Flux

18

Aiya felt her guts go sour as she stared at the misused form that had once been a woman in front of her.

It was hard to miss how her cheekbones were just a little too pronounced and her fingers just a little too bony. The woman's complexion looked a little pasty, not entirely white but not quite grey.

The way she cried into Errend's chest made Aiya want to cry too. It was such a heart-wrenching sound. It came deep from within the woman's soul.

This woman had been living with no hope for far too long. Her only drive being her daughter. Aiya felt with certainty this woman would have given up and more than likely died if not at least gone catatonic years ago had it not been for Sardini.

In a way, the child had saved her life. Aiya felt a flash of regret knowing that she would never experience what it was like to be a mother. But she did know what it was to want to live for the sake of someone else.

Without Marvin, she wasn't sure she'd be as brave or driven as she was. She lived to keep him safe and alive. Whether that was a healthy choice or not.

Aiya looked around the room and caught a glimpse of Sardini shyly waving at her and Marvin to follow her out of the room. Aiya hadn't realized that what she'd thought were large windows were actually sliding patio doors.

Touching Marvin's arm to get his attention, which was riveted on the frail woman pouring her soul out to a man who seemed unable to feel much of anything, Aiya gestured to Sardini.

They quietly left Inta with Errend and followed Sardini into a small garden. It wasn't open to the sky but made to imitate open sky. The ceiling was high and glowed brightly from everywhere and nowhere. Small fruit trees and a little vegetable garden were artfully spaced out before them.

Only because of visits to Derek's farm did Aiya recognize the small composting system set up in a back corner. The very far wall wasn't made of the panels or white metal walls Aiya had come to associate as typical for this weird mountain facility, but rock.

Aiya figured it must be the mountain itself because a small spring trickled down a crack feeding a tiny pool at the bottom. It was definitely a freshwater spring. No water purification system could ever adequately imitate that smell of fresh, clean water coming from the belly of the earth.

Sardini walked over to a chess table and chairs near a bench by the pool. The room wasn't huge, maybe only thirty feet long by fifteen feet wide, but it served its purpose. A small sanctuary in a place devoid of feelings or stimulation.

Sitting down at the chess table across from the small girl Marvin looked at her with such an intensity it gave Aiya pause. She had seen Marvin focused, angry, sad and happy before. She even knew his drunk moods pretty well, but she had never seen this look on his handsome young face.

The look made Aiya's skin prickle in concern. Her little brother had decided something. Her gut told her she wasn't going to like whatever it was. The intense look, almost severe and stern, also held a determination Aiya knew all too well. Yup. He had decided something.

Shit! Aiya had to stop a groan from escaping her lips. Would her brother ever stop feeling like he needed to save everyone?

"Do you play?" Sardini's sweet voice was unassuming and didn't hold any judgements. It did sound a little hopeful, though.

Aiya smiled. It was nice being around a kid. She honestly couldn't remember the last kid she'd spent time with.

Marvin's stern expression broke at Sardini's question, and his mouth quirked into a smile along with Aiya's.

"Do I play?" Marvin scoffed good-humouredly.

Aiya remembered him harassing her to play almost hourly when they had been kids. She found the game slow herself, but her brother had loved it. He would spend hours drawing out games on paper and writing down moves.