Grace went back home with her skateboard. She found her father’s car parked in front of the house, which meant he was still at home and didn’t rush to the hospital again. She opened the front door.

“Hey, Dad!” She greeted only to find no one. 

Weird.

“Dad?” She frantically looked around. He rushed downstairs. 

“Grace!” He hugged her cordially. Grace squeezed him before letting go. He smiled warmly at her, but his patent exhaustion showed. His face was thin, with a small faint scar above his eyebrow. He wore black square framed glasses. He had brown hair he brushed back and wide hazel eyes, like his daughter’s. Fred was tall and skinny, also a bit jacked. He changed out of his uniform into a science pun shirt and a pair of grey sweats. “How was school?”

“Good.” She lied. Fred noticed her lie but said nothing. Usually Grace was talkative and liked to talk about her school day. 

“Are you alright?” He perked an eyebrow.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Grace cracked a hopefully convincing smile. Her mind wouldn’t leave the pendant in her backpack. She was tempted to see what it would do. 

Right after Dad leaves for his night shift.

“Right. I am going to make us dinner. Guess what we are eating today?” Fred gave her an excited look. 

“Umm..” Grace started to feel his excitement, so she played along, “Spaghetti?”

“Nope.”

“Pizza.”

“Try again. You were actually closer with spaghetti.” Grace placed a finger on her chin.

“I assume it’s pasta of some sort?” She grinned as she asked. Fred knew she found out.

“Yes.”

“Then it has to be mac and cheese.” Fred pouted playfully. 

“You got it,” He admitted in defeat, “I thought you weren’t going to get it. Though, to be fair, you would, because it is your favourite.”

“You said it was close to spaghetti.” Grace said. 

“It could have been gnocchi.. or lasagne.. or chicken alfredo.” He reasoned.

Grace shrugged, “What can I say, Freddie? I believe this is what you call ‘A lucky guess’.” She talked in a weird accent, making exaggerated movements with her hand. Fred chuckled. 

“Alright. Go do your homework and study.”

“Do I have to?” Grace whined.

“Says the straight ‘A’s student,” Fred replied. “I thought you liked to study.”

“I don’t.. I am still burnt out from midterms, which were like.. weeks ago, which makes it even worse.” Grace swung her arms awkwardly. A small gesture she made when she was nervous.

“Don’t worry, honey. I am sure you did great.” Fred said with a comforting smile. Both sat in the living room adjacent to each other, occupied by their smartphones. 

“Huh, the news says there are weird appearances of people with wings? Like fae creatures?” Grace said in confusion. She showed her dad the website’s article. His eyes widened momentarily before he gathered his composure. It didn’t go unnoticed by Grace. 

“I don’t believe this fake news. People are getting really good at Photoshop these days.” He said. He muttered something incoherent to himself. 

“Huh. Right..” Grace closed the conversation, though she was unconvinced. 

“I am going to prepare dinner, okay, sweetheart?” He excused himself. 

“Mhm. Okay.” Grace said, watching him as he sprinted to the kitchen, like cooking was suddenly a necessity. She stared at the picture displayed on her phone’s screen. These glowing creatures almost looked human, with butterfly-like wings and inhuman skin colors. Most were wearing an iron suit, like armor.

I wonder if they are aliens from outer space, or creatures from another dimension. 

She sent the picture to Rachael, knowing that her fiction-enthusiast friend would be excited. She walked upstairs to her room, taking her glowing backpack on the way. 

She entered her messy room and threw her bag carelessly on the bed. Her room was a mess, with paint splattered on the walls and drawing and painting supplies scattered on the ground. As she was getting out her books, she noticed that the pocket of her bag wouldn’t stop glowing. She opened the pocket and her eyes were met with a strong light coming from the cracks in the pendant. Grace immediately rushed to close her door. Pushing her hair away from her face, she approached it. The glow had died down, though not completely. 

Although Grace had wanted to see what the pendant did, she reluctantly zipped the pocket closed. She would see what was up with it once her dad was out for his night shift. If it attracted his attention, he would probably take it away or scold Grace for taking something which wasn’t hers. She decided to take her mind off the pendant and try to focus on her studies instead. 

She sat down with a huff as she glared at the enormous pile of books, waiting to be opened and memorized. She opened her math book and started to solve all of the equations in her daily homework. 

Why did Dad act so weird when I asked him about the creatures?

Grace, focus. You have no time for this. You are studying, a voice scolded in her head.

Does that explain the strange cut on his neck? Did he have an encounter with one? Is that why he was nervous when the topic was brought up?

But why did he deny their existence? If I were him, I wouldn’t try to lie about that unless it has something to do with me..

Does he think I would try to go after them?

Well, That’s a thought. I would definitely try to go after them. 

Don’t be silly, Grace, Another voice entered her mind, You don’t even have a lead!

What about the pendant? It seems magical enough.

What if—

“Grace,” Grace muttered to herself as she dropped her pen in her book, “Concentrate.” She looked at the answers she had written for her math equations but none made any sense. She started to erase them. “Now, you have to start over. Good job, G. At this rate, you won’t even land a foot in Stanford.” 

She stopped her train of thought and started to redo her homework with a clear head. Her peace of mind was still being penetrated by the thoughts and theories at the back of her head, but she could manage to keep them at bay for the time being.

***

“Grace! Dinner is ready!” A voice called. Grace hadn’t realized that she was starving until her father yelled from the kitchen. She slammed her book shut and bolted downstairs. 

“Really?” She asked, peaking into the kitchen with her head. 

“No, Grace. I ate it all.” Fred replied sarcastically.

“Oh, no..” Grace rolled her eyes, though her lips were tugged into a smile. He carried the burning hot pot with oven gloves from the stove to the wooden table. The pot made a sizzling sound as it landed on the cold surface. A wisp of smoke rose in the air as he took the lid of the pot off. Grace hummed as the smell entered her nostrils. 

