Saturday Morning October 14th, 2025. Eveheart Farmland, Cattlecove, WI.

  Andre could smell home before he saw it. Mostly because there’s was the only house for miles. Cattlecove was like that. A small town swarmed by dense wisconsin forestry and marshland occupied by coyotes the size of Great Danes. Not really. According to urban legend, though. Beasts of Bray Road and all that.

  Their house sat smack dab in a clearing split by a gravel and dirt road.

  It was the typical old farmhouse minus the farm. Three stories of vine crusted dirty white walls and a black shingled rooftop where smoke plumes spun into the clouds. They had a door Andre and his mom painted red when he was six. Before that, they had a patio and stairway painted brown that they did when he was seven. Great gifts. Labor and chemical fumes.

  In the years since, blizzards, heat waves and hailstorms beat up the paint jobs and left them weathered. With personality, his mother said often.

  He liked it too, though. Sometimes. Even if it was his very own prison.

  “Go get cleaned up. Breakfast will be waiting.” Cora said as she waited for him at the door.

  Andre gave a fake salute and hopped inside.

  He ran up the stairs to the top floor where his room was and grabbed a fresh set of clothes and hopped into his shower.

  Forty minutes later and he was at the dining room table freshly cleaned and dressed. He swapped the sweatsuit for relaxed grey jeans and a black hoodie that had some sports team on the back. It was easier to read six thousand washes ago. Not that he cared.

  He was halfway finished with his suspiciously rare steak and eggs so runny they moved like snot.

  “Breakfast of champions…. And cougar attack survivors.” He thought.

  “Six-hundred to nine-hundred pounds. Maximum jumping height of eighteen feet.” Cora said out of nowhere.

  To anyone else they were just numbers.

  Andre rolled his eyes.

  Cora looked up from her food— which was four steaks and sixteen eggs.

  Andre sighed, “Siberian Tiger.”

  Cora continued eating.

  Andre watched her, jaw muscles flexing repeatedly as he chewed on his anger. It was a lot tougher than the steak.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  She continued ignoring his gaze.

  Andre shook his head and picked up his fork—

  “Males of this species are known for practicing infanticide upon entering a new social group to stop chances of young males killing them off later on and to induce the mating process in females.” Cora said.

  “Mom!”

  “Answer!”

  The two eyeballed eachother.

  Andre didn’t back down.

  Neither did she. She never did.

  “….lions.” Andre said quietly. “Male lions are known to practice infanticide. Females sometimes too…. but for different reasons.”

  “And what reason would that be?” Cora asked.

  “Stress, mom.” Andre got up and headed out of the dining room.

  “Andre? You didn’t finish your f— Andre!”

  Andre planned to keep moving— he had to with how hot his face was getting. He needed a splash of cold water. But, before he knew what was happening, his mother was grabbing his arm. He jumped due to not hearing her ever leave the table. And probably from the cat attack.

  He stepped away from her as she watched him.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked, “You’re so angry these days.”

  “…..are you insane? Serious question.” Andre asked.

  Cora did what she did best and showed no reaction.

  “You’ve been forcing me on runs, weird workouts and sparring matches that last hours since I was a toddler. You’re always doing weird cat trivia— we don’t even have cats so I know you’re not a cat person, and I have never been to public school. I haven’t even really been in public. For sixteen years, I’ve been doing the same thing with no explanation that sounds real and I get to watch the world go by through a phone screen. That phone is dogshit by the way.” Andre pressed.

  “Andre—“

  “Mom, I have one more question.” Andre’s breaths came heavy, messing up his words as he balled his fists until the knuckles went white like her skin during winter. He didn’t want it to get so serious but he couldn’t hold it in.

  Cora bit her bottom lip— like she was holding something in as well. He’d never seen the expression on her. His anger pulled him past it.

  “Where is my dad?”

  Cora dropped her eyes, “Andre…. We’ve talked about—“

  “Right, we’ve talked about it. It’s not something we’re ready to discuss yet. Just like we’re not ready to discuss anything. Like why there’s no pictures on the walls, like why we don’t celebrate Christmas with your parents or go out to the movies or do anything that NORMAL PEOPLE DO! Why do you make me feel crazy for wanting what everyone else has?”

  “Andre, I’m s—“

  Andre threw his arms up. Tears flowed down the brown skin of his face. “I want more than this, mom. I want to go to highschool. I want to do the whole corny coming of age thing with the school bully and the hot girl and the exams I didn’t study for because I was at a party. I wanna to play in a band and make music. I want to live. Why wont you let me, mom?”

  Cora cried with him. She tried not to, immediately wiping away every tear that fell. She wouldn’t even let him have that. She wouldn’t even let him see her cry.

  “You’ve got nothing for me, huh?” Andre said. The tears stopped flowing. His mind raced to the memory of the Google maps photo he memorized of the route to Clearwater West Highschool. The closest city and school district to Cattlecove. Forty miles south.

  “Ok.”

  Andre could feel the heat in his face spread down his neck and across his chest like fire. His stomach spun like he was going to be sick and starved all at the same time.

  “Andre.”

  “Don’t.” Andre held up a finger to her as he backed away.

  Cora took a step forward.

  Andre’s anger boiled over and he yelled at the top of his lungs, “GET away from me!”

  Cora stumbled backward like the noise had a physical force to it.

  Andre was running out of the front door before she could react.

  Instead of watching him run, she turned around to face the dining room window behind her.

  It was covered in cracks.

  The glass cups on the table were shattered.

  Cora headed for the door, but Andre was long gone.