Indignation by Celinda Santillan Page B

That was the last thing she would have thought they would tell her. “You aren’t my parents?” She asks them. She’s more confused than anything at the Moment. She shakes her head in denial. “What are you saying? I’m adopted? Oh, God.” She can feel her tears sting her eyes. She’s adopted? But why would they hide it from her? Why would they pick now to tell her? One question popped into her head that she repeated to herself, mentally. Who are her real parents?
    “Alyssa, don’t jump to conclusions. We are not your parents, but we also didn’t adopt you.” Emily tries to explain.
    Alyssa tilts her head in confusion. Her tears are still running down her face. “Then you picked me off the street? Or-” Her heart accelerates at a specific case scenario. “-you picked me up from a dumpster? Am I a dumpster baby?”
    Dev shakes his head. “Emily told you not to jump to conclusions. Listen to her.”
    Alyssa nods as Emily continues. “We didn’t pick you up.” Maybe they kidnapped her? It was recently in the news that a woman kidnapped this girl and had the girl pass as their daughter for over two decades. “Before you even think about it, we didn’t kidnap you either.” Alyssa lets out a sigh of relief. “We- you were given to us by someone that’s very… powerful.” She finishes.
    “Can you just tell me who my real parents are? And why you are telling me this now?” Her parents weren’t the best, but she always seen them as her parents. Now she can’t help, but feel the feelings of abandonment. Her own birth parents didn’t want her enough to keep her and gave her off to people that didn’t even know how to be parents.
    “Fine.” Dev takes a deep breath. “We got a call from Gabriel telling us that Julian has told you something. Gabriel didn’t expect for it to be so soon.”
    “Julian? What does Julian have to do in his? And who’s Gabriel? “
    “You might find this strange.” Emily tells her.
    “The two of you are useless.”
    Alyssa turns toward the entrance of the dining room. There stands a man with a vicious look showing clearly in his dark blue eyes. His dark hair isn’t too long, but long enough to cover his forehead. She turns to her parents in confusion, but they both have their heads bowed down.
    She turns back to the stranger of a man. “Who are you?”
    “I am Gabriel, the Authority Elim. I come here as a representation of the God.”
    “I-”
    A familiar blonde woman appears from behind Gabriel and walks toward her. “Alyssa, I know this must be hard for you to understand, but just listen to us.”
    “Miranda?” She asks the woman. She’s almost positive that this woman is the one from her dream. The one she thought her mind created.
    “I am Miranda. I am an Elim, and the Adviser Elim of the God.”
    “Am I dreaming?”
    “No. This time you are wide awake.”
    Gabriel takes a step towards her. “I have an understanding that Julian has mentioned the events of 1567.”
    She shakes her head confused by this entire situation. “I remember the numbers, but that’s it.” She lied. She is starting to remember Julian’s words the previous night before. He said that she stabbed him to death, but that can’t be possible. Could it?
    Miranda takes a seat beside her. “Alyssa, this world is full of creatures that humans are too blinded to see what is in front of them. They are real. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Yuxas, Sirens, Angels, even the Underworlders. They all exist.”
    “I still don’t understand. Things that like don’t exist. It’s fictional that Hollywood, and books make up for entertainment.”
    “Permission to speak?” Dev asks the Elims.
    “Permission granted.” Miranda encourages him to speak.
    He turns to Alyssa. His eyes show years beyond his own. “No, they do exist and we are one of them.”
    Alyssa’s eyes widen in horror. “What are you?”
    “We are Keepers. We are mortals that help those unnatural creatures hide themselves from any