DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is completely accidental and does not pertain to real life in any way.
~*~*~*~
THE FORMOSUS MULIER
Alex walked through the halls, alone. The crowd parted around her, as if people were afraid to touch her. They whispered behind their hands, giggled quietly, and sometimes even laughed outright. She was a loner. No one had ever seen her face. They had barely heard her talk. And no one probably ever would.
Sam prowled through the halls, looking for a good story. 'Lessee,' he thought. 'I've already reported Eddie's gum-smuggling ring, printed the rumors of Jessica's gossip mill, and informed people of Marie's depression. What to do next?'
Alex slowly shuffled past him, her hair hanging in front of her face (as usual).
'That's it!' he thought-cried. 'I'll do a story on the Faceless Wonder! What's her real name again, Alice, Alyssa. Alex! That's it, Alex!' he pondered for a moment. 'I could be the first one to-' he was struck by the wonderment of this thought. "I could be the first person to see her face! To the library!" Sam ran off, not caring that he had said that last thought out loud and people were giving him funny looks as a result.
~*~*~*~
When Alex got home from school, she went down into the sound-proof basement that was her room. She dumped her books on the floor, tucked her hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, and SCREAMED as loud as she could. Once she ran out of air, she headed straight for her diary. She opened it, took out a pen, and started writing.
Dear Journal,
School was okay. Billy Gosselin made fun of me as usual, the jerk. If he saw me for what I really am, he would be drooling, which is why I keep myself hidden. I hate being what I am. I can't show my face, I can barely talk, I don't have any friends. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT!!! Well, I gotta go to dinner. See you later, maybe. Signed, Moi
Having done that, she put her hair in a ponytail and went up for dinner.
~*~*~*~
The next day, Sam wasn't at school. He had told his mother he was sick, and she let him stay home from school. The deal was if he felt better, he had to go to school. The fact that the school was ten blocks away from his house helped matters. Once his mom left for work, though, Sam got out of bed and went down the street to Alex's house. She lived three houses down from him, but he never saw her walking home or anything because he had basketball practice until 6:00, and she stayed in the library until 5:00 pm. In fact, the only knew she lived near him at all was that he looked up her address in the main office of the school. He had the secretary wrapped around his finger, since he was her best student assistant.
~*~*~*~
At school, Alex got a "buzz". A "buzz" was where she realized that someone was close to discovering her secret. She dropped her stuff and ran, not caring about the shouts of her first period teacher to get back here, young lady. Alex had business to take care of.
~*~*~*~
As Alex was barreling down the street, Sam was breaking into her house. He pried open her basement window, and slid inside. When he turned on the light, he stopped in pure shock. It was- there wasn't even a word to describe it! A soft, baby blue shag rug was beneath his feet. There was a tie-die chair in front of him. The walls were painted every color of the rainbow, with huge smiley-face decals on them. There was a stone fireplace, grayish-black in color. He saw a book on her rainbow bed, and went to pick it up.
"NOOOOOO!" Sam whirled around to see the door slam open, and Alex be revealed. Her hair was blown back, and she was breathing hard. "Put down the book and you might not get hurt," She commanded. Dazed, Sam agreed. She was- beautiful. Her cheeks were two roses on the creamy whiteness of her skin. Her eyes were brown pools of chocolate you could fall into and be lost within forever. Her hair was brown satin, liquid as water and shiny as a brand new nickel. She walked over to her desk and picked up a green bottle. "Here- drink- this." She panted, still out of breath from running. He took the bottle. He drank. How could he refuse someone with such an exquisite voice? It was like the wind-chimes of God, smooth and rich, yet tinkly in its tone. Then, the bottle took affect. Reality crashed into place with a loud "thump". He saw how she really looked now. She had pale skin, cheeks rosy from running. Her eyes were just plain old brown eyes. Her hair was just brown hair, nothing to write home about. He thought about his earlier reactions, how he wanted to- he grimaced. Best keep those thoughts to himself.
"I- I- I know what you are!" he cried, backing away. Silently, he prayed this would work. "I know your secret!"
