Page 81 of Scars Like Wings
A stream of rainbow light shot out of Cleo’s crystal like light beaming through a prism. On the other side of the crystal, the table, and Maisie, a form began to materialize. It was transparent at first with few discernible features. Then it filledwith color and took more shape. Soon, we all saw a woman sitting in a chair with her legs crossed at the knee. Ms. Annabeth Repond was white and looked to be in her thirties, but was closer to fifty in reality. Maisie’s mom was tall when standing—the source of Maisie’s height—with long dark brown hair that went past her shoulders. Today, it was braided back with a few strands left out. There were crow’s feet on the side of her eyes and laugh lines beginning to etch on either side of her mouth. Worry lines were prominent on her face already, the only sign of her age. She was very conventionally pretty in a timeless Sarah Crawford sort of way. Maisie took most of her appearance from her mom, with both of them having the same dark-almost-black eyes, high cheekbones, and pouty lips, but that was where their resemblance stopped.
Simone and I had met Maisie’s mom a number of times. She had always been gentle and kind to us, taking us in like the sisters Maisie always wanted. You could tell she loved Maisie dearly and doted on her and us by proxy. She always gave us a warm smile and tenderness that reminded me of my own Mom and how much I missed her. It made my heart ache, but I also was so grateful for Ms. Repond’s presence.
As she came into view, I could see Ms. Repond pulling at strands of the end of her braid. She looked distant for a moment before the summoning call fully connected, and she was able to see her daughter. Some of the concern left her eyes then.
“Maisie-Daisie! My beautiful baby!” Ms. Repond greeted with a smile. As she was fretting over her braid, I could see her fingers twitching toward her daughter, like she wanted to reach through the magical connection they were sharing to touch her. Every time Maisie’s mom saw her, she always examined her from head to toe to ensure she was real, healthy, and uninjured. She would place her hands everywhere she could: her shoulders, arms, face, wherever. It was like she needed to touch her totruly verify what her eyes were seeing. “How are you, baby? Is everything alright?”
“Everything isnotall right, Momma,” Maisie said. Her voice was cold and hard.
The concern flared in Ms. Repond’s eyes, and it was more than enough to make my heart squeeze. She uncrossed her legs and sat straighter. Maisie’s Mom rattled off questions. “What do you mean, Marceline? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Yes, Momma. Somethingdidhappen. Why didn’t you tell me I was a witch-fae?”
Ms. Repond’s eyes widened. When she spoke, her voice was so low I struggled to hear it. “Wh-what did you just say?”
“Why didn’t you tell me I was a witch-fae?” Maisie repeated through gritted teeth.
“Well, I-I—” Her Mom stuttered.
“I had to find out today at almostthirty years oldthat I was fucking half-witch half-fairy. I found outwhatI was today. Not from you. Not from Granny. But from a stranger. A kind one who I really vibe with, but a fuckingstranger?—”
“You watch your tone, Marceline Jade Repond,” Maisie’s Mom interrupted, pointing a finger at her daughter as if she was a teenager.
Maisie shook her head and crossed her arms defiantly. Her magic sparked in her eyes alongside her rage. The house rumbled softly like a low-level earthquake. Books bumped against each other. In the kitchen close by, I could hear dishes clattering in the shaking cabinet doors. Plants swayed in their pots near the windows with their sheer curtains. Simone clung tightly to my arm.
“Are youfucking shittingme?” Maisie exclaimed. “You are keeping secrets from me, and you care about if I’mfuckingcursing right now?”
“I’m still your mother, Marceline. Even if you are upset, you will still show me respect.”
“Oh, like how you showed me respect by not telling me that I was a fitch my whole life?”
Simone and I sucked in a breath through our teeth at the same time.
“I just wanted to keep you safe?—”
“Safe? When were you going to tell me something? Onyourdeathbed? Ormine?”
“N-no, I was going to tell you. I just—I didn’t want you hurt?—”
“Too damn fucking late for that. You kept this from me. You kept this from me my whole life. I’m feeling mighty godsdamn hurt and betrayed right now.”
“That wasn’t my intention?—”
“I don’tfuckingcare about yourintentions!” Maisie yelled. Simone and I both jumped as books clattered to the floor and the coffee table threatened to flip with the wave of Maisie’s power. Maisie’s Cleo rocked on the table until it settled back down. A book fell through the image of Ms. Repond, making it waver slightly before returning to normal. Still, she appeared just as taken aback at Maisie’s outburst just now as if she was actually sitting in the room. Given the amazing clarity of the summoning call, I could see her eyes begin to glisten with tears.
Despite her anger, Maise saw it, too. She shook her head and turned away. She pinched the bridge of her nose before taking a breath. The fallen books righted themselves and returned to the shelves in swirls of neon purple magic. The coffee table straightened itself to its original place. Maisie took another breath before finally looking at her Mom again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell like that. That is rude, and I’m so sorry. But I don’t know how else to get through to you, Momma. I can’t talk to you. You don’t talk to me. I don’t knowwhat else to say or do. You just… You never told me this no matter how many times I asked. Instead, you lied to me. You told me I was one thing when I wasn’t. You did that my whole life. That shitbothersme. I understand you intended to keep me safe. I get that. This is your way of protecting me, and you thought it was the best way. Cool. Great. Fine. But this… this just… this wasn’t it, Momma. I should not have found out this way. This is just so…fucked.”
“Marceline, I’m so sorry. I really am. I never intended—I didn’t mean—I didn’t know you felt this way. I’m so sorry.”
“I mean, what if I had lost control, Momma? What if I hurt you or my friends or some strangers all because I was improperly trained? What then? When has keeping a secret like this ever worked? Have you ever seen a show based on a YA novel?”
“I-I-I don’t know.” Ms. Repond’s tears spilled over. “Marceline, I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry. Parents don’t have all the answers. We do what we think will be best in the moment. Sometimes, it works and everything is okay. Others… I’m just so sorry, Marceline. I never meant to hurt you. I just thought that it was the best way to keep you safe since there was so little I could do.”
Maisie was quiet for a while. She looked down at her bare, black-tipped toes. I could see her thoughts going across her face. She looked back up and toward her mother, but it was more like she was looking past her—and not just because she was a 4K hologram.
After a few more beats, Maisie inhaled and said, “Do you remember that really shitty day I came home from Little Hazel’s Coventry Academy? I think I was, like, seven or eight. I burst through the doors of the house, though, and I was in tears that day. The kids had found out about you having few to no powers and that I didn’t have a grimoire in the family. They had teasedme so bad. When I cried to you about it, you started to cry. You cried even harder than I did. I had to comfort you that night, and… it broke my heart. It still breaks my heart every day when I think about it,” Maisie sniffled, her eyes glistening. She continued. “I always knew you were a worrywart. Remember how I used to joke about it? I would tease you about how you never had split-ends because you pull them out constantly or how you would be on the brink of tears just watching me leave the house. I thought that’s what moms did. They worry. That night made me realize how much you worried about me, how you stressed about me, how bad it was, how you struggled to breathe knowing that I could be hurt at any moment and there was nothing you could do. I didn’t want to ever add to it, to this burden you carried on your back like Atlas. I hated that I was adding to it that day by talking about some kids doing what kids do and being mean to me. So, I made a secret promise that I fulfilled starting the next day when I cursed the shit out of those kids and almost got suspended.”