The Lost Witch

Beginnings

I don't know where I came from.

I don't know who my parents are.

I don't know a lot of things.

Especially regarding where I'm from.

Mom tells me lots of stories. Like that she found me one day in the woods, near a dilapidated shack. She asked around town, trying to find a parent, but nobody even resembled me.

Which isn't as hard of a thing to tell as you might think. I mean, what average person in a small town in Connecticut has grey-yellow blond hair, magenta eyes, and pointed ears.

Mom says that's why I don't have my real family. Because they couldn't appreciate my genetic "uniqueness".

She says that she loves me. And I believe her on that front. Not on every front though.

Like why dad left when I was only 3.

She says they already had marital problems and her getting pregnant was the "straw that broke the camel's back".

But I know the truth.

Dad hated me. He couldn't stand me, a baby, ruining his life. It's why he tried to get rid of me.

Mom getting pregnant was the last straw but my existence was the one that added so many straws in the first place.

But I don't care that mom lies to me, or that dad left, or that I have a baby sister.

I don't care that I get beat up at school for being adopted or looking weird.

I don't care that I have to wear colored contacts and hats to look normal.

Because all of those made me stronger.

Mom lies to protect me, so I protect her.

My sister has no dad so I took his place.

I got beat up so I got stronger so I could fight back.

I can take the hits, the insults, the names, and everything else. My family is safe and doing great, even though my being in the family made it less great in the first place.

I'm proud of who I am.

I am Hunter Noceda, and I don't care what anyone else has to say about it.