Revelations
bed, leaning against the back wall as she thought about the day’s events. Is something wrong with my DNA? Maybe instead of worrying about a DNA test, I need to go to a doctor. Jean took a deep breath and closed her eyes. People inherit all types of things from their parents. I don’t feel as if something is wrong. Who am I kidding? I know something’s wrong. What if I inherited a terrible disease and I’m slowly dying without realizing it? This is crazy. I had a chance to get information about my bio family and the machine broke. Yeah, that must be it. The machine couldn’t read my DNA because it broke. Should I see if I can take the test again or just forget about it?
Jean glanced at her watch. Oops, I’m late for class. She hopped up and jogged across campus to her calculus class. As she crossed a campus parking lot, she saw Ziva loading the DNA analyzer into a black van. Her breath stuck in her throat and her palms grew sweaty. She took a deep breath and approached Ziva. “Excuse me, do you remember me from the DNA testing?” Her voice was shakier than she had intended.
Ziva turned, her piercing gaze sending a chill down Jean’s spine. “Oh, yeah. How could I forget you?” she mumbled as she shoved the analyzer further into the back of the van. “I don’t know what was going on with that old man. He should have retired a long time ago. I’m so glad I won’t have to deal with him anymore.”
“Right, um, I never received my report,” Jean’s voice continued to tremble.
Ziva’s eyes narrowed as she huffed. “What?”
Jean took a deep breath and straightened her posture. “I never received my DNA report. You said something about it being undetermined.”
Ziva looked Jean up and down.
“Can you give me my report?”
“If you insist.” Ziva reached into a box in the van and pulled out a manila file folder. “I take no responsibility for the incomplete information on your report.” She shoved the folder toward Jean. “I assume this is what you’re looking for. Your test results are in this file, along with a list of people who took the test and share DNA with you.”
“Thank you,” Jean said as she stuffed the results into her backpack.
“You can leave now,” Ziva said as she waved Jean away. She climbed into the van, slammed the door, and quickly backed up before speeding away.
“Right.” Jean strolled to her calculus class, wondering about the incomplete information in her report. Other students she passed seemed so carefree as they chatted with each other and laughed or walked with determination. I didn’t hear her say anything about undetermined DNA to any of the other students. What’s wrong with me? Why am I so different? What does undetermined even mean? Maybe I should see if I can do another DNA test. No, they took the machine away. Jean sighed. I don’t know, maybe I should just skip calculus. Jean swung her bag off her shoulder, almost hitting another student. The other student gasped. “Sorry, I’m so sorry,” Jean said. She put the backpack back on her shoulders and entered her class, sitting in the seat closest to the door.
Ugh, why did I come here? I can’t concentrate. Jean tapped her fingers on the desk until she saw the professor looking at her. She unzipped her bag, pulled the test out, then slipped it back in. I’ll wait. I need to focus on class. His voice is so monotone. I’ll be glad when this is over. Oh, I just thought of something. Although the test was undetermined, it did have some information. She lifted up the flap of her bag. No, I’ll wait. Let me try to concentrate on class and pray I don’t fall asleep.
After class, Jean met up with Emmie and Carmen at the Student Union in a lounge area with round tables in the center of the room. Meeting at the Student Union after classes had become their daily routine. Jean loved meeting there to discuss the day’s events while people-watching. She often grabbed a snack and bottle of water from the vending machine before finding a seat at the only empty table. Ten minutes after sitting down, Carmen and Emmie approached Jean.
Jean waved at them, smiling. “Hey, guys.”
Carmen plopped down into the chair closest to Jean. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.”
“For what?” Jean asked.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know.”
Jean scrunched her eyebrows as she bit into a cheese puff. “Huh?”
“What happened with your DNA test?”
Emmie piped up. “Yeah, Jean. What happened? Why did that doctor grab you like that?”
“I don’t know, but I saw that lady, you know, the assistant. Anyway, she was loading the machine into a van when I was on my way to class and I asked her for my test report.”
