Help! My girlfriend is a Unicorn!

chapter 1

If I had just listened to my girlfriend that day, everything would be different.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I should start at the beginning.

Things really started when Melody and her mother moved into the house next door.

They were kinda shy at first, but they warmed to my family, especially me for some reason.

Most of the houses on our block were owned by older people whose kids had grown, so Melody and I became playmates, if only for the lack of other choices.

I am not gonna complain, but a lot of the time we ended up playing girly games, because Melody would talk me into it with one use of her puppy dog eyes.

Years past, and although we hadn’t done anything more than hug each other, I felt like we were as much a couple as any two elementary kids could be.

One day, as Melody’s thirteenth birthday was approaching, her mom told me that in their family a girl’s thirteenth birthday is only celebrated by family, so she wanted me to not come.

I was hurt by that, and I think she realized that, so she set up a unofficial party that would be held for Melody and I the week before her birthday, and it would be just for the two of us, as her mother would be working that day. My mom would be home if we had any trouble, and Melody wanted to hold our party in the park across the street, but still it felt nice to be trusted enough to be alone together for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, that was the day everything went to heck.

It started wonderfully, we had a nice picnic and shared a small birthday cake. I gave her a pretty necklace as a gift, and we shared our first kiss.

I was packing up the leftovers of our picnic when Melody suddenly began to shake.

“Oh ... this is happening too soon!” She wailed.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Can you ... can you get me home?” She managed between grunts of pain.

“Shouldn’t I take you to my house? My mom can take you to a hospital.”

“No ... please trust me. I just need to get home.”

I trusted her, so I helped her get to her house.

Once we got there, I helped her to lay down on the couch, and she asked me to call her mother for her.

I went to the phone, which had Melody’s mom’s work number programed in, so i called. When she answered, I told her what had happened, and Melody’s mom told me that she would get home as quickly as possible, and then hung up.

I went back to check on Melody, and told her her mother was on the way, but I would stay until she came.

“I ... I don’t think that’s a good idea, Alan. You ... should go.”

She sounded so serious I almost turned to go when she screamed in pain, and I rushed back in and took her hand.

“Sorry, Melody, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m staying.” I said, hoping to make her smile.

Instead, she screamed again, and the world went white ...

When I was able to see again, I was stunned by what I saw. Instead of a girl, in front of me was a unicorn.

An honest-to-God unicorn.

And somehow, I knew that the unicorn was Melody.

I didn’t know anything about unicorns, but I did know a few things about horses as my grandparents had a small farm and I had helped look after the animals there, and looking at Melody, it seemed to me like she was exhausted from her transformation.

I wasn’t sure what I could do, or even what to think, but fortunately, a minute later Melody’s mom came in the door.

She did something complicated with her hands, and Melody’s trashed bedroom was transformed into a stable, with a big pile of hay on the floor where the bed used to be.

Melody’s mom said, “Dear, you need to rest. Lay down, and later I’ll bring you some warm oats to help you regain your strength.”

Then she turned to me, and said, “Well, i think you and I need to talk. Come to the kitchen, please.”

She walked toward the kitchen, and I stumbled after her in shock.

After I sat down, I said, “Mrs. Greenfields, I didn’t imagine what I saw, did I? Melody really became a unicorn?”

“Yes, dear. She did.”

“Is she ... is she gonna be okay?”

Melody’s mother put her hand over mine, and said, “Alan, that question shows exactly why Melody likes you. And why I like you too, although not quite the same way. Yes, she will be okay. She needs to sleep for a while, then build up her strength, but sometime tomorrow she should be feeling much better.”

“Good. Now, how is this possible?” I asked.

Melody’s mother sighed, and said, “Well, you see, a long time ago, a unicorn fell in love with a human male. She loved him so much, she went to one of the most powerful witches who ever lived, and asked to be made human. She got her request, married, and had a daughter. But when her daughter turned thirteen, she turned into a unicorn. The mother went to the witch, and the witch told her that once her daughter regained her strength, she would be able to turn back into a human. And the daughter did, and married a man, and had a daughter, and the same thing happened again. And so it has been, for generations upon generations.”

“So Melody will be able to turn back into a girl?”

“Once she’s strong enough, yes.”

“I’m assuming you guys didn’t want me to know all this? That’s why I wasn’t going to be invited to Melody’s birthday?”

“Yes, dear. Please don’t think it was because we didn’t trust you. It’s just there are some very bad people, who if they thought you might even know a tiny amount about unicorns, would not hesitate to kidnap you, or your mother and use terrible torture until they learned all you knew. Frankly, we hoped to spare you that risk.”

“So what happens now?”

“I am not sure, hon. You see, it’s not just that you know our family secret. When Melody transformed, you were far too close to her. You were bathed in magic, magic that is now a part of you, in every cell of your body. To anyone with magical senses, you are a blinding neon sign saying magic is present. And I don’t know how that will affect you. No regular human has ever had as much magic in their system. So we need to figure out how to protect you and your family, and prepare for that magic to be activated.”

I sat there, trying to wrap my head around all this stuff, and then Melody’s mother continued, “Go home, and get some rest. Tomorrow night, bring your mother over, and I’ll tell her everything that happened. I am going to try and contact my own mother, to figure out the best plan for dealing with the magic inside you, and how best to protect your family from harm.”

Then she stood up, came over to me, and gave me a hug.

“I won’t say ‘don’t worry’ because you’re probably going to worry anyway. But try and remember you wont ever be alone in this. I will be there for you, and once Melody recovers, so will she.”

I thanked her, and walked home, with my head spinning. I told my mom about being invited over to Melody’s place the next night, and she agreed to go.

With that taken care of, I went to my room, got ready for bed, and was soon fast asleep.

The next day, things only got stranger ...

To be Continued ...