The Horned Child

Twins were rare to the town of Hillwood and therefore thought of as a blessing and a gift from

god. You were highly respected if you were a parent of twins. The way twins finish each other’s

sentences and the extensive bond they share was always fascinating to the members of Hillwood. Twins

were even stamped with identical marks to recognize the honor. However, there are stories of twins

forced apart by society’s standards and that was the case for Fran Okage. Her twin brother was forcefully

thrown out of the household by the hands of her own father.

The Okage family was delighted to expect twins because it brought great joy to everyone. Both

Mr. and Mrs. Okage’s wish for opposite genders was answered with dizygotic twins; a boy and a girl.

When the twins were born, they were named Fern and Fran Okage, but something was strange about one

of them. Fern had been diagnosed with a rare disease, so rare that he was the first to experience it. The

disease is caused by mutated chromosomes that develop two huge tumors on the head, eventually

hardening to replicate horns. The mother tolerated the disease because it was a physical disorder that

inflicted no harm on Fern’s health, but the father only grew more irritated as Fern grew up. He had wished

for a perfect son, a heir to his family throne, and did not tolerate Fern’s appearance or to continue to raise

him. So he took the matter into his own hands to throw Fern out into the forest to live with

horned-animals. The mother definitely was not pleased with his decision because of her sweet spot for

children and filed a divorce to approach the conflict, but she was too late, for that Fern had already

disappeared into the forest. He was never seen again.

Fifteen years later, the same scene still haunts Fran. She has seen the nightmare countless of times

that she has forgotten how Fern looked and instead replaced his character with a random boy in her

dreams. She lived with her grandmother in a tiny house by the forest because her mom had gone out to the

city in search of work. Her dad was forever banished for his sickening behavior and never came back.
 “Fran, my dear!” Her grandmother called out for her. “Would you mind running some errands for

me? I want to make a berry pie in celebration of your mom’s return.”

“Sure thing grandma!” Fran replied back, reaching for her coat and basket. She had always been

an obedient child to her grandmother. Within a second, she was already out the door and sprinting toward

the forest’s entrance.

The weather was nice; mixed with a perfect balance of sun and wind. The trees in the forest were

tangled with one another, casting shadows onto the pathway from the gleaming sunlight. The birds sang

along with the momentum of the wind. The forest was nothing like the city her mother worked in. Its

beauty put the city to shame.

“There they are!” Fran exclaimed, bursting with joy as if she struck gold. The berries were rare

and hidden deep inside the forest. They were sweet enough to earn a spot on the list of her mom’s

favorites. While she was picking the berries from its designated branch, rustling noise came from behind

the bush. Fran had not given it too much thought until she saw a pile of clothes gathered on top of a

boulder. She got up and held her basket like a weapon, fully aware of the berries inside. She was not

planning on swinging it, but it gave her more security and a sense of safety. When she turned around the

bush, she was met with a gorgeous lake. The water was so clear, it was screaming for her to jump in,

which she was sure someone already did by the clothes and ripples forming in the water. It did not take

long for a boy to rise from within the water with a fish in his mouth. He made his way to shore, ignoring

Fran, but eventually turned to her for assistance when he settled down.

“Hey, you over there. Pass me those wooden branches next to you.”

Fran was not prepared for the boy to talk to her, but when she met his eyes she saw something

strangely familiar on the top of his head; horns. Much like Fern’s horns, except she forgot how they

looked like. Surprisingly, she found the horns charming and questioned her father’s standards.

“Hey, are you deaf or something?”

 Fran immediately returned to reality without realizing that she had been staring at his horns.

“Oh, it’s just your horns.”

“What, are they scary or something? You’re just like everyone else huh.”

“No!.. I think they’re pretty.”

“You’re crazy,” The boy laughed, but he looked surprisingly happy about Fran’s compliment.

“Anyways, the branches please?” The boy reminded.

“O-Oh right.” Fran reached down and hastily grabbed the branches by her foot and handed them to him.

“What do you need them for?”

“Fire, to cook this fish,” He pointed to the fish squirming in his hand. “This is my source of food, and it

has been for my entire life.”

“What about your family?” Fran teared up a little about his back story.

“They didn’t want me. Thought I was too ugly for their standards,” He pointed to his horns. “But it’s

okay, I like it out here.”

“Hey, why don’t you come with me. My grandma is a great cook, I’m sure she would be happy to prepare

something for you,” Fran suggested.

“Really?!” The boy jumped up in excitement. “You think she would do that?”

“I’m sure fish is boring now.” Fran laughed. “What’s your name? I’m Fran.” Fran asked while motioning

him to follow her.

“ I don’t really have a name, or at least I don’t remem-”

“Fern. You’ll be called Fern.” Fran smiled. “He’s my twin brother. I’m sure you two would’ve gotten

along ​extremely​ well.

The boy expressed a couple of confused remarks, but eventually nodded and joyfully skipped after Fran,

feeling delightful for a name.

 When they arrived at the house, Fran’s grandmother cheerfully greeted Fern and offered a fresh

bowl of porridge. Fern happily accepted the offer and gulped the porridge down in less than seconds. The

grandmother immediately noticed a small similarity between the boy and Fran. The two had awfully

similar faces which led her to question their relationship. Fern’s resemblance to her twin brother was

uncanny and it bewildered the unfortunate granny.

“Fern, feel free to walk around the house and make yourself feel at home!” The grandma said, out

of old habit to visitors.

“Thanks grandma!” Fern replied back and turned to Fran, “ You have a nice grandma.”

Fran chuckled sarcastically, “That’s what everyone says.”

Fern walked around the house, absorbing every element of it until he came across a picture frame

holding a picture of Fran as a toddler next to a boy who looked just like her. Most importantly, the horns

on the boy’s head. Was this the twin brother Fran mentioned earlier? Fern had looked just like him, which

led him to lift up his sleeve to reveal a twin stamp that agitated him. He forgot he had a twin because of

his father’s forceful abuse and therefore the stamp on his arm confused him until he met Fran and come

across this picture. His twin stamp was identical to the one in the picture, a pattern that represented his

grandfather’s glory of the Okage family. This moment was the most heartbreaking, yet blissful; the story

of a woeful reunion.

Fern bursted into tears, the droplets flowing down his cheek and coming to an end at his neck.

Fran immediately came to notice and expressed great concern for his abrupt sorrow.

“ F-Fern?! What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

“Fran!!” He revealed his stamp to her. “I’m the real Fern! I’m your twin brother!” Fern sniffled.

Fran immediately lifted her own sleeve to confirm and to their surprise, it was definitely the same

stamp from top to bottom, a ferocious tiger to represent their grandfather. The grandmother, who was off

to the side to witness the discovery chuckled then smiled.

 “I knew something was strange the moment Fern entered the house. Your mom will be delighted

to hear the news when she comes back.”

Both Fern and Fran wanted to continue to cry, but instead laughed at their obliviousness. The

door creaked open at the sound of Mrs. Okage’s return. She was confused at the extra presence in the

room, but the grandmother was grateful enough to explain the shocking situation. After listening to the

story for more than five times to cure her doubtfulness, the mom immediately jumped into Fern’s arms,

screaming, “My beautiful son is back!” to flatter Fern further. The berry pie had finished baking in the

oven and sent out to the dining table to initiate the faithful dinner everyone did not expect. The night was

meant to celebrate the mother’s achievements at work, but turned into a night that was occupied with

Fern’s drastic storytelling, Mrs. Okage’s weeping, and Fran’s ferocious consumption of the berry pie.

When the night was over and the twins were assigned cleaning duty, Fran turned to Fern and smiled.

“Welcome home, Fern.”