Part Three of Three
The Bunny Belle of The Anime Convention! Cerridwen-Chan!

The Vicksburg Convention Center was a handsome brick building located in the heart of downtown Vicksburg, that to say it was located right on the riverfront, right behind the concrete flood wall the city had built some twenty years ago to contain the yearly overflow from the Mississippi River. Vicksburg being a river port depended on the Mississippi River and the barge traffic that flowed up and down the river.

Vicksburg to me was a strange city. The city was an old one, and you could feel the age, most of the streets downtown had brick or cobblestone streets. Many of the buildings downtown had been built before the American Civil War and had been rebuilt following the war.

My sometimes girlfriend and sometimes boyfriend had been born into the upper echelons of Vicksburg High Society. I'd learned from others that the Bell family had been among the first families to travel up the Mississippi River to settle in the then tiny river hamlet of Walnut Hills. This tiny outpost of humanity would quickly grow into a thriving river port. The Bell family had first made their fortune as mere merchants. Then they decided to invest in land and become planters. With cotton being the chief crop they invested in. And as a result human flesh was added to the list of assets the family owned.

But none of that mattered now, as that was some one hundred and fifty years ago. But it only added to the uneasy vibe I got from the city. As for the convention, I was blown away, I felt like Alice, who had chased the white rabbit and had fallen down the rabbit hole and had turned up in Wonderland.

Anime, Manga, Light Novel, and Science Fiction fans from all over Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas it seemed had been summoned. The convention was one part street market, one part bazaar, one part fashion show and finally one part meet and greet. I quickly found out that I was not the only one who had decided to cosplay as a fabled 'Bunny Girl' in fact it proved a popular choice.

“Wow.” Mom said as she looked around her. “I had no idea anime was this popular.” She said as she took in the sights and sounds of the convention. “I remember when I was your age, anime was like those weird cartoons you could only watch late at night. And they always focused on a guy, who had emotional issues, being in command of a huge robot, and fighting in a robot war.”

I nodded my head.

“And like when I was in high school there was this one cartoon about this kid, who was like kicked out by his mom, and given like this powerful handheld computer and told to go find and enslave all these creatures that said their name over and over again. Said kid often got abused by his friends both physically, mentally and emotionally and often by the same creatures he was trying to capture and enslave.” Mom mused.

“So..” I said looking around. “Nobody is looking at me.”

“Did you want people to look at you?” Mom asked as she started to look around her, her eyes seemed to zoom in toward a table that seemed to be selling Manga. The Manga it looked like was old as the hills as the paper had already turned yellow and the titles were written in Japanese instead of English. And I could not read Japanese.
“Well mom.” I said pouting a little. “That was kind of the whole point behind the costume. To get people to look at me, to ask them to strike a pose and to get a lot of pictures taken so I could kind of boost my modeling career.” I said pouting a little.

Mom nodded her head. I could tell she was thinking that or she was totally over her head.

“You know, get a lot of pictures taken of me and posted on Instagram, and on the conventions Facebook page. Maybe attract the attention of some famous cosplayers and get them to mention me and maybe even interview me.” I said, sighing. “Which I hope will lead to me being discovered by some huge cosplay company and asked to model for them! Leading to a life of easy riches, fast cars, and wild parties.” I said, sighing.

Mom nodded her head.

“I would suggest you focus on getting those grades up so you can get into a good scholarship.” Mom said. Mom then paused. “So you can either get a degree in a career field that you might like. Nursing or go to beauty school like I did and join me in the family salon.”

I was just about to respond with a remark that would no doubt get my bottom popped. But Mom had taken a break in the conversation to stray off and take a look at one of the Manga's being displayed at a nearby table. The guy tending to the table looked skinny and frail and his eyes seemed to be bigger than his head. His hair reminded me of straw and was wearing a Pokemon 2000 shirt. Judging by the way the shirt looked I guess it had really been twenty four years since the shirt was last washed.

A few minutes passed as I watched mom walk up and down the table. I guess she was trying to judge the Manga's by their covers. Since the titles were all written in Japanese, I'm sure my mom, like me, could not either understand or comprehend written or spoken Japanese. Finally one cover must have piqued her curiosity because she reached down and picked it up.

A few moments later she turned a bright beet red. Her face was red as a firecracker and her ears seemed to be on fire. I swear to you, I thought in a few seconds I would see a stream of steam escaping from her ears.

