Take My Hand

I tensed at her words. What could she possibly mean? I backed away from her, suddenly nervous. "W-what do you mean Karla?" I stuttered, with a weird feeling. Not scared, but... like I'd just been given a huge responsibility of some sort. I had no idea why I felt that way.

Karla covered her mouth, a regretful look in her eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you, sweetie, I really didn't," she said sadly, " I have no idea how to tell you any of this, Ameranda, but I'll try my best."

She motioned for me to sit down, but I was to scared to do so. "How do you know my name!?" I shouted, terrified, "Who ARE you!?"

Karla sighed, "I have to tell you something, sweetie, I lied earlier."

"About what?" I questioned, slightly calmer, because at least a stranger lying to me made sense. Still, I was highly suspicious.

"I haven't really been trying to escape for days."

"Well, why not?" Isn't that what any SANE person would do?

"I've been waiting for you to be brought here."

"How could you possibly know that I, of all people, would be kidnapped by the same people who took you?"

"Because they're after our kind, sweetie." Why did she keep calling me sweetie, only my mother ever calls me that.

"Who are 'they', and what do you mean 'our kind'"

"Wait, you don't know who you really are, do you?"

"Seriously, can you get any more cryptic than you are now?"

Karla stood up quickly, crossing over to me in just a couple large steps, and grabbed my hand. "I forgot, you don't know."

"Don't know what?" I looked at her skeptically

"Ameranda, you're not human, sweetie."

"Stop calling me sweetie! Only my mother calls me that!" Karla got a hurt look in her eye. I was overcome with the need to apologize. I ignored it. "And what do you mean I'm not human? If I'm not human, than what AM I." I tore my hand away from hers, crossing to the other side of the room, and taking a seat there.

Karla sighed, unhappily. "I guess I'll have to explain things to you." She went to cross over to me, but stopped herself mid stride, sitting down in the chair she had gotten up from.

"Like I said, Ameranda, you aren't human. You come from a very long line of what in today's society, we like to call 'Witches'"

I stared at her, snapping my mouth shut when I realized my jaw had dropped. This lady was absolutely insane.

"Don't give me that look, I'm not crazy. You really are a witch, sweetie. Oh, and by the way, I Am your mother." I gave her an incredulous look. What kind of person just drops that information on someone? Was this just some sick dream? Was I still knocked out? I felt a little like the crazy one now.

A sharp, loud sound started whining in my head. I fell out of my chair, my hands clutching my ears. The noise felt like it was stabbing into my brain, and I began to scream in pain.

"No! Stop it! She doesn't even know what's going on! There are better ways to prove that all of this is real, that don't include pain!"

The noise abruptly stopped. I stood up, my hands shaking. I felt sweat beading on my forehead. My stomach was doing flips, and I felt like I was about to vomit. This most definitely wasn't a dream. I collapsed into my chair, tears still sliding down my face. What the hell had just happened?

Karla stood to help me, but I held up my hand. "No, I'm fine, continue explaining."

"O-okay," her voice shook. There was a look of concern in her eyes. "As I was saying, I am your mother, you are my daughter. The person who you identify as your mother had a daughter somehow exactly identical to you. We switched you two in the hospital."

I looked at her skeptically. This was starting to shape into some kind of T.V. show drama. These kind of things never happened in real life.

"We wanted someone to live as a human. See what power could possibly come from humans. Whether or not they had any magic at all. We've been able to see through your eyes for the last 16 years."

Of course, being a teenage girl, I blushed at this, even though I was in the middle of an extremely serious moment. I mean, I've done some pretty embarrassing things in my life.

"Now things have become extremely dangerous for you. You being kidnapped is the most obvious example of this."

I heard the sound of gravel crunching under the tires of someones vehicle. "Quickly," Karla hissed, "go to where you first woke up, and pretend to be unconscious still."

I laid down and relaxed as much as I could, which was rather difficult considering my circumstances. I had to try my best not to tense up when I heard the lock click, and the door open.

"Hello, lovely prisoners," a man with a deep voice said, "would you like your morning gruel?" I haven't even seen this guy, but I know I hated him. I heard him walk over to where Karla sat, his heavy steps making the floorboards shake. "How is my mahogany haired beauty today?"

"Doing well, considering the circumstances." I could hear the venom in her voice. I had never heard anyone as pissed off as she sounded, "How are you, Samson?"

"Don't be like that, Karla, at least we've given you your daughter back." I heard him turn around, looking at me no doubt. I hoped I was a convincing actress. "Ah, she grown up to be such a lovely young woman, so much like yourself."

"Don't speak about her like that, Samson." She sounded even more angry, if that was possible.

"Well, I'll leave her food here, in case she wakes up. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't already."

I heard him leave, locking the door on the way out. I waited about a minute before moving, just in case he came back. It was so quiet, I jumped when Karla spoke right above me that I could get up. She had managed to cross the room, filled with squeaky floorboards, without a sound.

I stood, glaring at her.

This woman, my biological mother apparently, had a lot of explaining to do.