Chapter 4: New Mama [Illustration]

Daniel's eyes open with the sound of ringing in his ears. As he groans, the familiar smell of garlic and herbs hits his nose. Although, his vision is cloudy and his head aches, he can feel the cushion behind him which tells him he's on his couch. It leaves him wondering if he had fallen asleep or if someone had moved him while he was unconscious.

He wants to believe the former because he lives alone and if there was someone, it could only be one of his clients; however, the events in his head don't match up. He's certain he just finished talking with a client who left. After that, he saw...something that could only exist in a nightmare. Did he really crash on the couch without remembering?

Things become clearer as the high pitch noise in his ears disappear. From then on, the sound of boiling water in a pot fades in. Worried that he might have accidentally left the stove on, he quickly tries to get up despite his vision, but a sudden hand pushes him back down. "Daniel-sweetie, don't get...up."

The artist's heart beats with alarm. He doesn't remember inviting anyone over! Yet, somehow...

'M-mom?'

He should be more concerned about this intruder in his home, but his ears perk to find the concerned voice sounds exactly like Amy. He quickly backtracks this thought, reminded that the astronomer is dead; however, the cooking he smells...it can't be?

"Open...mouth, please?"

Warmth emanates from the motherly voice even though it sounds a little broken. Daniel knows he should be getting a grip on himself, but he can't help comply as he opens wide.

A spoon follows, entering his mouth with warm flavor. Then his eyes widen in shock towards the ceiling. Unmistakably, he's tasting his mother's garlic potato soup! It's a home meal he can never get right on his own. Memories of the past when his mother would feed him this soup floods him with nostalgia. Whenever he felt unwell, regardless of whether he was sick or not, Amy would cook this quick meal.

His vision finally clears up as if the soup had healed him. Even though he knows his mother is dead, his emotions get the best of him as he turns his head towards this person, only to recede in shock. There, the same slime girl he fainted to is standing before him, holding a spoon out in his face.

"Hehe, Daniel~" the bluish slime girl sings, relieved to see his eyes wide open. Regardless of how lovely her call is to him, the artist isn't able to ignore that there's a unknown creature in his studio. Sure, he can see that the girl has a humanoid female form, but that doesn't extinguish his shock over her unnatural translucent jelly form.

"Holy shit!"

Slime girl widens her eyes and quickly places her slimy hands on his mouth, hushing him before he can make any further noises. "No, not...bad! Mama...here!"

He struggles to remove himself off the couch as the slime girl stretches more of her mass to restrain him. As he lets out muffled screams, the slime girl's face crunches up as she tries to figure out how best to calm her son. Then, she recalls his passion.

"S...Stars! Painting...closet!"

Daniel stops struggling as the slime's words reach him. Although he's frightened, especially as her goo is strong enough to bind him, he can't ignore what the girl is trying to say. Seeing how the she finally catches his attention in a better way, the slime slowly lifts away her mass from his mouth.

"W-what...did you say? W-who are you?" Daniel manages to ask, still shivering but mustering some courage to converse.

The slime girl smiles brightly. "Painted stars...bright. Son...brighter. Also, I am..."

She pauses, eyes wide open and lost. While she feels like Daniel's mother, she also recognizes Amy as a separate existence. It's not clear to her why this is the case, but no matter, she closes her eyes proudly with hands on her hips.

"New mama!"

...

Daniel blinks, more lost than the creature in front of him. Despite his heart beating so fast, he's starting to understand that this gooey being doesn't mean him any harm...or at least, not yet, anyway. The fact that she expresses herself quite well also helps him to keep his composure. If she had been any other type of monster that didn't appear human-like, he might've crashed out.

"You're..." he starts, then gulps to help with his drying throat, "...my mom?"

The slime girl's eyes widen in celebration and she nods furiously. "Yes, yes!"

Daniel obviously can't believe that, and yet, she told him that he's brighter than the stars — something his mother always told him. Of course, there's also the soup she made herself, mirroring how his mother would make it.

What does this mean?

"Daniel...scared?" she asks, cocking her head.

