Anomaly

Charlotte watched the new arrivals with an increasingly obvious sense of interest. After all, it wasn’t every day someone got the chance to witness something this attention-grabbing. Portals, or whatever those things actually were, didn’t just casually appear in front of your eyes and behave like something out of movies, books, or scientific theories.

Normally, that kind of thing was reserved for magic shows, special effects, or carefully edited videos. And in pretty much every case, the explanation turned out to be far simpler, and far more disappointing, than it initially seemed. Charlotte used to say that 99% of those phenomena were fake. Never 100%.

The difference might seem insignificant to most people, but not to her. Charlotte had always believed in that 1% possibility. From a scientific and mathematical standpoint, portals weren’t exactly impossible. There were theories, models, and hypotheses that allowed for their existence, even if only in extremely complex ways.

The real problem was something else: humanity simply didn’t have the technology needed to prove or reproduce anything like that. At least, not as far as the public knew. So while her parents watched the scene with fear, suspicion, or outright disbelief, Charlotte simply stared at the phenomena in front of her with a spark of fascination in her eyes.

The portals each had distinct characteristics. Some displayed vibrant colors, while others showed softer tones, no less impressive, though. Their edges rippled irregularly, as if space itself was being folded and stitched together right before their eyes.

Small glowing particles occasionally drifted out from their surfaces, vanishing into the air moments later. Charlotte took all of it in with sharp focus, amazed at the possibility that she might be witnessing something that, only minutes ago, existed purely in the realm of theory and speculation. Maybe, just maybe, that famous 1% was finally proving to be real.

Charlotte wouldn’t say it out loud, but she was practically holding herself back from reaching out and touching one of the portals. Her curiosity was boiling over with every passing second. Were they cold to the touch, like metal left out in the snow? Or warm, like a stone heated under the sun?

If someone looked at a specific point on the surface, could they see what was on the other side? And if someone was halfway through when the portal closed... would they actually be cut in half, with each side left on a different end?

And above all else, what did it feel like to pass through a portal? Did it feel like anything at all? A drop in your stomach? A strange pulling sensation? The feeling of falling? Or was it as simple as walking through a normal door?

Charlotte’s mind jumped from hypothesis to hypothesis, stacking questions faster than she could possibly answer them. Her eyes shone with a mix of fascination and anticipation, and only sheer effort kept her from running straight up to one of the portals to test everything herself.

That said, the portals weren’t the only thing that had caught her attention. The guests were also... hard to ignore. Charlotte discreetly observed them and quickly realized they all seemed rather... unique. Not just in the way they acted, although that also stood out, but especially in their appearance.

“Dear sister!” Charlotte’s thoughts were abruptly cut off by a voice overflowing with excitement and pure euphoria. She didn’t even have time to process what was happening. A blur of motion streaked through the air in a colorful rush, and in the next instant, it practically launched itself at Zentharys.

Charlotte blinked, confused. When she finally managed to follow the movement with her eyes, she was met with a sight that could only be described as bizarre. The winged anomaly was clinging to Zentharys like a koala wrapped around a tree trunk, arms and legs locked around her while it vigorously rubbed its cheeks against hers.

Its wings flapped nonstop, scattering a few glowing feathers into the air as the anomaly squirmed with joy. One of Charlotte’s eyes twitched slightly. She honestly wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react to this. Cute? Terrifying? Concerning?

Maybe a mix of all three. While Charlotte tried to make sense of it, the anomaly completely ignored its surroundings, seemingly unable to notice anyone else’s presence.

“I missed you so much, dear sister!” it exclaimed, squeezing Zentharys even tighter: “I was really sad when you left without telling me!” It pouted briefly before continuing, words spilling out too fast for anyone to interrupt: “And when I went looking for you, there were humans everywhere! So many of them! I knew you’d get mad if I just showed up out of nowhere, so I waited for you to call me”

Then it tilted its head, staring at Zentharys with an almost offended expression: “But why did it take you so long?” Before any response could come, it went back to rubbing its cheeks against hers: “Do you have any idea how long I was waiting?”

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The tone was so exaggerated that Charlotte briefly considered the possibility that this was all some absurd performance staged by the anomalies. Naturally, that thought didn’t survive even ten seconds. It was far too obvious that the dramatic display was genuine.

Charlotte didn’t exactly have a strong opinion about the scene. To be honest, she just found it... pretty embarrassing, in a way. There was something about the exaggerated gestures, the strangely theatrical tone, and the complete lack of any sense of shame that made her want to look away slightly.

