Minnie loves ice cream, she never asks for the ones she truly loves because they are too pricey for Pa. She still reads bedtime stories, mostly cozy fantasies, but tells her friends they are romance novels. She doesn’t think she is pretty because her friends often joke about her being too masculine for a succubus. 

Succubi and incubi are expected to gravitate towards more effeminate sports like ice skating, gymnastics, cheerleading, twisting, and the sorts. Minnie is the only succubus on her basketball team of vampires and werewolves, yet she’s managed to become an all-star, dwarfing every other member of her team in both skill and stardom. 

I also know what her voice sounds like when she lies because she isn’t good at it. There is always that fake throat clearing, an ‘oh,” or her voice breaks a little or becomes a little too cute.

I finish with her shoelaces and reach for her winter coat. “Why?”

She shrugs, “I outgrew it.” She blinks and wears her winter coat, then her backpack. “See you!” She waves back at me with a precious smile, pushing past the door.

“No kiss?!” I call out to her.

She turns around, blowing me a kiss as she walks backward before waving me goodbye and then disappearing beyond the gates. The memory of when she was nine and got her period for the first time flashes through my mind. 

Ma had only died a year earlier and Pa was still struggling to pick up the workload, as well as adjusting to being a single father. He would work into the nights and I had to watch Minnie. One day, in the middle of summer, she came running into the parlor screaming with tears, her hand smeared with blood. I was so afraid and didn’t know what to do, what to say, I thought she was dying. We ran to the neighbors, banging on their door at 10 pm. Mrs. Olga took us in and fixed her up. 

As I waited in the sitting room I thought my heart would burst, I could barely breathe. It was so quiet. So so quiet, I thought she had died. It was summer but I was cold. Then I heard her little footsteps, followed by that of Mrs. Olga, and let out a loud sigh. The relief made my eyes tingle with tears. 

I hugged Minnie, and Mrs. Olga said it was nothing to worry about. She made us soup and gave us pads and pain relievers. Minnie fell asleep in my arms, and I remember thinking, I never wanted to see her that afraid again. I never wanted to see her cry, I’d do anything to give her the world. 

It’s been seven years since, and I have done little to give her the world. It wrecks me, because I know, underneath that smile is my scared little sister, who thinks she will not get to play basketball professionally if we can’t afford university. I am both ashamed and disappointed in myself. 

“Luke, come eat, don't you have that interview today?” Pa asks. 

I turn away from the door, folding my lips. I have been avoiding telling him I got dropped again. It makes Pa sad, though he never lets me see him that way. Some nights, I heard quiet sobs come from his room. In the same way, I am devastated about Minnie, Po is devastated about his inability to give us the life he thinks we deserve. That, too, wrecks me. 

I don’t care how poor we are. If I had to choose between being his son and being born wealthy in another life, I’d choose Pa. I’d choose him again, and again. Every single time. He is the best, the first love of my life, my best friend, my rock. I love him more than words can ever say, but sometimes I don’t think he knows. I don’t think he knows just how much of an amazing father he is. I would lay down my life for Pa, and he would do the same for me. 

“Pa… they sent a rejection email,” I say, walking back to the table. Sitting leg-crossed on the floor, I lie, “But don't worry, there is a new agency interested in me.” I have run out of options, the only thing stopping me from giving up on my dream job is seeing Pa’s eyes light up each time I say I’m going to try again. 

After I dropped out of university and started working to help Pa with money, he became so filled with guilt and decided to make it his life's mission to help me achieve my dream of becoming a security agent. He found the best place for me to receive training, and came every day after work, carrying snacks and drinks. Then he started watching MeTube videos to tutor me at home.

It has been three years since I passed the security bar exam and I have been unable to secure any jobs. Bottom line is, no one wants to hire an incubus. Especially one that looks like an incubus. Petite, effeminate, and small. We are supposed to be weak, only able to survive on the energy given to us by superior beings. It doesn’t help that I am not mated yet.

If I have found a mate, my chances would be higher, because that would mean I have a source of energy supply. Succubus and Incubus are of more value when mated. They don't trust us to stay viable over long periods of time.

But then, finding a mate is like finding a needle in a haystack because most supreme beings have no interest in mating with inferior beings like us after our history with mind rape. Succubi and incubi die without proper energy supply, so instead we form bonds with our kind and feed off each other's energy, just like Ma and Po, or buy energy supply tablets. 

It is the reason why we have the shortest life span of just under fifty years, because supreme beings rarely risk mating with us. There is the danger that we might extract all their energy away, rendering them mundane. Thousands of years ago, that was how my race was able to maintain long life spans and rule with absolute power. But now, we beg for scraps of energy.

In the case of Ma and Po, she chose a short life with Po over a very long one with a vampire mate. Ma and Po fell in love in high school and both never tried to look for a mate. From what Po told me, a wealthy vampire took interest in Ma and offered to bond with her, making her his mate. It was and still is a rare occurrence to have a superior being offer to mate with us and Po did everything he could, including breaking up with her and moving to a different city. 

Ma found him and refused to leave. He couldn’t leave her in the rain, so he let her in. Both into his home and into his heart. To this day he still wishes she chose the vampire.

My parents weren’t able to afford the energy tablets for both of them, and Ma became too weak because of it, eventually passing away. Now that I can work, I can afford to contribute so Pa can get his energy tablets. But I worry. In a few weeks, I will turn twenty-three, and my biological clock will begin to tick. Energy tablets are expensive, I am not yet certain how we will be able to afford them for both Pa and I. 

Even fellow incubi are not interested in me, most are trying their best to snag a vampire or werewolf, gain respect in society, and move up the ladder in social circles. All I want is for Minnie to get into university and for Po to finally stop working. Hopefully, find another mate so he doesn't have to depend on medication. 

With each year, he grows weaker and the prices of energy tablets keep going up. I am convinced, vampires and werewolves would rather rid the world of us. They still see us as predators. Waiting to prey on their energy while they sleep, but it isn’t in our genes anymore, the scientist mages ran the tests over and over again. 

What my ancestors did was barbaric. Believe me, no Succubus or Incubus wants to mind rape a supreme being for energy.

Pa lowers his spoon, laying it flat on the table, and that expression I dread makes an appearance. “How can they not even give you a chance to even interview… What do they even know? They just lost their best candidate!”

Picking up his plates, he hurries out of the sitting room into the kitchen. I know he's trying to hide his tears. With a sigh, I follow him to the kitchen, embracing him from behind.

“Pa…” I squeeze him tight.

He lets me hold him, allowing a few moments pass before turning over and returning the hug. He kisses my head and squeezes me until I can’t breathe. Gently he pulls away, holding me by the shoulders.

“Luke… you will keep trying, wouldn’t you?” I nod. “Thank you. I promise… it will all work out in the end.”

I nod again and he pulls me in for another hug, squeezing me and patting the back of my head. When he lets go he hurries out the door so I don’t see the tears. I wish my father could see himself through my eyes. In every shade, he is perfect.