Becoming a Tif, chapter 3

The Revelation

Ophea went to school the next day, for the first time in her life she hoped that her math teacher would be present. She didn’t have math class today, but Mr. Gregory might still show up to her and check if she was coming or not for their special meeting this afternoon but luckily Ophea didn’t even caught a single glimpse of him throughout the whole day. The rest of the day was a pain, like usual-Ophea had no friends, she had never known why but everyone at school hated her, it was strange but now after thirteen years and a half of existence, she was used to it.

She went back home by another path this time, incase she would encounter Mr. Gregory while on her way to her house. It started raining harshly as she was skating and she kept on slipping every few seconds, when she got home she was soaked from head to foot and her clothes were in a worst state-her jeans were full of mud, and her shirt was sticking to her skin as if she had gone swimming.

To her surprise, there was no music in the house; instead she could hear the voice of her mum in the kitchen talking with someone. She went to her room to change quickly, and thought to herself: who could be that person? Her mum wasn’t a great talker, and she didn’t have any friends just like Ophea.

She put her clothes on the balcony to dry and went down the hallway leading to the kitchen. Her eyes widened as she got in, her mum was there, but the other person was Mr. Gregory. He was comfortably seating in the seat enjoying her mum’s homemade muffin with a cup of green tea in his hands.

“Ophea, come take a seat we have to talk”, Megan said thinking about what to tell her daughter. Should she just tell the whole truth? Would Ophea believe her? No, she probably won’t believe it, she’ll think it’s crazy, thought Megan.

Ophea did as she was told, and sat at her usual seat, near the fridge. She was shocked and wondered what the man was doing in her house.

“This is going to be long, Ophea” Megan began, “but pay attention, and by all means believe it. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Gregory-whose real name is Gresgory- and I met at a small restaurant near the lake in the east of your school. We talked about ourselves, and had a lot of fun and he called me the next day. After that, we saw each other nearly everyday and after seven months, he moved in with me. The same day as we got you, Gresgory got an urgent call from his dying father. He had no choice but go back to his land, or shall we say his kingdom.”

Ophea was baffled, she had always thought her father disappeared and would never come back, but there he comes disguised as a substitute. She was mad at him and at her mother. Her mum had lied to her, she had said her father had left and would never come back. But her dad had left them for so long, without a single sign to show he was still alive. “Why now?” She demanded furiously, “Why do you only come after thirteen years?”

“I’m a king Ophea, I have to rule my kingdom!” Replied her father. He got up to stand by the opened window, the rain had stopped but the sky was still grey with clouds. He felt the wind pushing his hair backwards and thought, she doesn’t know, Megan hasn’t told her anything she must think I’m human.

“Then why didn’t we come with you?” Ophea asked, she was starting to get tears in her eyes, and couldn’t stop them from flowing. She didn’t want to cry, they just came out that way without asking for her opinion. She didn’t get why her mother had never gone with Gresgory. Was it because she didn’t love him? Then why did they get a child? Or maybe her mother didn’t want to be crowned a queen?

Megan felt the tension rising higher in the room and took out a new badge of fresh backed chocolate chip cookies out of the stove. “Ophea, I should have told you this earlier, but your father isn’t like you and me, nor does he live here”, she said while placing the cookies in plates to give them out.

“Megan, please!” Fumed in Gresgory, “you know we shouldn’t talk about it here, they could hear us. If Ophea wants to know, she’ll have to come with me.”

“But she has school!” Objected Megan, I also doubt she is like you, she added in her mind. “She can’t just leave like that! She has…”

“Stop!” Interrupted Ophea, she needed to think it through, everything was happening much too fast for her. “Go where?”

“To my castle, we can’t talk about it here. I’ll explain you everything once we are there”, said Gresgory. He wished his daughter would accept, and if she did would she be able to stay?

Ophea didn’t reply, all of this was very mysterious, she didn’t understand it. But after all, leaving wouldn’t hurt and she hated this place anyways. She stuffed one cookie in her mouth, before saying “I’ll come, it’s my final decision.”

“Good”, said Gresgory. He felt the joy in his heart coming back after so many lost years. He had dreamt of this moment since the day he became king, the difference was that now it was real. “We are leaving tonight, go pack your bag.”

Ophea went to her room with a smile on her face. Her classmates would be so surprised to discover she went on vacation during school days. She had never missed school before, except when she was sick –which happened maximum thrice per year; her mother made sure of that.

Downstairs, the atmosphere was quite. Megan was cleaning the dishes, and Gresgory was whipping them. After a long moment Megan finally broke the silence, “Do you think she’ll make it?”

“You mean her being a Tif? I don’t know, she is unusually good at math for a human. Have you noticed anything else with her that might make her a Tif?”

Megan thought to herself for a long time. Finally, she answered “There was this one time when Ophea was about four. She wanted a candy from a jar too high for her to reach. She stared at it for almost ten minutes without moving. So then, I got scared and I took her in my arms.” Megan hesitated before telling the rest. Yes, she was sure Ophea was a Tif, but in the bottom of her heart, she didn’t want to admit the truth, she didn’t want Ophea to leave.

“Then what happened?” Asked Gresgory, leaving the towel on the kitchen counter and going closer to Megan to hug her.

“She screamed Gresgory! So loud, I covered my ears and she fell to the ground. I thought she was hurt, but … But she continued staring at the jar until it finally fell. Then, she smiled and grabbed a candy.”

Megan fell in tears in Gregory’s arms, who hold her firmly. “Don’t worry”, he said “She is a great and bright child, she’ll be safe.”