The young man lets out a shaky laugh."Y-yeah, I'm scared shitless. This feels like a bad dream."

"Mama is...real though?"

Unfortunately.

Taking another breath, Daniel refocuses.

"Okay, I'm willing to listen. Can you let go of me?" he requests, unable to sit upright due to all the mass the girl extended onto him.

The slime girl pursues her lips, then shakes her head. "No! Daniel...run!"

"I won't run," he reassures.

Actually, he might.

The slime girl frowns. "Mama will hide...if run. Then, Daniel become...crazy person. Clients plummet."

The artist opens his mouth silently, realizing that this creature raises a valid point. What would he even do? Would anyone believe him if he ran and asked for help? What if things escalate with this creature and people get hurt? Worse, what about his reputation he took years to grow?

Staring at the slime girl carefully, he groans. "Okay, you've made your point! I...I won't run, I promise!"

Huffing with a satisfied smirk, the slime girl removes herself. Giving the man no time to recover, she pushes a spoon of soup into his face again.

"Eat."

Wiggling his lips, Daniel hesitates, but against better judgment, he opens his mouth. As he slurps the creamy mix, he finds nothing tastes off. His body relaxes as the warmth travels through him.

The slime girl cocks her head, a hopeful rise to her lips. "Good?"

He smiles dryly. "Yeah, it's uhm...good."

'What the hell am I doing?', he asks himself.

The slime girl giggles. "Mama will be here...from now on."

It may be him, but this gel girl seems to be speaking a little better. That said, he doesn't take her words with much weight. Sitting up straight, he slightly wices as a headache emerges from his previous fall. Ignoring it as best as he can, he holds out his hands for the bowl.

"I can eat on my own," Daniel insists.

The creature frowns, but hands over the bowl and spoon as requested. Without being forced to eat, Daniel sets it aside and reexamines the slime girl more closely. The more he takes in her humanoid details, the more he feels able to think rationally about this situation.

Ignoring her blue semi-transparent body, she does a little like his mother in her younger years, but not entirely. From her nose and mouth, they resemble features from some of the portraits he's drawn. Although he can't determine much from her complexion as she's a human-shaped blue gelatin figure, she does look attractive. Not only that, but her chest is huge.

'Just focus, man,' Daniel shuts himself down with a pinch of his nose bridge.

Sighing, his brows furrow toward the slime. "Alright, now answer me. What are you?"

The slime girl cocks her head, then smiles dumbly. "Mama?"

"No," Daniel rejects firmly, causing the slime girl to flinch, "I don't know why you would say that, but you can't be my mom. Even if you sound like her, know about her fascination with stars, and somehow make this soup better than I can, my actual mom is dead, and two, you're not even human! I..."

Getting too far ahead, he raises a hand to stop himself before pointing at her. "Again, what are you? Do you...come from outer space or something?"

Realizing the intent of the question, the slime widens her eyes and opens her mouth for a moment before closing. She thinks about how she should explain this. "What mama is...?"

She hums deeply, closing her eyes as she searches for the closest in Amy's memories that might explain what she is. As soon as a bulb within her lights up, she gasps and taps her hands together.

"Mama is jello!"

...

Daniel stares blankly. After a few seconds of silence among the drones of the cars of downtown, he leans back into the couch and rubs his face.

"I have a sentient creature in my apartment, it's intelligent, but it doesn't know what it is. Is this just my luck?"

"Daniel...lucky!"

Despite the slime's encouragement, Daniel's hands slide down, unable to remove the despair from his face. Only when his face snaps back into place does he shrug, laughing despondently.

"Whatever. Moving, where did you come from?"

"Old mama!"

Daniel jerks. "What do you mean by that?"

The slime leans forward, pressing a hand to her chest. Her blue eyes soften as she thinks of the astronomer who has given her a life and a purpose to continue.

"Mama...comes from old mama. Old mama is part of new Mama!"

"My mom is...part of you? Ha..."

He laughs rigidly, shaking his head. Deep down, his stomach churns.

"How is my mom part of you exactly?"

Clueless to the wavering air around the artist, the slime girl smiles innocently.

"Mama ate old mama at graveyard!"