• I thought about it and, as only a five year old could put it, I asked innocently, “So does this mean I’m not going to get old?”

    My father laughed and replied, “Yes and no. You will get old but only to a certain point. But you won’t die, unless you wish to.”

    I then saw that there was a single silver line connected to the two golden ones. “Is this Mommy?” I questioned.

    Father nodded and looked at it longingly. “Yes, yes it is. I met her while observing her planet. I felt something that I never thought possible, I felt love for her. I don’t know what it was about her. Maybe her caring nature, possibly her raven hair, or it may have been the fact that she was just a rare gem of a woman. Anyway you look at it, I was in love with her and I did not want to leave her. I courted her and we were married, and then we had you. You are my child and I will let no harm come of you.” He said solemnly.

    I wrapped my arms around him and said, “I love you Daddy.”

    He reached down and returned my hug. “I love you too, Joanna.”

    Then a single question formed in my young mind, and I asked it. “Daddy, can you teach me? I want to learn how to be an Ellimistest.”

    He laughed a pure laugh. “It’s Ellimist. And yes, I’ll teach you. But with the teachings, you cannot leave here. I must keep you here until you are able to perform on your own. I leave the choice to you.” He said.

    I thought about it. There really was no place for me in this world. I was so different that there was no way that I could live a normal life, at least not yet. But I would miss my mother, and I was all that she had. Yet I also had a chance to be something far greater then all the other people who had ever lived, much like the Animorphs. I made my choice, a choice not meant for a child. “I’ll stay.” I answered.

    My father smiled, and said “Well then, let’s begin.”