Different Ch.1

Okay everyone here is the edited version. Thanks for your support. Enjoy it.

Preface

March 21, 2008

Have you ever felt---no...known you were different? I'm not talking about physically different, mentally different, or even ethnically different. I mean DIFFERENT from everyone. In your school, town, country, even world. Today is my 18th birthday, and I am about to find out that my world is not the only one in which I am different.

Translations

nena: little girl or sweety

mira: look

abuela: grandma

calmate: calm down

ay que buena: oh how good

Chapter One

"¡Onida Ana Luisa Racquel Esperanza Jimenez ven aca!"

Oh Lord. I knew this was trouble. She only uses all of my names when I am in trouble. I put down my book and rushed down the stairs and rounded the corner to the kitchen. I guess Wuthering Heights is going to have to wait Mrs. Brown.

"Mamá you needed me?"

"Nena, I'm here in the living room, we need to talk," she answered me.

Man what did I do? " We need to talk?" This is going to be ugly.

"I just got off the phone with your great grandmother Toña. She has invited us for dinner today," she said this with a fake smile on her face and a worried look in her eye.

"Mom is every thing ok? I mean your acting kind of weird."

"N..no everything is fine she just wants to give you your gifts in person. That's all nena," she said this all quickly, but I let it slide.

"Ok, when do we leave?" What could it be? I haven't seen my great grandmother in years, let alone gotten anything but a card on my birthday.

She was already headed back to the kitchen, her designated area, but she turned and answered me, "About an hour and a half, so chop chop go get changed...something nice!"she yelled as I ran up the stairs.

"Gotcha!"

Hmm, what to wear, what to wear.

I would love to say that I am one of those girls that looks great when you put on a paper bag but I'm not. My friends call it curvy, but I call it chubby. Anyway for that reason I spent the next twenty minuets looking for an outfit. From skirts, to dress pants to an evil yellow cardigan, finally I decided on a cotton summer dress with short sleeves, a cinched waist, and white flowers at the bottom.

"This will have to do."

I looked at my mirror, my long dark brown hair fell in waves past my shoulders. My skin was a dark tan and had black colored eyes. The one attribute all but me seem to think I have is a large chest. Girls it is really not as great as everyone thinks it is...especially in gym class with all the running...and since the freakin' 4th grade either...well that's all about that. I was not very tall, that I have to thank my 4'11 foot mother. I did beat her by four inches at least at 5'4. That was okay though. Compared to the weird things that have been happening the past four weeks leading to today my height was the least strange part of my life. For the past few weeks I have woken up at 4:00 am without fail. I have this desire to go outside. I sneak out to the path in the woods of our back yard and watch the sunrise. I can feel change coming, it is almost as if the earth itself is trying to tell me some things are never going to be the same.

"Mira Onida are you ready? Your brother and father are waiting in the car already," I heard my mother yell up the stairs.

"Coming!" I grabbed my purse and my copy of Wuthering Heights and ran out to the car.

"Gosh..what a dork you are! Bookworm, Bookworm. Do something more fun with your time!"my13 yr old brother yelled as I buckled in.

"Carlitos reading is not a waste of time, that game boy is and besides this is for school."

"Bookworm, bookworm, get a life Onida!"he repeated.

I gritted my teeth. "Dad if he does not stop in about five seconds, someone is going to have to explain to abuela Toña why he passed away!"

"Mira Carlitos calmate," "and leave your sister alone," my parents chided him looking through the review mirror.

My abuela Toña lived in Red Rock, Arizona this was a while from Tucson, but my brother was going to make it seem like days. Ah well this is life.

4 long hrs. later

We stood outside her doorway. Her home was of an average size with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms. Boy won't I have fun convincing my family that I'm going to need the hall bathroom the longest every morning. Though modern in plumbing, electricity, and even a TV, abuela Toña's house had a rustic feel. The outside was made of stone bricks with that red tan color. The walk way was decorated with rocks on either side of the path. There were pots of exotic flowers in her windowsill. She did love to plant, "almost as much as cook," my mother would say. My abuela Toña cooked like a dream, and mostly because she grew fresh the ingredients for her meals.

This wonderful cooking of hers is what brought us here today, as always, and the delicious smell is why I was waiting impatiently for her to open the door. Though the fact that she has some gifts waiting for me is exciting, the food is my family's main priority.

