Chara, pronounced Care-ah. I can't tell you the number of times I almost said Char-ah every time I saw it written down. Whenever I asked why it was such a weird spelling, they would always just shrug and say "Humans are weird."

Chara used that to explain a lot of things, actually. Like why they were always so jumpy around mom and dad, even years later. And why they would get angry sometimes at the strangest things. Like when one of the older monsters told them they'd make a great parent one day. Or when someone tells them "be happy!" or "Don't be sad." That doesn't even take into account how angry they got when someone actually made fun of them. Chara wasn't one that you teased; they were not quick to forgive when you got on their bad side, and they remembered everything. They held onto their pain long after it was behind them. Maybe Chara thought it was the only thing keeping them alive.

But, in the beginning, I was blind to the pain they hid behind their smile. I was oblivious to the signs they showed. The first human to be raised in the Underground was more of a monster than all of us, and no one realized it. I wish I had. Maybe I could have done more to help them. Maybe then this would have all turned out differently.

The first night we had Chara with us was probably the worst for them, and the first day wasn't much better. Chara had slept in my bed while I was with my parents. Though, none of us really slept at all. Through the night, Chara woke up screaming twice. It must have been a really bad nightmare, because it took the three of us a long time to calm them down each time. Back then, we just thought they were scared because of where they were.

The whole thing made breakfast the next morning a little awkward. I remember all of us sitting around the table, exhausted, barely touching our food. Mom and dad kept their eyes on their plates. Chara seemed like they were in another world all together. I frequently glanced over to see if anything changed in their expression, but Chara barely seemed to blink. They were only one of us that cleared their plate, though. That seemed to be a good sign. My mom kept trying to break the silence by asking Chara questions. Are you feeling better? Where did you come from? How did you end up here? Do you miss your family? But Chara didn't even seem to hear her.

My dad tried asking questions as well, all under the guise of explaining Chara's situation to them. All of the questions earned him fierce looks from mom. Did the other humans teach you about monsters? Do you understand that you're trapped here now? Do you remember what they did to us? But they did nothing to drag Chara out of their world as well. "Are they finally coming to finish us off?" That last one earned my dad a sharp "Asgore!" from mom. But it didn't get Chara to say anything either. They just got up and walked away from the table. I heard the door to my room slam before mom told me take Chara and go play outside. She wanted to have a few words with my dad.

Mom explained it to me later. One of the days we were out catching bugs I couldn't get the conversation out of my head and I asked her why dad hated humans so much. She took her time before answering. Most likely to find the right words to explain it to me. My mom was like that: never one to speak rashly, always one to say exactly what she meant to with no needless extra words. Finally, she looked down at me and said, "In the time before the war, your grandfather was the king of monsters. He and your father fought long and hard to form a peaceful relationship with the humans. There was even a time when he called a human his best friend. In the last battle, your grandfather was killed by that very human. Even after all this time, I don't think your father ever truly put it behind him." I told the story to Chara afterwards, but I don't think it made them feel any better.

It was easy enough to convince Chara to come outside with me. They seemed like they would rather be anywhere than inside that house. I found them just sitting on my bed, staring at nothing again. I tried to ignore the words passing between my parents as we left. That was twice now that I'd ever heard them fight. Both of them were because of me.

Once we were outside, though, Chara didn't seem to feel like playing anything. They sat down with their back against the tree in our 'yard' and watched the colored leaves as they started to fall from the branches. At least Chara acknowledged my presence. "Tag?" I suggested. They shook their head. I was about two thirds of the way through my list of ideas already and not a single one earned anything more than that. "Do you want to play pretend?" Chara paused a moment at that one, but still shook their head. There was only one game I held back from suggesting: hide and seek. I had a sneaking suspicion that if we played that I'd never be able to find them again.

