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The door is opened by Billy's mother. She looks great as always. This business lady doesn’t seem to age at all: just like any vintage wine she is getting better with age (of course, the money she earns helps a little to maintain both: a resilient ass – thanks to her personal hot’n heterosexual trainer in the elite gym, and a youngish face – thanks to the cute gay beautician with fingers as soft as silk).

She is wrapped in a white hotel robe. Nina closes her eyes for a second: it feels she’s looking at her Billy who aged twenty-five years. One doesn’t need to take a DNA test to understand that Billy is her daughter: a sexy figure, a long graceful neck, fine features, cat green eyes with a sly squint. When you look at mother and her daughter, you always think: are they both into some kind of naughty trick now?

Mrs. Greenwald is cocking her eyebrow. She can’t understand why Nina is standing in the hall, then her eyes become really frightened.

"Hello, Mrs. Greenwald! It's so nice to see you. You look great…" Nina is pipping as if she has just turned into a mouse.

"Is anything wrong with Billy or Sarah? Why are you here alone at a time like this?" She looks very scared. Billy is confused: she shouldn't have come at this hour without warning.

"Billy is doing well. She's still in New York. She's having fun with her school mates… Actually, I've come to see you, Mrs. and Mr. Greenwald."

"How many times have I asked you to call me Andrew. Hello, Nina." Billy's father has been working on a laptop all this time. On the table, polished to an unhealthy sheen, rest large papers pressed down by a smartphone, an expensive tablet, and some pencils of various sizes. "I just called Billy today; Have you seen her yet?" Andrew gets up from the table and hugs a young woman. "You come to us because of Astrid, do you? Are Astrid and Lev traveling with you?"

"Don't think we're not happy to see you," Billy's mother hurriedly hugs her too, it's just so weird to see you here alone. Are you in trouble? Please, sit down, and make yourself at home. Andrew, order the girl something to eat. Look at her, poor thing is shaking all over. Andrew, don’t stand like a snowman, order some good Assam with lemon, I don’t want the girl to catch a cold! Maybe we should call Astrid or someone else?" The blonde looks at Nina with motherly concern.

"I'm fine. Really! Thank you. Humans, I mean, others are fine too. I came to talk to you. I should have done this a long time ago," she paused, twirling the ring on her finger. The redhead couldn't look them in the eye, "but Billy didn't want to tell anyone..."

Her parents' faces are tense and worried.

"Don't tell me Billy's in trouble again!" Mrs. Greenwald doesn't let Nina finish.

"Honey," Andrew tries to comfort her by placing a hand on her shoulder, but she doesn't notice it.

"She's twenty-five years old, it's time to stop all her adventures and experiments. What is this time? What stupid thing did she do this time? A horrible piercing on the nipple?"

"Mrs. Greenwald..." Nina mumbles in dismay.

"Maybe another moon tattoo somewhere on her ass or a huge eagle all over the boobs?"

Nina blushes. She won't say now that Mrs. Greenwald almost got it right: Billy has lots of new tattoos and one nipple piercing too.

"We are getting married in spring," Nina finally finds her voice. "Billy and I are getting married in April. Your daughter didn't want to tell you, but I think parents should know about such an important decision." Nina watches as their faces change. Andrew's face looks puzzled, and Mrs Greenwald looks insanely angry:

"Is this another prank of hers? A Christmas joke for parents? She did talk you into this game, and she herself is standing in the hall right now with Sarah and Astrid. Am I right?"

"No, she's in New York with her friends," Nina replies desperately. Billy was right, she shouldn't have said anything about their marriage, but because of her stupid jealousy, she ruined everything. She just wanted everything to be official: their relationship, their engagement, and not a love promise in words. "We're really going to get married." She shows a ring that Billy practically won back from a troll in Norway; the young witch was specifically looking for an engagement ring, relying on the rumours and legends of the magical creatures in the north.

"I didn't know that Billy…" Andrew says, rubbing the side of his face.

"And I knew, but I hoped it was just a phase!" snorts the mother. "When teenager, she did anything to get my attention: it seems she needs it again. She could call her parents more often and come to visit us, and not wander around, God knows where. I could get her to work for me! All she needs to do is ask."

"When she was teenager, she tried to get your attention…" Nina looks at Andrew. Mrs. Greenwald wearily sits down in a chair. Her robe falls off the shoulders, exposing them.

"Let me pull up your robe, dear..."

"Don't touch me now, Andrew..."

Andrew turns to Nina, "How long have you been dating?"

"You shouldn't have let her have all those sleepovers with girls," the mother says helplessly, rubbing her temples. "Andrew, get me a brandy from the bar."

"Would you prefer her sleepovers with teenage boys?" Billy's father says with irony in his fine voice, but he obediently gives her what she wants. "So how long have you been dating, Nina?" Mr. and Mrs. Greenwald are looking at Nina expectantly.

"Eight years…"

"Eight years!? And she didn't say a word to us!" Billy's mother puts the glass down on the table with a bang, and it looks like she's stained Andrew's drafts. "And what are you going to do? How are you going to live together? How much money are you going to live on? Billy works at some shabby publishing house as an assistant editor, and you don't even have an education! What do you want from our family?"

It is so unfair! Nina went with Billy to the university; she was with her at every lecture and seminar, hiding in her bag or on her lap under the desk. She did all the homework with her, prepared for exams. Billy has always been proud of Nina; she would never say anything like that. After graduating from a human university, a witch coven and intelligent creatures invited her to work at their newspaper. Billy and Nina work together on the articles: the blonde always finds acute topics to discuss, and Nina loves the photo essay. Mrs. Greenwald's daughter has always been respected among witches: she never refuses to help young witches, she always helps shifters, especially those who have difficulties in the world of humans, she supports mixed couples like them. Everyone loves her and listens to her advice. Grandmother and Astrid are always proudly declaring that Billy is their witch student, their girl. Nina is insanely proud of her future wife too, but somehow, her parents are full of fear and pain.

"Stop talking to her like that. Do you see how you scared her... Nina?"

Nina covers her ears, taking a step back. She does this not only because she can no longer hear them, but because she feels something is wrong with her body. Under her fingertips, she touches the squirrel tassels on her human ears. Holy Moonlight, a partial transformation has never happened to her yet.

She can’t focus on their faces: they are blurry and flabby; she's scared again, like when she first came to the city to visit Billy when she was a little girl; she ceases to understand who is who in front of her, because she’s suffocating in too many evil human emotions around.

Nina dashes out of their room, almost running into something.

"You can't let her go alone! Look what you've done!"

"Why do you blame me? Billy is your daughter too!"

"Nina!"

"Nina, wait!"

Having reached the stairs, she stumbles and falls, turning into a squirrel just in time not to hurt her human body. The transformation is like a miraculous deliverance, but the mental pain doesn’t go away anyway, even in the squirrel's body. She is still feeling all human emotions.

Billy will never forgive me! She will take her ring and give it to this Thorn!