The Others

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Fairies dipping and diving while they spread their magical lights and light up the sky. It had been this way since The Awakening. Ronia stood in the window of her studio apartment where she lived with her beloved Jax, the orange and white tabby cat she had rescued last year from the dumpster behind her apartment. She had chosen this apartment mostly because it was cheap but also because the window gave her a clear view of the sky. She loved gazing at the night sky and watching the fairies dip and dive while they played in the moonlight. Ronia couldn’t imagine growing up without watching the fairies like her grandmother had. Her Mimi had been a teenager when it happened.

It started with rumors and posts on social media. A picture of a person with wings or a man controlling a tiger or a video that captured a fleeting look at a troll. As the rumors swelled and the pictures and videos became more and more numerous, governments were getting uneasy. Most governments already knew of the existence of Others but kept that information from the citizens. Centuries ago, Others had existed alongside humans. At some point during the height of the Plague, officials traced the origins of the disease to an alchemist living in France who had ways to produce diseases in animals. His goal was to find medicines and cures for the illnesses that many succumbed to during those days. Once the Plague was discovered to have originated in the lab of the wizard, he was hanged in public and an all out war was declared on Others. Those Others that escaped went into hiding until they could find ways to exist among humans without their true identity being known. The existence of Others was a long held secret among the elite and powerful who used their money and influence to hunt and murder them. The Others, however, had spent the last century finding ways to communicate magically with each other and form alliances to empower them to someday bring about The Awakening. When Ronia’s Mimi was 14, that day came.

Since The Awakening, Others once thought to only exist in the minds of children and authors had come forward to make themselves known. Obviously there was an upheaval from the secret societies that had worked for centuries to keep Others hidden along with the Christians who called them demons. So sadly, many perished in those first days. Even now, many still chose to live in isolation to avoid the stares, whispers, and potential violence from those who find Others to be an abomination. There certainly were Others that Ronia feared like trolls and vampires but most were just like regular humans, and quite a bit more dull than they were portrayed in fiction. For example, centaurs weren’t half man, half horse. These Others were similar to a human male but possessed an uncanny ability to converse and become one with animals. They could see through the eyes of the animal they possessed and feel every physical and emotion sensation right along with them. Fairies weren’t tiny at all. They could appear to be humans when they folded and hid their wings. Fairies were quite mischievous as many people now knew. Since they never had to sleep, some fairies would roam at night looking for trouble. There were gangs of fairies who had proven to be as callous and deadly as drug gangs.

The Others proved to be as diverse as their human counterparts so Ronia never understood why the Others were treated so cruelly. Mother said it was because they were dangerous. Mimi said it was because humans are fearful and ignorant. Due to this major point of contention, Others were rarely discussed in Ronia’s home growing up. Now, however, Ronia was in college and on her own. She had just finished her second year at the state university and was contemplating what the summer would bring for her and her friends. Callie, a closeted werewolf, and Johnna, a human, were the best kind of friends. They understood Ronia’s introverted need for being alone and her distaste of talking on the phone. “Text it or forget it” was Ronia’s motto and both Callie and Johnna respected it.

Ronia met Callie and Johnna the first day of university. They were assigned to live together in the cramped dorm room that was barely enough space for one person, let alone three. Ronia’s anxiety the month before she moved in was over the top. Knowing she was going to have to live with not one, but two other people had her imagining scenario after scenario of roommate horror. Her least favorite one being where her new roommates would constantly talk to her, requiring her to be social to the point that her brain matter actually boiled in her skull and her ears exploded while her eyes blew out of her head. Fortunately, none of the scenarios had come to be. Callie and Johnna, while much more extroverted than Ronia, proved to be kind and respectful. By the end of their freshman year, they felt they had all won the roommate lottery.

Now, Callie and Johnna had chosen to live in a two bedroom apartment across the street from where Ronia lived in her snug studio. The studio was quite cozy despite its size and Ronia had made it her home. Tonight was one of those nights where Ronia was especially delighted to be living alone as she took one last glance at the purple clouds and dancing fairies before she put her aching body into bed. Work was getting harder, not easier. The restaurant was short staffed and Ronia had waited tables for 10 hours today. Granted, the extra $150 in tips was nice, but her feet were telling a different story.

Dragging herself to the bed, Ronia clicked off the overhead light and pulled the chain to start the ceiling fan. As she lay in bed, watching the blades go round and round, she began thinking about how much time she had to sleep. Six hours, seven if she didn’t wash her hair. She was going to meet the girls for coffee in the morning.

“Definitely seven hours, hair can wait”, she mumbled as she turned over and hugged her pillow. And with that thought, Ronia drifted away into peaceful slumber.

The glimmer began shortly after Ronia entered the dream stage of her sleep. All around her, a faint glow of golden light covered her body as it had done every night since The Awakening. While Ronia was unaware of the power she possessed, the Other outside her window knew all too well what Ronia was and how dangerous she would become if she wasn’t stopped. Stopping Ronia was his sole purpose in life and soon his destiny would be fulfilled.