Distant Lands

Ethan comes down the stairs and sits next to me, looking excited to eat. Emerald fills two more large bowls and places them on the table. She grabs a tray with dinner rolls and sits down.

“Thank you, the food looks delicious,” I say. I fill a glass with the lemonade and take a sip. It’s so sweet and refreshing, just like I thought.

“I hope you like it. It’s one of our favorite dishes,” Emerald says. I take a spoonful of the stew.

“Mmm, It’s perfect,” I say, taking more spoonfuls. Emerald and Ethan start eating as well.

“It’s a family recipe; our mother used to make it for us,” Ethan says, grabbing a dinner roll.

“Yes, it’s very high in protein. It will make you big and strong,” Emerald says.

After living by myself in the forest for a month, I must look extremely malnourished to them. I continue eating. I grab a dinner roll and stuff it in my mouth. We eat like we are competing to see who finishes their bowl first.

After a few more bites, I feel stuffed. Ethan and Emerald are still in the competition. I look down at my bowl, and it seems like it’s still half full. Afraid of disappointing her, I pretend to eat.

“This seems like a nice city; it reminds me of Earth,” I say.

“We have lived here our whole lives,” Ethan says. Then the front door opens. Ethan gets up quickly, and Alan, Ethan’s son, runs towards him.

“Dad!” Alan yells happily. Ethan bends down to hug the boy and ruffles his hair. Alan laughs and comes toward me.

“Hi Elizabeth,” he says, giving me a big hug.

“Hi, it’s nice to see you again,” I say. The boy sits down on a chair, ready to be served. Rita comes in, and Ethan gives her a long hug and a loving kiss. She tells him something, and he goes outside, and Rita walks toward us excitedly.

“Hi Elizabeth, nice to see you again; welcome to the family,” Rita says.

“Thank you. It’s very nice to see you and Alan. I was wondering where you guys went,” I say.

“When the Academy is in session, we live here, and when it’s not, Alan and I live at the Ranch with Ethan,” she says. Ethan comes into the house with a lot of bags.

“We went grocery shopping. Oh, you made the stew?” Rita asks Emerald.

“Yes, I made it for my daughter,” Emerald says proudly. I smile and listen to them talk to each other. I feel so out of place, like I’m watching a live play, just sitting here, watching this family gather in their home. Alan is still waiting patiently for his mother to serve him dinner. I get up and serve the boy some stew.

“Thanks,” Alan says and happily starts eating. The wholesome meal made me feel sleepy. I walk over to the living room area and sit down on the comfortable-looking couch. Everyone else is eating and talking. I start to nod off when the voice of my stepmother wakes me.

“Ethan, can you please show Elizabeth her room?” she asks. I get up, and we walk up the stairs. Ethan opens a door for me, and again I feel like I walked into a little girl’s room. The room is a pink explosion. The walls are painted pink, and there’s a big bed with a pink comforter with fluffy pink pillows, and there are stuffed animals on the bed. I look at Ethan.

“You did tell her that I was an adult, right?” I ask.

“Yes. I think she was just really excited to have a daughter. Well, have a good night,” he says, leaving.

I don’t know why I was so worried. My alien stepmother is such a sweet person. I got ready for bed, laid down on my pink bed, and immediately fell asleep...

***

I feel someone lightly touching my face; I giggle, “Oh, that tickles,” I say sleepily. I hear a soft chuckle; I’m startled, open my eyes, and see Emerald’s face in front of mine. I quickly sit up in bed.

“Good morning, my daughter,” she says, sitting up in bed.

“Oh, good morning,” I say, wondering what she is doing in my room, caressing my face.

She smiles and stands. She looks down at me. She places her hands on her hips, and her smile melts. She gives me a hard stare.

“I WANT YOU DOWNSTAIRS IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! YOU HEAR!” She yells, using the loudest voice I’ve ever heard, and points a finger towards the floor. I stare at her wide-eyed, my heart beating fast.

“Yes,” I say in a timid voice. She comes closer to me.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“Yes!...Ma'am!” I yell. She turns around and walks out of the room. I quickly get up to get ready, get dressed, and put on my shoes; I comb my hair fast, run out of the bedroom door, reach the stairs' railing, and stop.

Wait, what the hell am I doing? I go back to my room, and I lock the door. I don’t have to listen to this crazy alien lady. I sit on my bed, waiting. I’m sure she is going to come back.

I go over to the window and open it. I peer down, and the porch roof is beneath it. If I need to escape, I can just jump down. I start hearing loud footsteps running up the wooden stairs. I panic and start putting my leg over and out of the window. I sit on the window sill.

I hear the doorknob jiggle; she’s trying to open the door.

“UNLOCK THIS DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW!” she yells. Then suddenly, the door flies open violently. She kicked down the door! I see her angry face look at me, and I jump onto the porch's roof. I look up, and I see her swing a leg over.

I kneel, grab onto the roof's edge, and slide off but fail to hold on. I fall, landing hard on the dirt ground. Pain radiating throughout my whole body, I groan. I hear her jump on the roof.

My fear is stronger than the pain, so I ignore the pain, and I get up slowly. I start running away without looking back.