Carmen raised a brow. “Well, what did it say?”
Jean slumped down in her chair. “I don’t know. I haven’t looked at it yet. I’m almost scared to look.”
Emmie and Carmen glanced at each other with a shocked expression.
“Don’t you want to know?” Emmie scooted her chair closer to Jean.
“Yeah, but…” How should I tell them I want to know, but I also don’t want to know. Does that even make sense?
“Okay,” Carmen said, tapping her skinny, manicured finger on the table. “Hand it over.”
Jean slowly unzipped her backpack, pulled out the file folder, and tossed it onto the table.
Carmen snatched up the folder and opened it. “Okay ladies, let’s learn about Jean.” Carmen silently read the report and suddenly gasped.
Carmen slid the report across the table to Jean. “There’s a list of people you share DNA with. They’re your biological family.”
Jean flipped through the pages, glancing at the list of names and their corresponding percentage of shared DNA. Novar, 1086 cM, Susan Cartwright, 786 cM. She smiled as a rush of excitement shot through her body. Some names had photos next to them. Jean squinted as she looked to see if she resembled any of the matches. “They’re my family.” After all these years, she finally got to learn about her family. She was able to see what they looked like and where they came from. After scanning some of the family names, she saw a section called “Ethnic Origins” and read a word she had never seen before. “Look at this. The doctor’s assistant mentioned something that was undetermined, but it says potential…” Jean picked up the report and held it close to her eyes.
“What? Potential what?” Emmie stood, walked behind Jean, and peered over her shoulder.
“Potential Xeno ethnicity,” Jean muttered with a quizzical look in her eyes. Jean stared at the crumpled lab report, reading the words “potential Xeno ethnicity” over and over. Xeno. The unfamiliar term gnawed at her mind.
“I never heard of that country,” Carmen stated as she slipped a mirror out of her bag and started touching up her lipstick.
Emmie’s eyes widened. “Xeno? As in … alien?”
Carmen giggled. “Seriously, Emmie! Quit joking!”
“I’m not kidding. Xeno means alien.”
Jean looked up from the report. “You mean illegal alien?”
Emmie tilted her head forward and peered over her wire-rim glasses. “I mean alien as in outer space alien. You know, the kind from another planet.”
“Jean’s an alien from outer space?” Carmen squealed.
A group of football players wearing grass-stained jerseys chatted and joked while seated at a long table nearby. After Carmen’s statement, they quieted down. A broad-shouldered player with short red hair and a mischievous glint in his eyes called out, “Alien? Jean’s an alien?” He elbowed the teammate next to him, a tall and muscular young man with dark skin, eliciting laughter from the other teammates.
“Hey, which one of you is Jean?” the red-haired player continued, scanning the cafeteria with curiosity. His teammates joined in, their eyes searching the room.
Jean’s skin prickled with the sensation of being under scrutiny. She stuffed the test results into her backpack and hopped up from the table. She hurried out the door and headed toward her dorm. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as the distinct sensation of someone following her emerged. She glanced over her shoulder at Carmen and Emmie. “Not cool bringing up those memories, guys.”
“Jean, wait! Slow down. What memories?” Carmen asked.
“Jean, I’m sorry. But you’re the one who said Xeno. I just told you what it means,” Emmie exclaimed.
Jean stopped walking and turned to face Emmie. “The report says undetermined. You called me an alien.”
Emmie huffed. “Your report says possible Xeno origin. Xeno means alien. Don’t blame me for what your report says.”
“It’s not possible. There’s no such thing as aliens. Anyway, it was probably a mistake. That dumb machine was probably broken.” Jean swiveled around and continued walking. Aliens. Hmm, who would think … wait … what if I’m really an alien?! That would explain why I never fit in or understood humans. Haha, yeah right. I know I have a weird imagination, but that’s just crazy.
