Maya

I don't let the kids see anything.

There's no school today, so I keep the kids inside. I'm not risking any damage to their psyche.

The only exception to that is Safia. She grabs a shovel and follows me out back.

Safia and works in silence, digging

The largest wolf is a gorgeous grey wolf with white paws. Her coat has patches of blood and there's a deep gash on her stomach. She put up a fight, getting battered by her attacker as she tried to protect her pack. Blood leaks through her nose and mouth, staining the snow red.

Her pack is scattered around her. Three of them are grey and one is brown. There's no blood on them.

It was as if they were just sleeping.

Whoever—whatever—attacked them, they were merciful in their execution.

I wrap them in a tarp that I found in the rickety old shed and carry them to the hole.

I know it's just an animal but I hate the thought of her not having her pack with her, even in death.

Safia and I bury the wolves at the edge of a clearing, under a huge oak tree. There's a long gash from the branches to the roots, from a lighting storm earlier in the summer. It feels like a fitting place to lay them to rest.

I clean the blood away. It's not that hard to separate the blood from the snow. It's just a matter of separating particles and water.

Safia watches as I gather the blood. Blood is nothing more than a semi-solid liquid, it's malleable. I form a ball in the air, hovering carefully as I carefully add the spilt blood from the snow into it.

I place it into a bucket and seal it away. I'll have to find a place to dispose of it later.

The scent of blood persists. I'll need at least a few showers before I can get the scent off of me.

Safia sits on the back porch, her legs stretched out in front of her. I sit down next to her, admiring the now pristine white snow.

It's almost as if a massacre never happened.

"How do you do it?" She asks me, passing me a bottle of water. "You know, control your powers."

I wrap my jacket around me tightly, trying to keep the winter chill at bay. "Practice," I say. "Lots of concentration. And a whole lot of patience."

"You make it sound easy."

"Trust me, it's not." I take my gloves off, showing her the cut on my finger. "See this? I can draw as much blood from a tiny cut. If I take too little, the wound will close. If I take too much, I'll hurt myself. I need to know how much to take and when to take it."

"Nobody taught me how to control my powers," Safia remarked. She held her hand in front of her, sparks of electricity dancing between her fingertips.

I sigh, ignoring past memories. "Nobody taught me either. Not effectively anyway."

"So I'm screwed?" She scoffs and lays down, her green eyes focused on the clear sky. "I nearly killed someone."

"Who?" I ask, giving her all my attention.

Sometimes it's better to just listen than talk.

"When I first ran away from home. I was thirteen." She started. Safia ran her fingers through her hair, her knuckles getting stuck between the tangles. "I didn't know any better. My home sucked, my mom didn't give a shit about me and my stepdad was a creep. I left in the middle of the night and she didn't even fucking notice. I made myself into the city and I had no clue what to do or where to go. I slept on newspapers, searched dumpsters for food, and learned quickly that I had to fight."

I lay down, turning onto my side to face her. She wasn't focused on me. There was something far away that had her attention.

"One night, a few shady people were going through the camp that I was sleeping in. They were looking for young kids. Then I didn't know what they wanted, I just knew that it wasn't good. One of them grabbed me as I tried to make my escape." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I can still see that fuckers face. I was already pissed off but all of a sudden I felt furious. I don't remember it but I felt some sort of energy surge inside of me. Just above us was an old power box. The last thing I remember was touching it and everything went blank."

I felt my stomach flutter in dread as she described her life. She's been through too much.

Things could've been different for her.

I reach my hand out but stop halfway, letting it lay between us.

Safia doesn't reach out to take it.

"And what happened next?" I gently asked.

She signs and opens her eyes again. Her hands are folded over her stomach. "I was back home with my mom and her shitty rich boyfriend. The cops had found me in the camp passed out and they took me back to the station. Turns out my mom freaked out when I left home. It was for the wrong reasons but you know, at least she cared. Somewhat."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't care. She was a terrible mother anyway." She said, nonchalantly shrugging it off. "I wished I could say it was out of love but it wasn't. She just didn't want to lose face for being labelled a bad mom."

