Everyone has a secret that they dare not share; and it's mostly because they're afraid of rejection. I don't know how it happened exactly, but I suppose it began when I was about five years old. My father was a very aspiring chemist and quite the experimental type, too. He had his own lab and was always making up crazy concoctions whenever he possibly could. My mother, a graceful artist, had fallen in love Dad, gotten married, and had me, "beautiful" Penelope. This family of three couldn't have gotten any more perfect.

However, one day, I ran across my father's lab and was just playing around. He wasn't watching me at the moment, and, with the five-year-old mind that I had, it seemed fun to sneak a sip from one of his interesting drinks. It was quite delicious, actually, with a sweet and sour aroma filling my nostrils. Whatever happened next was all a blur; I woke up in my bed the next day dazed and confused. As time went on, my parents acted as if nothing were out of place, so I followed their example and went about my daily life. Suddenly, on the morning of my seventeenth half birthday, I had woken from my nightly slumber to find that both my parents had vanished.

At first, my initial reaction was shock and worry. I've never experienced anything like this situation before and was very afraid. Days, months, and even years pass. All those hazy memories of what I did each day didn't matter much. What did matter was what I had discovered: stuck forever at the age of 17 with a two-sided personality. One side of me was my normal self, the one where I was rational and sensible. On the other hand, my second half was very insane and aggressive. I also acquired this very strict sleeping schedule. When the clock strikes eight, I immediately fall into a deep slumber and the nightmare begins. I suffer four whole hours of my other side coming into control and nothing can be done as I turn into this rabid animal. When it is finally over, my actual dreams come into subconsciousness and I precisely wake up at nine in the morning. The worst part out of all of this is that during daylight, a mere glare from me can trigger my demonic side again and it will overpower me and control my every action. I was trapped in this endless pit of torture.

This wasn't me, and yet at the same time, it was. I hated how everything had to turn out like this, especially on me of all people. As a result, I became extremely cautious around other people; society would have thought of me as an abnormal freak otherwise.

I must say though, one important aspect about my newfound life was that I was always hoping. I left clues around me, pieces to the puzzle of my life, and dropped hints everywhere, always staying positive. I knew that there was someone out there who would put the pieces together, understand me, and try to help me cure this despicable obstruction. Many friends came and went, seeing as I had to cut off relations at one point or another. A few got pretty close, but none ever made that bull's-eye. I was still grateful for everyone in my life, but at the same time still I felt so alone.

Before I knew it, he happened. We had bumped into each other at one of my favorite places, Bay Café. Lorenzo was working on creating some artwork for the café and invited me to sit down. I supposed that it would do no harm to chat with him for a while. Lorenzo was very open and told me a lot about him. He seemed very clever and was a respectable person. There was a flicker of hope deep down inside me that he might actually be the one to fit the pieces together. It was a bit touchy when we got to the subject of me, for I couldn't just naturally blurt out my secret to him. I was still on the defensive side and was patiently waiting to see how things would turn out between us.

Day by day we became very close friends (with the exception that I would always change the subject whenever he mentioned me of course) and he was very open-minded. I started dropping big hints, to test him and see if he was profound enough to notice these things. Occasionally, I'd receive a twitch or brief moment of a change in facial expression. That was a good sign, indicating that Lorenzo was catching on.

I think I knew that sooner or later that I would have to tell him even though I couldn't help but ignore the fact. A few weeks later, when we were hanging out, Lorenzo wondered something aloud about my attitude. I, being the foolish girl I was, replied with a snide remark. It was a stupid argument, really, but I let it get out of hand and soon we were yelling at each other. It was around seven in the evening; I was supposed to leave soon, but the fight caught me off guard and I soon forgot about my "curfew".

It was pretty simple. We fought; I glared, and my other side came out. Lorenzo seemed surprised at first, and then next thing I knew, I shut off. It must have struck eight, but this meant that there would be another four hours to deal with. Lorenzo here bearing witness to my terrible transformation could not turn out well.

Another rush of events later and I woke up in my room in the morning. When I walked out, I found him sitting quietly on my living room couch. He looked up at me with a blank expression. A rerun of what happened last night came crashing down on me, and I immediately regretted my actions. All he wanted to know was why.

"Why were you acting so strangely? Why is it almost like you can't remain as one whole person?" Lorenzo questioned, still trying to be understanding.

It was at that moment I knew that I would have to finally trust him and confess. I sat down and explained (of course making him swear to me that he would never tell a single soul about my condition). Lorenzo's only comments were little things such as, "Wow. Talk about beauty sleep" or "Hah. What a temper problem". He made the atmosphere seem lighter than what it really was and I was grateful. Lorenzo said that he wanted to help me.

For days we researched my family history, side effects, and whatever else that was relevant to my condition. There was no such luck made yet. During one of our respites, it suddenly came to him. Lorenzo motioned for me to come and I followed him to my desk where all our research was. He dug up my family tree line and pointed to my father's half-brother's son. I curiously wondered, "What about Alan?"

He tried to contain his excitement and responded, "That distant cousin of yours is a prodigy; he's a scientist who majors in many fields. And more importantly…Alan is one of my best friends!"

I stare at Lorenzo in utter shock and gave him the biggest hug he's ever received in his entire life. I look back down at the family tree, still not believing my eyes. Something else stands out though, and I turn my gaze back down onto my paper-filled desk. There's an unusual looking envelope that's addressed to me.

"Strange, how come we didn't notice this?" I mutter. My only reply was an "I don't know" look. Lorenzo and I both head back to the couch to open and read the contents of the envelope.

I scan through it, but then I have to reread it once more. "It's a letter from my father," I whisper, "right before he and Mom left." My eyes began to fill with tears as I took in all the words of love and endearment. Dad had said that he was so very sorry that this had to happen to me, and them leaving was the best solution. He explained everything and hoped that I would find this letter before it was too late. He had a theory about the tentative experiment that I drank and gave me a prediction of my solution. Coincidentally, everything all went back to my cousin, Alan. The letter's last line was, "We hope that your long induced suffering ends here, Daughter. Mom and I love you so much. Goodbye." Lorenzo was there to comfort and help me through.

First thing the next morning, we called up Alan, who agreed to—

"And then what? And then what? What did Uncle Alan do?" excitedly yelled seven-year-old Matt.

"Now Matt, you promised that you wouldn't interrupt this story. Oh dear, and look at the clock, it's way past your bedtime. I'll finish up tomorrow okay?" I reasoned with him.

"Aww, no fair!" pouts my adorable son. Matt grumbled and walked off to bed. I sighed and relaxed into my chair, looking at the wedding ring glistening on my finger.

Lorenzo walked into the room and laughed, "I'll never get tired of him. It's a good thing he decided to you cut off there. Who knows how Matt would react when he learns that his mother almost died multiple times while receiving over 5 operations from Alan."

"Well, it was worth it. I'll tell Matt the truth when he's old enough to understand it. Alan sure was careful. Your little death threat didn't exactly help him lighten up."
"Haha. But still, we are forever grateful to him. Oh and speaking of which, he's coming over soon in about two days to pick up some of my artwork. …It's getting late, we should get some sleep. Sweet dreams, love," my husband yawned.

"Hm. Goodnight, dear," I got up and left. The lights turn off and everyone is nice and settled in, especially me.

The End