Celeste loved to travel, but she rarely had the chance. As busy as she was with trying to perfect herself in different areas, she did not have enough time to leave the country, or even move through the various and vast states. Piano, horse riding, Spanish, French, Latin, acting classes, singing lessons. Each activity moved her a little closer to perfection but also drained a essential part of her time.
And even if she managed to find some free time, she could not find a good reason to leave New York and walk around the country. Culinary reasons were a lot, landscapes to watch and take pictures were also a bunch as well, but to do it alone was not something that attracted her.
Therefore, although the occasions were few, she hated and loved these chances all the same. Hated them because she left all her activities, left everything incomplete, unfinished. She felt that she was escaping from all her obligations. And at the same time she loved these moments because she could enjoy new things, new places and new people while at the same time escaping from all her obligations.

She look out the little window one more time. Clouds. Everywhere she looked she saw clouds. Nothing more.
She accommodated in the comfortable first class seat and closed her eyes for a moment. Concentrating her thoughts to remember. She barely remembered her mother's face, much less his father´s. Clearly she could put a voice to the blurred face, but she could not get her mental image to get clear enough. Of course she could remember her long golden hair she shared with her mother, and her eyes of the same color and beauty as hers.. But she could not assemble a full face with all those parts.
She suspected that if she could put all the pieces of the puzzle in place, she would find itself in the future. She opened her eyes immediately, trying not to think about how old she would look in the future.
The last time she had seen her mother had been six months ago, in one of the several birthday parties that were held during the year. She could not remember exactly which birthday, probably from one of her aunts.
Leaving aside the memories, she decided it was best to try to sleep since there was nothing fun to do. At first her eyes refused to close, but finally she succumbed to exhaustion.

The purpose of the trip was to assist to the birthday of her younger cousin Luciano. He was the youngest of three children, perhaps because that he had become very introverted. He always preferred to play quiet games in the comforts of his big house, for that Celeste was always near him while his two older brothers fought and ran like wild beasts, sweating and soiling their clothes on everything that crossed in their path. They were modern barbarians despite having a name as refined as hers.
But something about young Luciano was a little odd. He always played strange games, like playing role playing games, collecting cards and battle with them, or the last of his discoveries, to paint. Not painting on canvas, of course not. Luciano loved to paint small figures of various mythological beings. Her cousin had informed her million times that "painting" was not the correct term, but she could never remember which was the word he used.

The airport serpentine corridors twisted inside the building, up and down, sometimes she advanced on marble floors, others times she glided gracefully on human size conveyor between people of different social and economic levels. Among large families with a clear rush to be first, or with men in business suits, to the pilots that moved between the crowd like blue angels.
Finally, she come through the maze and find the counters where they would stamp a seal on her passport.
"Celeste Manfrella" said the man wearily but authoritative. The girl nodded with boredom, it was always the same. He checked some data on her passport and even dare to make the classic questions. One was about the purpose of her trip. "Pleasure." The girl said with great confidence. All her trips were for pleasure. Finally, after a few minutes that seemed to be endless, the man behind the counter printed a stamp and let her go. "Welcome to London"

A bored looking driver was holding a sign with her name. She did not know what make her more angry. If the fact that her name was written in square letters that seemed to have been written by a child or the fact that her beloved parents did not worry to pick up her at the airport. Still not deciding which was worse, she approached the man in suit that probably would have instructions to take her to the meeting point to start acting.
All the years they made the same act. The same circus. She was going to meet her parents in another place to exchange information to catch up just to keep up the appearances and then all would head to the mansion outside London.
For some strange reason she could not understand, her parents insisted on acting as if they had not abandoned her.

The tired driver took all her heavy baggage to the limousine. The car black as coal reflected the lights in odd ways. At least she could say that her parents were not cheap. The limousine was even bigger than the one they had in New York. The inside of the vehicle was filled with luxury and comfort.
Tired after so much bureaucracy, she left the leather armchair conform her. It seemed to massage her tired muscles while she tumbled down on her. And after a couple of infrared lashes from the remote control, the TV showed local images. Channels of music, movies, sports... all were quite similar to those she had back in her house, and finally she turned it off. Moving her attention outside of the screen, where she could see the many changes that the urban landscape suffered as they move away from the city.

