'I'm not human…'
In a bedroom with a large window where sunlight passed through, a sixteen-year old boy could be seen staring through the window at the sky while laying down his bed and stretched lazily across the bed.
This young man's name was Klein Philips.
The best word he had always used to describe himself in this world was that he was ordinary. He was not good at academics or was ever called smart. Fortunately, he never failed a class but he wasn't exactly excelling either. He was not exactly athletic too. He wasn't exactly passionate either. He fears public speaking and stutters when it was his turn to speak to a crowd.
He doesn't have a girlfriend either. At sixteen years old, he believes it was too young to get a girlfriend. That was what he believes in or at least forces himself to believe.
Klein was as ordinary as one could get and is currently your typical high school student.. He wakes up everyday and ends his day uneventful. Just like everyone, he lives in Planet Earth, which is the only livable planet in the universe. However, it turned out that was all a lie!
When Klein turned sixteen, his father and mother told him the truth during an ordinary dinner.
The clinking of utensils filled the dining room.
Steam rose from the bowls of food, the scent of rice and meat wafting in the air. Klein sat across from his parents, absently chewing while scrolling through his phone.
"Eat properly," his mother said, tapping his utensils lightly. "Learn when to put your phone down when you're eating."
"Yes, yes," Klein replied, straightening.
His father cleared his throat.
"Klein."
The tone made him pause, then he finally turned his phone and placed it on the table.
"Yes?" He said. It wouldn't be a good thing for him once he pissed his dad. And he wouldn't want to ruin such a peaceful night either by quarreling. However, he wasn't expecting the mood in the table.
"Your mother and I… we need to talk to you about something important."
Klein glanced between them. Both of them looked serious, way too serious. But they didn't seem angry.
"Is this about my grades?" Klein asked quickly. "Because I swear I'll study harder next semester."
His mother smiled faintly. "No. It's not that."
His father picked at his food for a moment before speaking again.
"We're going to say something strange," he said. "But we want you to stay calm and listen until the end."
Klein frowned. "Okay…"
His mother reached across the table and gently held Klein's hand.
"No matter what we say," she added softly, "nothing about how much we love you will change."
That made his stomach twist.
"…You're scaring me," Klein admitted.
His father took a breath.
Seeing their expressions, Klein's imaginations run wild and there was only one conclusion. 'Am I adopted?' he wanted to ask, but wasn't able to. He couldn't. However, he braced himself for the slightest of possibility.
"Klein," his father then said slowly, and added, "you're not human."
The room went silent. The words didn't register at first.
"…Huh?"
Klein laughed awkwardly. "Dad, what kind of joke is that?"
However, he just realized something. His dad wasn't that kind of dad who cracked jokes with him. They weren't exactly in the most ideal of relationships. His eyes panned to his mother and their expressions were the same.
"It's not a joke," his mother said, her grip tightening just slightly on Klein's hands.
Klein looked at her face, and his father's face.
"We mean it," his father continued. "Biologically, you're different."
Klein's smile faded. "Different how?"
His father hesitated, then said plainly, "Because your mother and I aren't human either."
The silence stretched.
Klein stared at them, searching for some sign—anything—that this was a prank gone too far.
His mother exhaled slowly. "Your father is a werewolf."
Klein's brain stalled.
"…A what?"
"And I," she continued calmly, "am a vampire."
The spoon slipped from Klein's hand and clattered against the bowl.
"Ha…" He forced a laugh. "Okay. That's… that's enough internet for today, right?"
His father shook his head. "Klein."
"I mean, werewolf? Vampire?" Klein rubbed his temples. "What's next, aliens?"
His parents exchanged a glance.
"…About that," his father muttered. "Aliens are also very real."
Klein froze.
His mother squeezed his hand reassuringly. "We have been planning to tell you this when you turn sixteen. But we didn't want to ruin your birthday so here it is."
Klein leaned back in his chair, staring at them. But it didn't seem like they were joking. His mother doesn't seem to have plans to let go either.
"So," Klein said slowly, "let me get this straight. You're saying… monsters are real."
"Yes," his father answered.
"And you two are part of them."
"We prefer 'non-human species,'" his mother said lightly.
"And I'm… what? Adopted?"
Yes, he did entertained that idea now than earlier. It was even more realistic after all. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.
"No," his father replied immediately. "You're our son. By blood."
Klein swallowed. "Then what does that make me?"
His parents looked at him with quiet seriousness.
"A hybrid," his mother said. "Half vampire. Half werewolf."
Klein laughed again—this time thin, shaky. "That's fiction."
"Yes and no," his father said. "In the world, that is generally fiction. But the world is bigger than what you've been taught."
Klein stared at the food in front of him and his vision returned to seeing the tree across the yard he could see through his windows, and then to the skies as the breeze entered his room cooly.
Everything all suddenly felt unreal.
He is indeed not human.