It had sampled half the shows Mangle had found when there was a knock at the front door. It perked up. Mangle sat up from the couch and made their way over to the door, It close at their heels. They opened the door to Sam smiling and a 6 and 5 year old both yelling “Auntcle Jess!”
They were about to hug them when they noticed It hiding behind Mangle’s legs. “Hi, I’m It,” she murmured.
The older one, a boy named Ben, stuck out his hand. “Hi, It, I’m Ben. Mom told us we had a new cousin. Nice to meet you.”
It grinned and accepted the handshake. The younger one, named Rachel, piped up. “Mom said that you were in an experiment. Was it fun?”
Ben sent Rachel a look and Mangle stiffened. Sam was about to chide Rachel when It said, “It wasn’t always fun, but I did get some wings out of it,” at which point she walked in front of Mangle’s legs and did an aerial lap around the front yard.
Both cousins were in awe. It shuffled from foot to foot and hid behind Mangle again. “Won’t you come in?” Mangle said, stepping aside.
Ben and Rachel bombarded It with questions. How far could she fly, how long had she been doing it, what did it feel like, etc. etc. Sam looked It over and turned to Mangle. “She looks healthy Jess. Battle-scarred, but healthy. You’re doing something right.”
Mangle snorted. “Yeah, I got her out of the Labs.”
Sam gave him a concerned look. “You okay, Jess?”
“They didn’t see her as human. I didn’t see her as human, for a while. But...now that I do, it bothers me that everyone else is so malicious to her. Everyone either wants her dead or trapped in a glass jar, and it feels like I’m the only one who actually wants her to live.”
“Listen, Jess, I know it’s hard…”
“Someone almost murdered her yesterday. They pulled her down underneath the waves, and refused to let her up. The only reason she’s still alive is because one of the lifeguards noticed and slid a lifesaver over her so I could sock the guy. Before that, she’s been physically violated. And shoved into a wall so hard she feared for her life. She’s 4, Sam. She’s 4, but she acts like she’s 40. She’s seen war and come out the other end, and I worry for her, because while she’s away from the front lines, there’s objections on the home front as well. I’m responsible for her, I don’t want anything to happen.”
“You’re a parent, now, Jess,” Sam consoled. “I know that it doesn’t help, but every parent wants to protect their child from the world. Some children are a bit more scarred than others, and that’s okay. It still seems happy, you’re treating her well, no doubt you gave her the loft.”
“I showed it to her and she thought it was perfect.”
Sam pointed at Jess. “Exactly my point. You make sure she’s comfortable and happy; and that’s more than most biological parents will do for their kids. Some things you can’t control, but you’ll try your best to minimize the fallout. That’s what being a parent’s all about.”
Jess puckered their lips. “Yeah, that doesn’t help much,” they grumbled.
Sam laughed. “Give it time, sib. You’ll see.”
Ben, Rachel, and It rushed over. “Dad, can I jump from the loft to show Ben and Rachel my wings again?”
“I have to watch to make sure you don’t crash,” Mangle replied.
“Mom, can we jump off with It?” Rachel asked.
Sam laughed. “Yeah, no. Nice try, you don’t have functional wings.”
Rachel whined. “But I can put pillows at the bottom!”
Sam turned to Mangle. “Auntcle Jess, if Rachel put pillows at the bottom of where she jumped, would that be enough to stop her from being bodily harmed?”
“No.”
Sam turned to Rachel. “Then no. Nice try, though.”
It fidgeted and Mangle sighed. "Niece, nephew, and sister, may I suggest that we move into the living room so It can jump, and we can get this over with?”
Everyone moved to the living room and It bounded up the stairs. She climbed to the top of the loft railing and leapt forward.
It was like everything was taking place in slow motion. Sam gasped at the sight as It spread her wings and formed her first flap, sending her back up into the air. Ben and Rachel cheered. Mangle rolled their eyes and shook their head with a smile on their face.
It kept her wings spread and safely glided to the floor, occasionally changing her direction or pulling herself back up if need be. She landed, folded her wings up behind her, and gave a little bow.
Ben and Rachel gave her a standing ovation. Sam leaned back into the couch, shell shocked. Mangle scooped It up and forced her onto the couch before she tried something actually dangerous.
She pouted at not being able to fly more, but stopped when Sam rubbed her back and praised her on how good a flier she was. Ben and Rachel climbed up next to Sam, eager for her attention. “Mom, can we go to the beach? Please?” Ben begged.
Sam looked over to Mangle. “What do you think, sib? Up for another bout with the ocean after yesterday?”