Her shoulders sagged. "I kinda figured. I best start by telling you what I am. My species is called Formosus Mulier. In Latin, that literally translates to, 'beautiful woman'. The men may carry the gene, but it is only active in women. The full-blood Formosus has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a ruddy complexion. They are well-rounded, tall, and have perfect vision. As you can see-" she gestured to herself. "I am not a pure-blood. I am a skinny, short, spectacled, brown haired, brown eyed, pale person, and proud of it! I got my looks from my mom, a regular human, and my powers from my dad. Hence, I have less control over them than most." Here Sam interrupted. "What are your powers?"
She smiled wanly. "I make people fall in love with me without my knowledge or consent. I can create light. One time, my mom came to check on me while I was sleeping, and she said she found me hovering a foot above my bed. And that's not even the best part. She said I was glowing with a green light. She woke me up, it stopped, and now she never comes down here while I'm sleeping again. Something in both of my parent's blood combined and made my powers stronger and more unpredictable. The point I'm trying to make is I can do most anything at any time. And I tell you, it's a real pain in the- what are you doing?" Sam was climbing out the window, a mad grin on his face. "Yes! I finally know! I have pictures of your face and a sound recording of your voice! They said I was crazy, they said it was impossible. But now I have PROOF! Proof, I tell you, proof! You DO have powers! I know what your secret is!" He cruelly mocked. "Let me tell you something, Faceless Wonder." Here he paused to smirk. "Never tell your secrets to a reporter, because they are paid to spread stuff around. Seeya!"
He turned to go, missing the aura of light growing around Alex as her face grew madder and madder. When she spoke, the low and deadly tone of her voice made him turn around. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Never. Piss. Me. Off." She raised her arms and threw a ball of light at him. His last coherent thought as the light hit him was, "So that's the extent of her powers."
~*~*~*~
Alex went back to being a recluse, and no one discovered her secret. Sam was never seen again, and no tears were shed. A potion for controlling Alex's powers was eventually discovered, and everyone was shocked when she came into school with her hair in two braids, and when she started singing during lunch for the sheer enjoyment of it.
DISCLAIMER: The preceding was a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is completely accidental and does not pertain to real life in any way.
~*~*~*~
THE FORMOSUS MULIER
Alex walked through the halls, alone. The crowd parted around her, as if people were afraid to touch her. They whispered behind their hands, giggled quietly, and sometimes even laughed outright. She was a loner. No one had ever seen her face. They had barely heard her talk. And no one probably ever would.
Sam prowled through the halls, looking for a good story. 'Lessee,' he thought. 'I've already reported Eddie's gum-smuggling ring, printed the rumors of Jessica's gossip mill, and informed people of Marie's depression. What to do next?'
Alex slowly shuffled past him, her hair hanging in front of her face (as usual).
'That's it!' he thought-cried. 'I'll do a story on the Faceless Wonder! What's her real name again, Alice, Alyssa. Alex! That's it, Alex!' he pondered for a moment. 'I could be the first one to-' he was struck by the wonderment of this thought. "I could be the first person to see her face! To the library!" Sam ran off, not caring that he had said that last thought out loud and people were giving him funny looks as a result.
~*~*~*~
When Alex got home from school, she went down into the sound-proof basement that was her room. She dumped her books on the floor, tucked her hair behind her ears, took a deep breath, and SCREAMED as loud as she could. Once she ran out of air, she headed straight for her diary. She opened it, took out a pen, and started writing.
Dear Journal,
School was okay. Billy Gosselin made fun of me as usual, the jerk. If he saw me for what I really am, he would be drooling, which is why I keep myself hidden. I hate being what I am. I can't show my face, I can barely talk, I don't have any friends. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT!!! Well, I gotta go to dinner. See you later, maybe. Signed, Moi
Having done that, she put her hair in a ponytail and went up for dinner.
~*~*~*~
The next day, Sam wasn't at school. He had told his mother he was sick, and she let him stay home from school. The deal was if he felt better, he had to go to school. The fact that the school was ten blocks away from his house helped matters. Once his mom left for work, though, Sam got out of bed and went down the street to Alex's house. She lived three houses down from him, but he never saw her walking home or anything because he had basketball practice until 6:00, and she stayed in the library until 5:00 pm. In fact, the only knew she lived near him at all was that he looked up her address in the main office of the school. He had the secretary wrapped around his finger, since he was her best student assistant.
