MARLOW #7
We sit for a while like this, enjoying our closeness when I decide to talk about something much cooler.
"One more thing. I looked up which mantis your form resembles the most… and it's funny. It's a cat-eye mantis! Those unusual horned eyes that almost look like a cat's ears."
"It makes sense that a cat-eye mantis would have a fated mate… who’s a cute cat." Fenn sends me a crooked smile. "I’ve never gone that far as to dig around online for similar species. But I’m very glad that… you’re interested in it." He tilts his head playfully.
There’s a moment of silence as I feel slightly bashful for some reason.
"You know, back at the airport, you looked really… epic."
A blush creeps onto Fenn’s cheeks, and he lets out a soft huff.
"You really think so? Not horrifying?"
"Absolutely not. Epic, majestic, and those beautiful wings… so colorful, luminescent, like those of dragonflies or some butterflies. I never thought mantises had them."
He grins. "They do indeed."
"Will you… um, show me your shifted form like that sometime?"
"If it pleases you. I’ll do anything for you, Marlow."
I notice his eyes slowly drift toward my stomach. A little hesitantly, he reaches out and gently rests his hand on my lower abdomen.
Our eyes meet, and we both give shy smiles. My heart is trembling in my chest.
"They… they’re growing there. Two little miracles," he whispers.
I nod with a small, timid smile.
"If it’s okay… I’d like one of them to be named after my dad, Varg. He was a wolf shifter and an incredible, loving man," Fenn adds.
I brighten. "That’s a great name. And who knows, maybe Fate will turn it into a reflection of his gift. And the other one… maybe Falcon? I’ve always thought it was a cool name."
"Sounds perfect!"
His hand gently strokes my stomach, tender and light.
This moment lingers, and I sway in serenity, basking in the sun, completely relaxed. At some point I hear his whisper,
"Purr for me, Marlow, I love the sound of it…"
So I switch on my purring engine for him, and Fenn closes his eyes, a blissful smile on his face, deep calm surrounding us like a sweet sphere, safely enclosing us inside.
Something catches my attention.
High above our heads, a cluster of something flies past, strangely resembling a swarm of tiny fairies, but maybe I’m just hallucinating. They look colorful and airy, as if made of rainbow tulle. I stare at them for a moment, but Fenn clearly has his eyes fixed down the slope where our house stands.
"Look, some car is driving up the road, it’ll be here in a moment once it gets through those winding turns!" he says with amusement.
"Oh, that’s Mr. Davos! I forgot I invited him over for tea!"
"Wow, does he know—?"
"Yes! And he doesn’t mind at all! He saw your photo in the press and is dying to meet you! He knows all kinds of unusual beings around town, and a lot of them want to meet you too. Being different… is part of the local color."
He raises his eyebrows.
"Really? They don’t mind… me?"
"No, Mr. Davos told me they’re very happy to welcome another magical AO in Rainbow Springs."
Fenn lights up, looking touched, as if even the promise of the acceptance he had been longing for had healed yet another wound in his soul. And I hope it will give him a sense of belonging.
He closes his eyes for a moment.
"Do we really have it all, Marlow? Down to the very last detail? A happily ever after?"
"Yes. A special one. Crafted for monsters," I add in a soft whisper.
He takes a deep breath, as if drawing in strength and at the same time letting go of the past, closing off the dark chapters behind him.
The late-morning sun bathes his striking, masculine face in light.
"Yes. Crafted for monsters. One cute—"
"And one epic," I chime in.
Then, hand in hand, we walk down the path through the flowers toward the gate where Mr. Davos’s car is just pulling up with an enthusiastic thump, and he himself stumbles out of it, holding several colorful welcoming gifts in his arms, a wide grin stretching across his weathered face.
And here we are.
Incredible. We made it.
Not all monsters get slain after all, hah!
We’re two strange creatures living at the edge of human society. Yet, we found our own tiny oasis of happiness.
THE END