Rosemarie POV

Flowing brown hair, covering my neck, covering a scar I should have. Sparkling green eyes, eyes with no hint of sliver beneath them. Was it sane to say that I would trade my soul to be one? I was an outcast in the society of souls. I could act like one, be as kind, gentle, but I was still an alien among them, still would wither away and die, unlike them. They, the seekers at least, wanted me to turn into a soul, but my parents, yes my biological parents, wanted to keep me human. Well, until I was an adult at least. They wouldn't win the fight forever. I stared into my reflection, picking at every minor imperfection.

"Rosemarie?" My mother, Glimmer Through the Glass asked.

"Coming," I called back down. I glanced at my hair for a moment, hooked a swinging lock of hair behind my ear, and headed downstairs.

The kitchen was small, almost a kitchenette, because my parents insisted that because of their lack of cooking interests or skills, they didn't need a fancy one. They never really hosted parties either; I guessed it was because of me. The souls always acted and were polite, but I thought they were afraid with a human among them. Not that I minded that much, I was used to it. Used to kindness I would never completely have, used to all the souls changing bodies when they got too old, and used to pulling out my ID when one soul guessed I was human.

"Morning," I greeted.

My dad, Paul, he took his name from his host, lifted his gray head from the newspaper and smiled.

"Good morning," He said enthusiastically.

I turned to the stove to pick up the kettle. I washed it under the sink and poured tap water into it, then putting it back on. Carefully, I turned on the lighter, and watched the flame roar up beneath the kettle, burning it without any touch.

"Careful," My mom warned, entering the kitchen.

I nodded and reached for a mug. I placed a teabag in it- tea being my favorite drink.

Mom nearly shoved a plate in my face as I turned back around to face the table. "Have a muffin," she said.

I picked a blueberry muffin off the plate themed with flowers and took a bite. "Thanks," I said. "Can you keep an eye on the stove while I watch the news?"

Both their reactions was nearly the same and in the same moment. "Sure," they both shrugged.

I pointed to the stove and walked out into the connected family room. Again, that was small too, because we hardly ever watched TV. It was too boring for my taste, though I never said that out loud, and like life itself. I almost wished TV was… dramatic. I flipped on the news, something I hardly watched, but I wanted to see who won the women and men marathon race for the Olympics last night.

The news hadn't switched to sports yet. A stiff yet smiling man in his late 20's had a couple pieces of paper in his hand, reading off it. "So thanks to many kind people, including Teadle, we have officially ended world hunger." He said, pausing to glance down to read the next few lines. "In other news…" He frowned. As his pause lengthened, his frown got no better, if anything, deeper. Odd. "Disappearances all over the west coast have been reported lately. This includes in Arizona , Nevada , New Mexico , Utah , and Colorado."

I fidgeted in my seat nervously. We lived in Utah. I wanted to shut off the screen, but I couldn't, I had to watch his frowning lips move.

"Disappearances have been anything from hikers in the desert to souls gardening in front of their own homes and over a time period of 6 or 7 years, starting with the first disappearance of a soul named Wanderer, on her way to a healing factory, once believed to have died in an accident while amidst hiking." The man continued, "Now, seekers are suggesting, no not suggesting, certain, that humans -" He squeaked at the words and the rest of his report was in a soft whisper that sounded horrified. "Are hiding and kidnapping, yes kidnapping, souls!" He squeaked again in fright. I was surprised he wasn't hiding under the table.

I shut off the TV. I didn't want to hear any more. Humans were still living? I thought…besides a couple of humans who may be living in soul society like me, they were all dead, gone, washed away as hosts. I shook the thought out of my head, if they were kidnapping souls, they were barbarians. Not like me, nothing like me.

"What was on the news?" My mom asked when I entered the kitchen.

I didn't answer right away, instead walked over to the stove. I shut off the flame under the kettle even though it wasn't done yet.

"Souls are disappearing," I croaked. "Humans in hiding are kidnapping them."

They both looked at me for a minute, puzzled I expected, and then their eyes widened. I heard my dad gasp.

"Are, are you serious?" The question came out tangled.

I nodded in response to whoever asked the question. I let my head droop, and bang the table as I sat down.

"It's like turning back into when humans messed up this planet!" My dad cried. "We can't even cleanse their planet without them protesting!"

Mom glanced at me, gentler than before. My dad did too. Great, now that I was human, were they going to cleanse me as well?

"I'm not them," I said stubbornly. "I'm…different."

"Of course not," My mom said quickly. Then she changed the subject, "Your birthday is next week, what do you want for turning 14?"

I signed, "It doesn't matter. I don't really care what you give me."

"You only turn 14 once," My mom said softly.

Oh did I ever know that.