Banished Divinity: Learning to be Human

It was old pain. Familiar pain. The kind that lived in her chest like a permanent resident. She had thought she was over it. She had thought she had moved on.

But seeing them. Seeing him. It brought it all back.

The way they had been. The way he had looked at her. The way she had looked at him. The way they had laughed and talked and made plans for a future that never came.

What happened? she thought, her chest tightening. What went wrong?

She knew what went wrong.

He had left. That's what went wrong.

He had walked away and never explained why. Never called. Never texted. Never looked back.

And Mina had been left alone. Locked in her room for days. Then weeks. Then months. Eating when she felt like it. Drawing when she couldn't sleep. Avoiding mirrors because she didn't recognize the person looking back at her.

Doctors had told Mum and Dad that Mina was facing a depressive state. That she needed time. That she needed medicine and counselling. That she would heal, eventually, but it would take time.

Mina had gone to counselling. She had done the exercises. She had taken the medication. She had tried to move on.

But the pain never fully went away.

It just... shrank. Became smaller. Became something she could carry without collapsing under the weight.

The worst part wasn't the pain, though.

The worst part was seeing Mum, Dad and Sera's face every time she walked past them. The worry. The fear. The helplessness. They didn't know how to help her. They didn't know what to say. So they said nothing. They just... watched. And waited. And hoped.

And then the explosion happened.

Her sister, the idiot, got electrocuted.

And now Sera was... different. Something else. Something entertaining. Something that made the whole family seem alive again.

Stupid sister, Mina thought, but she was smiling. Stupid 'insane in the nut brain' majesty of the high whatever heavens she is now.

She chuckled at the memory of Sera's latest escapades: the nurse incident and the fact that she fainted because she couldn't accept digging a hole in the ground for a toilet while camping.

Such a spoilt brat, Mina thought, shaking her head.

And she missed her sister.

Not the new one. The original one. The one who had been her best friend since birth. But the new one was... growing on her. Like a fungus. An annoying, endearing, celestial fungus.

Mina pulled out her phone.

Mina: What are you doing, weirdo? Don't tell me you're dancing under the moonlight with weird tribal chants and sacrificing some crabs or prawns or some insect along the way.

The reply came instantly.

Sera: No, I am not. I do not do such filthy things. I did go under the moon, and it was a beautiful moon. The Moon of Light helped me.

Mina blinked. Here we go, she thought.

Mina: What did she do?

Sera: The Moon of Light gave me powers. The light shined through my veins, which are very good veins, and told me to use my blood to kill an old hag.

Right there. Unhinged. Classic Sera.

Mina burst out laughing.

The kind of laugh that made people turn and stare. The kind of laugh that came from deep in her belly and wouldn't stop that hurt, but in a good way.

Her coworkers looked at her like she had grown a second head. Their eyes were wide, their mouths slightly open, frozen mid-conversation.

"You okay there, Mina?" one of them asked, her voice hesitant, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Fine," Mina wheezed, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders shaking. "I have an idiot sister."

With an evil glint in her eyes, Mina took a screenshot, her fingers flying across the screen. She sent it to the family group chat with a wicked grin spreading across her face.

This is going to be epically fun, Mina thought, barely containing her glee.

Mum: WHAT?! THE NATIONAL GUARD! I'M CALLING THE NATIONAL GUARD! MY BABY IS HURT! SHE USED HER BLOOD! HER BLOOD, DANIEL! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!

Dad: It means she's alive, dear.

Mum: BUT SHE USED HER BLOOD! THAT'S NOT NORMAL! NORMAL PEOPLE DON'T USE THEIR BLOOD TO KILL SOMETHING OLD! And what is an old hag?

Dad: She's not normal, dear. She's our daughter. It runs in the family.

Mum: What do you mean by that? And THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER!

Dad: Now, now. I'm just stating the facts. I'm coming home soon. I'm getting supper. But would you like me to call the national guard?

Mum: YES!

Dad: They're going to ask what they're guarding against.

Mum: OLD HAGS!

Dad: I don't think harming an old lady is in their job description.

Sera: You know I am here in this group chat if you guys haven't realized it for the thousandth time.

Sera: Not an old lady, Dad.

Sera: She was an ancient manifestation of malevolence.

Sera: There is a difference.

Mum: THEN I'LL CALL THE PRESIDENT!

Dad: The president is busy, dear.

Mum: BUSY WITH WHAT?!

Dad: Presidential things.

Sera's replies were clearly ignored by our parents. Mina thought, a silent giggle escaping her as she watched the explosion of conversation unfold between the three of them. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, but somehow more entertaining and with fewer casualties.

Mum: THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRESIDENTIAL THINGS!

Dad: I'm sure it is.

Mum: DON'T PATRONIZE ME, DANIEL LEE!

Sera: Again, just so you both know, I can read whatever you are typing.

Dad: Huh? I would never.

Mum: Don't use that tone on me, Daniel.

Dad: What tone?

Mum: That sarcastic, contemptuous tone, that means you know everything because you're a man, and I know nothing because I'm a woman.

Dad: I made you a woman?

Mum: Oh! You bastard!!

Oh my god! Mum and Dad didn't just quote from "The Birdcage". This is so epic. Mina thought, her eyes wide with delighted disbelief.

Sera: Hello. Still here. Still able to read.

Dad: I'm going to private message Mina now.

Mum: DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE THIS CONVERSATION!

Sera: What about me?

Dad: Too late, Janet.

Sera: MY NAME IS NOT JANET.

Clearly, her parents ignored Sera's messages again, which was hilarious to Mina. Mina knew her parents were aware that Sera was alive, and Mum, as usual, was always so over the top.

Dad private messaged Mina with a picture of a dog laughing hysterically.

Mina laughed harder. She messaged Dad back.

Mina: Good luck, Dad.

Dad: Thank you, love. I am trying to stall for time while reading some magazine at the gift shop so your mum will be sufficiently regulated by the time I reach home. I hope.

After what felt like a lifetime of laughter, and several dirty looks from her coworkers, Mina finally composed herself before replying her weird Sister.

Mina: Oh, okay then. So, you did not die?

Sera: I did not. I am a celestial being, and I am capable of not dying. Mum is so wrong.

Mina: Good. You better stay alive. Mum is just being over the top. See you back home, weirdo.

Sera: Likewise.

Mina put her phone back in her bag.

She was smiling.

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