Page 28
Story: MeK
Walkingaway from him,Itake a second to really look at the house he’s putting together by hand, instantly noticing several of the rivets are crooked. “So, this is gonna be our houses, huh?Kindatiny andI’venever lived in a round house before.Wheredo you put the couch, in the middle of the floor?”
“Ifyou are referring to the inner amenities, they are designed to fit the shape of the dwelling pods.Theouter layer we are assembling will expand to a much larger aesthetic shape once secured to the primary foundation and the charging panels are activated.Thismodel will feature a central living space that can comfortably accommodate up to eight people, a sustenance area, refreshing chamber, and sleeping quarters.FromwhatIunderstand, your people voted forJamesandCarlato be the first to receive their permanent dwelling.Ihave adjusted the layout so that there are no stairs asCarlastruggles with them.”
“Wellll, would you look at that?Youdo know some of our names.”
“Iam aware of more than you think.”
“Yousimply choose not to refer to us by our given names?”
“Aname can hold significant power in our world, and it is not typically used by anyone who has not been given direct permission to do so.Imust admit,Iwas somewhat surprisedto see and hear how familiar your kind is with one another.Itis unheard of on my planet to even approach another person without a formal introduction, let alone use their given name so freely.”
“Maybeat one time, our world was once the same as yours.I’msure the history books, if there were any left to read, would confirm that.Butthere are so few of us left that there’s no need for such formalities.Evenif you were sent here by one of the most influential families onEarth, that means nothing now.We’reall peasants, working to better ourselves at this point.Ifanyone is the rich overlord, it would be you all.”
“IfImay ask, how did you end up in one of the pods, …Lacie?”
“Lookat you being all sociable.Let’sget some work done whileItell you somethingI’venot allowed myself to think much about this entire time.”Grabbingmy tools off the ground,Imake my way over to the next rivet whileMeKholds the entire panel still. “Lord, where to start this tale of woe?Mygrandfather loved the stars.Wespent many evenings laying on the ground, passing an old telescope back and forth, looking at the heavens above.Likeany other cool spring evening, we were sitting on the back porch when the ground suddenly started to shake.Itwas an earthquake, somethingI’dnever experienced before.IrememberPapawlooking at me with the most serious faceIhad ever seen on him.Therewas no warning, nothing onTVor on the internet about any upcoming storms or any other disturbances.Sowe were utterly unprepared.
Papawwas quick to smile and always knew when you needed that hug.Hewas my world, and as far asIwas concerned,Iwould stay there with him until the goodLordtook him home.Hewas my anchor in a world of chaos, but life had other plans for him and me, it seemed.
Anyway, this earthquake lasted for what felt like minutes to me, and it was odd because of the roaring sound that flowed along with it.Papawpulled me under a workbench that he used for his garden, covering me with his own body until the world stopped moving all around us.Iremember his knees were bad, and once things stopped, we both laughed at how long it took me to pull him up and out from underneath that bench.”
Iwipe a random tear off my face asIhit the rivet in front of me. “We, or maybeIshould reword that …Ididn’t realize how serious that quake was then, butPapawseemed to know something was wrong.Henever was one to spend much time on his cell phone or the computer, but after that earthquake,Icaught him watching the news more.Severaltimes, on my way home from my second year of college,Iwould catch him walking out of the library.Healways avoided revealing his purpose there, leading me to playfully suggest he liked the librarian.
Henever let on to what he was doing untilIstarted seeing stuff missing from the house.Ifinally confronted him when things of my grandmother’s that he would have never parted with, like her fineChinaand some antique furniture she had cherished, were suddenly gone.Sincehe wouldn’t come right out and tell me what was going on,Iwas convinced we’d been robbed.Whenher silver music box was no longer on the mantel,Ieven picked up the phone to call the cops when he reached out and stopped me.
God, howIwishIwould’ve known sooner, had paid more attention, butIthoughtIhad plenty of time … my whole life was before me.Iwas foolish in that sense, for sure.I’llnever forget that exact moment because this is when my world was turned upside down.Hetold me to meet him on the porch, and like an idiot,Iwashed the dishes and cleaned up the living room before walking out.Hewas in his favorite chair, looking up at thestars, when he saw me finally walk out.Beforehanding me the telescope, he gestured toward the adjacent seat.Thenhe said, ‘Lace,Iwant you to look up at the constellations and tell me what you see?’
Hell,Ihad no idea whatIwas supposed to be looking for, … untilIdid.Itwas almost like there was something wrong with the telescope.Irecall asking him if it was broken only for him to give me a sad smile.
‘Nobaby girl, theEarthis.’
That’swhat he said to me right before he tore my entire foundation out from under me.Withtears rolling down his face, he handed me a packet.Confused,Ihesitated to open it.Ijust knew that the momentIdid, everything was going to change—and boy, did it.Itcontained not only information about the pods being launched fromEarth… but also my pod number and whatIwas allowed to bring with me.Now, you have to realizeI’dheard the kids at school talking about this stuff every time something else weird happened somewhere.ButIwas in denial and so was the majority of the rest of the world.Yes, things were changing, but the human race had always survived.Inmy mind, this would be no different.Imean all you had to do was look at our history.We’dlived through ice ages, floods, and wars, but we were still here.Manydecided to take advantage of the chaos and the panic.Theones who had money decided to start buying and selling like crazy.Theythought they were securing their future.Noneof us understood the severity of what was coming, … exceptPapaw.Hetold me that‘theEarthwas angry and there was no stopping her wrath.’
