Page 17 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Seventeen

KIRA

“ SAGE ?”

“ Yes , Mistress Kira ?”

“ This is so weird … I’m talking to the house. Ok , does this room have a shower?”

“ I am equipped with a top-of-the-line cleansing room. It also has a makeup station AI and an attached wardrobe.”

“ I’m not sure what all of that was you just told me. Is there a chamber or a tub that I can bathe in? You know, to wash all the germs off.”

“ Please pardon me, Mistress Kira . We are stumbling along together, are we not? I will open the door to the cleanser for you now. Then I will walk you step by step through the process until I know you are comfortable with your surroundings. Please forgive me for taking for granted you knew how to use the devices around you.”

“ Boy , you sure are polite, SAGE ! Not that I’m complaining.”

“ Thank you, Mistress Kira . My programmer will be happy with the compliment.”

SAGE proceeds to tell me how the ionizing shower works.

I step into an enclosure that is no bigger than an old-time phone booth.

I already miss the feeling of a nice hot shower or even a long, soak in a tub after a hard day.

Apparently , the ionizer takes neutralized air molecules and zaps the dirt off your body and hair.

The only good thing I can see about this is less laundry, as you don’t need towels to get clean, and when I step out, my hair is already dry.

I look around for a mirror, but I don’t see one.

“ SAGE , do you have a mirror so I can see to re-pin my hair up?”

“ Oh , you mean a self-viewing station! Yes , what wall would you like it to appear on?”

“ Over there, I reckon.” I watch as a mirror forms right out of the wall and the moment I can see my reflection, I just stand there. I haven’t seen my own image in so long, I almost don’t recognize myself. “ Wow , what a way to lose weight.”

I walk right up to it, staring at the stranger’s face looking back at me.

I reach up and run my hand along the smooth skin on my forehead.

I had gotten a scar on it years ago from a baby deer’s tooth.

He scraped me with his little teeth as we were playing together in the yard.

It was the only scar I ever got that I didn’t mind.

Now , it’s gone. My teeth have always been a little crooked, but now they’re all perfectly straight.

The crow’s feet around my eyes and the wrinkles on my cheeks and forehead are also gone.

I look ten years younger. I should be ecstatic.

People pay thousands of dollars for these kinds of improvements. Instead , it’s depressing.

I look down at my body, amazed at how vibrant my skin looks.

The damage and dark spots from playing in the sun my whole life are also gone.

My stomach isn’t exactly flat, but I’ll take it.

Unfortunately , that cursed cellulite is still there on the outside of my thighs.

I know it’s me standing here, but apparently, I’m not the same inside or out.

I don’t feel like myself now. I’m in a stranger’s body.

I turn away from the mirror and yank the big shirt over my head, aggravated because it smells like him, and I almost take it right back off. I’m uncomfortable being covered in his scent, but the material is so much better than that itchy thing I had on earlier, so I decide to go ahead and wear it.

The shirt hangs past my knees like a big sack, which is fine with me. I jerk when I hear the sound of a door opening and then closing. I know I can’t hide in here forever.

If I had a choice, I’d just fade away. That way, I could be with Rick sooner, but what DaR said hit a nerve.

Rick gave everything so I could survive.

I know from my life experiences that all things happen for a reason.

But what horrible reason could there be for any of this to have happened?

I wonder if the pain will ever stop, or if I really want it to?

I remember a passage I read in a book once.

It said, ‘ Time is like a river, forever moving and as it flows, it takes a little of your pain with it. You will never forget, but the good memories will start to overtake the bad. Because someone who loves you truly never leaves, you can always find them in your heart.’

A single tear runs down my cheek and I push it away. I’m cried out and tired of the what-ifs and the maybes.

My belly starts to growl, so I call out, “ SAGE , I’m hungry. What do you have to eat in the form of food, if that’s what you even call it on this planet?”

“ Please proceed to the food preparation area. Hopefully , the food replicator will find something your palate will enjoy, Mistress Kira .”

