The door opens. A family enters single file into a cubic room with rounded edges, painted immaculate white from floor to ceiling. Two young boys followed by their father, then their mother sit on the sofa facing a wall screen which broadcasts their image. They smile and an artificial voice is heard.

"3,2,1 Record started!"

Enthusiastic, the mother speaks.

«Good morning, my name is Frigg, but you can call me mom »,a little embarrassed laugh cuts her momentum, she tries to regain her calm while excitement appears on her lips, «here is my husband Nargr, and our two children, Küken 16 years old and Böd 11 years old."

"We live in a house, spacious, illuminated, air-conditioned! Each room, including the bedrooms, has its own AC controls. Our diet is vegetarian, and we eat three times a day. But most importantly, we are a family that loves each other! »

Laughter breaks out.

"Yes, for sure. We are a happy family.", replies the husband, winking, while the children laugh and grimace with joy.

They say in chorus.

"We are ready to adopt!".

The wall screen turns off, the door opens, and an artificial voice closes the session.

"Record ended! Next family!"

***

Frigg, Nargr, Küken and Böd sit on the sofa in the living room of their house. The television is off, the clock on the wall reads 4 p.m. At times, they peer out of the corner of their eyes, through the opening in the living room, at the main door to the house.

The door rings, they all get up impatiently, quickly put their clothes back in place, stand in a row in front of the door. The door opens by itself. A man stands dressed in a white suit with his arms at his sides and in his left hand the fluttering sleeve of a cobalt blue sweatshirt speckled with garnet covering an inhuman form, smaller than Böd, at the height of a human's knee adult, an egg on webbed feet, a hooded Humpty Dumpty, face hidden, its strong respiration make the cords of the hood dance, and its discernible left wing makes the sleeve flutter.

For a few seconds the family remains motionless, their eyes glued to the oviform, while the man in white pushes it into the hallway and leaves. The door closes behind him.

Frigg, all smiling, approaches it, kneels down, grabs the two sleeves on the floor, pretending to shake it hand, and says:

"Hello there! You okay?"

No response.

Frigg hands one sleeve to Küken and the other to Böd.

"What do you say about playing with your big brothers in the living room! I'll prepare dinner."

In the living room, they put on a little background music, draw freely, laugh in unison, like a doll, the stoicism of the creature attracts all the attention.

In the kitchen, Nargr paces back and forth while Frigg remains unfazed.

"Dinner is served"

Everyone sits down, but the oviform doesn't reach the plate with his chair. Frigg uses one of the living room sofa cushions as a booster seat, but the oviform can't take the cutlery with its sleeves. She drags her chair next to it in complete silence, and grabs some a spoon to feed him.

"Bon appétit", she said slightly out of breath.

"Bon appétit, my dear", replies Nargr with a gaping smile.

"Thanks Mom!", answer the happy children.

"I made a corn soup with a mixture of seeds and meal-worms. Your favorite dish!"

Nargr takes a bite and lets out a "Yum! Delicious!" as Böd whispers discreetly to Küken.

"Do you think there are peanuts in there?"

"Eat and keep smiling, there is everything you need in the care kit in the bathroom."

Böd nods and takes a bite too.

"Yum! Succulent! Ah!", he swallows the dish, "Done! This was delicious! Mom, can I leave the table to brush my teeth?"

Frigg looks at him perplexed, Böd's face is beaded with sweat, his lips are starting to swell.

"Of my son!"

Böd rushes to the bathroom on the first floor.

Frigg takes a spoon of velouté, and directs it into the opening of the hood, she feels several movements, like a multitude of little tongues lick the spoon, like the tentacles of a kraken attack an iron ship, when it comes out, polished to excess, the spoon is shiny with cleanliness.

"Bravo" repeats Frigg with each spoon, while Küken and Nargr finish their meal and leave the kitchen.

"Time to go to bed."

She takes the oviform by the sleeve and climbs the stairs one by one, pulling him upwards while muttering airplane noises, until they arrive at the top of the stairs in front of the bathroom and the ajar door to the children's bedroom.

"Good night," she said to the children lying in their twin beds.

"Good night mom!"

At the end of the corridor the door to the parental room is closed.

Just before, his bedroom. There is no bed, only a huge pile of twigs and stifling heat. It takes its place in the middle of the nest, and Frigg closes the door and wishes it a good night.

***

A violent noise wakes Küken from his sleep. Küken looks for Böd, and sees a ball moving under the duvet, and whispers:

« Böd ? Böd ? It's you, please answer me. Please tell me it's you! »

A head emerges from the duvet, "Shh, it'll hear us", Böd hisses.

Sounds of torn wallpaper, crushed stair steps, and bent metal echo through the house for the rest of the night.

***

The living room television turns on. Frigg opens the door, the corridor is devastated, the floor broken, the walls gutted, the ceiling cracked.

"You think the kids are still here," Nargr whispers.

Frigg suppresses her insults.

They pass by the creature's room, absent.

They knock on the children's doors.

