"Calm down, there! You're gonna make yourself sick if you keep that up!"

I hear MIX's voice as I enter the busy cafeteria, now finally out of my ripped Element suit and in regular attire.

"'Owwy," I hear someone say with a mouth full of food. "Ah 'aven eean en 'ays."

"What did you say?" MIX asks.

"What's going on here?" I ask as I approach the table where MIX, Zessica, Andy, and Yunoha are sitting. I see Amata sitting there with them, shoving food in his mouth messily like a wild animal. His food tray is overflowing.

He notices me and waves with a burger in his hand. "Oh! Aye 'ikono!"

I start laughing. "Amata, you're gonna choke like that! And wipe your face! You're a mess!"

He swallows whatever is in his mouth, only to replace it with several mouthfuls of a hot dog at once. "Bu' aym 'ungry!"

I roll my eyes in amusement.

"This is the first time I've seen you eat in days," Andy says as I sit beside Amata. "It's your own fault if you end up throwing all that food back up."

Amata holds his burger out to me. "Wan' a by?"

"What?"

He swallows. "I said 'Do you want a bite?'"

"Uh, I'm alright. Thanks. I'll just get something later. By the way, I need to talk to you after this. There's some things we need to discuss."

His content demeanor disappears for a moment, and he replies in a serious tone, "Okay," before he goes right back to stuffing his face.

Andy raises an eyebrow. "Things you need to discuss? Oooh! Any serious business? Or is it more on the 'naughty' side-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zessica cuts him off.

"Do you ever stop?" MIX jumps in. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm dating you."

Andy's eyes immediately widen and he looks up at MIX with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry, Babe! I'll be good! I swear! No more boobies from now on-"

"Oh my God. You're just making it worse." Zessica rolls her eyes and takes a bite of one of Amata's fries.

Yunoha giggles. "You guys are funny!"

In unison, both Andy and MIX respond, "No we're not!"

We all just laugh. It's been a while since I last had a fun lunch with everyone like this.

Amata shoves some fries in his mouth before grabbing a juice box and gulping the entire thing down in one go.

"Geez! Take it easy!" I take the empty juice box away from him and steal the cookies on his food tray, popping one into my mouth.

He looks at me with dejected puppy-dog eyes. "I was gonna eat those... I thought you said you would get something to eat later?"

"Yeah... Well..." I pop another one into my mouth. "Too bad."

"Oh come on! No fair!" He puffs out his cheeks in annoyance.

"Before, I couldn't get you to eat if I tried. Now I can't get you to stop eating. Sometimes I don't know what to do with you."

Somehow, he grunts in an adorable way. "L-leave me alone!"

"Just hurry up so we can talk."

Andy says, "So, are you okay Mikono? What happened to you? How did you even get back here?"

"Oh. Uh, I'm okay. I managed to escape and make it back. I, had some help. Well, you'll see what I mean later. But I'm fine! Really." I nudge Amata. "Come on."

He doesn't budge. As he's about to take another bite into his hot dog, I grab him by the wrist and drag him off.

"Ow! Hey! Let go! I'm not done eating! Mikono! Aaaahhh!"

I lead him back into the boys' dorms and make sure no one is around to hear our conversation. Then I let his wrist go. "Okay. There's a lot we need to discuss-"

His chewing is so loud that it actually hurts my ears. He's still shoving the hot dog in his face. "Wha?" He points to his food in his hand. "Sher you don' wan' sum?"

I grab the hot dog from him and toss it in the garbage can. "Can you stop eating for one minute?!"

He looks at the garbage can sadly. "My ho' dog..."

"Swallow, please!"

He gulps down whatever is left in his mouth. "You threw out my hot dog..."

"Amata! I'm serious! Look at me!" I grab his face and turn it towards mine, so that I am looking him straight in the eyes. "Stop being weird and listen!"

I allow my hands to fall away from his face and he nods, his serious tone now back in his voice. "Okay. What is it? Did something happen while you were away with Kagura?"

We sit on his bed, and I say, "Do you remember just before I was taken by Izumo what you saw or heard? When we teleported you back into HQ, you seemed so shaken up and you claimed to have met your father. You also had one of Mykage's petals on your shoulder. What happened that made you find that out?"

He looks away, lost in thought, remembering that day. "I-I saw my mother with him, and I saw her holding me, as a baby. And the two of them kissed. I mean, it seems logical that he's my dad, right?"

