The Hybrid (14 page)

Then, everything went dark and silent. Tru couldn’t
feel anything anymore.
Am I dead? I must be dead. There’s no way I could
have survived. She was so strong, so angry. I couldn’t
breathe. She killed me. She wanted him all to herself. She
killed me.
Airi had been in the forest, telling Gertrude to leave.
That
she could remember. But why? How did she find out
about Tru? Of course she
knew
about Tru, but how did
Airi know that Edyn was still talking to her?
What happened to him?
Tru instantly remembered Airi walking closer to her,
with her arm outstretched.
Is this the image I am going to be forced to witness
over and over again as I sit in complete darkness for the
rest of eternity? Why did I let her kill me? I barely even
put up a fight. But then again, what kind of fight could
someone like me put up against someone like her, someone with unimaginable strength?
Airi was the type of person who should probably not
have been given that kind of strength. Her powers seemed
to have been triggered by her emotions, and Tru knew she
probably rarely felt anything but anger or jealousy. The
scene in the forest was evidence enough for Tru. Airi had
a temper that Tru was sure even the other fairies were
afraid of.
Tru had absolutely no chance against her.
So then where was Edyn? Where was he when Tru
needed him? How could he have let that crazy little girl
kill her? Some crazed, love-struck preteen was taking the
life of someone he promised to protect, and he was nowhere to be found. Tru instantly felt betrayed. Edyn was
someone that she had once felt she could trust with her
life.
But apparently, I was very wrong.

“
Jerk
,” Tru said quietly to herself. But she knew Edyn
wasn’t a jerk. She knew deep down that there must have
been some other reason for his absence. Something that
was more important to him than some human girl. Something that would always come first.

So where is my light at the end of the tunnel? Where
are the pearly gates and angels? The harps and the singing? Or am I going somewhere else? Someplace where it
is hot all year round?

Suddenly, a faint beeping noise began to ring in Tru’s
ear. It sounded far away at first, but as she listened to it,
the noise grew closer and louder. Eventually, it had become so loud that it was almost as unbearable as the silence. But, she couldn’t help but count the beeps.

One, two, three, four, five
⎯
“How much longer?” a voice rang through the beeps.

“Can you tell if she’s in any pain?”
“Well, those marks on her neck are pretty severe. But I
think
the
morphine
should
be
kicking
in
right about
now.”
Tru looked around in the darkness for the faces that
went with the voices, but nothing came to view. She immediately recognized the first voice as her grandmother’s
the minute the woman spoke. But she couldn’t recognize
the voice of the young man Maggie was talking to.
“Where did you say you found her?” the man asked.
“She was in our backyard. My husband found her lying
in the grass. You don’t think she made those marks herself, do you?” Maggie’s voice was worried. She quivered as
she stood in front of the man.
But the man did not respond. Instead, he shook his
head as he looked at Gertrude lying peacefully under the
crisp white sheets.
How did I get into the backyard? The last thing I can
remember is Airi strangling me in the air. So I’m not
dead? Was Airi kind enough to leave me alive? Or was I
saved? Had someone helped me in the meadow? Edyn
hadn’t helped me. If he really wanted to help me, he
would have arrived before Airi had attacked me.
“So, she’ll be okay?” Maggie continued.
“She looks promising.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Ah, I’m in the hospital. I’m alive.
Quickly, Tru began to feel extremely groggy.
The morphine,
she thought. And once again, the darkness consumed her and the voices were silenced.

“Maggie,” Ben
said
as he
watched
his wife
pacing
around the waiting room. “Maggie, please, come and sit
down.” He placed a hand on the uncomfortable and unattractive chair next to him, giving it a quick pat.

Maggie looked at him as she paced. “I can’t Ben. She
should be awake by now. It’s already Monday morning.
Why are they releasing her if she isn’t awake?”

“Because she should wake up soon. They can’t keep her
here anymore. There’s nothing more they can do for her
here.” Ben stood from his seat and walked over to his
wife, placing a hand on her shoulder to make her stop
pacing. And when Maggie turned to look at her husband,
Ben could see a single tear roll down the woman’s face.
“You heard the doctor. She will be more comfortable at
home.”

Maggie grabbed her husband and pulled him close to
her body. And as she rested her head on his chest, she
spoke again. “I’m just worried, Ben. I can’t lose her, too.”