Finally, I gave up. I sat down next to Chara with my back against the tree as well. Like them, I sat watching the leaves for a while until I started to hear a scratching sound. I looked down to see Chara drawing with a stick in the dirt. It was a very simple, stick-figure face, but they had drawn the line for the mouth over and over at different angles, seemingly unable to decide what expression the drawing should wear. The mess actually looked slightly frightening, like their mouth had been taped over or… "Are you alright?" I asked them. "I mean, you're not still hurt, right?"

"He hates me." Chara gave as an answer. It was not hard to guess who they were talking about.

I glanced down at the drawing again and then turned my gaze to a different part of the ground. "My dad doesn't hate you; he just doesn't like humans much."

"Is there a difference?" Their voice was fierce, so much so that it made me look up and Chara and I locked eyes for the first time since yesterday. It was the first time they even looked at me today. It was the same look from yesterday too. That determined look of an animal backed into a corner ready to fight off its predators with everything it had masking a layer of fear that almost seemed strong enough to make them tremble.

A part of me realized even then, I think, that that moment was one of great significance. How I answered that question would set the foundation of the rest of our lives together; short as they ended up being…

I looked down again and thought very hard, trying to emulate my mom's ability with words. "Exceptions." I said finally.

But Chara didn't seem to get it. "What?"

"There's an exception to everything. You can be that exception. So my dad may not like humans, but he can still like you. He just needs to get to know you." It probably wasn't the best way to explain it, really, but I think Chara understood. They nodded before falling back into their own thoughts.

I fell into my own thoughts as well. How matters had been going so far, I failed to realize two things. I had been so caught up with everything up that point that the whole of the situation hadn't sunk in yet. Chara was trapped here. Forever. No wonder why they were worried. I had been trapped under this mountain my entire life, so of course I was used to it. I could only imagine how scary the thought could be for them. Somehow, the more I thought about it like that, the more right it seemed. And the more blind I became to the actual problem. But at the time my mind raced with ideas to incorporate Chara into our family. I could get my dad to like them if given enough time. They would need their own bed, their own clothes. They could share my room, of course. I was planning out our entire lives together.

And that was when I realized the second thing. I was talking about my dad getting to know Chara when I barely knew anything about them myself. It was only yesterday that I met them, and they had said a grand total of thirteen words to me so far. I had been so caught up in my fantasy that it felt like I knew them my whole life. My thoughts went silent. A part of me even wanted to apologize to Chara.

This time it was Chara that broke the silence, though. "I want to play now." They said. I smiled; it seemed like it was quite the breakthrough.

I stood up and held out a hand to help them up as well. At first they just looked surprised. Then they looked ready to ignore my help and stand up on their own. But finally Chara did take my offer and I lifted them to their feet. "What do you want to play?" I asked.

"Hide and seek." They said. Of course it was. I was hesitant myself for a moment, ready to suggest something else, but I did not want to back out now when we were just starting to get somewhere. "You hide, I'll seek." They suggested. I guess that was a little better.

I nodded and Chara turned to face the tree and covered their eyes with their hands. They started counting and I started running. In the tunnels leading up to my house there are a bunch of cracks and gaps a monster my size can easily fit through. I scanned a nearby one quickly and began to squeeze my way through a gap that would conceal me well enough but would give Chara a fighting chance still. If I really wanted to disappear, I could have.

I was close enough to hear them shout out the end of their count and I inched myself a little further into the gap to make sure I was good and concealed. I waited and listened. Minutes ticked by before I heard the sound of Chara's shoes crunching on the rock. I stayed perfectly still. They walked right into my line of sight. If Chara just turned their head, they'd see me. There was no way I'd be able to squeeze my way out of the crack in time to run to base before they could tag me. Their victory was assured. But Chara just walked right by without looking my way at all. I waited another minute and started to shimmy out of the gap. When I was free, I turned to Chara, still only feet away, and shouted, "You're gonna have to try harder than that!"

They jumped and turned and I started to run. I ran back to the tree as fast as I could, laughing to myself as I pumped my arms. I was never fast for someone my size, but Chara certainly seemed to be. When I looked over my shoulder they were already almost right behind me. I tried to go faster, but it made no difference. Chara was gaining on me.