I nod. "Yeah. He really is your father." I begin to explain everything that Kagura told me along with everything else I pieced together. I tell him how he and Kagura are the same person, the Curse of Eve and how Alicia was taken, how Mykage erased his memories.

"So, I'm him?" he says, rattled and disturbed. "I-I'm that monster...?" He falls off the bed and to his knees. "No. He-he came from my own soul? Is that what I really am? Is that what I'm really like? A ruthless, abusive, murderer?"

I crouch at his side. "No! You aren't! Amata, you're not a monster! How could you think that?! He's not you-"

He turns to me abruptly, tears clearly starting to well up in his eyes. "He is me! Don't you see?! He came from me! He is the other half of my soul!" Amata clutches his chest, clearly pained. "I'm a monster deep down! No wonder no one ever wanted to come near me! No wonder I'm such a freak! You should stay away from me!"

"What?!" I put a hand on his shoulder, but he flicks it away. "Where is all this coming from?!"

"Stay away from me! I don't wanna hurt you anymore than I have..."

From his current position on his knees, his body rocks forward and his forearms dig into the floor. He's hunched over and shaking as sobs wrack his entire being. He clenches his fists as I watch his tears drip down into a puddle. His head hangs and his cries sound completely overcome with despair. "I'M-I'M A MONSTER!" he wails. "STAY AWAY!"

"Amata, stop this! You are not a monster!"

"YES I AM!! HE IS ME!! AND I'M HIM!"

"But you aren't!" I place a hand on his back. "You're separate entities now, aren't you? You are different from him! You're nothing like him!"

He shakes his head. "But he still came from me, and I can't control him. I don't want him going around hurting people. Especially you." I can hear him struggling to breathe normally through his tears. As he begins to hiccup, he says, "Why didn't Mom say anything to me? Why did she leave without telling me why?! That monster never would have been created if she'd stayed! WHAT IF HE HURT HER WHEN HE WENT WITH HER?! And what if we ever merge back together or something and become one again? Will he be so powerful that I won't be able to hold him back? Will he hurt you since I won't be around to protect you?! Will I become a killer?!"

"Amata..." I rub his back. "You aren't a monster. And Kagura isn't that bad either. He told me his past and what it was like with Mykage. When you see what he's been through, it's understandable how he can act the way he does. But he never meant to kill anyone. At least, I don't think? He means well, and he helped me back here. He wants to become one of us! He admitted that he was willing to join our ranks and fight with us as our comrade and friend! He's not a monster, and neither are you. You're both just different. That's all! So what if he's a little more blunt and stubborn than you? He's still good at heart!"

Amata's jaw clenches. "Do you not remember what he did to me?" he says through gritted teeth. "Or did he wipe your memories of all that?!"

It's a bold and daring move, but I say it, "You did it for me!"

He doesn't respond.

"You didn't have to go against him! You would've been fine! And even if you weren't shot, you would've held up in that fight! But you were stubborn enough to go in and 'protect me'! He didn't mean to actually hurt you! Look, he was a little harsh and I already yelled at him for that. But try to see past what you think you know about him!"

All I hear in reply is Amata's small whimpers and shaky breaths. He lifts his head up and we both sit back on the bed.

Looking him in his teary-eyes, I caress his cheek. "I kinda wish you were still in your happy, eating mood."

He laughs through his tears. "I'm sorry. I just- I-" He puts his face in his hands. "This is a lot for me."

"It's okay. I understand. I love you."

He looks back up at me. "Did Kagura treat you well at least? While you were on the way back here, I mean."

I nod. "Yeah. He saved me from Mykage and helped me escape. That's how I got the holes in my Element suit. Mykage kinda strung me up in vines."

His eyes widen with alarm. "What?! Are you okay?! Oh my God!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Really. Kagura got me out. We fled, and that's how we found out your home city was destroyed, like I told you before."

He shakes his head. "That bastard, Mykage."

"He hunted for food that night and he agreed to come back to the Academy with me. And the next day, we actually had a nice time in Neo-Kowloon. He bought food from street vendors. And we also saw Aquarion fly overhead. I tried to call to get your attention, but it didn't work."

"What?! Oh no! How could I miss you?! I should've paid more attention! Oh my God! I'm sorry!" I can see he's starting to get emotional again.

