Puffy cumulus clouds inched across the sky, one the size and shape of a turtle, its neck pointed toward the horizon. That turtle would be for others to follow.
She was home.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Year 2086, Respite
Randy was drinking beer in Old Days Pub when Dr. Ren Pendaltine came to collect him. His mother had taken a turn for the worst, and if he had anything to say to her, now was the time. She’d been fighting illness for months, and her body had withered to skin and bones.
The night was clear and pleasant, a strong breeze rattled the palm leaves, and the symphony of insects rang in his head. Electric lights perpetually glowed all around Citi. Solar arrays and a geothermal generator provided the magic, and with it had come the end of the Respite he’d known. Sounds of merriment and the scent of food and flowers floated on the wind. Randy shook like a leaf. He was going to see his mother die, and he wasn’t prepared. She was too young. She was supposed to be with him for many years. There were so many questions he’d never asked, so many secrets he knew she held close. He hated seeing her so frail.
It had been six years since his mother had returned from her quest and with her had come a cyclone of change. The Argarthian emissaries had relayed their message and departed, and Respite communicated regularly with Argartha. A ship would arrive in 2087 to take fifty Respite citizens to Argartha. There were only thirty-four volunteers, but the debate still tore apart families, friendships, and marriages. The unknown verses the known. He understood the arguments well.
Randy and Ren paused outside his mother’s place. Milly had one of the nicest apartments in Citi. It had a terrace that reached out over the ocean, three bedrooms, and a private path to its entrance. Soon it would be his home, and his stomach knotted at the idea of living in all that space by himself.
“You ready for this?” Ren said.
“No.”
“It won’t be long now. I’ve given her some turmeric and ginger tea to help with the pain and ease her into sleep. I’m going to wait down on the beach. Come get me when… if you need me.” Ren kissed him on the cheek and retreated, leaving Randy standing alone outside his mother’s door.
He entered the living room. The electric lights were off, and coconut candles cast flickering orange-yellow daggers across the darkened room. His mother didn’t want him to see her, and that was fine with him. Milly lay on her cot, staring up at the ceiling. Her chest rose and fell fast as she fought for breath. Pepper’s son, Axe, lay on the floor beside her, watching Milly with tired eyes. Turnip had stayed with Ratgut on the ship, and his mother had never gotten over it. Gary died soon after her return, followed by Ben, and she’d been devastated. The secrets that had enslaved their families had been laid bare for the people of Respite to see.
“Come here, Randy. It’s OK,” Milly said. His mother’s voice cracked as she struggled to breathe.
“I’m here, mom,” Randy said. He knelt beside her. In the dim light only the outline of her sagging face was visible, but her eyes still glowed with defiance.
“It’s time to speak the truth, you and I,” she said. “Do you love Hazel? Do you want to pair with her?”
“Yes,” Randy said.
“Not unexpected. Our families have had strange attractions to each other over the years.”
Randy leaned back as she recounted her journey to Argartha, most of which he’d heard before or had pieced together on his own.
“Do you know why I couldn’t kill Axe? Even after all he’d done to us?” she said.
Randy started. The question touched on an issue she’d refused to talk about. “You couldn’t kill in cold blood? Even if it was justified?” he said.
She coughed. “I’d like to think that, but the truth is I felt bad for him. He wasn’t a flawed person, he’d been damaged. Like me,” Milly said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s true. I left you when you needed me most, and for that I am very sorry. I’m sorry that how I treated you makes you so afraid to leave the island.”
“When you were away, I used to sit outside Spyglass Station and listen to the static. I never missed a session. I just wanted to hear your voice. Know you were out there somewhere, hopefully thinking about me. Remembering Respite was here. Why did you leave?”
“I so wanted to see what was out there. Bring medicine and other magic of the gone world to Respite. To know if the old world had been everything Tye and the others said it was. That’s why I changed the message. But did I really? Yes I lied about the actual destination, but did I lie about the goal of the message? Or the invitation it presented? I just put it in terms the people of Respite could understand.”
“Tye didn’t think so, did he?” Randy said.
“No, he didn’t at first, but he came to understand. Poor Tye, without him, who will look out for Respite’s interests in Argartha?” Milly said. Tye had been found alive, leaning against a tree along the path in the Soldier’s Wood. He’d had a heart attack and had lived to tell the story only to die four months later after a second heart attack stopped his clock.
Silence filled the room, the faint sound of waves breaking on the beach