~*~*~*~
At school, Alex got a "buzz". A "buzz" was where she realized that someone was close to discovering her secret. She dropped her stuff and ran, not caring about the shouts of her first period teacher to get back here, young lady. Alex had business to take care of.
~*~*~*~
As Alex was barreling down the street, Sam was breaking into her house. He pried open her basement window, and slid inside. When he turned on the light, he stopped in pure shock. It was- there wasn't even a word to describe it! A soft, baby blue shag rug was beneath his feet. There was a tie-die chair in front of him. The walls were painted every color of the rainbow, with huge smiley-face decals on them. There was a stone fireplace, grayish-black in color. He saw a book on her rainbow bed, and went to pick it up.
"NOOOOOO!" Sam whirled around to see the door slam open, and Alex be revealed. Her hair was blown back, and she was breathing hard. "Put down the book and you might not get hurt," She commanded. Dazed, Sam agreed. She was- beautiful. Her cheeks were two roses on the creamy whiteness of her skin. Her eyes were brown pools of chocolate you could fall into and be lost within forever. Her hair was brown satin, liquid as water and shiny as a brand new nickel. She walked over to her desk and picked up a green bottle. "Here- drink- this." She panted, still out of breath from running. He took the bottle. He drank. How could he refuse someone with such an exquisite voice? It was like the wind-chimes of God, smooth and rich, yet tinkly in its tone. Then, the bottle took affect. Reality crashed into place with a loud "thump". He saw how she really looked now. She had pale skin, cheeks rosy from running. Her eyes were just plain old brown eyes. Her hair was just brown hair, nothing to write home about. He thought about his earlier reactions, how he wanted to- he grimaced. Best keep those thoughts to himself.
"I- I- I know what you are!" he cried, backing away. Silently, he prayed this would work. "I know your secret!"
Her shoulders sagged. "I kinda figured. I best start by telling you what I am. My species is called Formosus Mulier. In Latin, that literally translates to, 'beautiful woman'. The men may carry the gene, but it is only active in women. The full-blood Formosus has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a ruddy complexion. They are well-rounded, tall, and have perfect vision. As you can see-" she gestured to herself. "I am not a pure-blood. I am a skinny, short, spectacled, brown haired, brown eyed, pale person, and proud of it! I got my looks from my mom, a regular human, and my powers from my dad. Hence, I have less control over them than most." Here Sam interrupted. "What are your powers?"
She smiled wanly. "I make people fall in love with me without my knowledge or consent. I can create light. One time, my mom came to check on me while I was sleeping, and she said she found me hovering a foot above my bed. And that's not even the best part. She said I was glowing with a green light. She woke me up, it stopped, and now she never comes down here while I'm sleeping again. Something in both of my parent's blood combined and made my powers stronger and more unpredictable. The point I'm trying to make is I can do most anything at any time. And I tell you, it's a real pain in the- what are you doing?" Sam was climbing out the window, a mad grin on his face. "Yes! I finally know! I have pictures of your face and a sound recording of your voice! They said I was crazy, they said it was impossible. But now I have PROOF! Proof, I tell you, proof! You DO have powers! I know what your secret is!" He cruelly mocked. "Let me tell you something, Faceless Wonder." Here he paused to smirk. "Never tell your secrets to a reporter, because they are paid to spread stuff around. Seeya!"
He turned to go, missing the aura of light growing around Alex as her face grew madder and madder. When she spoke, the low and deadly tone of her voice made him turn around. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Never. Piss. Me. Off." She raised her arms and threw a ball of light at him. His last coherent thought as the light hit him was, "So that's the extent of her powers."
~*~*~*~
Alex went back to being a recluse, and no one discovered her secret. Sam was never seen again, and no tears were shed. A potion for controlling Alex's powers was eventually discovered, and everyone was shocked when she came into school with her hair in two braids, and when she started singing during lunch for the sheer enjoyment of it.
DISCLAIMER: The preceding was a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people or places is completely accidental and does not pertain to real life in any way.