The ground seemed to drop from beneath Jean’s feet. Xeno? She gripped her arms, digging her nails in to feel something solid, anything to anchor her. A Xeno? Bile burned the back of her throat. Flashes of news footage bombarded her—random UFO sightings, aliens abducting humans for twisted experiments, those chilling black eyes staring out defiantly.
Her stomach roiled and twisted. How can I be one of them? She searched her murky childhood memories, seeking any hint, desperate for an alternate explanation. But many memories lent support to her alien ancestry. Have I been spending my whole life in denial?
Jean plopped down onto a wooden bench and squeezed her eyes shut, pressing the heels of her palms against them until bursting colors gave way to darkness. She focused on steadying her breaths, in and out, slow and deep. It did nothing to steady her stampeding heart or untwist the knots coiling through her insides.
Who am I now? Do I even know myself at all? Xenos are the enemy … aren’t they? No, I am Jean. My actions define me, not my blood. With stubborn determination, she clung to the tattered remains of her identity, afraid to examine it too closely in case it disintegrated in her hands. She had to believe that still meant something, even if the world disagreed.
Carmen tapped Jean on her shoulder. “Jean, let me see your report? I just want to see something.”
Jean sighed as she yanked the report out of her bag and handed it to Carmen.
Carmen perused the report’s contents and looked up at Jean with widened eyes. “Jean, did you read this entire report?”
Jean shrugged. “Well, I didn’t read all of it yet. Why? What’s wrong?”
Carmen pointed at a page on the report. “It names your birth father. His name is Azon. It doesn’t give a last name.”
Jean’s heart skipped a beat, and she froze as she glanced at Emmie. “How…”
Carmen looked down at the report again. “And there’s something else. It looks like you also have a brother. The report says he’s a half-sibling. It gives more information about him. It says his name is Kale Daniels, and he lives in Seattle, in the Capitol Hill district.” Carmen handed the report back to Jean. “See, the information is there,” Carmen said as she pointed to his profile in the report.
Jean stared at the report, which now had crumpled pages from being stuffed in her bag. “I guess I was so bothered by the undetermined information, I forgot to read the rest,” Jean mumbled. After 18 years, this sheet of paper finally connected her to the missing pieces of her origins. “Azon.” Her heartbeat quickened as she said his name, wondering what he looked like and who he was. Did he know about her? Did he wonder about the baby daughter he never got to raise?
Further down the report, another name leaped off the page—Kale Daniels. Her brother. Jean broke into a wide, tearful smile. She had a brother! A cascade of questions flooded her mind. Was he older or younger? What was he like? What traits did they share? She thought about what it would be like to meet her family. Jean imagined showing up on their doorstep, introducing herself, and seeing her own smile reflected in their faces. The fantasy filled her with exhilaration. She became increasingly excited about the possibility of meeting them. “I’m going to do it.”
Emmie and Carmen looked at each other. “Do what?” they said simultaneously and giggled, realizing they had the same thought.
Jean grinned. “Okay, I know it’s crazy, but I’m going to do it. I’m going to Seattle. I’m gonna meet my brother.” Jean’s smile seemed to fill her entire face. She pulled out her phone and started searching for Kale Daniels online. “I’m leaving tonight.”
Carmen’s mouth gaped open. “Uh, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, what if that’s not really his name? What if he’s some sort of psychopath?”
Emmie scrunched her face. “Or a serial killer,” she chimed in.
“Guys, this is my one chance to meet family. Look, I think I found him. It says he owns a tattoo parlor. That’s pretty cool.”
Carmen shook her head. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t reach out to him. Maybe call him on the phone or email him. I mean, it would be pretty creepy if some unknown relative just showed up at my front door. I don’t know what I would do.”
Jean sighed. “You don’t understand. I’m his sister. Why would he be creeped out by me? Besides, I’m going to meet him in a public place. Maybe I’ll tell him I want a tattoo.”
“You really want a tattoo?” Emmie asked.
“No … I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I think you should take the time to think about this. At least go with another person. If you wait until Saturday, I’ll ride there with you. Emmie will come too. Right, Emmie?”
