The Other Side of Me

Chapter Seven: The Other Side of Me

We are all sitting around the coffee table. Ms. Tanya is sitting across from me with a chair brought to her from the kitchen and Mr. Polic is sitting next to my mother on the couch, sitting closest to me. I was sitting in Michael's chair, clasping my fingers together. When they arrived, I went upstairs and changed out of my uniform and into a simple blue lace dress. I told Corinne that I would only talk to Ms. Tanya, but Mr. Polic insisted that I sit next to him.

"I just wanted to say that we are very grateful that you chose to trust us, Bella." Ms. Tanya says, leaning forward in her chair.

"I wouldn't go that far, Ms. Tanya. I only trusted you so I could escape my restraints in the Art Room." I look away. "And so I could finally figure out who I am."

I felt a hand on my knee and look up to see Ms. Tanya's face full of understanding. "When I look at you, I see a 10 year old girl that acts far beyond her age. You are very special." She shakes her head and laughs. "So special that it took 10 years to finally figure out what we were going to do with you."

I look at her. "Ten years? What are years?"

Mr. Polic clears his throat. "Well, Bella. As we were telling you yesterday, this world, Earth, is very different than ours." He fidgets in his seat. "Very different. Like for example, on earth, they call a cycle a year. The quarters of the cycle are called seasons. Rising, Mid-Rising, Mid-Falling, and Falling are called spring, summer, fall, and winter."

I crinkle my nose. "Those are weird names." I look at Ms. Tanya. "How will I remember all of these little details?"

"We have made a notebook for you that contains all of the key information on Earth." She responds.

I shake my head, confused. "How do you guys know all of these things about Earth?"

Ms. Tanya looks over at Mr. Polic and he shrugs.

She sighs and looks back at me, leaning back into her chair. "Bella. I am going to explain to you about the system of Darkani and its inhabitants."

"What do you mean?" I reply, putting my legs up into the chair.

"Earth, whether you want to believe it or not, is connected with Darkani."

I roll my eyes and lift my hands in the air. "Surprise, surprise."

"I know, but you have to take this all seriously." She smiles. "You are so much more mature that the other 10 year olds on Earth."

I sit up in my seat. "There are more my age?"

"Yes." She replied. "There are many 10 year olds. Bella, right now, how many Dark Angels are there?"

I think about it, but come up with no answer. "I really don't know. I know about five regions and each city probably has about one million residents. But Daila City has more Dark Angels, probably 2 million residents because of the Work Towers and the Royals." I laugh. "Is that right?"

Ms. Tanya nods her head. "That was as close as you can probabley imagine it to be. but you don't know any more than five regions, do you?"

"No."

She looks at me in the eyes and ironically, I shudder. "Bella. There are about 540 million Dark Angels on Darkani."

I drop my jaw and look at Corinne. She smiles and nods. I look back at Ms. Tanya. "Is Darkani really that big?"

"Yes. Not many Dark Angels live here in the five regions. The other Dark Angels decided to live on the other side of Darkani. But we all live in harmony."