Violet Eyes

It’s a twenty minute walk from my house to the Corner Market. I push open the heavy glass door and head straight to the small selection of hair dye keeping my head low to avoid eye contact with anyone who may be lurking. My choices are few, but I settle for a box of the red dye closest to my shade. I set the box on the counter, along with a candy bar, and can of Pepsi. I pay and stuff the products into my small shoulder purse.
I walk home quickly, anxious to have my normal hair back. When I finally get home I run straight to the bathroom. Once safely inside I quickly skim the instructions and mix the dye. It takes about ten minutes to cover all of my hair. Processing time: 30 minutes I read. I take a seat on the closed toilet and wait impatiently for the 30 minutes to pass.

___

Even through the steamy mirror I can see my hair is still silver. I put on my fluffy blue robe and head to my room to sulk.
“It’s here!” I hear my mom exclaim from downstairs. I hadn't even reached my room yet, but decide to the curiosity get the better of me and head downstairs.
“Oh good, you’re here!” Dad says as I walk into the kitchen.
“Look what came!” Mom says holding a scroll. “Here, you open it.” Aerdon says and passes it to me.
“What is it?” I ask holding the scroll in both hands.
“Open it!” Aerdon exclaims.
I untie the gold ribbon and open the scroll. It’s an invitation to a ceremony – for me. “I don’t get it. What exactly is a Nim Loth Ceremony?” I question.
“Nim Loth translates to White Flower. It’s a ceremony to honor the newly transformed, white representing innocence and the flower is used to symbolize blooming, you changing from mortal to immortal. You will finally be able to enter Pelkelu! I’ve been waiting so long for this moment and only dreamed you would one day be able to travel there with us – humans are not able to enter.”
"Wait, immortal?" I ask shocked. "You didn't mention that."
"We're immortal in a sense, we could live forever..." Drafin starts. "We're nearly impossible to kill unless we wish it upon ourselves. You would have to be completely willing to give up your body for your soul to pass on. There is a ritual every hundred years in which all gather and those who are ready will pass their souls. Not many choose to live long after age 500. Often the knowledge and technological advances will be too much and you give your soul back to the earth."
“Is it at all possible to be killed?" I ask suddenly curious of this new information.
"You cannot be killed." My mother says. "But... You can choose to give your soul to another and with that, you give them all of your knowledge and memories. It used to be quite common for a parent to give their soul to their child, but with that comes pain and the want for more knowledge."
"There are very few left who have had a soul passed to them. You're grandmother is one of them." I squint at that word, grandmother. I had never met any of my relatives and had assumed they were all dead. "And Taego."
"Who is that?"
"Taego is not a good being." My mother warns.
"We cannot die unless willing," Drafin starts, "He is the only one of our kind to take someone's soul by force. The only way to do so, is inflicting so much pain on someone they will their soul to you... And we are a strong being, it takes a lot of pain for someone to pass their soul."
"Taego and those who follow him haven't hunted in over a century. He has more knowledge then anyone in our society and hasn't had the need to hunt." Aerdon says, acknowledging the terrified expression on my face.
"What are we?" I finally find the words to ask.
"Elves, in the non-traditional sense..." My father explains.
“Do I have to go?”
“Yes, of course. It is a great honor to attend this ceremony. We are not giving you a choice in the matter, you are attending.”
“I think I still have my Nim Loth gown.” My mother shares excitedly. “It may be a bit outdated but we sure can fix it up! I’ll go look now.” She says and vanishes from the kitchen.
I give my dad a dreadful look.
“I know it’s a lot at once, but the ceremony is absolutely beautiful. It will give you a chance to meet others your age.” Drafin says and places his hand on my shoulder. “It will be the start of your schooling as well. You will begin gaining more knowledge and you will learn how to use it. Is that not at all exciting?”
I shrug. "I guess that does sound kind of interesting. When do we go?”
Drafin picks up the scroll, “Well it’s a lot sooner than expected. Looks like the ceremony will begin and sun down on Thursday.
Suddenly Aerdon is standing with them in the kitchen. “Did I hear that correctly? Thursday?" She says out of breathe. Drafin nods and looks down at the small dress in his wife’s hands.
“There is no way I will fit into that…” I say while touching the hem of the dress.
“Seems my ceremony was held at a much younger age!” She chuckles and holds the dress out in front of her. “Now that I think of it, I was about 14 when I came of age…” I stare at my mother confused as the dress was even small for a 14 year old. “We age differently than mortals. That would have made me about ten I believe.”
“What? How old are you now?”
“About…” She stares at the ceiling calculating her years. “About 480 years I think. I’ve been counting in human years for so long, its hard to be sure.”
“How old would that make me?”
“It’s hard to say… Physically, age 25, though you only have mortal knowledge, they’ll treat you as the 16 year old you are.”
“That is so strange.” I stare into space for a moment trying to take in this new information. "Well what am I supposed to wear Thursday? None of my dresses look anything as intricate as that.”
“We must shop.” My mother says with a grand smile. “We can go shopping in Pelkelu! Oh I haven’t visited in ages, it will be so lovely.”
“Does everyone dress in weird dresses?” I ask.
“We have 2 alternate worlds to this one. Pelkelu is more traditional, what you would expect when you think of elves." Drafin starts, "Faerdon is a much more modernized world. Earth is a mix of the two." Drafin says.
"So yes, there will be 'weird' dresses in Pelkelu." My mother says with an eye roll.