Soon they were close enough to reach out and grab me. But when they swung to tag me out I dodged out of the way. "Can't catch me." I teased. They swung again and this time Chara managed to grab my shoulder, hard. They pulled me towards them with enough force to make me trip and before I knew it my feet were off the ground with the rest of me.

The world spun into a blur and then I hit the ground and pain shot itself through my body, white hot pain that made my vision blur. I realized I was screaming before I could stop it. I stopped rolling next. An instant later Chara was standing over me. Tears were already streaming down their face. Their eyes went to my shoulder and their look turn to one of horror. I could guess why. When monsters get hurt, we don't bleed, we just sort of break down. I could see the white light of escaping magical energy coming from my shoulder even through my spotty vision. I must have landed on a rock pretty hard.

I gritted my teeth against the pain, but I could not fully silence myself. Chara seemed to be mumbling something under their breath. I thought it was 'I'm sorry,' but I couldn't make it out over my own groans. They were looking at me pleadingly now. I can see that expression as clear as day right now. It seemed to say 'please don't die.' But beneath that, even stronger, it seemed to say 'please forgive me.'

Don't worry, Chara. I will always forgive you. No matter what you do, I'll never let it get between us.

My mom appeared over me next and the pain was gone in almost an instant. But I felt tired. She picked me up and carried me back to the house. Chara trailed behind. My mom refused to look at them. I tried to give Chara a reassuring smile, but I'm not sure if I was able to get my face to move.

Healing takes a lot out of us monsters. It's like whatever magic makes us tick needs time to reestablish itself afterwards. Something minor could keep us sitting down the rest of the day. Something more serious could keep us out for a week or more with no assurance that we'll actually wake back up. Monsters tend to call that 'falling down.' My mom put me down on my bed and covered me with the blankets. She left the room and came back with some food. Chara seemed to be trying to stay as close to me as possible. They were still giving me that look. My mom fed me and I felt instantly better, but I was still pretty tired.

"So, care to explain what happened?" My mom asked both of us, though it seemed to me like her 'mom' look lingered on Chara just a moment longer.

"It was an accident." I jumped in immediately. "We were just playing, Chara grabbed me and I tripped. That's all."

My mom turned to Chara. They were crying again and they looked up at my mom like they were somehow in danger. "I'm sorry." They were saying audibly now, over and over. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

My mom knelt down in front of Chara and they flinched back, looking ready to run or to defend themself. She reached out a put a hand on their face. It elicited a yelp from Chara, but they calmed down when they realized that my mom was simply wiping away their tears. Chara seemed somehow shocked that that was all that happened. "It is all right, child." My mom told them. "Accidents happen. It is important you learn your own strength, though, so that more accidents can be avoided in the future." She patted Chara on the head and gave them one of her signature smiles.

Then, Chara did something really surprising. They practically leapt into my mom's arms and hugged her, crying anew. Once she recovered from her shock, she hugged them back.

Mom left shortly after. Chara came back to stand next to my bed. Their worry was not completely gone yet. I tried to tell them I didn't blame them either, but I was still so tired I have no idea if I actually said anything or not. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew Chara was under the covers as well, their arms wrapped around me and sleeping soundly. I smiled and held them close as well.

Dinner was much the same as breakfast that day. It started off in silence. Chara sat closer to me this time, seeming to refuse to leave my side. My mom tried to break the silence with questions again and this time Chara answered.

"Are you feeling better?"

A nod.

"Where are you from?"

"The city." Their soft voice responded.

"Do you have a family?"

Chara looked to me for a moment before shaking their head.

My mom hesitated for a moment, obviously not wanting to step onto any more sensitive topics. "Well, why not tell us a bit more about yourself. What do you like?"

"I like playing with Asriel." Chara said without hesitation. They even smiled. "He's nice to me."

My dad harrumphed and my mom chuckled. I smiled back at Chara just as strongly as they were smiling at me. I had always wanted a brother. And it seemed like that dream was coming true.