The reunion with her mother was everything she expected, maybe even more. Her acting skills had grown since the last time they meet, her mother ran to meet her with a hug that took the air of out her, and pressed the skinny girl against the heat of her body for a while. Another moment of many that seemed to extend forever. As her mother hugged and kissed her, Celeste made a great effort to keep still and quiet, however she wanted to return the affection.
Her performance was amazing, her mother almost seemed truly worried about her. She even said how much he had missed her between kisses. "If you missed me, why do not you come with me?" The question provoked tears in her mother. Tears that seemed genuine. She had become really good at it. She could almost feel the love of which she never stopped talking. The girl almost could feel how much she had missed her, and how much she loved her. But it could not be true. It was all an elaborate lie. Right?

Amid such falsehood, she completely forgot her father. But eventually she realized he was not there, which was not too easy, for she had been accustomed to not having him around. And not having him on that occasion almost felt natural. But when she discovered that he should have been there and he was not, she began to search in different room but could not find him.
When her mother regained her self control again she indicated Celeste that her father would not be with them. He was still was on Italy on a last minute business. Always the same.

After carefully choosing several pieces of clothes from her big bag, and pass them to a slightly smaller bag, the two climbed into the limousine.
It was a large place, a large field full of grass, plants and trees. Crowning the place bathed in green, was the mansion. A house with two floors and many rooms that loomed in the middle of nowhere. Despite being so far from the city, it had all the luxuries that could be expected. And more.
That house was the dream of every adventurer boy, except for Luciano, of course. He only liked the grass and plants in his great models or in his fantasy imaginary worlds.
His older siblings had an history from every tree and every stone of the place. Upon arrival, the brothers were climbing the branches of a gnarled old tree almost outside the residence. Celeste greeted them with her hand knowing they would not go down until lunch and without waiting for them to wave back, she headed toward the main entrance.

It was too early for his friends and other family members to arrive but even so they were doing a lot of last minute preparations. All the adults ran from side to side trying to help, while the children were relaxed in some corner away from the rushing grown ups.
She could almost feel the anticipation in the air, everyone was anxious to get the party started.
Despite all the bustle around, Luciano was quiet enjoying a new model train at the dining room, where he had assembled a makeshift railway line with several stations. It was as if for children the time went slowly and for adults it was fast and lethal.

If Celeste has not entered into the room, the child could had continue to play for hours in total silence, but when he saw her blonde hair stood up , he jumped and ran to hug her. A wild embrace that almost made her trip to the floor, he squeezed so hard that she thought she would split in two, or that his arms were going to get out, but fortunately none of the two things happened. The girl, much more calm than his cousin, hugged him back in a friendly gesture.
"How old are you now?" Asked the girl pretending to not know, looking at the child like she could not believe how much he had grown. "Nine." The boy said quickly, trying to adopt an upright posture and a straight face. As if to prove that he was big enough for something. Overflowing with pride. Celeste returned the gesture with a big smile, to which the child responded with another.
Despite his young age, Celeste felt much more comfortable with him than with the rest of her cousins. The boy was extremely intelligent and not only knew the benefits of playing inside the house, but you could talk about many things as he was a very curious child who was always aware of the latest news.

Once the appropriate greetings were made, she informed very sweetly that she had a gift for him. Those words were almost like magic and exerted a force in her cousin that was unimaginable. It drove him crazy.
Immediately he began to pull her dress insistently asking for his gift as his eyes become as big as saucers staring madly into the backpack, where he suspected his present was hiding.
"You were good, right?" Asked the girl reluctantly, she knew that he behaved the best in the whole family. Although the question was stupid, it served to delay the time of delivery, with each passing second his eyes were growing more and more, along with his smile.
After a few minutes, Celeste believed that the torture had been enough.

Carefully, and with excruciating slowness, she placed the bag on the table. Always taking great care not to touch the railway that was still in operation making its daily run.
Little by little she took different models from her backpack, and placed them in the vacant places of the table. A small army was formed in a few seconds. There were orcs with axes, swords and shields, wands and orc shamans, they even had chariots. Many types of units waiting to be summoned by their leader. She even bought the Orc´s smaller cousins: The Goblins. Undisciplined and not as tall as the others, they showed pointed teeth and improvised weapons, but with expressions of pure ferocity. Both armies shared the table, where they remained for Luciano to command.

Luciano quickly climbed the nearest chair, and began to observe with great attention the various figures that came out of her backpack, which seemed to be bottomless. He began to count them one by one, but quickly lost the focus and preferred to watch and enjoy the show. Finally his cousin, Celeste, finished ordering them.
To his surprise there were many new ones and before she could say anything else, the child was already playing with the models and observing every detail closely.