We were greeted by a smiling face when she opened the door. "Ay que bueno, I'm glad you can make it," she told us than added, "Happy Birthday child...does it feel any different now that you are a year older." If anyone else would have said it, that would have been normal but coming from her it felt strange. Almost, as if she had known how I've been feeling the past few weeks...Oh Lord there I go, how could she have known..I mean she's my abuela Toña, not some fortune teller. So, I lied.

"Everything is the same abuela, I have never known what all the fuss is about turning 18 anyway."

She smiled that same fake smile my mother gave me earlier today but quickly hid it by ushering us inside. Like the landscape of the house the inside was decorated traditionally. There was art decor from both the Hispanic culture and her native Navajo as well. On the walls were handmade Indian quilts and a Hispanic tile boarder that wrapped around the entire house. There were handcrafted bowls as well as a hammock on the back porch. The entire house was decorated in earth tones with the painting of Yuiza from Lioza Aldea and a Navajo sand painting in the guest room I was going to share with my brother (grrrrr).

We entered the dinning room which had an antler chandelier and took in the meal before us. There was baked trout, fried chicken (for my brother), fresh corn and green beans, rice, and rolls. I'm in Heaven. We ate to our hearts content and told abuela about how school was going and life in general. After the meal my brother ran into the guest bedroom to watch TV I was about to follow him when my abuela called my name.

"Onida come with me, I want to give you your gifts now."

My parents and I rose with her to the sitting room. She pulled out a wood carved jewelry box from a desk drawer and handed it to me. I opened it and sat there speechless. Oh..my God. These must have been old but still beautiful. There was a handcrafted ring and necklace with the turquoise gems embedded in them. The third piece was a necklace fit for a Navajo Queen. I can not believe she is giving me these!

"My goodness, abuela thank you, they are beautiful. Were they yours?"

She looked at me and smiled, " Yes I held on to them for a while, but now they are in their owners hands," She gave me a wry smile and dry laugh then glanced at my parents.

"Nena..Onida has your mother ever told you some of the tales of our ancestors?" she looked between my mother and I.

"Ah..no. She always tried and then would just put it off saying that you told these stories the best and that I should hear them from you."

She smiled again and then cleared her throat and started to tell some legends from her people. She spoke of how the Navajo believed animals were sacred. Also that all creatures from every world were to be revered. For this reason God blessed the Navajo with the ability to be one with animals and have powers to heal and read minds. Normally men were blessed with this ability, but every few generations a woman was given the same gift. When the power began to eat at the soul of those who contained the power, God returned and took the gift back leaving only a certain few with the gift.

I could see the hesitation in her eyes right before she continued. "So far there is no evidence that any are active within the universe but I could be wrong. One thing is for certain, the female line of these people called Yeenaaldloohsii or skin walkers died out completely except for one. That was your great great great grandmother Onida the woman you were named after. If the blood is still pure enough you and your descendants will also inherit this gift. In fact today you should receive the gift, for it is your 18th birthday."

I blinked, than stared, and at last to every one's surprise laughed.

How could they keep such strait faces when listening to this. Is everyone in this room except me on crack! Are you serious a fictional character...me. Boy this was crazy and not at all what I was expecting. If this is some kind of sick joke it is not funny.

My mother sucked in a breath than spoke to me, "Nena, Onida we know this might be hard for you to accept but it is the truth. Your father and I have already seen the signs of it. You spend so much time alone. You never go to the movies or mall with your friends anymore. Even though you may think we do not know, we have seen you leave the house to watch the sunrise at 4am for the past month. In fact you spend most of your time outside on the forest path, enjoying nature."

Half way through her speech my face fell. So they did know weird things were going on... their explanation still does not make any sense. Me a fictional character...come on this is crazy.

My abuela cleared her throat and began, "Onida, do you know what your name means? It means 'the one searched for', that is what you are. We are here to help you, we know this is a lot for you to take in but it is true. This is your destiny. This is what you are."

I felt the dizziness over take my body. There faces began to blur. The last words I heard were, "This is what you are." I'm a cre...ficti...skinwalker. Why couldn't I be normally and get a car for my 18th birthday like everyone else. Well that's the story of my life. Happy Birthday Onida...Happy freakin' Birthday.

Then all went black.