"No! It's okay! Oh God. Please don't cry again. No one would have been able to see us in the crowd anyway. It's not your fault!"

He calms down a bit and nods.

"I also had to spend a night in a hotel with him. Boy, was that awkward."

He raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

I bite my lip. "Yeah. He kinda walked in on me naked and I threw a hairbrush at him. Don't worry though! He didn't see anything!"

I expect Amata to get worried again, but instead, he actually lets out a chuckle. "Why a hairbrush?"

"THAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU ASK ABOUT THAT NIGHT?!" I sigh. "On the serious side, I had a nightmare. I don't know if it means anything, but it was pretty vivid."

"What was it about?"

"Mykage was strangling me, and you too. And Fudo was off on the side watching."

His eyes narrow. "Why would Fudo do that? Why didn't he help us?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. Beats me."

"Well, at least it was only a nightmare. But I know how horrifying they can be. I still wake up screaming from them."

A thought comes to mind. "Speaking of, how have your panic attacks been?"

He shrugs. "Okay I guess? I haven't puked or freaked out like before. But, I told you I wasn't eating anything, and every time we came back from searching for you, I just fell into like a pit of depression or something, and I started hallucinating. That might've been from the lack of food now that I think about it." His voice grows solemn all of a sudden. "Maybe I am depressed."

"Well, you do seem different than you were before everything happened. I was talking with Kagura before, and I told him, I can see you're hurting and feeling down. And Amata, it hurts me so much that you're hurting. It was killing me to watch you in that hospital! And it's still killing me!" I wrap my arms around him. "I don't want you to hurt anymore! I just wanna help you! But I don't know how! I've been so worried about you this whole time I've been away! I love you, Amata! And I don't want you to be in pain like this!"

I feel his own arms around me and he rests his head on my shoulder. "I love you, too," he whispers in my ear. "I'm sick of all this. I'm sorry that my pain is making you hurt." His arms tighten around me and he holds me close. "You deserve better than this. Better than me."

"No, Amata. I don't. You are the one I want. I would never ask for anyone else."

With a sigh, I feel his lips brush lightly against my neck. My hands move down towards his waist. Shush leaps out of my bun and attempts to rip us apart, but I grab him by the ears and let him go onto the floor.

"Here. Wait." Amata reaches into his pocket and tosses the bottle cap down to the cat. He immediately starts playing with it and completely ignores us.

"You kept that?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Guess so." Then he resumes his position and he kisses my cheek, gradually moving down the side of my neck until he reaches the collar of my shirt. I can tell he's not experienced with this at all, because the kisses are light, hesitant, and awkward. I don't care though. I find it cute and funny.

"I love you," he whispers again. I can feel his heart beating against my chest. "I need you. You mean so much to me. I love you."

He pulls away and slowly leans in. I close the gap between us and our mouths connect. My heart beats rapidly. I can feel his body heat emanating off of him as he kisses me harder. His hand clasps the zipper to my black waistcoat. The sound of it unzipping slowly startles me at first, but I don't show it. I press in even more, our lips parting and reconnecting, barely coming up for air. He reaches for the straps, to pull the waist coat off of me, but he suddenly stops kissing me and shies away.

"What's wrong?"

He looks away, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Oh. It's fine. Really. I don't care."

He turns back to me. "R-really? I don't wanna 'do anything weird' or make you feel, well, uncomfortable..." He blushes. "I-is it normal to be nervous? I-I-"

I laugh. "It's okay. I'm alright with making out now."

"Oh okay." His sensitive and socially awkward side is showing, but it's kinda cute. "Do you wanna, keep going?"

In response, I throw my waistcoat on the floor and leap at him.

"Whoa!" His face turns even redder. "Okay then."

Laughing even more, I say, "You're such a dork, sometimes."

"H-hey!"

"I meant it as a good thing. It's really cute."

He chuckles nervously. "You think so?"

"Mm-hm." I plant my lips on his again and we continue where we left off. My fingers manage to carefully slip off his vest.

Clank! I hear something hit the floor.

"Are you sure you should be taking off those boots?" I ask between kisses. "The weights might help keep you down."

"Who cares at this point?" He pulls his shirt off over his head and tosses it on top of Shush by accident. However, Shush barely seems to notice. He kisses me again and again, placing his hands on my waist and moving towards my hips, untucking my white button down shirt from my skirt. His lips caress mine over and over. And strangely, I can't get enough.

