Chapter 2: 2 – MOTHERING HEN

Cobblestone Household

June 24^th X281

 

The baby’s cry made the house silent.

Florian Lilly Cobblestone was now an older sister to Hope Cobblestone. Hope was healthy; however, not a single peep could be heard when she let out a cry. She had been born mute.

Her parents were unsure what to do at first but were busier than ever. After consulting specialists, many changes had to happen fast.

Since the infant did not have a voice to let out a cry, the Cobblestone family had to concentrate on the baby’s body language. That meant someone had to monitor Hope constantly to make sure her needs were being met. If Hope was hungry, she could not cry. If she needed a diaper change, the smell was the only identifier. If she woke up while everyone else was asleep, no one would even notice.

Florian had an easier time understanding Hope. It was as if she could see things others couldn’t.

However, seeing Hope and her seashell dove reminded Florian of the old man with the conch crab and all the other creatures. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. All this time, she had thought the animals at everyone’s sides were pets. What she saw at the hospital went beyond pets.

The conch crab next to the old man faded right before her eyes, and not a single person reacted to the monsters roaming about. Even her own father thought she just had an overactive imagination.

Florian found comfort in writing down the event. She drew as many of the creatures as she could since no two were alike. It was fun for her and calming. She understood the animals better after drawing them. She drew many pictures of Hope as well. She analyzed her sister every day.

Naturally, Florian’s parents kept checking on her. They didn’t know what to say; Florian drew strange things.

School for Florian felt different. As usual, Florian’s classmates had their pets. However, Florian’s body began to feel numb. Everyone’s regular activities made Florian dizzy. Overwhelmed, she soon put her head on the desk and shut everyone out. Lost in thought.

One of the other kids next to Florian called out to her. “Florian? What’s wrong?”

“She’s tired. Leave her alone.”

“Flori, you can call me a bat girl like you always do.”

“Yeah, Flori, the teacher will get angry with you. Wake up.”

“Leave Florian alone, monkey boy. She’s tired.”

“Really? See what you did, Flori. Your stupid nicknames are sticking.”

“What’s with the nicknames anyway, and why am I bore boy?” a boy with a boar said.

Florian never cared to remember names. She just named people based on their pets. She could only tell people apart by the creature beside them.

“That is just what Flori does.” The children accepted this but not so much the adults.

As the teacher passed out sheets of paper, the class settled down.

“Good morning, class. Today we will be doing something rather different. Last week we looked at photos of animals and wrote down what words best described them and what they were doing. Today, we are going to decide which animal best represents you.”

One of Florian’s classmates raised his hand. “Like a spirit animal?”

“Yes, exactly, like a spirit animal.” The teacher nodded.

This caught Florian’s attention. She sprang up and, without waiting to be called on, asked, “What is a spirit animal?”

“Excellent question. A spirit animal is an animal that best represents you. Like a symbol that best shares what kind of person you are.”

“Like a pet?” another student asked.

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“It can be any animal. A pet, like a dog, or not a pet like a lion, or even an extinct dinosaur. What do you want your inner self to be? Start with thinking about your favorite animal. What does the animal do, and how does it do it? Are you like this animal or any of the descriptions we listed?” The teacher showed the class the activity they had done last week and the lists of words they had gathered.

Florian felt wide awake at that point. She realized what she was actually seeing.

Florian looked around and observed all the animals among her classmates.

The monkey boy, boar boy, and bat girl sitting at her table were calm and collected along with their corresponding pet. Every classmate was deep in thought, along with their animal. As if they were connected.

“What is your spirit animal?” bat girl asked the teacher.

“My spirit animal is a swan. I love lakes, and I want to fly with beauty and elegance.” The teacher presented herself as a ballerina.

“No way, your spirit animal is most likely a bookworm,” monkey boy said, causing the class to burst out with laughter.

“All right, trouble table, that’s enough. Everyone! Let’s get back to choosing your spirit animals, and we will share them with the class.” The teacher steered everyone back on track.

Florian gazed at what was right in front of her. A swan . . . My teacher said she wanted to have a swan as her spirit animal. She wasn’t too far off.

As the teacher assisted the class, her pet extended its wings and spread its feathers over the kids one at a time. The span of its wings could cover a whole desk. A few of its brown feathers floated around the classroom, nesting themselves on each kid’s head. Florian’s head too.

Florian tried to touch the feather, but it was stuck to her hair. She was getting frustrated. She tugged and pulled relentlessly. Florian rushed to the closest pair of scissors and snipped away.

The monkey boy and his monkey just stared at Florian with their jaws dropped as Florian struggled for a bit. The teacher promptly confiscated the scissors from Florian.

“Don’t do anything that might hurt you, okay.” The teacher pecked Florian on the cheek, and so did the teacher’s pet, leaving another feather stuck to Florian’s head.

Her pet was not an elegant swan but was, in fact, a chicken. A motherly brown hen, teaching her chicks.

The other kids kept working, laughing and talking about each other’s choices. Everyone else couldn’t see the chicken or any of the other animals. All this time, Florian had thought they were pets. Now she realized all the animals she could see were actually spirit animals. She couldn’t touch them but clearly remembered petting a few of them. Maybe some real pets had been mixed in, like the neighbor’s cat and the dogs at the park.

Florian pulled out her personal journal and flipped to a new page.

“Flori. What did you choose for a spirit animal?” the bat girl asked. “I chose a butterfly.”

Florian looked the bat girl in the eyes and then at the top of her head. The bat was still sleeping in her hair. “I think your spirit animal should be a bat,” Florian said.

“A-a-a bat? I’m scared of bats; I don’t like them.” Bat girl’s eyes watered. The bat in her hair squeaked.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Florian said. Why doesn’t she like bats? Her spirit animal in her hair is literally a bat.

“It’s okay. Batgirl isn’t afraid of bats. Batgirl isn’t afraid of bats. Batgirl isn’t afraid of bats,” bat girl mumbled.

“Flori! I chose the best animal in the world. The lion. What’s yours?” the monkey boy asked.

The monkey boy had also gotten it wrong.

Florian stared at her open journal. What about mine? What is my spirit animal?

Florian couldn’t think of anything else because all she could think about was why she couldn’t see her own spirit animal. She would always beg her parents for a pet when everyone else had one. Now she questioned why she didn’t have a spirit animal.

Florian realized she had a lot of work to do. She started a new page in her journal, writing “Test 1” as the title.

If she could see spirit animals, how did that explain what she had seen at the hospital? She had a mission to investigate what she was actually seeing.

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