I was a playful child. Some will say, I was the young, tiny tyrant of the household, but I was a tyrant who ruled with cuteness, smiles, and sass. Always following my grandmother around, always up to mischief.

I didn’t go to kindergarten, or have any friends my age. Naomi taught me everything herself, and the Brindleton Bay Park was my second home. I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world.

It takes a village to raise a child, they say, and I had a village. I had a town and the town’s pets. The little princess of the Bay. I ate the best food, played with the best toys (the ball pit was my favorite), learned everything my cohort of guardians were willing to teach me. And I learned happily.

And my top-notch upbringing meant top-notch grades once I entered school. My teachers loved me. What I loved the most was science. Needless to say, everyone expected me to be the next artist of the family. Oh, the dioramas we made together. They were many, and of great quality. But I always went back to my robots and water rockets.

There is so much to learn, and discover, and see out there. A family legend has it that a great-great aunt of ours meddled with aliens. No one can tell now, but some even say that the green-skinned family in town is related to ours in some way.

I should probably warn you now. When your family is around for as long as ours, there are many things people will say about it. Many mysteries. Many secrets.

Grandma played along with my silly games.

Probably my favorite birthday picture.

School projects as a family. Mom and Mam couldn’t help flirting with each other when they thought I wasn’t looking.