"It's us. Frigg and Nargr."

The door opens, Küken and Böd hold hands, scared.

They descend the stairs, avoiding the destroyed steps.

The creature swings from left to right in the living room, destroyed, in front of the TV, only survivor.

"I'm going to prepare breakfast", says Frigg.

They head towards the kitchen, destroyed, food trampled on the floor.

Nargr whispers:

"There was nothing like that written in the contract. I didn't sign up to be a snack."

"Calm down. We need to stay calm, and remain a united family", says Frigg.

"I don't want to die," Küken says with sobs, "I signed because my mother had an accident at the factory and it's the only job that can allow us to survive."

"You're not the only one with problems," Böb replies, "None of us are in this situation by choice."

"Breakfast is served," Frigg said.

The oviform moves like a penguin and jumps on the chair.

"Bon appetit" they say in unison.

In a few seconds the creature sucks up all the food on the table, and returns to the television.

The door rings, opens. It's the man in white.

«Good morning, it appears that an error occurred in the selection of the family Have no fear, your remuneration has been re-evaluated. »

« I do not care! Let me leave! », Nargr said, heading towards the door before taking a violent blow and falling to the ground.

« Understand the situation. You have signed a contract, the premature end date is 24 hours after any incident. Good day. »

The door closes. Nargr grabs the handle but the door is unyielding.

"We're screwed"

***

Lunch time arrives. The same table. The same calculated smiles and laughs. Fear draws near.

In the afternoon in front of the TV. The same calculated smiles and laughs. Fear draws near.

Dinner time arrives. The same table. The same calculated smiles and laughs. Fear draws near.

***

Frigg is cleaning the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

"Keep minding your own business, loony, I don't want to die", replies Nargr while he hides a knife behind his back and run upstairs with the kids.

Frigg approaches the oviform still watching television.

"Do you like your brothers?"

"Who do you love the least?". Böd's voice is heard around but found. She shakes her head, as if to banish the illusions of fatigue.

"Good night, my child."

***

Someone taps on the parental room door.

"Who is it?", whispers Nargr.

Frigg gets up and goes to open it.

"You mad? Stay in bed!"

Küken is standing, a glass of water in his hand.

"I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and Böd was nowhere. I am scared. I can stay with you."

Frigg nods, takes Küken's hand and brings him to bed under Nargr's contemptuous gaze.

"There's space on the floor."

Someone taps on the door.

"Oh no! It's the other brat."

"Please! They are children.", she opens the door, and screams in front of Böd and... another Küken.

Frigg steps back to assess the situation, but in panic Nargr takes his knife out of the pillow and points it at the Küken in the bed who holds out his open palms.

"I'm not the monster!" Please believe me!"

"Make one wrong move, and I'll screw you, kid!"

Frigg throws herself on the bed and covers the child.

"He's our child!"

"Ain't mine! Get out!"

Böd shout.

"What are you doing? Why are you protecting it? This Küken is THE monster? Right?"

A voice behind Böd whispers "You seem to be the least loved, they chose not to save you."

Böd cries out of pain, dragged towards the nest, by a Küken more Hyde than Jekyll.

Frigg runs towards Böd to take his outstretched hand in distress, but she is tackled by Nargr who closes the door, muffling the sounds of agony and broken bones. The night ends in silence, the three look at each other, searching for someone to blame in the reflection of their regret.

***

The living room television turns on. The three walk down hand in hand to the living room, but empty.

"Good Morning," Böd's voice is heard from the hall, but it's the thing.

Nargr screams and brandishes his knife.

"Die!"

Frigg shoves him and hugs the oviform.

"He killed the kid! He ate it! How can you protect him!"

"I am his mother, even if it kills me, I will protect him."

"You're not his mother, he's not even human, let alone earthling. He doesn't love you."

"I don't need his love, just as much as he doesn't need my blood to flow through his veins! I decided! I will be his mother."

"Then die with him!"

The door opens. A soldier throws the unconscious husband onto the floor and holds him at gunpoint, and two others rush into the house, one holds Küken at gunpoint, while the other run to the stairs and returns empty-handed.

The man in white enters, kneels next to the oviform and speaks an incomprehensible language to which it responds. It leaves the mother's embrace, and takes the man's hand.

It looks at Frigg one last time.

"Goodbye Mom."

***

A television turns on, we see Frigg, another man, and two other children. They are all smiling, except Frigg visibly lost in thought before speaking.

"Hello, my name is Frigg, and... I've always wanted to be a mother. I never had the chance to be a child, to have a childhood. I want to give them a chance, a chance I never had."

Disturbed by Frigg's improvisation, the husband and children quickly says.

"We are ready to adopt!"

An artificial voice concludes the video.

This was the last family on this panel. Love, Empathy, Ingenuity, humanity with a capital H is ready to receive your prestigious ones. The Earthly Crib! The first in the entire universe welcomes your children at any time. Half board, full board, or adoption, everything is possible. You can only have one childhood, give your children the only chance of a childhood on earth.