Alexandra

"You will be a son, my daughter." With these stunning words Ukmina learned that she was to spend her childhood as a boy. In Afghanistan there is a widespread practice of girls dressing as boys to play the role of a son. These children are called bacha posh: literally "girls dressed as boys." This practice offers families the freedom to allow their child to shop and work - and in some cases, it saves them from the disgrace of not having a male heir. But in adolescence, religion restores the natural law.

As a Keeper of the Peace (Kop) for the mystical world of Alius, my team and I were sent to investigate a series of kidnappings within the supernatural community. It was in the warehouse that I met Nimera. She was a mermaid trapped in a tank, forced to entertain the worst kind of men. But I screwed up, and gunshots were fired. Nimera was suddenly dying in my arms...so I did the only thing I could, making her like me, a vampire.