Mangle looked down at It. “I’m game, what about you, sweetheart?”
It grinned. “I’m super ready! I just need to shake the last of the sand out of my bathing suit and I’ll be good to go.”
“Do it over a trash can, sweetheart.”
It nodded as she ran off. Ben and Rachel ran with her, eager to learn more about their new cousin. Mangle went with Sam to get her bags out of her car trunk. They put the kids’ bags up in the loft with It, as the three of them would probably have a sleepover, and Jess put her bag in one of the bedrooms off the third bathroom. Sam closed the door to change and Mangle went up to the loft to watch the kids. it was in the bathroom, presumably changing. Rachel was looking through the slats on the railing. Ben was in his swim trunks. It walked out of the bathroom, wearing her bathing suit, clothes in hand. “Dad, where do I put these?”
Mangle looked around. “Oh, I didn’t bring a hamper up here? Give me a minute.”
They quickly brought up a hamper and instructed, “Underwear in here. You can use the shirt and shorts when you change later.”
It obediently threw the underwear in and put the other clothes on her bed. “Will we change before we get back?”
Mangle thought about it. “If we stop for lunch, maybe. I’ll get a bag we can put the clothes in.”
Rachel slipped into the bathroom, presumably to change. Ben walked closer to It. “Can I...feel your wings, please?”
“Sure,” It said, stretching them out.
“They’re covered in hair,” Ben said.
“Yeah, they are. Is that a problem?” It asked.
“No, just...different. I didn’t expect it.”
Sam came into the loft. “Ben, did you ask for permission to feel her wings?”
It nodded. “Oh, he did! Don’t worry. He was super nice about it!”
Rachel came out of the bathroom and exclaimed, “Lucky! I want to feel her wings!”
It stretched them out. “You can, I don’t mind.”
Rachel was rougher than Ben, but it didn’t bother It by any means. She just calmly stood there and waited until both of them were done. When they seemed finished, she pulled them in close to herself again. “Let’s go, kids!” Sam rallied. “Where do you want to go first? The park, or the beach?”
“Beach!” they all cheered.
Mangle shrugged. “The beach, then. Sam, do you have those old beach toys?”
“Yeah, Rachel and Ben outgrew using them in the bath, I was planning on returning them.”
Mangle nodded. “Let’s bring those, in case anyone gets too chilled from the water.”
“Dad, do I have to wear floaties again?” It asked.
“Well, it’d make me feel better, but if you promise not to go out too far without supervision, I guess that you can go without them.”
It cheered. They all made their way downstairs and climbed into Sam’s minivan. “Do you have a car seat for It?” Sam asked Mangle.
“Oh, no, that’s what I was forgetting!” Mangle realized.
Sam rolled her eyes. “I’ll try and find an old phone book when we get back. Got the beach pass?”
Mangle held it up.
“We’re all set then!”
The drive over was quick. Mangle hung up the pass and kept with the kids while Sam pulled everything out of the trunk. They found a patch big enough for a picnic blanket and Sam deposited everything on the sand. “Sun screen, kiddos!” she reminded.
Rachel and It groaned. Ben sighed. It was hard waiting for everyone to put sunscreen on; the adults would go so slow. But eventually everyone was covered in the stuff. They all ran out to the waves. Rachel started making patterns in the sand, Ben attempted to body surf, and It swam around in the shallows, riding some of the bigger waves back to shore where Mangle would pick her up and she’d head back out again. Sam headed out to the deeper waters, jumping over the waves a few times before body surfing back. Mangle collected seashells that caught their eye.
When It started to shiver Mangle decided that they needed a small break from the ocean, so they brought out the sand toys and explained what they did to It. She gathered up some wet sand from the tide and packed it in the bucket tight, flipping it over on the dry sand and giving it a few strong pats when prompted. She carefully lifted it and found a turret-shaped sand sculpture underneath. Ben and Rachel joined the fun and together they made a huge castle complete with moat, and picked up shell shards to decorate it. Mangle and Jess watched with nostalgia. “Remember when that was us?” Mangle murmured.
Sam smiled softly. “Yeah. Those were the days. You’d look up the names of every seashell you found, and we’d use the shards to decorate our castle. And you’d have a “specimen bag” ready for the ones you’d keep.
Mangle sighed. “I was a pain in the butt sibling, wasn’t I?”
Sam chuckled. “You were fine. Fascinated in very specific areas, but fine. I was the shrew that desperately needed taming.”
Mangle laughed. “I remember when you ran away with the dog because I asked you for help spelling our last name, and couldn’t understand the concept of a silent e."
