Celia: Introduction Story

     In a small town lies a recent new resident who goes by the name of Celia. An oddball of sorts- quiet, a bit aloof, but willing to put in the time and effort towards hard work. After appearing out of the blue one day claiming amnesia from an accident, she was taken in by one of the more kind families in town, given lodging and privacy so long as she could work her weight at the family’s cafe.

     Celia gazed absently out of the window, having finished her duties for the hour-- serving coffee, wiping tables, and myriad other mundane tasks. It was during these quiet hours of the day that Celia often reorganized her thoughts on the human world.

     She was a myocelia- an intruder among the people around, and yet they were blissfully unaware of such. But she had little more in mind for her future than being around to spread her spores and facilitate the production of more myocelia, and even though she had found a place to be among humans for the discernable future, every passing day spent living this mundane life afforded her more and more time to question just what it was that she was doing. 

     What was it that lay beyond the veil of mere survival? Was it to travel as far as the eye could see, to spread spores to every corner of the world? To become so well hidden in human society that none would ever question her origin? Or… was there something more?

     The gentle tinkling of a bell shook her from the depths of her mind, and Celia turned her head to face the cafe’s door.

     A young man peeked his head inside the cafe, clearly a bit hesitant to enter in full. It was apparent that he wasn’t a resident of the town, seeing as the number of locals was so small that Celia had quickly memorized each and every face within a week of arriving. That said, a small town such as this one rarely ever saw visitors, so new faces were always a curiosity. Herself included.

     She cleared her throat with a loud ‘ahem’, shuffling over to the cash register.

     “We’re open,” Celia curtly called to the young man, hoping he’d either finally decide whether to leave or enter the cafe.

     Her words seemed to have successfully coaxed him into the cafe interior, and as he glanced around the seating, menu, and finally to Celia at the cash register, he stopped dead in his tracks. 

     Celia could make neither head nor tails of what he was thinking-- the young man’s mouth had been left agape, with his eyes widened in a stare of what must have been pure shock. What was it? Had one of her lace antennae slipped out from under her hat? No… she could still feel it securely beneath cotton fabric. And yet…

     “Cece?” he at last spoke, his words strained in what nearly sounded like fear. “Is that you, Cece?”

     Celia paused. Had he mistaken her for someone he knew? The name sounded similar, certainly, but what could have been the odds that he knew her in her ‘past life’?

     “I think you’re confusing me for someone else. I don’t know who--”

     “It-- it’s me, Alex!” the young man pleaded, cutting off Celia mid-sentence in the midst of frantically getting his words out. “Y- you remember me, right? You know… back home, we hung out a lot! Before you… left…”

     Celia pressed her lips together, unsure of what to do or say. He didn’t seem like he’d be particularly easy to convince that she was a stranger, given the wild look in his eyes. And yet, going ‘home’ to a place that she knew nothing of would certainly raise questions as to her real identity.

     Celia’s eyes flicked from Alex to the cafe’s door. The town was small enough to leave the cafe unattended briefly if she wanted to run back to her lodging with the host family. Maybe if she mentioned her ‘amnesia’ and left, it’d be enough to deter him…

     “I… don’t remember who you are. I got in an accident a few months ago and lost my memory,” she said, gathering her things and making her way towards the cafe door.

     Just as she was about to push the door open, a hand tightly gripped her arm-- Alex had grabbed Celia, with a fervor that felt like he’d once let go before and regretted it.

     “P--please! If… if that’s the case, I can help you get your memory back! We can go back home and look around your room, and…” he faltered, his hold weakening until his hand fell limply by his side. “I… I’m sorry. I guess… if you really don’t remember me, this is a lot to take in. But everyone back home misses you, and…”

     Celia had prepared herself to bolt out the door, but now she hesitated, weighing the options. An amnesiac backstory could only be believable for so long, but if she went to her ‘hometown’ and gained the means to better imitate a human, it could be a boon to surviving without suspicion…

     “I guess…” she began, taking note of Alex’s hopeful expression when her first few words were not of immediate rejection, “I could come and visit. But… I already have a life here too, and I don’t know if I can leave it behind.”

     Alex let out a sigh of relief, clasping his hands together. “O- of course! We’ll have to take the train, and it’s a bit of a long ride, but I can catch you up in the meantime. I think your mom and dad will be really happy to see you again…”

     Thus from the tiny town to a home unknown Celia would travel, delving further into the world of humans…