A Freak Like Me

Skylin Holder was a freak. Half-human and half-grasshopper. A certified, bona fide freak. Except... he didn't remain a freak.

When Skylin was born, his story was remarked around the world. His parents were good, honest people. What could possibly explain their son coming out with the bottom half of a grasshopper? Other odd children were being born as well around this time, children with whiskers on their cheeks or pointy dog ears, but nothing quite as extreme as his case. He went on television, appearing on Ripley's Believe It or Not, and talk shows as he got older to explain how he wanted to be treated just the same as everyone else. Just because he was part grasshopper that didn't mean he wasn't also human.

After Skylin was well within his twenties, other extreme cases began appearing in human children. People born with the claws of lobsters instead of hands or with eight spider legs. As other freaks came into the world, Skylin found himself being forgotten about by the mass public. He was no longer remarkable. He was no longer special. Skylin was getting just what he always wanted. He was just like everyone else.

He found himself a girlfriend. Marjory Van Wyck didn't mind that he was part grasshopper, and because of that, couldn't perform certain acts that other humans could. He also found himself a job as a secretary for a local business. His life is relatively quiet now, and though he would never admit it, entirely mundane. Perhaps Skylin liked getting all the attention he received as a child. Maybe, just maybe, he doesn't want to be treated the same as everyone else.