Sam nearly choked on air. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about that!”
“Mom and Dad freaked out so much until I said you probably just went to play at Evelyn’s.”
“Traitor,” Sam said playfully.
Mangle smiled. “Makes me glad to not be raising siblings. Nothing wrong with it, but I can barely handle one kid.”
Sam laughed. “You get used to it. It’s sort of like having two brains at once, one for each kid.”
Mangle sighed. “And no one for you.”
It stood up. “Dad! Look at the castle we made!”
Mangle smiled. “I see, sweetheart, it’s amazing! Way to go!”
It beamed. Rachel and Ben gave approving nods. They wandered towards the water. “I’ll watch them,” Sam offered. “You take some time to rest.”
Mangle nodded and watched as Rachel and Ben splashed Sam with as much gusto as they could gather, and then It trumping them all using her wings to create a miniature wave splashing all of them. They chuckled.
“Excuse me? Excuse me, Mux, do you know what that thing is doing on the beach?”
Mangle looked up to see an irritated older lady looking down at them and pointing at It. “That ‘thing’, as you so eloquently called her, is my daughter.”
The woman continued, unfazed. “Can you remove it? This is a public place.”
Mangle frowned. “She is part of the public.”
“It is an eyesore and should not be allowed to flash those wings at the public however it pleases. Get rid of it!”
“Hey mom, leave them alone, please, it’s none of your business if a little girl is splashing in the waves,” a younger woman said.
The older women grumbled about “right-wing activists” and left. The younger blonde woman sat down next to Mangle. “Sorry about her. She’s quite old-fashioned, has very strict ideals on how humans should be.”
Mangle waved her off. “Nothing I haven’t been guilty of before.”
The woman held out her hand. “I’m Ms. Limont. Pleased to meet you. I’m with ‘Humans for a Better Tomorrow’. You’re Dr. Mangle, correct?”
Mangle felt uneasy. “Yes...though if you’re asking me to advocate or something, I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person.”
Ms. Limont laughed. “Oh, no, actually. I was wondering if you’d allow me to ask your daughter a few questions. You know, an insider’s look at what the other side is like? Unedited, unrevised, through the eyes of a child, sort of thing. It doesn’t have to happen, no pressure, but in case you’re interested.”
Mangle paused. “I think It would love to talk to people who are willing to listen. That’s her name, by the way. Bethany It Mangle. It’s sort of a long story, but the name sort of stuck from a long ago 'joke'.”
Ms. Limont smiled. “I see. Well, I have my card with me. If you ever think It would be up for an interview…”
“I’ll e-mail you, sure,” Mangle finished, taking the card.
Ms. Limont smiled. “Have a nice day, Dr. Mangle.”
She left and It ran up. “Dad? Who was that?”
“Someone who was interested in your story,” Mangle replied, thinking.
“Did you tell her?” It asked.
“No...she wanted to hear it from you.”
It blinked. “Me? She wants to hear what I have to say?”
Mangle nodded. “Indeed. I have her e-mail. Think about it, I can contact her this afternoon if you want.”
It considered. “All right. Want to come out into the water? Aunt Sam said she was letting you rest, but it looks like everyone just wants to yell at you or try to get to me.”
Mangle laughed and put the card in a watertight pocket. “Yeah okay. I’ll come out and swim awhile. After that, I think we should get some lunch, though.”
It nodded. “Swim, lunch, and park. That’s what Aunt Sam said you used to do.”
“The tradition lives on,” Mangle hummed.
It grinned. “She said you’d say that, too.”
Mangle rolled their eyes. “Sam doesn’t know everything about me, okay?”
It nodded. “She just knows a lot. That’s nice, isn’t it? Having someone who knows you like the back of your hand?”
“A little annoying, but I guess it’s okay,” Mangle admitted. The water splashed at their ankles and they got an idea. They picked It up and ran headlong into the waves with her. “Mangle goes for the 15! The 10! The 5!” They dropped her in the water, “Touchdown!”
It surfaced, spewing water. “No fair!” she screeched. “You didn’t warn me!”
Sam splashed them. “Yeah, Jess! You can’t just pick someone up and run around with them whenever you feel like it!”
Mangle rolled their eyes. “Come on, you’ve done that to me a million times!”
The kids laughed. Sam stuck her tongue out. They all started splashing each other until they were drenched and shivering. “Okay! Okay! I think that’s enough!” Sam yelled.
Mangle laughed. “Anyone up for pizza?”
Ben and Rachel cheered. “Good pizza?” It enquired.
“Very good pizza,” Mangle assured.
It nodded. “I’m in.”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
