CHAPTER 1- GORDY
AFTER WALKING OUTof the water, I shake my tail and shell to dry off, and I’m struck with a concerning realization?there’s a stranger here. Not literally in the swampy water; no one can hold their breath as long as I can. But someone is in my house, as evidenced by the car parked in our dirt driveway. If my folks were expecting guests, they would have told me. I didn’t prepare to be seen by random visitors. No one takes kindly to a giant turtle man with a long green tail. Meeting new people isn’t my idea of a good time.
I quickly shower off in the outdoor bathing area that Mama and Papa built for me so I don’t dirty up the house. With all the trees surrounding our property, I’m eternally grateful no one can see me towel off. Wrapping the fabric around my waist, I gently walk into my bedroom so I can appropriately eavesdrop. Who is here?
The muffled noises from the kitchen are indecipherable, but they sound friendly. Are Mama and Papa gonna send them on their merry way, whomever they are? After a minute of more talking, it’s obvious they’re not going to leave, and panic starts to set in. Are they friends of my folks? Will I have to meet them?
Sneaking into the bathroom, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My scaly skin is as green as ever, and the front of my shell is an off-white, almost yellow, so that hasn’t changed. I don’t spend much time looking at myself, not since I was a kid and it upset me to be a freak. After twenty-two years, I’ve come to terms with being a turtle-shifter witch dude.
But since there are guests, I need to sequester that side of me. Closing my eyes, I force myself to push my tough skin and tail inside of me. In seconds, my form feels lighter. Opening my eyes, my reflection reveals the real me, the original me, the human me. I press my cheeks and move my jaw around. My skin is tan, and I rock a perpetually trimmed haircut. My waist is neither chubby nor cut, and my penis flops around at a modest length. All in all, I’m happy with my human physique.
Unfortunately, this physique isn’t happy with me. I quickly get dressed in shorts and an oversized T-shirt, hoping I can hold this form for more than ten minutes. With all the courage I can muster, I slowly make my way into the kitchen. Papa is placing down tea at the table where Mama sits with two strangers. The two younger dudes look up at me. Are we being audited?
“Gordy!” Mama says. “Just the man we wanted to see.”
“Hi.” I give an uncomfortable wave. “I was just getting water, then I have to get back to my, um…computer.”
“Your video games can wait. Come sit and join us,” Papa says. They’re all smiling, and I feel extra exposed.
When I sit on the wooden chair next to Mama, I mutter, “I can only stay…forfiveminutes.” My folks know by now that my inner turtle could burst out at any time.
“It’s fine, have some tea! We have guests.” Mama points to the two dudes sitting across from me. They both look to be in their twenties, a shorter Latino dude and a taller, muscular Asian dude. They look like supermodels, and my confusion and apprehension grow in my chest.
“Um, hello.” I lean over to Mama and whisper, “Do you want to glamour me then?”
“No need,” she whispers back.
“What?!” I yelp. Mama has never denied my request to hide my form with magic.
“Gordy, dear, we want to introduce you to these two.”
I turn to see the handsome fellows smiling. “I’m Seb. And this is Kai,” the Latino dude says.
Kai looks at all of us, then levels his look with me. “We…are witches.”
“Ah.” New members of our North Carolina community coven. While most of my folks’ witchy friends know that I’m a giant turtle, I’m still not in the habit of exposing my form.
“I saw them in my vision,” Mama says.
“And I read all about them,” Papa adds. “That’s why I let them visit today.” Mama taps his arm, and they share an affectionate smile. I suppose if my only family is trusting, then I should at least hear them out.
After taking a sip of tea, I put down the cup and say, “It’s, um…nice to meet other witches.”
“I told you life was going to change for you this moon cycle,” Mama says.
“I thought you meant like, gain more witching skills,” I reply.
My folks laugh softly. “Not quite. I divined that you would begin the path to your true powers. And that’s them.” She beams at me, and I look at everyone at the table.
“Um…” Nervousness thrums through me as Kai and Seb smile at me. Before I can say more, that tingling sensation fizzles under my skin. My inner turtle is raging, ready to bust out.
Standing up abruptly, I announce, “I need to use the bathroom!”
“Wait!” Kai says, standing up. He has no idea what he’s asking me to do. Before I can argue, the energy in the room shifts, and a new vision appears before me.
The man named Kai is no longer there. In his place stands a lion man, with black-and-green fur.Cauldrons.
I’m shocked silent. Kai is…an animal? Turning to my folks, they look at each other with pleasant surprise. They act like hejust showed them he can juggle, not morph into a shadow cat beast.
