A Strange Place Indeed

I gasped at the beautiful sight in front of me, giant trees came into view, and the air was different, but a good difference. It was warm and soothing, like a lullaby. The wind blew my hair and I breathed in.

It was extraordinary. Something out of this world. The streets were free of dirt, and it didn't look anything like a town, but rather a city. Only this city was smaller.

The latest model of cars passed us by, and the park, the park was breathtakingly beautiful and bogus for a town, it could accommodate a thousand families. Probably all the families.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I didn't know the town's name. I had gotten tired of calling it the town, scratch that, she wasn't it, she was alive and hearty.

"Uncle Jonah," I said after deliberating if I should ask or not.

"Um,"

"What's the town's name?" I asked. Since I was a child, little things intrigued me and I always wanted to find answers to everything, even things that didn't need answers. And this was no exception.

"Generosasis,"

"Gene- what now?" I laughed out loud. I couldn't even pronounce the name.

Uncle Jonah chuckled, "I know it's not a very familiar name, but it's a powerful name, Deborah."

"Hm, powerful, how powerful?" I asked, giving him my undivided attention.

He stared at me in fascination, smiling happily. "It's a tale, do you wanna hear it?"

"Of course, I love stories!" I returned his smile.

"Okay, it was a dark, dark, stormy night. The wolves were howling, the owls were squeaking, it was pouring heavily, and the weather had changed. Everything was flashing black and white with the help of the lightning, the thunder roared in anger, scaring everyone of them, the vol-"

"Okay, okay, that's too much information. Just get to the best part already," I said, cutting him off.

"You're no fun." He scrunched up his face. "As I was saying, don't cut me off this time though. There was a tornado brewing, a dark tornado. Everyone knew it, everyone knew her, the owner. It was what they all called her, she was the most powerful Owlignus, she was the queen. Everyone bowed and respected her, no one dared to go up against her for she was the Akwanisis."

I frowned at the foreign word. "Hold up, I'll stop you there uncle, I'm sorry. Ehm, you called her owl-something and akwshinis, did I get that right?"

"No. And you cut me off again. I'll explain just once, so listen- so I can get back to telling you the whole story. Owlignus is their specie, they are shapeshifters but mostly owls. They are witches, old witches, and we all know ancient witches are very powerful. They feed on owls, which is weird because of what they are, but legend has it that they get their powers from owls, so every Friday night, they feast on owls. They are evil, of course, and they are good too. Just like human beings, some of us are kind while others are sadistic. And Akwanisis is a title for the chosen one, the most powerful of them all, and Generosasis, she was."

"That's a not-so-beautiful story, so you mean shapeshifters are real? I thought they only existed in books. Others are real too, I mean, werewolves and vampires?" I asked, astounded.

"Yeah, they are very much real Deborah. There are some things you don't know, hidden things. Tales aren't fiction, they're what has happened in the past,"

"I get it now, do you mean werewolves and vampires live in your town too?" I asked, fear evident in my voice.

"No, they don't. They made a pact with the previous owner." He answered my question.

"So Genesis was the previous owner?"

He laughed, "Genesis? It's Generosasis Deborah. No one calls her that, yes, she was the previous owner,"

"I know, I'll just call her Genesis, it's more up-to-date, you know," I replied to him.

"Okay, whatever you say," He agreed.

"So, what kind of pact?"

He sighed out. I guess he was tired. "The same she made with us."

"I'm sorry, am I asking too many questions?"

"Funny, very funny. You're not my dear, I had a rough morning so I'm dealing with the aftermath."

"I'm sorry about that, you can tell me to stop when it gets too uncomfortable, okay?" I requested.

He nodded. "I'll tell you about the pact some other day or possibly today, we have forever for that."

"Right," I muttered.

"Are you sad that you'll be living with us now?" He asked, with naked disappointment.

"No, don't get me wrong, I'm excited. It's just that, I'll be a new student and no one likes to be the new student, you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I do. If you need help, I'm always available for you."

"I appreciate that," I said honestly.

"So, can I continue with the story?" He asked.

I contemplated telling him to go on, but eventually, my journalism part won over.

"Yes, please, I'm so psyched for the best part."

He continued, "Generosasis was angry that night, her love had chosen her sister over her. To say she was mad was an understatement, she was furious and she felt betrayed. No one knew the amount of power the chosen possessed until that night, she released her terror upon her old lover and sister. She was the only one who could change into any form of animal, even human, she could shapeshift into you or me. She was that powerful. She shapeshifted into a fire-breathing dragon, stomping everything that was in her way. This was new to everyone because dragons had long gone extinct.

Generosasis couldn't differentiate between the traitors and the innocents. You see, a long time ago, humans and Owlignus used to live unitedly, we were neighbors and lovers at the same time. Remember I said they are shapeshifters, they are humans all day and owls at night, that's if they want to. They could marry and date, but couldn't birth children with humans. Few who tried it died during childbirth, be it human or Owlignus.

That night changed everything, Generosasis couldn't control her power, and she ended up burning almost everything, except for the town's library and the main school.

It was a real tragedy, many people lost their lives and families. That day Generosasis vowed to never return to the town, she made a pact with the Groovehoods, they were the largest and powerful human family then, and they still are. They built the schools and any other fancy stuff you see here. It was just right, they held the power of being the owners.

Generosasis was no evil, she was just a betrayed, heartbroken teenager who didn't think things through and you know teenagers are emotional with their hormones and all that. The town was named after her because of the sacrifice she made.

The pact stated that every Friday night, she and her tribe get to have the town's library all to themselves. The library was her favorite spot when she used to live amongst them, she liked to read. I know it's surprising, but she was a nerd. That was the pact they made, even though she only requested Friday night, the Groovehoods suggested that it should be forbidden every night. It was part of the town's rules which stated that 'the town's library is forbidden after dark."

"Wow! It's an intriguing story, long, but intriguing. So nobody has ever attempted the forbidden rule?" I asked.

"Of course, a lot of people tried it but none of them came out alive to tell the tale."

"This is a strange place, a forbidden library and shapeshifters," I whispered.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but they are just tales. Although, real tales and that was centuries ago. It's never going to happen again, our town is free of any supernatural being and as long as you don't go to the library after dark, you're safe." He said, assuring me with his eyes.

"So, what was the previous name of the town?" I questioned.

"The town," He said.

"Yes, I'm talking about the town. What was the name before Genesis?"

"I answered you, the name was the town. That was what everyone called it."

"Amazing," Nothing was surprising anymore because the whole town was a big bag of surprises. "How many more minutes until we get to Grandma Sadie's house?" I asked, anxiously. The story was really scary and very beguiling.

"We got fifteen minutes more, we're close to the town's square. I'll show you the library when we get there."

Even though I didn't want to see it, my highly curious self nodded at him. I bet it was ugly and scary, like a haunted house or something. Who would want to see something like that though? Me. Deborah Waters.