Ibegged and pleaded with him not to send me away.ButnothingIsaid could make him budge.He’dnever raised his voice to me at any point in my life until that night.Whenhe yelled,‘Aslongas there is breath in my body, my job is to protect you, andI’llsee that done ifIhad to pack you there on my back!Youwill live,Lace.Mytime on this world is near, butIrefuse to let your light be extinguished early.Youwill laugh again and in time, remember all thatIhave taught you.Livefor both of us, baby girl, and know thatMamawandIwill always watch you from the heavens above no matter where that may be.’
Papawheld me until the tears stopped, and then he helped me pack my bags.Theentire time, he kept giving me specific directions on what to keep with me at all times and things to pay attention to.Thenhe marched me to the nearest bus station, bought me a one-way ticket toWestVirginia, and stood there on the side of the road untilIcould no longer see him from the windows.Icried the entire trip, but whenIgot off that bus along with a few others, there was no denying what was right in front of me.Thepods were huge and all they kept saying to us was how fortunate we were to have been given this chance.Iwould have gladly given my spot to another ifIcould have found a way to get back home, but the world was literally falling apart around us, and the guards wouldn’t let us out of the main compound.God, howIloved myPapaw.Hewas the only person who ever fought for me, right or wrong, he never wavered.”
Myemotions overcome me, andIfall to my knees on the ground.I’mshocked whenIseeMeKsit down beside me.Pullingme up to his side, he throws one of his massive arms around my shoulders and simply holds me for a moment before asking another questionIalways hated to answer even onEarth, but there are no secrets out here worth keeping any longer.
“ThewordsPapawand grandfather,Iam assuming they are the same, but according to my translator, they do not represent your primary parental units.”
“Parentalunits—that’s almost funny.No, he was my mother’s dad.Myparents were druggies.Theonly important thing to either of them was when and where their next high was going to occur.RightafterIwas born,MamawandPapawtook me away from them.Theywere both in their sixties when they took on a baby, butIthinkIkept them young.Evenwith such a huge age gap between us,Icouldn’t have been loved more.Myreal mother overdosed whenIwas around five andIhave no clue what happened to my dad.Somesaid he ended up in prison, butIcouldn’t have cared less.”WhenIgo quiet,Ican tellMeKis rerunning the conversation through his mind.
“Thethings that were missing from your residence, he sold them to send you here, did he not?”
“Yes, it cost him everything,Papawsold things that he would never have parted with for nickels and dimes.Cashedin his retirement and then sold our family home — it took the entirety of all he had ever worked for to secure my spot, and he gave it all up … for me.Ididn’t learn this actual information untilIgot to theScientificCenter.Now, you have to realize that even being there,Istill wasn’t completely convinced that this was the end of the world.Iwas sure things would work out one way or another and thatI’dget to go back home.Untilalarms started going off and they strapped me in that pod two days later,Inever really believed it was going to happen, but hereIam.”
“Iunderstand your tears,Lacie.Youare a female, and they are often overcome by their emotions, but you should honor him.Hedeserves the smiles he not only paid for but also ensured you could experience.Hissacrifice was not in vain and he lived a fulllife, if your words are true, full of this …love.Hesimply wanted you to have the chance for the same, even if it was not with him.Hishonorable nature ought to be celebrated, and you should rejoice in his sacrifice as he would have wanted.”
“Yeah,Ihave told myself similar words every day sinceI’veopened my eyes here, but it’s hard not having anyone to lean on.Nopun intended sinceI’mclearly leaning against you at this moment, butPapawwas there for me my entire life.Hepicked me up whenIfell, from the timeIwas learning how to walk, ride a bike, or drive a car.Hewas the one who would rock me to sleep whenIhad a bad dream or sit by my bed whenIhad a fever.AndIknew one day he would pass on because life just works like that, but it was too soon.Ifelt likeIwas robbed of the years we could have had together.Themoment my mind pictures him sitting on that porch alone, watching the world implode around him …Ican’t breathe.Ileft him whenIshould have fought to stay.Ishouldn’t be here … without him.”
Bythe timeIreach this point in my story,I’msobbing so hard thatIcan’t catch my breath.I’mso consumed by my own grief thatIdon’t feelMeKpick me up and place me on his lap until his gentle rocking finally breaks through my dark thoughts.Layingmy head against his massive chest,Ilet my mind go blank for a moment.Eventhough my nose is stopped up and my eyes are burning,Ifeel somewhat lighter on the inside.Pushingaway from him,I’mslightly embarrassed at falling apart, with him of all people. “Thankyou,MeK.IreckonIneeded to get that out.Ididn’t mean to cry all over you.”
Hestands both of us up at the same time and then hands me the toolsIhad been using.Wipingthe remaining tears from my face with my sleeve,Itake a deep breath and return to work.Foronce,I’mglad he has nothing to say, butIcan still feel hisembrace surrounding me, andIfearI’mcoming to like it a little too much.
Chapter Thirteen
LACIE
Table of Contents
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- Page 28 (Reading here)
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