Prologue. Wilhemina.
He had been crying for a long time.
Genim wasn't really sure how long it had been. It could've been minutes, maybe hours. Maybe even days. Maybe Daddy was searching all over town for him and didn't know where to look — and the thought of that clued him into how long he had been by Momma's grave. Daddy would've known where he was if he had been gone for too long.
The eight year old sniffed, closing his tired eyes. The tombstone at his left was cold, granite. Nothing like Momma's arms. She was so soft, and warm, and he really, really missed when she would laugh at all of the jokes that he and Scott told her, or when she would put the flowers he would pick for her in a vase and tell Daddy he couldn't do better. He missed the way she would lay with him at night if he got too scared, even when Daddy said that he had to be a big boy and sleep by himself.
Genim just missed his Momma.
"Hey there," A voice reached his ears, and he looked up, expecting one of Daddy's co-workers. He was surprised to see a girl shorter than him leaning forward at the waist, looking at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Whatcha' doin'?" Her words were dragged out and Genim let himself just stare at her for a minute. He absently acknowledged the fact she was kind of pretty — with long, curly brown hair and big green eyes that reminded him of emeralds. Like the ones Momma wore when they put her in the ground.
"Visiting my Momma," He responded quietly, and he watched as her pretty green eyes shifted to look at where Momma was buried. Her lips parted in a soft 'o' as though she realized something she hadn't before.
"I see... Who's visiting with you?" She asked, looking at him again. Genim raised his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug, resting his chin on his knees.
"No one. I'm here by myself," He told her, and her pretty pink lips pulled into a not-so-pretty frown. She didn't seem to mind that her white skirt bunched up around her waist, showing the small shorts underneath as she sat down on the ground in front of him. Leaning forward, her hands hit the soil just before his feet, and she gave a big smile. Genim couldn't help but notice she was missing two teeth — a bottom front one, and a top fang.
"What's your name? I'm Wilhemina," His brow furrowed at the introduction, and he slowly uncrossed his arms, allowing his legs to fall into the same position as hers.
"It's nice to meet you, Wilhemina. I'm Genim," He murmured, trying to use the manners that Momma had taught him, picking at blades of grass beneath them. Wilhemina grinned widely at him before tapping her chin, puckering her lips in thought.
"Genim doesn't really suit you. It sounds like a name out of a video game!" His cheeks dusted red and before he could protest, or agree, or say whatever planned on coming out of his mouth, she spoke again. "What's your last name?"
"Stilinski," He answered, and her thoughtful expression became one of glee. "Can I call you Stiles?!"
Blinking wide, brown eyes, the boy's brow furrowed yet again, forehead crinkling. "Why do you wanna call me Stiles?"
"It just sounds awesome, doesn't it? We could have nicknames for each other! I'll call you Stiles and you could call me... Um..." She trailed off, her delighted expression beginning to fade. Genim's chest tightened up at the sight, the happiness draining from her face making a strange panic settle around him.
"Willie!" He crowed, and her eyelids flickered at his out burst, expression showing her surprise. "I'll call you Willie, and you can call me Stiles. Okay?"
Willie's pretty green eyes lit up and she beamed at him. "Willie and Stiles! I like that a lot! Come on, Stiles!" She stood quickly to her feet, bouncing like a bunny that just learned how to hop.
"Your Momma doesn't want you to be sad! Let's go play hide and seek 'til the street lights turn on!" She held out a hand to him and Genim licked his lips, brown gaze settling on the tombstone to his left. He didn't want to leave Momma alone — he promised himself he would spend all of his time with her from now on, even if that meant losing some friends.
However, he remembered the night he had eavesdropped on Daddy and Momma's conversations. They both had been talking about giving him a younger brother or sister, even though Daddy thought Momma couldn't handle it.
"I just want him happy, John. I'll find a way to handle it, I promise,"
One of the last thing's Momma wanted was for Genim to be happy. So, the newly found Stiles sucked in a big breath of air, grabbed Willie's hand and shouted a loud, irrevocable cry.
"You're it!"