Her parents, on the other hand, seemed completely incapable of finding words. Both of them stared wide-eyed, mouths slightly open, frozen in sheer disbelief. Every now and then, they exchanged quick glances, as if silently confirming that they were both seeing the exact same thing.

Well, despite her mixed feelings, Charlotte understood exactly what they were going through. Zentharys, on the other hand, seemed completely indifferent to the excessive affection. Charlotte guessed this probably wasn’t unusual for her. Still, it was new for her to see anomalies interacting... like this.

Normally, when anomalies showed up in the news, it was always the same story: destruction, deaths, cities evacuated in panic, or some apocalyptic threat looming over humanity. Moments like this were almost never shown. In most people’s minds, anomalies were dangerous, unpredictable, and, in some way, inevitably hostile toward humanity.

So witnessing this scene felt almost surreal: “You seem... close” Charlotte said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes widened slightly. She was surprised she had said it out loud. The silence that followed only made everything more awkward. The reaction was clearly written across everyone’s faces.

Her parents were the ones who showed the greatest shock, exchanging a quick, disbelieving glance. Charlotte’s mother even held her breath for a moment, while her father looked torn between immediately interrupting the conversation or pretending nothing had happened. Charlotte herself felt her face slowly heat up.

That said, what truly surprised Charlotte wasn’t exactly what she had just said, but the way the words had come out of her mouth. The tone carried something strange, almost uncomfortably so. There was something there she couldn’t immediately identify. Jealousy. The realization only surfaced in her mind a moment later, making her brow twitch slightly.

Her own voice had sounded... jealous. Charlotte stayed silent, lost in thought. Her fingers moved absently as she tried to make sense of the uncomfortable sensation settling in her chest. It was a subtle emotion, hard to define, yet impossible to ignore.

However, before she could go deeper into that line of thought, a voice rang out beside her. The tone was languidly mocking, filled with lazy amusement, like someone watching a particularly interesting scene unfold: “Fufufu... don’t tell me you’re feeling... jealous?”

Charlotte blinked, staring into space for a brief moment in complete confusion. Jealous? The word felt strange in her ears. Why would she feel jealous? And more importantly, of whom would she be jealous? The questions came one after another, but none of them had a satisfying answer.

From Charlotte’s perspective, it simply didn’t make sense. The idea was so absurd she couldn’t even understand how someone could reach that conclusion.

That said, even so, none of it made sense. So why was Charlotte so irritated? Why did she feel this growing disbelief at hearing those words come out of the anomaly’s mouth? It was as if something inside her had been provoked, like those words had touched an ancient part of her existence, something she didn’t even know she had.

Charlotte simply couldn’t control herself. Her eyes flared with a strange, ancient light, deep and impossible to describe. The glow lasted only for an instant, but it was enough to make her parents freeze, exchanging confused looks as they watched their daughter. Charlotte, on the other hand, barely noticed.

Before she could think, before she could even understand the reason for her reaction, she answered the anomaly’s provocation: “You’ve gotten pretty bold since the last time we saw each other, you little brat!” The silence that followed was immediate.

Charlotte’s eyes widened. Her entire body froze. Then, in a sudden motion, she brought both hands to her mouth, as if she could shove the words back inside: “... I... what?” Her heart pounded.

Slowly, she turned her head toward her parents. Both of them were staring at her with a mix of disbelief, shock, and utter incredulity. Her mother’s lips were slightly parted, while her father looked like he was trying to process what he had just heard. Charlotte then looked around the rest of the room.

The two scientists and the two security agents had all stopped what they were doing. The four of them were staring at her in exactly the same way, as if she had just said something completely abnormal... or as if that hadn’t been the voice of a simple child.

Charlotte felt her face burn: “I-I...” she tried to speak, but the words died in her throat.

Seconds passed without anyone saying a single word. The silence stretched through the room in an uncomfortable wave, as everyone tried to process what they had just heard. Meanwhile, the anomaly’s crooked smile only grew wider.

The amused expression on its face became increasingly mocking, its eyes shining with barely concealed satisfaction. It was clearly enjoying every second of the situation. Charlotte noticed it immediately. Her gaze sharpened even more.

Finally, letting out a long sigh through her nose, she raised her hands in surrender: “Alright, alright... you all heard it” She paused, looking away for a moment before continuing: “I’m not sure what happened, and I don’t have any excuse for it either. The only thing I know is... I meant every word I said”

A few more seconds of silence followed her words. Then Charlotte slowly turned her head toward the anomaly holding Zentharys. The anomaly was practically shaking from holding back laughter. Charlotte narrowed her eyes: “And that spoiled little brat just irritates me for some reason”

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