It takes me several seconds to realize I'm falling backwards. My back hits the bedsheets and I see Amata on all fours above me, awkwardly smiling down. "Sorry," he says. "I didn't mean to push you down like that. I can stop if you want-"

I press my index finger to his mouth. "Just shut up and kiss me again." Wrapping my arms around his neck, I yank him downwards, forcing his lips to mine yet again. His tongue slips into my mouth, making my heart race in excitement. It pushes in hesitantly, until it finally makes its way between my teeth and plays with mine. The slight lingering taste of his food is left over, but it's not that bad and it barely phases me. This feeling that I can't describe and the taste of him is far more overpowering than any item of food could be. I feel his tongue slide a little farther. Why am I not scared about doing this? Why do I feel so enamored with this moment; so enamored with him? And I never expected Amata to go this far either. But why does it feel so right? Why am I not resisting any of this? And why do I want more?

"God, I love you," he says each word between each kiss.

I'm starting to press in even more, allowing my own tongue to creep in a bit. More. More. I need more. Do I keep going? Do we take this even further? In the spur of the moment, my hands find themselves grabbing at him, feeling his shoulders and then moving down to his hips. He lowers himself closer to me, our stomachs almost touching. Who would ever guess that the easily embarrassed, sweet, polite boy from the movie theaters would be here kissing me passionately? Who would've guessed that the same boy in the hospital, who stared death in the face and came so close to slipping away, would be alive and well enough to do this right now? For some reason, that makes me feel even more drawn to him. I'm so lucky to have him with me at this moment, because I was never sure if he was going to survive to see his next day. The fact that he was able to come back with only a few scars and some emotional instability is far better than the alternatives.

My finger traces over his scars. He stops kissing me to look down at his chest. I run my index finger over each one, feeling the imperfections in the skin. I feel so sorry for him, that he has to have them as a constant reminder of what he's been through. They are a part of him. A part of his past that he has to live with forever.

"Do they bother you?" he asks. "My scars, I mean. They're pretty ugly, right? I know they're not really attractive-"

My finger moves to his mouth again to silence him. "Sshhh. It's okay." My other hand starts to trace over them while the one I'm currently using starts caressing his cheek. "You don't have to say anything about them. You're still you, and that's what matters. You are so handsome, Amata. And your body is just as beautiful."

He smiles, getting a little teary-eyed, but he blinks back the tears. "Thank you. I love you so much, Mikono. Don't you dare leave me again."

"I wasn't planning on it." His hands fondle the bow at the collar of my shirt. He pulls one of the ends and the whole thing comes undone, falling to the floor next to the other clothes and Shush, who, thank God, hasn't even acknowledged the fact that the two of us are getting half-naked and making out like there's no tomorrow.

"Do you think, 'you-know-what' feels as good as merging?" Amata asks tentatively.

"I don't know. Merging is pretty amazing. Why? Are you thinking..."

We stare each other in the face, debating silently between us if we should. Slowly, his hands move to the buttons of my shirt, carefully working their way down until every button is undone. My white bra is now visible, and his eyes stare at my chest as his face turns as red as a tomato. "I-I never saw, uh, you know, those in person before..."

I laugh. "You mean boobs? Or bras? You're so adorable."

Our lips part and collide together yet again. His taste sends shivers down my whole body, shaking me to my core. Farther, our tongues slide, and I let out a small moan. I don't want to stop. I want more. My heart feels like it's going to fly out of my chest. My whole body feels hot, the blood throbbing in my veins. It's not a bad feeling though. In fact, it's not bad at all. It's wonderful. His hand reaches for my breast and he squeezes it. I moan, a little louder this time. His body finally lowers itself completely onto mine, so that our hips make contact. He groans at our touch.

"Oh! I didn't expect to do that!" he laughs. "That must've sounded weird. Sorry."

"Stop apologizing, you dummy."

"You fell in love with this dummy, didn't you?"

I unbuckle his belt and slide it right off of him before tossing it aside. "You're not wrong. You're mine."

Our kissing seems to be getting really intimate now. We're practically in each other's throats, tongues swirling. But neither of us care. There's no one I'd rather be here with than Amata. "Don't stop," I say. The words come out more as a moan than a statement. My legs wrap around his waist. He shudders, letting out a moan.