“You won’t.” Ben wrapped his arms around her small
body and gave her a long and much needed embrace.
Suddenly, the sound of a young man’s throat clearing
could be heard from behind them. Maggie jumped slightly in Ben’s arms, and then turned to look toward the direction of the noise. Ben released his wife, and the two
walked over to the young doctor standing beside them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mason?” Doctor Parker asked, flipping
through the pages of his clipboard in his hands.
“Yes, Doctor Parker?” Maggie said, almost too quickly.
The doctor finished glancing at his paperwork, pressed
the clipboard against his thigh with one hand, and placed
the other hand in the pocket of his white, open lab coat.
“We are making some final preparations for Gertrude’s
release, so I wanted to take the time to go over some
things with you.”
“Okay,” Maggie
replied,
folding
her
arms over
her
chest.
The young gentleman gestured toward the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, and followed closely behind
Maggie and her husband as the two took a seat in a couple of chairs. Doctor Parker grabbed a chair nearby and
pulled it away from the pastel-flower-wallpapered wall,
and placed it in front of the couple. And as he sat down,
crossing a leg over the other and resting the clipboard on
his lap, he looked at Maggie and Ben.
“She is doing great,” he began. “She is showing some
improvement, which is good news.”
Maggie took a sigh of relief as she reached for Ben’s
hand.
“She no longer needs the morphine, and I feel that she
will be more comfortable waking up in a place she is familiar with. Now it just becomes a waiting game.” Doctor
Parker shifted his focus between Ben and Maggie. “Do
you have any questions for me before I have you sign the
release forms?”
Maggie looked at her husband, and then back at the
young man in front of her. “When should she wake up?”
“It’s hard to say. If she doesn’t wake up by tomorrow,
then
give
me
a
call.
Either
way,
I will
be
there
on
Wednesday to check up on her.”
“Do we need to give her anything?” Ben asked.
“I will have her on an I.V. to help keep her hydrated,
but she shouldn’t need anything else.” Doctor Parker
quickly scribbled something on his clipboard.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Ben said, reaching a hand out to
Doctor Parker as the two men rose from their seats. Maggie, on the other hand, remained seated, staring at her
tightly intertwined fingers as they rest in her lap.
“We should have her ready for you shortly,” Maggie
heard the doctor say. But she was hardly listening anymore. Instead, she was reminiscing, remembering the
days when Gertrude was a tiny baby, falling asleep in
Maggie’s
arms,
with
only
the
sound
of
short
steady
breathing filling the room.

Tru had no idea how long she had been at the hospital.
She didn’t even know how long she had truly been unconscious. By the time she was finally ready to wake up from
the safe place in her mind, Tru was back at home in her
nice warm bed. But when she ultimately decided to open
her eyes, the bright light that streamed into the room
from the window on her left, burned her pupils. According to the clock on the dresser, it was 8:30 in the morning.

Tru looked around her room, as she lay comfortably
pressed against the mattress, and noticed that her room
had been filled, to the max, with flowers and balloons.
Slowly, Tru pulled the heavy flowery down comforter and
matching sheets away from her body. Her muscles were
stiff from lying still for so long.