"You shouldn't have to go through something like that," I say. "You're only 15. You should have been going to school and worrying about college or boys or what sport you want to play. You didn't deserve all of that."

"Fuck, Raza." Safia laughs. "Am I right?"

"He's a dick." I rub the scars on my hand. "I'm sorry that you had the unfortunate honour of meeting him."

I smile. "Looks like we can agree on something after all."

Safia gets up, dusting dirt off her shoes. She looks up at the sky. "Huh. Look at that. The world didn't end."

"Smartass."

—

The kids are gathered around the small kitchen table, still dressed in their pyjamas.

Carlos and Annette look up when Safia and I come in. Rayan fiddles with a Rubix cube, one of his new fixations. He's determined to solve one.

Annette nudges Rayan but he ignores her.

Carlos breaks the silence. "Are we allowed to go outside now?"

I sit down.

Someone knocks on the door and everyone jumps.

"Will all of you calm down?" I say, heading towards the door. "Gods above, we're fine."

I grab the door and rip it open.

Wanda stands on my doorstep. Vision is right behind her, fiddling with the sleeve of his fleece jacket. It's so strange to see him in his 'human' appearance.

Gods, it's so uncanny.

She meets my eyes and smiles. "Hey, neighbour. You wouldn't happen to have a cup of sugar, would you?" She asks.

Vision waves his hand. "Hello, Maya. We were just dropping by."

It's like they're a pair of characters right off a sitcom.

"You're both so fucking hilarious." I open the door wider. "Make yourself at home."

Both of them walk in. They're dressed similarly. Couples clothes. I can't help but roll my eyes a little.

Safia stands up first, alert. Her chair scraps against the floor. I watch her hand rest over the butter knife. Rayan ducks under the dining table. Annette and Carlos watch carefully in anticipation.

"Relax. They won't hurt you," I say, gesturing to Wanda and Vision. "These are my friends. Kids, Wanda and Vision. Wanda and Vision, kids. Now that introductions are over, can we please eat breakfast?"

Things are a little less tense after that.

The kids watch their Saturday morning cartoons. Carlos is reading a book, and hoping to finish it this weekend before I take him to the library again. Safia keeps glancing out the window, her eyes searching for something.

Wanda finishes eating her cereal. Vision eats nothing because...why? He's a freaking android who is smitten by Wanda. And here I thought Loki and I were slightly obsessed with each other.

I'm munching on an apple, glancing between them. Glad to see someone prove me wrong.

"So." I start, wiping apple juice from the corner of my mouth with my thumb. "What's going on between you too?"

They share a glance and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well..." Wanda starts, leaning against Vision's side. "I know you've been away from the tower for a while."

"Precisely 24 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days, 8 hours, 56 minutes, and 10 seconds."

I sigh. "Thank you, Vision. Wanda, please, enthuse upon me your news."

"We're getting married."

I drop my apple. It bounced off my sock-clad foot and rolled into the living room. Safia lifts her head, glancing at me.

"Oh."

Vision does the most un-Vision thing possible, and smiles. "Yes. I am aware that nuptials are a common practice for humans. However archaic the ritual, I think it will make us stronger as a couple."

What alternate universe did I end up in?

"Oh."

"Yes." Wanda smiles so wide I'm afraid her face will split. "We're getting married next year."

"Oh."

I should be happy, right? I mean, usually, people are happy when their friends tell them that they're taking a walk down the aisle.

So why do I feel like my insides have been doused in cold water?

I know why. I just like asking existential questions because I'm a complicated human being. Duh. Stupid me. Causing my own problems and wondering why I'm dealing with the consequences after.

I smile but I feel something in me break a bit. "That's wonderful. Congratulations, you two."

Safia narrows her eyes. 

"Oh! And one more thing."

Dear gods, what now?!

"What is it?"

"Pietro is also visiting."