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Daddy shuffled me into the house in silence, moving toward his office. "Welcome home," Tilly said blinking onto the wall. "How was your presentation Pendra?"
I rolled my eyes, a little distracted by Daddy's behavior. "You know perfectly well how the presentation was."
"Yes, but it's polite to ask." She walked along the wall with me to my room. "You'll do better next time, and you never know what decision the committee will come up with. They may just fund your proposal."
I sighed. The case proved hopeless, and Tilly trying to cheer me up only made it worst.
"What's for dinner?" I asked chunking my backpack into the closet.
She tilted her head to the side at the sudden change in subject. "Vegetable soup with garlic bread and baked potato."
My mouth watered just thinking about it. There was still another hour until dinner according to the clock screen on the wall by my bed.
I flounced onto the beanbag chair in front of the study alcove that extended from the wall.
"I can get you some yogurt and celery if you need a snack before dinner." A chair materialized behind her, and she sat beside me on the wall. "I am also available to discuss any emotional concerns."
I glanced up from a deep examination of my half chewed nails. "Um, no thanks on both generous offers."
"Would you like me to check your chemical levels and recommend a prescription to put you back in balance?"
"No, Tilly," I said bouncing my legs over the arm of the chair.
"I knew you'd say that, but I thought I'd ask." She pursed her lips. "You never take advantage of the things intended to make your life easier, why?" This wasn't the first time Tilly had asked. She didn't understand the concept of humanity. If I'm unhappy why not take a pill that will make me happy again? Nothing I said made sense to her; it was illogical. So I quit trying to help her understand.
"I just don't."
"Okay, I'll..." Tilly's voice skewed and then her image froze and all thedisappeared altogether.
"Tilly?"
The door slid open, and Daddy walked in carrying a familiar looking bag.
"What's going on? What happened to Tilly?" I gestured to the wall where she sat a few seconds before.
"I put the system to sleep so we can talk freely."
"You can do that?"
"Redesigning the residential interface allowed me access to the system."
"Dad... that sounds illegal. You're a government programmer."
"I'm good at my job." He moved to the secret panel under my bed. "I designed two programs, one for sleep and the other to destroy the system." He fumbled around under the bed attempting to relieve the hatch.
"Here," I said shooing him away. "Let me do it."
"Thanks."
Focused, I crawled under the bed. My fingers brushed across the small indention, and it slid open. A small patch of earth lay in a square that hid a little book - the key. I pushed my hand into the dirt; it parted like water beneath my fingers. I grabbed the book and let the compartment close, sliding from under the bed.
"Here." I handed the book over. "What's going on? You said we could talk freely."
He took a deep breath. "The truth is I'm not sure what's going on. I have a bad feeling about Regulator Cain's visit with you today." He shifted his weight. "There are things I was involved in I've tried to shield you from, and those things occurred under Cain's watch." He rubbed the top of his head. "We stole something from him, well, rather stole someone."
I blinked several times trying to grasp what he said. "Wait... What?"
"It's a lot to explain, but I helped a friend get her relative out of the Sleepers Keep. I'm not sure if Cain can tie it back to us, but I don't want to take any chances." He must have seen the utter shock on my face. "I promise I'll explain more when we get to where we're going. For now, I need you to get your emergency bag and anything else you can't live without; say your goodbyes to your garden and be ready to go in an hour."
I spluttered. "An hour?" I rubbed my arm. "I thought we were leaving tomorrow. What about my friends? Won't it seem suspicious if I up and disappear?"
"It wouldn't be the first time a student disappeared," Daddy said.
He referred to my childhood friend that went missing after she visited the Sleepers Keep. Now everyone acted like she didn't exist. "They did something to her, didn't they?"
He bit his lip and shrugged. "I'm not willing to take that chance with you." His back got straighter. "It's my job to protect you, and that's what I'll do."
"But this is not fair. I have-"
"Penny!"
My eyebrows flew up in shock at the sound of my former name.
"That's enough," he said moving toward the door. "We'll discuss it later, but now we have to move."
The door panel slid open.
"But what about my friends?" I asked in a small voice. I'd known them for so long. "Can I say goodbye?" I asked though I knew the answer. The idea of leaving without a word proved painful.
Daddy's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know this is a hard blow, but I can't allow you to communicate with them – it's too dangerous."
He moved closer and wrapped his arms around me. I had to shake myself into motion when he let me go.
"You need to leave all of your communication devices, including your mobile."
I nodded.
We were running all over again, try to look on the bright side, at least I had those eleven years of stability. It just might be fun to have a little adventure. Yeah, fun.
I threw extra clothes in my backpack and a few others woman essentials. I contemplated my mobile device that lay dead in my hand; Daddy's program put all the interfaces connected to our home network to sleep. It would be odd not having it with me. All of my personal information, including my diary, was stored on the little gadget. I hadn't realized how much I relied on it. "Goodbye," I whispered.
I often wished I had the power to stop the men that chased us from our realm. Growing plants made me happy, but it couldn't stop the pursuers or bring back my mom.
"My garden," I breathed. My eyes burned at the thought of leaving my garden. Unshed tears floated on the brink of release as I rushed to say goodbye.
Without words, I stumbled onto the soil. It churned around my feet, singing a song of mourning and comfort. I fell to my knees and put both hands deep into the earth. With eyes closed, I communed with the earth.
Speaking to the earth is hard to explain. It was almost like playing an instrument. Each pitch carried a different meaning. I conveyed our reason for leaving and the garden replied with love. The vegetation surrounded me in one last embrace, and then freed me.
I retreated to the house, glancing one more time to the serene plants grown by my hand.
"Are you ready?" Daddy asked with raised eyebrows and a frown.
"Yes," I said. Daddy placed a hand on my shoulder and led me to our dark blue vehicle. "What will happen to Tilly?" I looked back at the house; it seemed unfamiliar and lonely without her constant administrations.
"The house will reboot in two days, and she won't remember anything."
"Nothing?" I considered all the talks I'd had with her and the sound advice she always gave.
Daddy shook his head. "But her memory is retrievable; we designed her, remember?"
"Would she be the same?"
Daddy started the car. "It'd be like she never left."
I sighed. "When will you tell me the whole story? Will you spend this drive explaining what's going on?" I clicked my seatbelt on. "What's this about you stealing a person from the Sleepers Keep? You know that sounds insane right?"
I could read his irritation at my questions. The sun had just set, and an orange and pink line of clouds filled the horizon. The beginning of spring lent itself to cool nights and warms days.
"Pen, I know you're full of questions, but believe me you'll find out everything in due time." He glanced over at me. "Do you trust me?"
I frowned. "Of course."
"Then will you hold your questions until later?"
I had to mull over that request for a few seconds before answering. "Yes, but you don't expect me to be silent do you?"
He chuckled. "No, I know that's a tall order."
"Daddy that's not funny. This is a dangerous situation."
He still smiled. "Yes, I know, sweetheart and I promise to take care of you."
"And I'll do my best to take care of you," I added with satisfaction.
He smiled wider. "You always do. We should arrive at our destination by morning. Get some rest. You may need your energy later."
I leaned my head back against the seat rest as we drove off; I closed my eyes against the sight of the familiar street I knew so well. The time came for something new, and I planned to embrace it with fortitude.
"Hey," I said.
"What?"
"We missed dinner."
Daddy laughed. "There's food in the bag." He pointed his thumb toward the back seat. "I knew that issue would come up."
"Humph." I reached back and grabbed the bag to see what I could eat.
Authors Note:
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you liked! Please show your support by voting if you enjoyed. Thanks again!
Sincerely,
A. I. Dukes