Although she knew that Luciano did not even know if she was still in the room or not, she preferred to stay there with her favorite cousin.
There was something in the way he forgot about the world around him that was contagious. Seeing him so fascinated, made her want to be part of that world too. To paint figurines like him. To give life to these little statues and and make up stories about them.
What was admirable was not only that extreme fascination he felt for those mythological creatures, the child also projected an aura of tranquility.
Just being in the same room that him, made Celeste forget everything else, because of that she remained silent to avoid breaking the spell.

Sometimes she had the idea of going back in time. To travel a couple of years back and see how was the relationship she had with her mother, and how she was too. Would she project an aura of tranquility as her cousin? She doubted it, she had always been somewhat stormy. The years had only made ​​it worse.
Other times she wanted to return to spend more time with her grandfather. Fortunately the time travel was impossible, since she knew that if she saw her grandfather once again her heart would break even more, and she could not smile again.
And others times, when her humor was much more pink, she had wanted to come back to see her parents when they were younger. When they were in love.
A call from the distance took her back to reality, aways from her reverie.

She heard her name but she was not sure, so she sharpened her ears and tried again. Even without knowing if she had imagined it or she had actually been called. She waited in silence, surrounded by the endless sounds of the mechanical train, and the aura of tranquility that made no sound at all. Until she heard the voice again. It was her mother.
Reluctantly, the girl rose from her chair and headed toward the door, turning around to watch her cousin one more time, but Luciano did not even noticed her absence.
She turn right after leaving the room, her steps were softened by the delicate carpet while she followed the corridor until the end, on the right she found the kitchen.

Apparently her mother had learned to cook while she was away and had offered to make the birthday cake.
Celeste attempted to hide her jealousy as best she could, but apparently it was not enough, as her mother hugged her tightly and messed her hair. In a gesture that clearly indicated she knew what her daughter was feeling.
Without saying a word, her mother reached a bowl with melted chocolate and a spoon. "Try it. I made it myself." Said her mother. With a very friendly and sweet tone that made ​​her realize how much she had missed her mother.
That was the straw that broke the camel´s back. Tears began to fall from her beautiful black eyes, someone else hands took the two objects from her own shaking hands, she did not see who through her clouded eyes. But she knew it was her mother. Just when she deposited the objects in a safe place, her mother hold tight, as strong as when she received at the hotel. This time Celeste also squeezed her back as strong as she could. "I missed you a lot." Said the girl sobbing as she clutched her mother tightly to her chest. It seemed a strange contest where the one squeezing harder would one. Finally she decreed a tie.

Once both were able to escape from the octopus hug, they began to talk about things that had happened while the other was away. There was not a lots of interesting news from Celeste, or at least she did not found them interesting, But her mother commented jolly each of her activities. Always encouraging her with comments full of dreams. She always told her that she would become the best in whatever she try. Celeste had no doubt about it.
From her mother, the girl heard about some family gossip. Divorces, pregnancies, fights, even some death. Fortunately deaths were highly outnumbered by all the other "notifications" about the family. Her mother was very informed about what was happening in the Manfrella family, especially those who still lived in Italy.
The ones that left Italy had become a little lonely, like Luciano's family. They had moved to the outskirts of London so there was not a lot of gossip from them.

Finally her mother gathered enough courage to ask for her love life, to which the girl replied with her usual denial. Unfortunately her mother seemed to do not care how many times she denied it and kept asking over and over again for some special friend, boyfriend or anyone she who did not know. Celeste of course, had no boyfriends, not even friends. But she preferred to hide the last part. The reunion with her mother was too good to worry her with that nonsense.
Also she hide the fact that she suspected to be a mutant... Well, she knew for a fact that humans had not powers, but she refused to call herself mutant. Someone in her category could not be a simple genetic mistake. She was different, but not mutant.
Again, she told herself that her mother did not need to know it. It would complicate their relationship even more. And Celeste did not want that. Her mother/daughter relation was complicated enough without adding powers and mutations.