“ Lord don’t call me that, it makes me sound so old. Kira is just fine, after all, I’m the servant here, not your Master .”

“ Well , Mis … Kira , you are better than halfway through your life expectancy, so technically you are old.”

“ SAGE , what the Hell ?? You can’t just blurt something like that out! The last thing a woman wants to hear is just how old she is. We all know that once you hit a certain age, it’s all downhill from there, but who likes to be reminded? ”

“ Oh , Lord of Light , I have misspoken, Mistress Kira . And I thought I was doing so well.”

“ I was just teasing you SAGE , but we need to work on your sense of humor.”

The room gets quiet, and I can’t help but laugh when she replies, “ I will send a complaint to my programmer. I will have him install this thing you call, a sense of humor .”

“ You get right on that; I’m sure that will be a quick download. Now , where’s the refrigerator? I’m starving.”

“ I do not think my translator is getting that word right, Kira .”

“ Ok , ummm … It’d be a place where you keep your food and drinks cold, usually to keep them from spoiling.”

“ Lord of Light , how appalling! Wait , are you teasing me again or did your food really spoil on your world?”

“ No , I’m being serious.”

“ I have so much to learn from you, Mistress Kira . But in the meantime, let us get you some sustenance. Is there a particular food you would like me to prepare for you?”

“ SAGE , do you mean I don’t have to cook my own food?”

“ No , how barbaric! I will prepare all your meals.”

“ So , if I’m not doing the cooking, will I be doing laundry, dishes, scrubbing out the garage, cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush? ”

“ My , my … no! This structure was installed with the most up to date automatic laundress, dish sanitizer, and maintenance AI available. You will not be required to do anything like that at all.”

I’m beginning to get a little worried about the duties of a housemate with every question I ask SAGE . “ Ok , just to make it clear in my head, no laundry, no dishes, no cooking? Just what exactly do you need me for then?”

“ Mostly redesign and decoration. You see, I did not quite tell Master DaR the whole truth when I requested additional help. Yes , there are things I cannot do because I do not have an actual body, but the truth is, I am envious of some of the other structures and their uniqueness. They are all formed and decorated to their owner’s preference.

Master DaR has never had a home atmosphere, so he refuses to give me any input as to what he wants.

So , I came up with a plan, and that is how I obtained you.

I need your help desperately. I want you to help me make this dwelling into a home that all others will try to duplicate. ”

“ Damn , where’s the alien Home and Garden Magazine when you need one?” I’m completely dumbfounded. “ SAGE , I know nothing about your culture, let alone, what is or isn’t acceptable.”

“ I have multiple videos and reading materials available for you. I was also installed with a unique enhancement detail that will be of great assistance, I assure you. I believe we will do well on this quest for beauty and warmth. But , before we get into all of that, what can I get for your evening sustenance?”

“ Oh , anything I want, huh? Ok , cheeseburger, fries, and a Pepsi ?” I stand there looking around at what I assume is the kitchen. Within a few minutes, a cabinet opens. I look inside; there’s a plate with some kind of mush and a glass containing a milky liquid.

“ What’s this?”

“ Your cheeseburger, fries, and Pepsi ?” SAGE sounds so hopeful.

“ Nope , not even close. I’m not sure what this is, but I wasn’t exactly expecting you to grill me up a big burger, either. However , I was taught not to be rude, so I’ll give this a shot.”

I kinda grimace at the texture as it seems to roll around on the plate I have in my hand. I turn to look for a place to eat. “ SAGE , where’s the dinner table, or the bar?”

“ I do not understand the question.”

“ You know, where is the place or area you sit down to eat?”

“ I have never installed a ceremonial dining area. Where would you like one or do we require multiples?”

“ If it’s just going to be me, then a simple bar or even an island will work and be just fine. If you believe there’ll ever be a need for a larger dining area, maybe you should install a table with chairs that can be enlarged if need be.”

Suddenly , the floor inches from where I’m standing starts to lift up. I jump back, almost dropping my plate. “ SAGE , what’s going on here? Something is trying to burst through the floor; you need to call someone now!”