How
long have I been out? A day? A week?
Tru slowly slid her feet off of the bed and placed them
gently on the floor. As she began to rise from the mattress, she looked down at her clothes. The nice, new pair
of sweats and loose fitting t-shirt were warm, and slightly
larger than she would have liked, but she was grateful
that her grandmother had put her in something comfortable.
There had been very few times in Tru’s life where she
had been lost. She was always very good at finding her
way around, and she could always figure things out on
her own if she had to. But today, Tru was not just lost, but
stunned and strangely confounded. She needed some answers, and not just answers to the questions that she already had, but answers to questions she had yet to formulate.
When Tru walked to the closed bedroom door, she hesitated. A soft mumbling noise was coming from the other
room. Slowly, she angled her fragile body toward the door
and listened. Instantly, the mumbling sound cleared and
became voices. Tru’s body jumped in shock, and slight
amazement, making her wonder how she could hear her
grandparents so well. It was as if they were standing in
the room next to her.
“She’s been asleep for three days, Ben. I’m starting to
worry.”
“She’s fine, Mags. The doctor said she would wake up
when she’s ready. Obviously she’s not ready.”
Three days? So it’s only Wednesday,
Tru thought to
herself.
“But⎯”
Tru opened the door slowly and carefully, hoping to
remain a fly on the wall, but the hinges still managed to
squeak.
“Trudy!” Maggie shouted as she saw her granddaughter emerging from her room. She practically ran at the
girl with her arms outstretched. But all Tru could do was
stand there, watching Maggie grow closer to her. Quickly,
the woman wrapped her arms around Tru’s body, pulling
her tightly into her chest. Tru could smell her sugary perfume as she pressed her face against her grandmother’s
body. She smelt like a peculiar blend of roses and peaches. And as Tru took another deep breath, Maggie gently
rubbed a hand against her granddaughter’s back as she
squeezed the young woman tighter with the other.
“Maggie, give her some air. She just woke up.” Ben
quickly stood from the kitchen table to lean nonchalantly
on the casing of the doorway next to the two women. He
then gently placed his hands in the pockets of his tan
trousers, watching them embrace one another.
Maggie released Tru’s body just enough to look at her
husband sternly with her butt-out face. When she turned
her head back towards Tru, she asked, “So, how are you
feeling? Is your neck sore at all?”
“Grandma,” Tru paused⎯ her throat was throbbing⎯
finding it hard to talk. It felt as though a thick leather belt
was
wrapped
tightly
around
her
neck,
constricting
a
notch tighter each time she took a breath. “I’m fine.” Tru
put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder and took a slow, but
deep, breath.
“Maybe you should hold off on the talking, just until
those bruises heal up some more, kiddo,” Ben said as he
reached over and patted Tru on the shoulder. Then, he
quickly walked toward the family room, sat in his large ⎯
comfy looking⎯ reclining chair and flicked on the television.
“Are you hungry?” Maggie asked as she watched Ben
for a few seconds, before turning back around to walk
into the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder at Tru.
Tru quickly nodded her head. Truthfully, she was hungry, she just wasn’t sure if her throat could get any food
down to her stomach to curb her appetite. Suddenly,
Tru’s stomach made a loud gurgling noise. She looked
down, placing a hand against it, and as she did, her
grandmother giggled.
“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Maggie walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the small carton of two percent
milk that, from what Tru could see, remained unopened
⎯ her grandparents didn’t really drink milk. Tru stood
motionless as she watched her grandmother walk to the
cupboard and pull out three different kinds of cereal, and
then place them on the kitchen table next to a bowl and a
small silver spoon. Tru slowly sat down at her usual spot
at the table, without saying a word.
“Choose,” Maggie said, staring at her granddaughter
with a smile on her face.
Tru looked at
the
three
boxes
of
cereal;
Cheerios,
Lucky Charms, and Frosted Flakes. None of them really
fancied her interest, but she was hungry. She really didn’t
care what she put in her mouth at that point. As she
grabbed the box sitting closest to her, Tru’s stomach gurgled again. Quickly, she poured as much of the Cheerios
into her bowl as she could, stopping just before the rim of
the bowl. She then poured the milk into the bowl, enough
to moisten the small wheat circles, and grabbed the spoon
resting on the table in front of her.
Her
throat
throbbed
with
each
swallow,
but
Tru
pushed forward, scooping up spoonful’s that overflowed
off of the silver utensil ⎯ the unbearable hunger outweighed the pain.
When she was finished with that bowl, Tru quickly
poured another. Her grandmother watched her with cautious eyes as Tru set the bright yellow Cheerios box back
down on the table.
“Slow down there, Sweetie.” Maggie gently placed her
hand on top of Tru’s as her granddaughter reached for the
carton of milk. “You’re going to get a stomach ache. Or
worse, you might choke.”
