Memory 007

The Perez family was often called the biggest weirdos in our neighborhood. That was because of how special each of the members was.

Mr. Perez was the type of goofy and silly grown man that seemed to act like a child, but behind his weird demeanor, he had somehow gotten himself a job working as an accountant.

Seeing the playful man who always acted like a clown transform into a serious-looking man wearing a suit on his work day made one truly ask whether they were the same person. I myself was so surprised the first time I saw it that I had thought I had traveled to a different universe.

On the other hand, Mrs. Perez was the cold beauty that was known to be mature because of how she had always maintained a calm and collected face. The only weird thing about her was why she had chosen Mr. Perez as her husband. However, when people saw how the two interact together they can’t help but understand and think—“Ah! So this is true love.”

With the two contrasting pair the resulted offspring was expected to be interesting and In all honesty, it was.

Monzur Perez, also known Monster, was one of those mutants that didn’t seem to be anything but human. He didn’t have any special trait besides his dark green skin and sharp teeth, and his physique wasn’t enhanced like other mutants, instead he had similar strength as an average human.

However, it wasn’t the appearance that made him special it was the way he interacted with others that made him interesting. If I could describe it with one word then it would be ‘charisma’. It wasn’t the sort that inspired people, but it was the one that attracts people because of how kind they were.

Monster was often told by others if he was actually a psychic mutant because he understood people so well that some believed he was able to read their minds.

He is that sort of person who would often be there to compliment on the smallest changes you did or notice the trouble in the back of your mind. He was like one of those silent superheroes who helped out without being noticed.

Even though the Perez could be considered special, they weren’t the bad type and instead were the ones that actually got along well with the neighbors. Maybe due to that, it was considerably easy for me, a human, to get accepted into a mutant orientated neighborhood.

Memory 008

The first time I met Mr. Perez was on a winter’s day.

I remembered how cold it was that day. The streets were covered with snow and there was barely anyone outside. As I followed Mr. Perez I remembered how warm his hands were as he guided me to his home.

With the unfamiliar street before me and the long walk ahead of us I had plenty of time to think about what was going to happen to me, but somehow the needless worry I should’ve had disappeared as soon as I saw the smile from my foster father’s face.

It wasn’t as if I wasn’t weary, but it was more like I wanted to believe that somehow I was lucky.

No one is to blame for their own birth. It is not a matter of choice that decides where we live and who we live with. Unfortunately for me, I was born with both my parents disappearing into thin air and vanishing before I could even open my little eyes.

The hazy memories of my survival weren’t all that great. Needless to say, those memories have all disappeared. If I could choose when I was truly born then it would’ve been on that winter’s day.

On that day I was completely mute during the walk. Mr. Perez didn’t seem to mind as he started to talk about many trivial things that were both funny and stupid.

Maybe he had already noticed that my emotions were a mess, or it could be that he sensed I was nervous, or maybe he was just a chatterbox, but because of the trivial banter he made, I was able to feel somewhat at ease.

I had always wondered how you would know when someone considers you a family. Was it during your birth? Or was it when you knew you were genetically related? Then how would an orphan feel when they get adopted?

Family isn’t something chosen but it sure can be.

As we arrived at a building that wasn’t awfully big nor was it good-looking, I remembered the words that had truly made me cry with all my heart.

Mr. Perez spoke out to me that day with a calm and soft voice. “Son, Welcome home.”

Feeling the warm hands patting on my head and the serious words he spoke out I somehow felt like I had been waiting for something like this for a long time.

With tears streaming down my face I finally broke out in tears.

Memory 009

Mrs. Perez was a calm and thoughtful mother.

Unlike Mr. Perez who was a chatterbox and always seemed to have so much energy, Mrs. Perez demeanor was one that was serene.

At first, I had thought that she was a cold and uncaring person, this was because she didn’t look quite welcoming when I first entered the family.

From the first several days we didn’t converse much with each other, it was to the point where I wondered if she had ignored my existence.

Later on, I heard an awful gossip from one of the neighborhood family.

I had always hated people who spread rumors around, but more than that I hated people who spread it blatantly towards the person who’s related to it. This was because of this particular memory.

The Kautz family openly hates the Perez family, for some trivial reason they had always hated how my parents accepted me as their son. They had always believed that associating with a human is akin to becoming a sinner. Maybe that was why they tried to plant discord between me and my family back when I was still new.

Having just been with the family for several days I was still considered a greenhorn when it comes to knowing anything about them and because of that, I was gullible enough to take Mrs. Kautz’s gossip to heart.

She had told me, “It’s a darn shame that Mrs. Perez has to deal with that human. I remember her having a fit with Mr. Perez because of his decision.”

At first, I was quite surprised by the sudden loud voice that wasn’t even directed towards me but to a friend of her she was casually chatting with. I was just unfortunate to have come across them during my walk.

Sensing that I was listening to them she gave out a wicked laugh as she continued to openly condemn me, “I bet Mrs. Perez is itching to give a divorce, I would instantly do it if I had to live with a human child.”

At that time I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I was never one to trouble the people who treated me well.

For couple of days, I had started to feel comfortable with Mr. Perez and Monster, but if Mrs. Perez didn’t accept me and was having arguments with her husband behind my back, then I would feel very guilty.

I had always been a person who ran away whenever I felt sad. At that time I truly felt like the world had hated me, giving me a small chance of hope and then pouring cold water at the reality in front of me.

I wasn’t all too great at understanding others like how Monster was and because of that, I was not brave enough to understand my own mother at that time. Instead, I thoughtlessly decided to run away.

Maybe because I was always alone, I felt that it was much better for me to leave before I became the cause of any potential trouble in the future.

It was cold that day as I arrived at one of the parks in town. Sitting by myself I often like to think about many trivial things to keep me company, but at that time I could only think of the small memories that were fresh in my minds.

Somehow or another, even though it had only been several days, I had already cherished the time I spent with people who had truly accepted me as a family.

Like I said before I had always thought Mrs. Perez was cold to me but I realized that I was mistaken.

After that night in the park, I realized she was the warmest of them all.

It was late at night in the park and I started to regret making a decision based on my mood. However, I didn’t want to go back because what Mrs. Kautz had said truly scared me. My mind was a mess and my heart even more so, as I went to a cycle of indecisiveness. It was only when I saw Mrs. Perez did I finally made up my mind.

I remembered how frantically she ran as she found me in the park. She wore so little as her body had become blue from the cold. After seeing me all alone she instantly hugged me tightly, I remember how cold she felt when she held me.

I had thought she would be angry and scream at me but instead, she only hugged me until I myself began to cry. At that time she didn’t ask why or what happened all she wanted to do was comfort me.

Later on, she carried me back home on her back even though it was freezing. If I had a chance to return to the past I wished I would’ve offered her the scarf I wore that day.

After that day Mrs. Perez became the closest person I had in the family.

I also heard later on that after my mother heard of my reasons on why I decided to run away, she tried to storm her way towards the Kautz family to try to smack Mrs. Kautz for spreading ill rumors. It was only due to my father’s persuasion that she reluctantly gave up.