The Heart of Oleta

Trouble in Paradise

                          Archeleas concept: left side is when she leaves, right side is current

          He looks upon his completed drawings and descriptions with satisfaction. The streets would be lit once more. His people would sing. Dances would be had. Just like it showed in his textbooks.

"Archeleas, school soon begins. Dukas waits for you." Today is presentation day, and Archeleas had prepared well but he was more interested in his presentation after school with the Overkon. Once Oleta was restored and the strength of its people reforged, it would be good for his mother to come home. He answers Odelian and finds his way to Dukas to be flown to school. As he passes the study, he glances inside to see Akanata on the floor, a book open in front of him. His tentacles trembling.

"Akanata, what troubles you?" He notices the boy and attempts a smile.

"Double negatives," he says in English. Archeleas is taken aback. He has not heard English since the last time he saw his mother. "They are too difficult for me to understand without my good teacher." Akanata gestures to the book and the boy notices it is written in English, not Sulaka. Archeleas is forbidden to speak English, but feels right now it is safe to do so.

"Why do you wish to read this?" Akanata's tentacles tremble once more and he takes the boy's hand. Archeleas meets Akanata's shimmering eyes.

"I miss my Lotas." The boy is struck. He had not heard this endearing name for his mother before. Here was Akanata, mourning for her as he would when mourning the loss of his own son. Was he hurting the same way?

"Dukas waits for you." Akanata reminds the boy with a calming breath, speaking in Sulaka once more. He glances back to see Dukas in the doorway of the study. Akanata releases Archeleas's hand and the boy heads to school.

                 As he finishes his speech about advanced water breathing techniques, he slips back down to his corner while the class applauds with waving hands as his mother had taught them, a celebratory motion of the Deaf that mimicked their tentacles, and the next student nervously collects themself for their turn. Elea isn't interested. Something more important had been weighing on his mind throughout the morning. His teacher didn't know it but his classroom tracker had been connected to the one he had at home so he could access personal video files through it. He pulls his knees up and conceals the tracker safely between his legs and chest. Certain that his peers couldn't see past his arms, he slowly but eagerly pulls up the full screen view of the sole purpose of the home tracker. There she is, in bed, not moving as if it was a still picture and not a live stream. He was used to this view, it wasn't often that she was out of the bed. He sighs with a bittersweet sound, she's alive but not really. He wishes she would do anything, each day brings him more worry about her stillness. Just another selfish Terran. His own words pierce his heart. His poor mother, she lived each day as if nothing were to live for. The image almost never changed, but he checked almost every day now. He felt it in the pit of him, and it made him sick to think about-

"Archeleas, the sirens do you not hear?" He is shaken from his thoughts as he refocuses on what is in front of him. His classmates are gone now and his teacher looms over him. There are sirens going off. He doesn't mean to but he rolls his eyes. Another drill for something that will never happen. The Imminent War. His mother hadn't spoken to anyone about Oleta since she had returned to Earth. Years had passed and she still acted like a ghost. He closes his tracker and tries to slip it away discreetly into his robes. The teacher notices but is more concerned with getting him to their shelter area.

"So much class time is wasted on these drills."

"Alotasian you have trust in, but none of us have reason to trust."