Pulling his mouth away for a second, he says, "I don't know what's come over me, but I can't get enough." He kisses, then pulls away. "I mean, I never expected to do this in a million years." Another kiss, and pulls away. "I thought I would be alone my whole life-"

"Stop talking." I silence him with another kiss, making sure he can't say any more and shove my whole tongue in. He lets out another moan as he lightly grinds against me. Our hearts are really beating fast now. I think I see Amata's ankles glowing and his wings sprouting, but I ignore it and so does he. Somehow, he's managing to keep it under control despite the fact his heart is beating so loudly that it makes my chest ache. Or is that my own heart beating? I can't tell anymore. It's gotten to the point where we are almost like one being, where we can't even distinguish our own heartbeats. He grinds harder as his hand reaches for my breasts again, squeezing one and pawing at it. Through the kissing, my eyes close and a loud moan of pleasure escapes from my throat. Now I understand why people enjoy this. All of my senses are electrified right now. Taking it a little farther, my fingers search around, until they find the waist of his pants. I try to pull them down slowly. He doesn't seem to care. This is so different from the simple, romantic kisses we've shared. This is far deeper and more invigorating. As awkward as Amata is, my love for him completely shoves that aspect of this moment out of the way. Right now, he's intoxicating, and I almost shamefully feel aroused. What would my parents think if they knew about this? What would my brother think? Well, who cares? It's not like anyone is going to find out about-

"Hey. Is anyone in here? Have you seen my cellphone?"

Amata and I both stop immediately and look up in alarm. Andy makes eye contact with us and stares blankly.

What do we do?! I say to myself in utter panic. The both of us are too scared to move, so we're just positioned there on the bed almost naked with Amata on top of me. Our pants and skirt are still on as well as my bra and button down shirt, but still. It's obvious as to what we've been doing, and all we can do is be frozen in fear.

It takes Andy several moments to comprehend the scene in front of him. It doesn't seem to register to him until he looks down at our bodies, then at the clothes on the floor, then back at us.

His eyes finally widening, he utters, "W-what the hell...?" He shakes his head vigorously. "W-what the hell?!! No way! What am I looking at?!"

"A-Andy," I finally manage to say. "Uh, uh..."

"A-Andy?!" Amata croaks out. "W-what're you d-doing here?"

"OH MY GOD! YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT GETTING NAUGHTY BEFORE!! I CALLED IT!! I WAS RIGHT-"

"No!" Amata tries to get up, but I had taken his belt off earlier and his pants begin to fall down. He attempts to swing his legs around, but he falls off the bed instead.

"OH MY GOD!! NO WAY!!! YOU TWO WERE ABOUT TO-"

"SHUT UP!" I scream at Andy as Amata tries to get up. His pants fall down completely and crumple around his ankles, so that he's standing there in just his blue boxers. He kicks them away quickly and runs up to Andy.

"Dude! What the hell?!" Amata is about to continue talking, when he looks down at himself and sees how exposed he is. He yelps and awkwardly tries to cover his legs with his arms. "Mikono! Cover yourself!"

I quickly hold my shirt down over my chest to cover my bra and sit up. "You're telling me to cover up?! You have no pants on!"

Running frantically, he grabs his pants back and slides them on again, then he quickly puts his belt on, making sure they won't fall down again.

"Look at you, Red! You really went all out and got your girl!" Andy says.

"Dude, shut up!" Amata reaches for his shirt and he holds it over his chest to cover himself.

"I just never expected you to be on the naughty side-"

"I'm not!" Amata's cheeks turn beet-red. "Knock it off, okay?! We-we weren't even gonna go that far!"

Andy smirks and says sarcastically, "Uh-huh. Sure you weren't."

"I-I'm serious!" Amata shuffles his feet anxiously. "We really were just discussing some important things!"

"Oh and your clothes accidentally fell off? Yeah, okay. Like I'm gonna believe that!"

After I've finished buttoning my shirt and tucked it into my skirt, I get up and walk over to stand face-to-face with Andy. "We actually were discussing some serious business," I say sternly. "But things got a little... 'out of hand'. But we actually did have a serious conversation. So stop nagging us about it! What did you even come in here for?!"