Before I’ve finished speaking, a large island forms and rises up out of the floor, then within seconds, two matching chairs push out of its side.

I watch in awe as the room around me starts to expand and the floor starts that weird bubbling thing again.

Like something or someone is trying to break out of a bubble.

The moment the so-called bubble bursts, a beautiful table emerges.

“ SAGE , what just happened? How did all of this appear, and did the room get bigger?”

“ I told you, I am the most advanced of my kind. Master DaR had this capability installed in my system but never took advantage of any of my unique features.”

“ This definitely puts a whole new spin on the term ‘remodeling.’, What us Earth girls wouldn’t have done to have this kind of technology! You’re amazing.”

“ Mistress Kira , you are too kind.”

I sit down at the bar and take a small sip of the milky-looking crap in the glass, and I’m actually shocked it tastes fairly decent, almost like a Lady Gray tea without the honey.

The food has the texture of oats, but each bite has a distinct flavor.

It isn’t a cheeseburger, but I figure if she can form furniture out of the floor and move the walls without help, then there’s real hope when it comes to a tasty meal.

I start to get up to wash my plate simply out of habit and have to stop myself from screaming when my plate simply disappears. Tears fill my eyes as the strangeness of everything starts to get to me.

“ I just want to go home.” I don’t realize I’ve said that out loud until I hear his voice. I look up and scream at the face suddenly appearing in front of me. “ Oh , Dear God , warn a girl, would ya?!”

I watch his eyes drift over my body as he realizes I have his shirt on. I try to pull the hem down, but it won’t budge. He looks away from me for a split second and I swear it looks like he’s counting to himself. “ Kira … SAGE notified me that you were upset.”

“ I want to go home ! This …” I point around the house.

“ It’s all too much. I want to be able to walk outside and not be scared.

I want to smell the scent of familiar flowers, have clothes that actually fit me, and I want to wash my own damn dishes.

I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.

Just when I think I’m going to make it for a few more minutes, something else overwhelming happens. Can I ever go home, DaR ? ”

I watch as a frown forms on his face. “ Tordan and I have spent the last few rotations going over every record we can find about your kind, Kira .

Tordan finally found the ship that originally took you from your planet, Earth .

But unfortunately, they encrypted the exact location of your planet, and as soon as we thought we had broken their code, their hard drive self-destructed.

We do believe we have narrowed it down to a certain area. Or I should say, solar system at least.

With this information, we scanned that part of space and found that it is unstable and has been for quite some time it seems. All we can ascertain now is that there was an explosion of some sort.

Unfortunately , we have not figured out what it was yet, but I believe it was either a star exploding or a meteorite impacting one of the planets, possibly knocking it off its rotation.

Whatever it was, it set off a chain of events that has affected the entire solar system.

As for the question you asked before about how long you have been gone, I am not sure if it is in your best interest for me to answer that one.

However , I understand why you feel like you need to know.

Now remember, we are simply guessing at the exact numbers, but with the data we have, I believe it is close to eighty, or even a hundred of your Earth years.

And I am sorry to say this, but we cannot return you, either.

Not only do we not have a cryostasis unit capable of sustaining life that long, but the planets are all unstable.

I would be sentencing you and whatever crew I sent with you to their deaths and that is just not something I am willing to do. ”

I stand there in total shock. “ Are you saying that I’ve been gone for eighty years or more?”

“ Yes . We may be off on the calculations by a few years, but it would not be by much. I believe they must have woken you several times throughout the trip. I am sure they kept you highly sedated each time.”

“ Eighty years,” I whisper to myself as my mind becomes a fog.

I walk through the house in a daze. “ There’s nothing left for me there now, even if I did make it back!

My kids and what family or friends I had are all long gone, ashes in the winds of time.

The comforts of home, the mementos of places we visited, and the pictures of all the smiles in my life …

vanished. I was convinced that if I could get home, all of those things would help me get through this waking nightmare, but there’s no home now.

SAGE , I need … Please excuse me … I need to lie down. ”