Emmie brushed her palms together and flashed a huge smile. “Ya’ll, a roomie road trip sounds like fun. I’ll bring the snacks and we can play car games. If ya can wait until the weekend…”
“I’m just too excited to wait. Besides, I have a meeting on Saturday.” Jean looked up from her phone. Carmen was staring at her with a horrified look on her face. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you guys updated. Hey, I’ll even share my GPS with you so you’ll know where I am at all times.”
“I don’t feel good about this. I mean, how would you feel if things were reversed? What if an unknown relative showed up here after getting the DNA results?” Carmen asked.
“I’m not sure how I would feel, but I believe I might think it was cool to meet a biological relative.”
“And, at least one of your roommates would welcome that relative with open arms.” Emmie wrapped her arm around Carmen’s shoulder. “Carmen, she said she’ll share her location. She’ll be okay. This is her chance to meet family. And if she goes missin’ or somethin’ bad happens, at least we’ll know where to look.”
Carmen sighed. “When are you leaving?”
“I’m not sure. I want to look into something before I leave.”
When Jean returned to her room, she spent hours scouring online genealogical archives and reading about aliens. Names of her DNA matches swirled in her head as she pored over census records and funeral ledgers, determined to unravel her genetic puzzle. She couldn’t think about her studies until she uncovered answers about her heritage. Only then could she still the relentless questions echoing through her mind: Where did she come from? Who were her people? What was she? And why did her mother abandon her?
She searched through her closet, trying to decide which bag she should take on her journey. After finding a large duffel bag, she tossed it onto her bed and sat down, fingering her test printout. She thought about the number of times she moved with everything she owned stuffed into a small, raggedy duffel bag. She leaned against the wall and daydreamed as she thought about her thirteenth birthday. It was a special moment for her. Her parents entered the room singing “Happy Birthday.” Mr. Anderson tapped the alarm clock as Mrs. Anderson hugged Jean and sat on the edge of her bed.
Mr. Anderson grinned. “Welcome to the teenage years. How does it feel?”
“I don’t know. I guess I feel the same way I felt yesterday,” Jean said as she wiped her eyes.
“Well, we have a surprise. There’s something we’ve been working on for a while now and we finally have a court date.”
“A court date?”
Mr. Anderson smiled. “That’s right, baby girl.” He turned toward Mrs. Anderson. “Do you want to tell her, or should I?”
“Ooh, I can’t wait any longer,” Mrs. Anderson said. “Remember when we talked about making you a permanent part of our family?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it’s finally gonna happen. You are officially going to be an Anderson. We have an adoption hearing scheduled next week.”
Jean smiled. “I can’t wait!” Finally, she was going to be part of a family. She never had to worry about being taken away and placed with a different family again. This was the best birthday. Jean peeked at the small mirror on her nightstand and grinned. Although she was going to be adopted, her grin reminded her of Mrs. Anderson’s grin. Nothing else looked the same. Jean wondered what others would think once they became a real family. She was so different from the Andersons. “Um, Mom, am I old enough now?”
“Old enough for what?”
“Old enough to find out what happened. I mean why am I not with the mom who had me?”
Mrs. Anderson sighed and glanced at Mr. Anderson. Mr. Anderson nodded. “Well, I guess it’s time for you to know something.” Mrs. Anderson paused. “Unfortunately, we don’t have much information about your biological family. No one knows who your birth mother is. The only thing we know is that a young man found you alone in a park. You were so tiny that you couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. I’ll be right back.” Mrs. Anderson left the room and returned carrying a neatly folded piece of paper. “You were wrapped in a blanket with this note,” she said, handing it to Jean.
Jean held the note between her fingers for a minute and took a deep breath before carefully unfolding it. “Please take care of my beautiful baby and give her a wonderful life. To my Jean, please know I will always look after you from afar. From distant soils, you bear unseen potential. Do not let the fear of others dim your brightness within. Until we meet again.”