He puts his hands on his hips. "Well, I just wanted to check if I left my cellphone in here, but I walked in on you two lovebirds goin' at it." He sighs. "I'm jealous. I didn't think you would get any action before I did," he says as he points to Amata. "And of all the people to possibly do that with, it's 'Little Miss Good Girl, Mikono'."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" I yell defensively.

Andy doesn't even acknowledge what I said. "Then again, I guess the most innocent looking ones are the people who end up being the freakiest-"

"Andy, shut up before I hit you!" I clench my fists at my sides in frustration.

"Whoa! Hey! Calm down! I'm kidding! And the only girl who gets to hit me is MIX!" He crosses his arms. "Can I please look for my cellphone now?"

I point a finger in his face. "Only under one condition: You don't breathe a word about this to anyone. Not my brother, not the staff, not even MIX. No one. Got it?"

He puts his hands up defensively. "Alright alright! Geez! I promise I won't say anything." With a more serious attitude, he says, "I'm happy for you two."

I raise an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I'm glad that you guys are able to be happy together after what you've gone through. For all we know, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation if things had turned out differently for you, Red. So I'm glad that this is the way everything played out, and now you two can be happy together." He laughs. "Maybe I should try hurting myself that badly. It might get MIX to love me like Mikono loves you!"

"Andy, please don't joke like that. It-it wasn't funny. You don't wanna go through what I went through..." Amata says, seeming a little emotional. "It's worse than anything I've ever imagined. I would never wish that experience upon even my worst enemies."

"You know, for a moment I thought that the concussion had scrambled your brain up and changed you into a different person, but I can see you're still the sensitive, nerdy sidekick that fell into my hole your first night. I'm glad you're still you. Although I still don't have an explanation for the sudden change of personality and how you managed to get into bed and do-"

"STOP IT!" Amata and I both shout in unison.

"Alright alright! I'll stop! And your secret is safe with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my phone." Andy begins searching and snooping around.

Looking over at Amata, I notice he's still just holding up his shirt as a shield to cover his bare chest. "Why don't you put that back on?"

He looks down at himself, seeming surprised at the fact that he's still shirtless.

As he pulls it over his head, Andy returns and announces, "I found it! I knew it was here! Alright. You two lovebirds can get back to whatever you were doing. And you have my word that I won't say anything to anyone!" And with that, he walks out the door.

"How much do you wanna bet that he's going to tell someone within the next few hours?" I ask.

"Oh, I'd bet all of the Vectors and Aquarion that he'll say something within the next few minutes."

We both chuckle and recollect ourselves, picking our clothes up off the floor. Shush has actually fallen asleep, so I leave him be as we sit on the bed again.

"I could've sworn I saw your wings earlier," I say. "How did you keep them under control?"

Amata shrugs. "I don't know. I just, did?"

Daring to mention it, I ask, "Can I see them?"

"What? My wings?"

I nod. "I've always wanted to see them fully out and up close. As long as you don't mind, that is."

He smiles warmly. "Okay." I watch him as he closes his eyes, silently willing for his power to reveal itself. After several moments, one wing on each ankle sprouts out and unfolds. They're so much bigger than I thought! They're bigger than Amata himself!

"Wow!" I exclaim in amazement. "That's so cool!"

"Really?" He looks at me, clearly moved by my statement. "No one has ever said anything nice about my ability before." He puts one leg up and rests his foot on my lap.

"May I touch them?"

"Of course," he nods.

Cautiously, I place a hand on his wing. The glowing golden feathers are so soft between my fingers. It feels as if I'm touching nothing at all. "This is incredible! How do they just disappear and then reappear? Like, where do they go when they aren't out?"

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure. They just appear whenever I need them, or don't need them. I never liked my power and they always were there when I didn't want them to be, so I never bothered with trying to learn about the wings. I used to try and pull them off a lot, but it never worked. They always grew back. It felt like a curse."

I stroke his wing, feeling the soft, downy feathers. My hands begin to play with them.

Amata giggles. "Hey! That tickles!"

I play with the wing more, but my finger gets caught in one feather and he yelps in pain.

That yelp of pain makes my stomach sink. He said he would try and rip off his wings several times. The fact that he can feel what I am doing to his wings shows that he must have seriously fought through the pain of deliberately ripping off the feathers. He hurt himself, just to hide an amazing ability he has. How many years had he been doing that to himself? How many years has he been smiling through the pain?