I have two kids. I have two kids. They found me. They are real. They have been looking for me. I can't comprehend that. Okay just focus on what is happening right now. I'm at a gas station. I'm on my way to Storybrooke. What kinda town is called Storybrooke. I'm pumping gas. Henry is inside the shop. He has been begging for food for the last half an hour. I gave him a few bucks to get candy just so he would shut up.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?", I ask the child in front of me. Treating one kid better is definitely not good. On second thought, letting the 10 year old go into the gas station by himself is definitely not good either. Only an hour in and I have already proven that I can't be a mother.
In a soft voice, the kid responded, "No, I'm okay."
I look at her, wait is it him? Henry had called her Daniel. Is the kid trans? I've never met any trans people but I know the general idea of what a transgender person is. "So, you're a boy?", I ask, having no clue how to bring it up.
"Are you okay with that?" He asks quietly. I can feel the fear in his voice, see the pain in his eyes.
A feeling that I have never felt before emerged. A protectiveness.
Crouching down to his level, I look him in his eyes. "Of course I'm okay with that Daniel. If you are a boy, then you are a boy, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
Immediately he wraps his arms around me in a hug, his small face leaning against my shoulder. In the back of my mind is a voice telling me to not get attached.
—
Finally we get to Storybrooke. Daniel has been sleeping the entire time and Henry has been talking about crazy stuff like curses and fairy tale characters. God that kid has an active imagination. After talking to a man with a dog, I finally know where I'm going. I can't believe the twins are the mayor's kids. Hopefully that means they got adopted by a good family.
Driving around to find the house I'm looking for, my heart races with apprehension. I glance at Daniel, still sleeping soundly in the back seat, his face illuminated by the soft glow of passing streetlights. Henry's tales of curses and fairy tale characters still occupy my mind, and I can't help but wonder what kind of town I've stumbled upon.
Following the directions from the man with the dog, I navigate through the quiet streets until the grandeur of the mayor's house comes into view. It's a stunning Victorian-style mansion, a far cry from the houses I lived in growing up. As I park the car and help Daniel wake up, panic reaches me. Calm down, I tell myself: I'm just dropping them off and then I can drive home and forget they ever existed.
As I walk into the gate, I feel something tug my shirt. A scared looking Daniel is the source. I crotch down and he whispers "Please don't tell my mom about my being.." he pauses and thinks. "You know… Don't say Daniel or anything."
Immediately I whisper back "I promise I wont say anything," trying to keep my voice calm despite the situation. My mind is racing. His mom doesn't know. Is it just because he hasn't mentioned it? Or is she transphobic and he is not safe and has to hid it? Henry out for us, confused about why we paused. I shake this thoughts from my mind.
"Please don't take me back there," Henry begs but is cut off my the sound of door opening.
To my surprise a door opens. A frantic and worried women with short black hair, probably around her thirties, runs out.
"Henry? Henry! Sophie!" The women runs up to the boys. "Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?"
A very angry Henry snaps back, "I found my real mom!" before running inside, Daniel following suit.
The shocked Mayor asks if I was the twins birth mother. I respond with a lame "Hi." In the background the guy, judging on his uniform probably a sheriff, says something but I don't really process it. Instead I focus on the women. The women who had raised the children I gave birth to.
Smiling for the first time, she says, "How'd you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?
"Got anything stronger?"