved and life went on. And yet, there were still reports of these chainsaws failing. So I finally decided to go over and see what was going on now. They shouldn’t be smoking, what else could be going on.”
The group of children in the front leaned in while the woman next to the man was already laughing, probably his wife who knew how this story was going to end.
“So I’m out there right? Walking along, ready to see what’s gonna happen. As I turned this corner, I saw some men over a spark plug and the spark hole. I knew right away this was gonna be bad. I watched as they poured petrol over the spark plug and the Twisters, petrol lights on fire very easily, and then they pulled the starting chord.”
“Fire burst out of the plug, I swear it was three feet in the air! Some how, these men managed to light their Twisters without setting the whole forest on fire and walked away without a scratch. It’s safe to say that those spark plugs were screwed in after that.”
Chuckles were herd from the adults as the children giggled.
The man stepped down from the podium and as the man and woman sat in the crowd, an older woman came forward. She looked Asian and introduced herself as Ren Kato.
“I grew up in Japan, in Nara. I was with my Okasan when I saw this little girl. I was little too, I wanted to play with the girl.”
“Chīsana on'nanoko to asobu koto wa dekimasu ka? Can we play with the little girl? Okasan say yes and we went to the bench. I sat with her, we swing our legs and I talk about how Otosan has Soba waiting at home. It got late and Okasan say we must leave.”
“At home, Okasan pull me aside and ask about the little girl. Anata wa hontōni chīsana on'nanoko to asonda nodesu ka? I say yes, I played with a little girl. When Okasan thought I was sleeping, I hear her talking to Otosan.
“Sono benchi ni wa chīsana on'nanoko ga inakatta, Liu. Ren wa yūrei ni aimashita, watashi wa sore ga fukushū kokoro ga naku, watashitachi no chīsana on'nanoko o kōgeki suru koto o inoru koto shika dekimasen.”
The woman leaned close to the children, Mary clutched her mother’s neck. Ren’s tone was dark and scary, Regina thought it was amazing to hear such stories.
“There was no girl on the bench. I was talking to a yūrei, a ghost!”
A little girl squeaked, moving back into her brother’s lap.
“Okasan say to me, I must help the little girl. So I go to the bench every day after school. We talk, swing our legs and have fun. One day, I go and the girl is not there. Mokuteki wa tassei sa remashita, she had moved on.”
“And that is how I meet a ghost as a little girl.”
‘Gigi, I wanna go play outside.’
Regina just chuckled, the family left the room and Regina let Mary run through the tables. She was probably freaked out by the ghost, but it didn’t sound that scary.
“Hello?”
Nora glanced to her right, smiling at the teenaged boy standing in a blue shirt with a kind smile.
“Hi there, Nora Cooley.”
She held her hand out and the boy followed, shaking hands with Sammy and Jayden. “Sergio Diaz, nice to meet you.”
His voice was accented, but he spoke great English. Which was good for her, it was the only language she knew. Sammy was trying to make her try Spanish but she can barely even speak English, let alone a whole different alphabet.
“You to,” Nora looked around, noting that most of the people here were adults like Regina, grandparents, or children that came with their parents. There weren’t many teenagers or young adults. “You know any other teens to hang out with?”
He shared a smile, nodding his head to the house. Regina and Xander were busy with their children so Nora followed him in.
‘I’m gonna stay with Regina, keep me updated.’
She had always been so attached to them.
They climbed several stair cases, reaching what looked like a game room. Teenager and young adults were sprawled out, half on their phones and the others were talking to people with the same-colored shirt. Some music was played but Nora didn’t understand the words.
“Hey Nora!”
She hid a sigh.
Tessa and Rogier Bosman, they were technically her adopted aunt and uncle.
She knew Regina and Xander weren’t her parents. Regina was only 7 years older than her! She remembered her real parents, and that they died because Regina came to ‘save them’
Then she has to get a new name, has siblings that could be her children and her aunts and uncles are years younger than her? None of it made any sense to her, but it made Sammy happy so she dealt with it.
Sammy wasn’t here.
She ignored the teen, following Sergio to the couches.
“Vin, Lina, this is Nora, Nora, my aunt and uncle, Norvin and Adelina.”
They laughed at her face, probably getting an open mouth and wide eyes a lot.
“I know, I am 17 and Vin is 19. Family can be strange.”
Nora fell to the couch, “You don’t have to tell me that. All of my technical cousins are almost two whole decades younger than me. I have aunts and uncles younger than me and it’s so weird.”
Tessa could hear all of this, Nora knew but that didn’t change a thing. She wasn’t even technically related to anyone here anyways.
The song ended and without a single word, a girl stood up, plugged her phone in and classical music was playing next. Apparently they were taking turns with the aux cord.
Chatter filled the air and for once, Nora wished she knew more than English. Two sisters were leaning close, it sounded fancy. A group were together, passing their phones around a laughing, there was a group of girls wearing the same orange shirt as the old Japanese lady and they kept giggling. She could hear some people speaking in English, but they were so hushed even her werewolf hearing couldn’t understand them.
The TV station they were at suddenly changed, a breaking news banner flying across the screen.
“This just in, the United States Penitentiary was amazingly broken out by a group of criminal masterminds.”
By now, most everyone was looking at the TV.
“The Penitentiary is known for holding the most famous criminals and fear had spread across California. Residents are suggest to stay in side their homes, to not pick up hitchhikers and stay alert. Because they got out of such a heavily guarded facility, government officials may have been involved and these people could be several states away already. Here we have pictures of the men and women at large, if you see them, call 911 or the police immediately.”
Nora stared as Mathias’s picture was splayed on the screen, panic hitting her like a truck.
____
Translation apps are life saviors. Maria, the woman Regina was talking to, did speak some English but it was a good back up.
Mary was at her side, snacking on the fruit platter Xander made for her. Rich had managed to fall asleep with the noise, and Xander was as silent as ever.
All the tables in the yard were full, cars were everywhere and Jo said that most of the family that said they were coming were here.
Grandma Roza had arrived, the oldest member of the family.
Maria had explained that the founding family had five children and she was married to one of the sons. If anyone knew the most about the family, it would be here.
She couldn’t wait. Finally, she would have answers, a clear idea of who she was and what they were to do as the Royal Family.
Most of her life was like walking through a fog. Regina could see enough to make the next step, but she didn’t know where she was really going and what she left behind. At some points, the fog cleared a litter.
She felt better when she met Xander, all the kids were a blessing and she loved her family with Mavis, Atta and Sergio. It was a fight to get Sergio to stay home as they traveled across the country.
But she felt half there. She knew who she was as Regina Luce Cooley, but not as Astrid Bosman. She knew Esperanza, but Viribus was a mystery.
Finally, the call was made that Roza was going to talk to the whole family.
Because they all wouldn’t fit inside, chairs were moved so they could all face the house. Sammy was behind the couple, Jayden sitting way too far away but Sammy wasn’t saying anything. Nora had come out of the house but wasn’t saying a word.
Regina would talk to her later.
A man came up from the field, his red shirt showing he was from her side of the family. Hanging off his arm was an old woman, slowing walking up the stairs with her own blue shirt.
“As most of you know, this is Grandma Roza, and she has a story to tell us.”
A chair was pulled up as well as a microphone.
“Hola, as Harry said, I am here to tell a story. This is the story my husband told me when he was close to moribundo. It is a story of the family, the legacy and why they had to run away from the people they loved the most.”
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