When her mother finally understood that she had not a boyfriend and did not was hiding one, not even a special one to start a love life, she changed the conversation back to issues of much less importance. Although of no significance for her life, these new topics were a good excuse to spend time with her. Although Celeste still did not understand how she could be away from her for so long, and then try to pretend that nothing happened. She suspected it was not something that her mother wanted, but something she thought was best for her. Somehow. Would her family be endangered by dad´s bad friends? She did not want to lose more important members of her family.
For a moment she lost the thread of the conversation, her mother looked at her waiting for an opinion on the gossip that had just confessed but she had no idea what it was.
"I just got distracted, do not worry." She finally said with feigned sweetness. Her mother fell into the trap, and the conversation followed the same path. Meaningless chatter. But that nonsense talk was extremely relaxing. She did not have to be better than anyone, she did not have to attend extracurricular classes, not even to regular classes. For the duration of that little trip she was entirely free to spend her time as she wanted. And she wanted to spend it talking with her mother. No matter the subject, merely to hear her voice and feel the warmth of her skin was enough to fill that little hole in her heart. With that idea in her head, she smiled sincerely. A bright, beautiful smile that transformed her features making her even more beautiful.

His mother also had a charming smile, as beautiful as herrs. Unfortunately there were few times when she was able to saw that smile shinning like that. Celeste smiled little but her mother did it even less. As if she carried weight of the world on her little shoulders, and perhaps some extra planets too.
Her hair and eyes were identical to hers. At first glance no one could deny the incredible resemblance between mother and daughter. Even in some pictures, Celeste looked a lot like her mother when she was at her age. They were almost twins.
But while analyzing it more deeply both had very different personalities. Celeste loved the power and always wanted to have the control of the situation. She needed to always give her best at everything, otherwise she felt like she was betraying herself. She knew she was destined for something great, and until that day she would train in all the arts and sciences she could. She needed to be the best, and succeed in creating a work that would perdurace for all eternity.
Instead her mother was exactly the opposite. A reflection in the mirror. She was a free spirit, always wanting to try something new and willing to take the risks. Perhaps she had learned it from their own parents, or maybe she had copy it form Celeste's grandfather. They always said that who dares, wins. And they had applied it to every moment of their lives. Her mother, much younger and healthier than her grandfather felt locked if she was not traveling or doing some activity. There was no rest for her either, but not for a need to improve but for a need to be in constant motion.
Both though so diferenes like water and oil felt extremely well with the other, when they could get through the first initial explosion. once the spark had lit the fuse and the bomb had exploded, both could share many things after the storm.

Unfortunately cooking was one of the things that she did not share with her, and although she did not want to leave, her mother had work to do, so Celeste quietly sneaked out of the kitchen.

She left the kitchen to enter the same passage from which she had arrived, and retraced over her steps to reach one of the wooden stairs that lead upstairs, where she suspected would find the rest of the family.
Celeste left her mother cooking, and Luciano playing with figures and trains, and headed to the second floor of the house. The wooden staircase, rugged and old, did not even realized her minuscule weight. Accustomed as she was to carry the bulky body of the aunt Estella and her big-boned husband, Maximilian. Then she ascended in silence.

As in the lower deck, the light came mostly from the large windows that appeared at regular intervals on every wall. It was a big house with lots of space, lit by a beautiful natural light from the sun. At night, the house came to life thanks to large modern chandeliers powered by electricity. These were her favorite and she loved to walk through the house admiring the many designs. There were no two alike, as all came from different parts of the continent. Some were carved in wood while others were made in metal. All had been parts collection that traveled in time to replace the candles with modern lamps. The transformation had been so carefully done that the result was amazing. A completely useless piece recycled in a functional and aesthetic way.
Dazzled as she was by all these details, she did not notice how far she walked until she was in front of her aunt.

