Liliane sat with her mother in the airport, the only two people in the seating area.  She knew airports were usually more crowded, but apparently it was later than people usually traveled, especially toâ€¦wherever they were going.  Her mom still hadnâ€™t told her.  Their suitcases sat at their feet, Lilianeâ€™s full of brand-new clothes and supplies, with no bags for her mom.  She only knew that she was going to boarding school, despite all of her protests.  The thought frightened her, not seeing her mom for months and months.  Harry Potter went to boarding school, and he had fun, but Harry Potter didnâ€™t have a mom like she did.  â€œMom?  Why do I have to go to boarding school?â€  It wasnâ€™t the first time sheâ€™d asked, but sheâ€™d never gotten an answer.   Her mom turned her head towards Liliane, and smiled slightly.<br/><br/>â€œI guess now is as good a time to tell you as ever,â€ she said with a sigh, raising a hand to touch Lilianeâ€™s face gently.  She dropped her hands into her lap, gazing down at her fingers, twisted together.  â€œYou remember the funny-looking person you saw the other day?â€  The girl nodded- it had been only a day before her mom had said she was going to enroll Liliane in boarding school that she saw the sort-of see-through person and told her mom about it.  â€œWell, sweetie, that was a ghost.  You can see ghosts.  Itâ€™s perfectly normal- donâ€™t worry.  I started seeing them on my fifteenth birthday, too.â€<br/><br/>â€œJust like me,â€ Liliane whispered.  â€œBut-â€œ<br/><br/>â€œItâ€™s a gift,â€ Mom interrupted, â€œI was hoping you wouldnâ€™t inherit itâ€¦I donâ€™t want this life for you.  You see, it means that youâ€™re a reaper, like inâ€¦like the grim reaper.  You have a responsibility to use it for good, like a superhero, understand?â€  She waited until her daughter nodded before continuing.  â€œThereâ€™s a school for people like you.  Thatâ€™s where youâ€™re going.  Youâ€™ll learn to fight using your powers.â€<br/><br/>â€œLike- like the X-men!  Wow, Mom, thatâ€™s so cool!  Iâ€™m gonna be a superhero!â€  She paused, thinking.  â€œIs that what you do, Mom, when you go away?  Fight evil, you know, â€˜Fight the good fight?â€™â€<br/><br/>â€œWell, yes.  But listen to me, honey!  Listen!â€  It took a few minutes to calm Liliane down enough to sit still and pay attention.  â€œWhere youâ€™re going there are a fewâ€¦rules you have to remember.â€<br/><br/>â€œLike my last name?â€  Liliane didnâ€™t have a last name- if she did, her mom wouldnâ€™t tell her.  Maybe it was a clue to who her dad was, and that was why Mom wouldnâ€™t tell her.  That thought distracted her.  â€œHey, Mom?  Is my dad a superhero too?â€<br/><br/>â€œOh, sweetieâ€¦can we not talk about your dad?  Please?  Good.  You can tell them that you donâ€™t have a last name- it wonâ€™t really matter, there.  But you canâ€™t, do you hear me?  Canâ€™t tell them my name or about Aunt Sonia, understand?  And you can never tell them anything about me.  Got it?â€<br/><br/>â€œWhy?â€<br/><br/>â€œWellâ€¦we donâ€™t get along.  They donâ€™t know about me, and I donâ€™t want them too.  Aunt Sonia will pick you up for vacations, and Iâ€™ll meet you at her house.  And you canâ€™t tell them that I fight bad guys, either.â€<br/><br/>â€œOK.  But wonâ€™t they get mad at me?â€  It wouldnâ€™t be too hard, not really.  Her mom was always just â€˜Mom,â€™ needing no other name, and Auntie Sonia would be easy not to mention.<br/><br/>â€œDonâ€™t worry.  I used to know some of them, theyâ€™re nice people.  Listen, when you get there, you have to be brave, ok?  Iâ€™m not going in with you.  If thereâ€™s a problem, ask for Stella.  She probably survived,â€ the last was a whisper, and Liliane barely heard her mom say it.  It frightened her, a little, especially going in alone, but like her mom said, she would be brave, and maybe, just maybe, sheâ€™d find her dad.