She swings the bag onto her back, ready for anything. The blue suits in front of her stand still, staring.
“Where is your escort boy?”
What?
“Where’s your lover boy? Check that bag Kay, nobody’s generous just to be nice. Could be a scam.”
Food and meds, that’s what’s in the bag. I’m sure of it.
In her mind’s eye, she sees Bill wave his hands in frustration. A margarita glass tips over, spilling half its contents on a white tile floor.
She returns her attention to Raino. “Your son runs an underground medical clinic in City of California. He helps the Unchipped to survive outside the city. My… source tells me he’s such a great doctor that some of the Chipped prefer to see him instead of using the city services. Toni’s doing amazing, Mister Raino. Your son is a hero.”
Tears fill his milky eyes. His face lights up, making him look years younger than he did just a moment ago. A soft sound escapes his throat, something Kaarina can’t make sense of at first. Something he’s clearly not used to, either.
His laughter fills the room.
The old man sits down on the chair by the counter. The black backpack heavy on her shoulders, Kaarina watches as the blue-suited shadows start creeping closer.
A woman, maybe her age or a few years younger, steps up to her and reaches for her hands.
“Markus told me you make people feel good. How do you do it? Do you have any lucky charms I could purchase from you? I’ll give you anything, I have a lot of CC’s.” Her eyes move rapidly between Kaarina’s eyes, like she thinks she’ll find an answer there—a meaning to her life.
“You… you don’t need to buy me any more things, I have all I need for now. I can, um… listen? If you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“What, you’re an escort and a therapist?”
Shut up, shut up, shut up. I can’t just ditch her.
The woman moves closer and half-whispers. “The thing is, I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I’ve already talked to my doctor in the city. He prescribed me the latest happiness-pills and I guess they’re helping a little. I sleep better. I sleep a lot.”
Kaarina grabs her hands and nods to tell her to keep talking.
“I have everything I need, all the trendy AR-clothes and accessories. I’m not lying, I’ve got them all. I work at the Server-Center where they plug me in for eight hours every day. I get more CC’s than I need without even noticing that I’ve worked that day. It’s like a nap and you’re done working. I have three digital dogs, a house, an AR-partner that is more than wonderful and faithful—”
“Wait, an AR-partner? Like a robot?” Kaarina looks around and sees the blue suits smiling. Her words amuse them. Carefully, they glance around to see if others have heard the joke as well. Are they afraid to laugh? Why?
“Oh, you’re funny. No, not a robot. An AR-partner in the augmented reality. So we wouldn’t have to live alone. I’m signed up for my first insemination in only two weeks. I’m telling you, my life is perfect.”
Eyes wide, Kaarina stares at the woman. “Well, as long as you’re happy with your life. I guess I’m not sure what I can do to help?”
The woman squeezes her hands. “I guess…” she looks over her shoulder. Leaning in, she whispers in Kaarina’s ear, “I guess I just need some extra luck, to keep all of this going. Maybe I’m feeling like… like this, because I’m afraid I’ll lose it all. What if one day I’m not happy anymore?”
Shaking her head, Kaarina lets out a small chuckle. “Happy? You think you’re happy? Listen, you need to talk to people, touch them, hang out with them. And not through the AR-glasses, but face to face. Stop dodging one another on the street. When’s the last time you told someone a secret? The last time you kissed someone? Slept with someone?”
But when’s the last time Kaarina herself did all this? Any of this? Moving into the city was always supposed to be the cure, but now it sounds as it’s the same sickness, only with different symptoms. At least in the woods, out there alone, she can decide for herself.
“I do those things with Mike every night.… He is programmed to—”
“No, no, no, no. I’m not talking about some hologram you bought to spend the rest of your life with. A real person.”
Her eyes wander to their hands, holding each other tight. Kaarina’s fingernails are blackened by muck and dirt from the barn. A faint smell of horse and hay lingers around them.
“When’s the last time you danced? Flirted with someone? Told them a joke?”
The woman’s head snaps back, as if in surprise. Eyes flickering, she stares at Kaarina.
“Knock, knock.”
“Holy flaming monkey balls. Is this really happening?”
Kaarina smiles at the woman. “Who’s there?”
“Spell.”
“Spell who?”
“Okay, okay: W.H.O.”
The joke is too ridiculous for Kaarina to do anything but laugh. When she giggles, the blue suits around them shift their weight from one foot to another. Raino’s chuckles softly by the counter.
Suddenly, the woman gives her a bear hug.
“Thank you, Miss. I have a friend that I used to see before… before all this. You remind me of her. We haven’t seen each other since we left the suburbs, but I know she lives near me. Maybe I should—”
“Yes, please, go see her. Digi-Mike can survive one night without you.”
A young man in a blue suit moves closer. “What about me? I don’t know anyone here, my only friends were my football teammates. They all died during The Great Affliction. Our team kept losing and they… they just couldn’t take it. Who do I tell jokes to?”
An older lady with a gray poncho wrapped around her blue suit steps forward. She grabs Kaarina’s sleeve and pulls on it. “My daughter lives in City of England. I can’t reach her. We