Entranced with the architecture and the refined decorations that inhabited the house, she almost tripped over her aunt, who came from a spacious balcony. The only one in the house that had a view of the main entrance and the garden where the children played. "Sorry, I did not see you my dear." Her aunt said to her in that tone of voice between sweetness and bitterness, her mother always told her that even when she was younger her voice had always been somewhat melancholy. Now with a couple of years on her shoulders, her voice contained a not only melancholy but cough that seemed to never heal. Only in the summer days it calmed enough to almost forget about it.
"It was my fault." The child hastened to reply. As she greeted her aunt with two kisses, one on each cheek. "Have you seen Luciano? Every day he is a little taller." said her aunt after the greeting. "If he keeps growing more, in one or two years he would be taller than me." As she said that she dedicated a knowing smile, even when she knew that he would never grow fast enough. But she also knew from experience that mothers, aunts and grandmothers always believed that children were growing too fast.
"Did you find all your cousins ​?" The cough prevented her aunt to ask another question, so the girl rushed to respond. "Yes, but from afar. They were on a tree." When the cough ended, her aunt laughed loudly. "They are always over the poor trees, I can not imagine those poor trees without these two over them ." Her laugh was so sincere that even infect Celeste. It was true. It was almost impossible to imagine or remember the house without seeing these two monkeys hanging from tree to tree.
"How many people is invited?" Asked the girl without much interest. "Not as much as last year. Two families were unable to attend, but we will still going to be three Manfrella families." Even when she was the most intelligent of all the cousins ​​she could not remember all the names. Some were so far away that she had barely known them. So the girl just nodded. Her aunt continued. "Each family will bring their children, so Luciano and you will have many cousins ​​to play with." Her aunt's face brightened for a moment, surely she was imagining Luciano playing in the garden with other children their age. Celeste knew very well that that was not going to happen. They were going to play outside with him or without. "Is someone else is coming?" Asked the girl, this time trying to sound concerned. "Yes, almost all of his classmates. Unfortunately Luciano does not have many real friends, so I invite them all." Wise choice.

As they spoke, her uncle Maximilian entered from the outside. Leaving the balcony completely empty. Now she could see that there was a small wooden table with a large jug with ice, inside an orange liquid that looked suspiciously like natural oranges juice. Surely from their own trees.
Her aunt Estella remained in place, while her uncle occupied the place on her right. Both, with they large volume, completely blocked the path.
"Hi Celeste." Her uncle happily greeted her, his voice strong and powerful. It was almost as if she were hearing a bear. "Hi Maximilian, how are you?" Replied the girl. "Well, although I'm starting a diet..." His voice changed rapidly, losing its strength and joy to become submissive. When Celeste was about to ask why, her uncle looked quickly to his wife, trying to tell the girl that he did not want to be on a diet. Of course he did not want it, all knew the voracious appetite of Maximilian. His wife, however, ignored the accusatory looks. "It was time, dear. You are a little over your weight." Replied the woman who also needed a strict diet, by the look her husband dedicated to her, Celeste guessed she had not been subjected to the same diet. "What a bad news, and right in your child's birthday, when there will be so much food." Reluctantly he uncle smiled. "Yes, that would be a shame to waste that delicious food..." They both looked at her aunt, almost turned into homeless puppies. Opening their eyes in an exaggerated manner and keeping their eyes fixed on her. The combined power of their gazes seemed to be very powerful. Finally her aunt did not stand it anymore. "Okay, just this time."
Again recovering the full power of his voice, he thanked her. "Many thanks Celes, Would you like to help me with the food?" To which the girl responded immediately. "Sure." And they both went into the kitchen.

Escorted by her gigantic uncle, she progressed through the small corridors. It was not difficult on her but now they slowed down considerably. She would had been in the kitchen in an instant, but having to take care that her awkward uncle do not to throw anything, the way back to the kitchen was really painful.
Surprisingly, once in the kitchen, Maximilian obtained a security and a surprising speed. He knew exactly where everything he needed was and did not hesitate an instant when changing instruments. "We will prepare a sauce before going through the meat." said her uncle with great confidence while dancing with the vegetables and tomatoes. Celeste just nodded, not really knowing what to do. He was so fast that even though she knew the recipe, she would only disturb him. So with nothing to do preferred to continue watching the show. Her mother was also there, finishing the decoration of the cake, but she did not seem to pay attention to the masked chef that looked nothing like her uncle.
Both chefs were extremely focused on their prescriptions, so concentrated that Celeste seemed to be invisible. Her mother was finishing the final glazing and some last minute decorations, however her uncle that recently started was quickly gaining ground almost at her heels. Crushed tomatoes bubbled into the fry pan while with nimble fingers her uncle added all kinds of spices.
"Isn't it too little for all the guests?" Ask the girl in a time when her uncle did not seem to be doing anything very important.
He laughed and responded naturally. "The guests do not arrive until the afternoon, so we are having lunch together." He smiled. Just the family, she thought. "Do not expect much, it's just spaghetti." He quickly added, but seeing the face of disappointment of the girl, he added. "Well, the sauce may have a little magic." His smile did not fit with his appearance. Seeing him, everyone expected a Wolfy smile, beastly but what they would found was a totally sincere smile that did not hid anything behind.