And Tru knew her grandmother was right. No matter
how hungry she was, she knew she needed to slow down.
So, Tru decided to slowly count to ten before she heaved
each new spoonful into her mouth. And when there was
only milk left in the bowl, Tru removed the spoon, lifted
the bowl to her mouth, and slurped it down. The painful
throbbing of her throat immediately began to feel less like
a fire was burning through it, and more like rough sand
paper being rubbed vigorously back and forth inside of it.
The milk seemed to be helping, but Tru knew it wouldn’t
completely go away just yet.
When Tru was finished, she put the bowl down on the
checkered placemat and waited. But her grandmother
remained
silent.
Maggie
continued
to
watch
as
her
granddaughter walked to the sink and placed the bowl
gently inside it.
Cautiously,
Tru
turned
around
and
looked at her.
“I know you have questions for me,” Tru whispered.
Her throat ached as she spoke, but it no longer felt like a
belt was strung around it as it had before.
Maggie watched carefully as the girl strode silently
back to the shabby, fifties styled, kitchen table. But she
did not sit. Instead, Tru remained standing, waiting for
her grandmother to speak.
She has to have questions for me. I was in the forest
all day. I had come home with bruises on my neck. Isn’t
she concerned? Doesn’t she have any interest as to what
had happened while I was there?
Finally Maggie spoke. “I just want to make sure that
you are okay.” She stood up from the chair she had been
sitting in while Tru ate, and gave her granddaughter a
hug.
Tru quickly embraced the woman tightly in her aching
arms. Surprisingly, she had forgotten what it felt like to
be cared for, and Maggie was so warm, and kind, much
different from Gail, who obviously hadn’t learned much
about being a mother herself.
Looking back, Tru could hardly recall a time when her
mother had chosen to hug her because she wanted to.
And looking further into it, Tru could barely remember a
time when her mother told her she loved her, and meant
it. And when Gail did say it, it was usually after Tru had
said it to her first.
“I’m fine,” Tru whispered. She hadn’t realized it until
the water had saturated her grandmother’s shirt, that she
had begun crying.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked as she pulled away
from her granddaughter.
“Nothing.” Tru’s throat throbbed again, and her voice
was still slightly raspy. “I’m fine. I promise.” Tru looked
down at the ground.
“You’re sure?”
Tru rubbed her forehead against her grandmother’s
chest, silently nodding ‘yes,’ as she leaned into the woman’s warm body once more.
It took Tru mere seconds to realize that she wasn’t crying out of happiness, and she wasn’t crying because she
was finally being cared for ⎯ though she should have
been crying for that reason too. What had caused her
tears this time was something that she had completely
forgotten about until now.
Had she gained such a connection to him that it caused
her to cry for him?
Yes. In all honesty, I’m worried about Edyn.
Something was wrong that night. Something prevented
him from seeing her.
But what? I have to find out.
But the more she thought about Edyn and returning to
the meadow, the surer Tru was that her grandma would
refuse.
Tru looked up at her grandmother with unyielding
eyes.
“Grandma,” she said. Her voice was meek as her throat
began to burn again. “I know you might say no, but there
is something I have to take care of.” When Maggie met
her granddaughter’s gaze, Tru quickly looked down at the
yellow linoleum floor and waited.
“What is it, Sweetie?” Maggie said as she released her
hold on Tru. Then, she turned, walked to the sink and
turned on the water.
“I need to go back.” Tru tried to speak over the sound
of the running water loudly hitting the bottom of the sink.
“Back?” Maggie sternly turned off the faucet and faced
Tru, who was still standing next to the table. “Why in the
world would you want to go back?” Her voice was firm
and her eyes did not move as she looked at the young girl.
Tru continued to stand there silently, instantly reminded
of the night in the meadow with Airi.
Tru slowly walked closer to her, keeping her eyes focused on the pale yellow kitchen floor. “A friend of mine
could be in trouble. I have to make sure he’s okay. If I
don’t⎯”
But, Maggie interrupted Tru before she could finish
her sentence.
“Gertrude,” her grandmother said as she put her hand
on Tru’s shoulder. “I’m sure this
friend
of yours is okay. If
he’s smart, he’s probably at school, like you should be.”
Maggie quickly glanced up at the clock on the wall above
the doorway.
9:15 A.M.
“Well, you only missed one class,” she said, making a
funny face. “Do you feel like going to school today?” Tru
couldn’t
help
but
look
away
when
her
grandmother
looked at her.
How does she do that so well? How can she just
change the subject so easily?
Gertrude knew that Maggie was keeping something
from her and she would soon find out, no matter what it
was going to take. Tru knew about her grandmother and
Edyn, but there was more she was hiding. And as Tru
wondered how much more Maggie was keeping from her,
she questioned how much Maggie thought Tru already
knew. By the sound of things, she knew Tru had found
out about Edyn. But anything more than that was a mystery to them both.