“Cerridwen.” Mom said as she walked over to me. “Why is this woman.. why is this bikini clad woman being molested by a massive, over sized jellyfish.”

I blinked and eyed my mom for several long seconds.

“What?” I walked over and looked down down the page my mom had stumbled upon and then I looked at mom who was shaking like a leaf.

“Oh.” I said blinking. “That is what connoisseurs of anime porn call tentacle porn.” I said in a deadpan of voice. “Some people get off seeing a bikini clad babe get molested by a massive over sized jellyfish. I bet if you flip a few pages you will see the monster inserting its tentacles into the woman, maybe even squeezing her boobs. Also sometimes its a guy, getting jacked by the massive tentacles, with the thickest, strongest one going into the guys butt..” I was honestly lost for words.

Mom blinked and blinked again as she peered down the manga she was holding in her hand. She then turned toward the sales clerk who was looking directly at her. Mom once more started to blush and quickly she sat the manga down upon the table.

A few seconds later she was reaching down into her handbag and without saying a word she slapped a ten dollar bill down upon the table and picked the manga up again. The guy tending the booth was stunned to say the least. But I think he knew better than to raise a fuss.

“Mom, did you just really buy that manga?” I asked as I peered toward my mom.

Mom blushed and turned her head around.

“Never mind that Cerridwen.”

I swear for a brief moment I saw my mom flush a bright red. A few minutes later mom and I found ourselves walking toward another booth. This one was selling ready to wear cosplays. Most of them were sailor fuku, that's the Japanese version of the classic, Catholic Schoolgirl uniform. And a few maid outfits. The Japanese it seemed had two great loves, Schoolgirl uniforms and French maid outfits. Mom once more turned a beet red as she noticed the saucy offerings on display.

I myself just shrugged and kept walking until I noticed mom was not standing beside me. Puzzled, I turned my head around and peered in her direction. It was then I noticed my mom was standing there, holding one of the outfits up to her. It was the French maid one. A little piece of paper attached to the outfit showed it was going for thirty dollars.

“Mom your really thinking about buying that?” I asked as I turned toward my who just gave me a little smile as she once more reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. Mom, still blushing handed the woman running the booth two folded twenty dollar bills and nodded her head.

“I think your father would enjoy seeing me in it.” Mom said blushing. As she stuffed the outfit into the bag. “You'll understand when you get married  honey.”

Now, I'm aware that my mom and dad have had sex before. It's how I was born, but since I've hatched from the egg if you will mom has been very open with me about her love life. Sharing with me details of her past boyfriends she had before she settled on day. She told me about her wedding day and how she felt being a bride, what color the dress was, what color the dresses the bridesmaid's wore and so on. She even told me about my birth, something I really did not want to know about.

“Anyway! Shall explore this convention?” Mom asked as she started to eye the row of tables laden with goods. I could see her eyes were starting to sparkle, no doubt the shopping bug had just bitten her.

And so mother and I explored the convention hall, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the crowd convention. We sojourned away the morning and afternoon there, and before we left as the sun was finally setting over the broad Mississippi River, making the old iron bridge that spans it glow. Mom and I had both made memories to last a lifetime. And I'd gotten my photo taken at least a dozen times. I shall tell you what treasures I brought back before I conclude my story. I brought from a man selling second hand manga the complete set of Sword Art Online and the complete set of Love Hina. The man was willing to part with them for a mere seventy dollars. A true bargain if you ask me.
And mom rediscovered an old favorite. It turns out in the nineties when mom was in High School that she really fell in love with this weird cartoon called Sailor Moon. But since she was a Junior in High School and one of the popular kids she kept her love for Sailor Moon to herself . But now, having moved past High School pitfalls such as following the herd on what is cool or not. And discovering that there was a whole community devoted to her favorite weird cartoon made her want to revisit.

So mom picked up a complete second hand collection of the manga, all fourteen volumes! And that about sums it up. As the day came to a close, I found myself thinking how blessed I was. When I'd hatched from the egg, I'd rolled the dice. I had made a decision to live my life as I wanted to and to true to myself. I had made up my mind and was willing to live with fallout. Mom and dad had two been given a choice, they could have accepted that their son was now their daughter or they could reject the very notion and force me to change.

I'd been blessed that they had accepted me for who I was. Other's I knew who had been in my shoes had not been so lucky.

And with that another day in the ongoing adventure called my life came to an end.