Mrs. Anderson wrapped her arm around Jean’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could tell you more. Everyone deserves to know where they came from.”
“That’s okay. You’re my family now.”
After thinking about her thirteenth birthday, Jean smiled. Her parents’ love warmed her heart. How would they feel about her search for her biological family? She never wanted them to feel as if they were being replaced by her biological parents. They will always be my family. I just want answers. Jean paced around her dorm room, her trembling fingers gripping her cellphone. Her heart rate leaped higher as she considered telling her parents about finding information about her brother. Would they be worried?
Jean chewed her lip anxiously. Beneath her nervousness, a current of excitement surged through her veins. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother and took a deep breath as she dialed her number.
“Hi honey. How’s everything?”
“Pretty good. I really like my roommates and my classes are going well. Guess what? I found out I have a brother.”
After a brief silence, Mrs. Anderson let out an elated gasp. “Oh my, you found your birth family?”
“Yeah, well, we took a DNA test in one of my classes and they gave us a list of people who share DNA with us. My list included a brother who lives in Seattle.”
“Ooh, that’s great! I’m so happy for you. Maybe you’ll get to meet him one day. You know, your dad and I have always been supportive of you finding your biological family.”
“I know. Actually, I’m thinking about driving to Seattle to meet him,” Jean said, her heart pounding in anticipation of her mother’s reaction.
A stunned silence followed. Jean gripped the phone tighter, palms sweating.
“You’re driving all alone to Seattle?” Mrs. Anderson asked, her voice rising in alarm.
Jean released a deep sigh as her shoulders tensed. “I know what you’re thinking, but I’ve been waiting my whole life to learn about my family. I mean, you’re my family, too. But I have questions that only they can answer.”
“Honey, please be reasonable. Your dad and I can go with you next weekend.”
“That doesn’t work as well for my schedule. I was actually thinking about going this evening.”
Mrs. Anderson gasped. “Why so soon? We can’t make it tonight.”
“Tomorrow is my free day. I don’t plan to stay long. I just want to go there for the day, meet him, and then return home.”
“Wouldn’t the weekend be better?”
“I have a meeting for a group project on Saturday.”
“I still think your father and I should go with you,” her mom pleaded. “It’s just not safe traveling so far alone.”
“Mom, I know you’re worried, but this is really important to me. I can do this by myself. Please try to understand.”
“But honey…”
“This is more than just meeting my brother. It’s about discovering who I am and where I come from. I need to do this myself. I promise I’ll be careful. I’ll call you as soon as I get there.” Jean held her breath, waiting for her mother’s response.
Mrs. Anderson let out a resigned sigh. “Okay, honey. I can see how much this means to you. Please call me the moment you get there safely. You know how I worry about you.”
After finishing her assignment, Jean grabbed her tote bag and headed to her car. She strolled across the parking lot, rummaging in her bag, searching for her car key fob. She was so lost in thought about finding her brother that she didn’t notice the lone figure standing near her car until she hit the unlock button. The headlights flashed, illuminating the man’s face. Jean froze. It was Dr. Krenik.
Before Jean could react, Dr. Krenik took a couple of steps toward her. “Wait, I need to talk to you.”
Jean’s heart hammered against her ribs. What was he doing here? How did he know which car belonged to her? She wanted to run, but her legs were frozen in place.
Dr. Krenik inched closer. There was an unsettling urgency in his voice. “It’s very important that you listen to me. Your test results—there’s something you must know.”
Panic flooded Jean’s veins. She fumbled with the door handle before pulling it open and diving inside. Her tires squealed as she peeled out of the parking space. As she sped away, she tightly gripped the steering wheel and continuously checked the rearview mirror until Dr. Krenik’s figure shrunk out of view. What did he want from her? And why did it seem like he refused to stop until he got it?
Jean’s pulse jumped as she sped into the night, with Dr. Krenik’s cryptic warning plaguing her thoughts. She hoped the trip to see her brother would provide answers, but it left her with troubling questions instead.