“That smells amazing.” Grace said.

“Thank you. Would you like to taste the dish, Mrs.. Chef?” Grace chuckled. 

“Sure..” Fred glared at her, “..right after I wash my hands!” He smiled at her with satisfaction. 

“Much better.” He watched her with a smug look as she left to wash her hands. She came back and sat opposite to her father on the small round table. She filled their plates with the macaroni. She ate quickly, taking a spoonful after a spoonful of macaroni. 

“Mmm.. Tell me again why you didn’t become a chef?” She asked. He chuckled. 

“Well, I want to help people.” He replied nonchalantly before eating what was on his spoon.

“You could’ve still helped people by filling their tummies with delicious food.” Grace said.

“What am I doing right now?” He smirked at his witty answer. Grace sighed.

“You are making a nice dinner because I will not see you for days.” She supported her head with her hand and dropped her fork, like the thought diminished her appetite. Instead, she started to play with what's left of her food.

“Honey..” He frowned, “You know I am taking more shifts this week so I have less shifts next week. This way, I could help more with chores so you get more time to study for your upcoming tests.” Grace nodded.

“I understand. Thanks for doing this, Dad.” She managed to form a grateful smile for him. They sat in comfortable silence, which was occasionally broken with the faint ‘clink’ the forks made when they made contact with the surface of the white plates.

They both finished their food and washed their own dishes. Fred changed into his nurse scrubs and left, leaving Grace alone in the house. Her thoughts immediately drifted to the pendant in her bag. She excitedly ran up the stairs, skipping one stair at a time. She opened her bag and abandoned it on the floor. The pendant started to emit a soft light from its cracks once Grace touched it. 

“Now, what are you?” Grace asked, shaking it. It made a wispy sound, which surprised her. Its surface started to heat up, but Grace hadn’t dared to leave it. Something about the pendant connected to her, giving her a feeling of nostalgia and comfort. Almost like..

Like I was meant to take it..

She shakily tied it around her neck. 

“What makes you so special?” Grace asked and immediately, the world turned white. She felt her feet suddenly lose touch with the wool carpet. She felt something tug at her back. 

She had no memory of what had happened to her in those ten seconds, but she knew she was never the same.

She found herself on her knees. She looked at her body only to find it quite normal. Well, more normal than she thought it would be. Her body had a soft aqua blue glow, similar to the pendant’s. She felt momentarily dizzy. Holding the chair, she rose. She frantically looked around in search to find her mirror until she froze. 

She approached her peculiar reflection and stared at it in horror and wonder. 

Horror? Well, because she had two wings and she was glowing.

Wonder? Well, same reason.

A pair of wings fluttered behind her back. They were butterfly-like and they were of many colors, ranging from blue to pink to purple. The wings were translucent, letting some of the light of the bulb go through to make rainbow patterns on the wooden floor. 

Grace’s cheeks were rosy and she was pale, probably from her shock. What had also grabbed her attention was her hazel eyes that had changed colour to blue. She leaned against the mirror with her hand and continued to inspect herself. She smiled.

“Oh, God. I have wings!” Grace exclaimed with excitement. She turned to look at her wings. She tried to make them flutter but they didn’t move an inch. She grunted as she endeavoured again and they started to move. They produced enough wind to knock down her nightlight, breaking it, and clutter her papers. Her desk was bestowed with papers and various pens and pencils. She was unfazed by the mess she had made. Instead, she had her eyes focused on her new wings. 

Abruptly, she was met with quite a mystifying idea. She opened her window and climbed to the roof. Surprisingly, her feet stuck to any surface. She still had the ability to let go whenever she had wanted, but it was a cool touch. Gave her less of a chance of falling.

Grace wasn’t scared, she was terrified. But there was nothing to stop her now. Not even her immense fear. 

She jumped,

But she didn’t fall.

At least, not immediately. 

She flew in the air, her wings fluttering behind her to carry her in the air. She slowly started to descend until she somersaulted into a kneeling position. She grinned between her pants. 

She started to experiment with her new wings. She found launching herself from the ground to the sky difficult so she would always jump from the roof or cling to the wall and spring herself into the air. 

Staying afloat wasn’t an issue. In fact, Grace had mastered it after a couple of tries. She could glide swiftly with the cold breeze. She had never felt so liberated. 

However, one other thing Grace couldn’t do was fight the strong tug of the breeze and the hungry force of gravity. The wind would burden her paper-like butterfly wings and she would start to fall. She managed to catch herself before she could hit the ground by stretching out her wings to slow down her fall. She then flapped them until they carried her in the air. 

She sat down on a building to catch her breath. Her wings fluttered slowly behind her. She could hear chattering and music from the apartments beneath her very clearly to the point of annoyance, which freaked her out. 

A few screams from little kids startled her. At the same moment, a sword materialized beside her. It shimmered beneath the moonlight. It gave out the same glow the pendant was giving. Grace carried it, smiling as she flipped it in the air with ease. It reminded her of the sword-fighting lessons her parents personally gave her when she was ten. She remembered the wooden swords were much heavier than this sword, but she couldn’t judge correctly. Not after she had found herself a fairy with wide hearing abilities and a magical sword.

The sword’s blade was smooth and looked rather sharp that Grace hadn’t dared press her fingers close to it. It radiated with heat and light. Its hilt was heavy and had beautiful patterns engraved in its golden handle. Her fingers traced the three hexagonal dents in the grip. She figured it was for a better grip on the sword. 

“Can.. Can I transform back?” Grace asked herself. The pendant’s glow didn’t hitch or fade. Grace closed her eyes and tried to force herself to change back but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t turn back.