I took her hand. “You want a room? There’s no rent, no utilities, and food’s free. Check this out!” I waved up and a menu had food from a lot of restaurants. More than last time I ate!
“Yes! I don’t want to stay in that homeless shelter! Do I have to see a social worker?”
“Let’s ask a lawyer.” I brought Tan, who walked out of a room that had him and Lili on it.
He trembled all of the time, kind of like her. “Hallo, I am Tan Links. What can I do for you, Miss?” He shook hands with her.
“I’m 16 and my mama died, and my grandparents died last week, and my social worker wants to put me in a homeless shelter, and I want to stay here! Can I?”
“Who has custody of you?”
“I think I’m a ward of the state, now. Medicaid’s gonna take my grandparents’ house.” I sobbed.
“This is not right! Who is your social worker?”
She got out her wallet and gave a card to him.
“Tomorrow, I will make an appointment with her. You are welcome to stay with us tonight. Will you come and meet my wife? If you like us, perhaps we can apply to be your foster parents--”
She gasped. “But, I’m—I hear things that aren’t—voices talk to me, and my aunt—didn’t want me--”
“Young lady, I am sorry these things happen to you. We have progs to prevent harm. May I show you?”
He waved up a screen. Showed her that if a person can’t tell what reality is, it brings a healer—hers is Pas—and gently holds the person so they can walk, but can’t hurt themselves or anyone else. Pas hummed and erased scars on both wrists from lots of suicide attempts. She smiled. “Oh, please, run it! I said lots of things that hurt Granny’s feelings—I can’t do that if you run it.”
He showed her how to set it, so she could choose what it did, whether to just let her take a walk outside or keep her in her room. Soft barriers would prevent bruises. She wanted to stay in her room. And, choose music to play. Mozart helped, sometimes, but I couldn’t play anything when I was out of it.
Pas showed her new meds. Choices of whether to sleep or just have something to make her calm, and someone to sit with her. Those green eyes lit up! Her family got scared or hurt her feelings.
“I can sit with you, or I’m sure my friends would help. Samtych, or Angel, if I can’t come. I’ll ask ‘em. They all live here on the ship and they like helping.” I hugged her.
“Thanks!”
She took my hand. “Want to be 18?”
“Yes! Pirad says he can’t—”
“All we need is—hi!” She reached out to a lady healer.
“Need you healing? I shall bring Pie to you, for I nae know—”
“You miss your parents. Pirad can wake them now but you need to be 12. Molly’s 12. I can swap your timelines. You’ll be 12, for your parents, they’ll need you to be young. Like they remember you.”
The girl, like me, had red hair and green eyes. That’s a really weird color for a Zheien. And, she was half-Elshar and very light-skinned like me.
“How know you this?”
A holo came up. In an instant, she shrank to my size. I still looked like a little kid. But, our Unified records came up. I’m 18! All my clones are now 18, except the ones who wanted to be little. This healer, Siluka, Healer Of MarKu, was 12. Her title of healer was still on it. And, her master healer’s worry that she should change her occupation. She stepped into the holo and her parents embraced her. The holo closed. Now she can have Decision again. She chose healing when her parents died.
I looked at my hands. “Wow! This is awesome! My birth certificate shows me as 18! Thanks, Azure!” I hugged her. Now I can run Rainbow!
Tan took her in their room.
Ben ran to me.
“Look at this! I’m free!”
He studied my Unified record. Well, it’s also Alliance, the same info. Gasped. “How can this be, Molly?”
I started to explain, but Ry’nao warned me. And let Ben know, too, he has the Link. He hugged me. “Will you be unwell? Dear wife!”
Angel ran to me. “Oh, Molly! I feel like a new woman! I apprenticed to Samtych, he’s a figure-maker, and he says I have talent!” She held up a unicorn with a rainbow on his horn, all white and in a running position. “This is for you.”
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I hugged him. “Thanks! Oh, he’s beautiful!” I waved to animate him and he ran between us, mane floating behind us.
“How did you do that?”
“I just pictured him running. You can do it, too!” So happy for Angel! She’s so talented, and never knew it. Living around Zheien’ll help her so much!
She animated several of her drawings of unicorns. Both of us competed in regional art contests, and she went to Midtown High School last Fall for the judging in Atlanta with me.
“Of course, you have talent! You’re great at art, and you sing just like Sarah Brightman! Did you know it’s easy to work as an artisan in a Zheien colony? MarKu would just love you!”
“Really?” She looked even happier! “I absolutely hated my business degree, but I needed a career. Mom and Dad were afraid to go to the Spaceport, or we wouldn’t have stayed on Earth. Now we have safe transportation! We’re eager to leave, but I don’t want to leave you.”
“You and Jen should get together!” I dreaded if she’d ask me about what happened later. The next time I tried to send a holo to ‘em, they weren’t listed. That only happens when slavers--
“Jen?” Doug ran to me. “You know her?”
Doug stood there with his brother! I knew these Elshars well in Rainbow. “Doug!” I held my arms out. “My friend, I’m so happy to see you able to run!”
He hugged me. Startled. “You know about that? Oh, Molly. You're younger!”
Both brothers had blonde hair. When I knew 'em, Doug's was dark. I gently rubbed the back of his straight, blond mop. No scars. I smiled. “Yep, I’m a lot younger than when you came to Rainbow. Are you going to live on Ye~?”
Doug giggled. “I'm so happy to see you, Molly! My whole family moved to Ye~! My father, De’sai, and my ferfahie, Dugamas. He’s Puret, Donn and Wisper’s ferfahie, too!”
“He is?”
Puret, Donn and Wisper ran out of a room. Puret bowed. “I am Puret, Trader Of Areon. Here is my brother, Donn, and my younger brother, Wisper. Oh, don’t be scared, Wisper.” He hid behind his brothers.
I squatted down. Gave the others a hug. Giggled. “Oh, I knew all of you when you were older. Wisper, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to greet you. Your eyes aren’t blue.”
“Oh, kids don’t have to know how to greet people formally. I just hug.”
“Mutti hit me because I didn’t—oh, I used a short word!” He whimpered.
“She hit you? I don’t hit. And, well, I use short words, too. I’m from Earth.” I held out my hand and waited. Her slaver probably trained her to hit to make trouble. Saw a lot of terminals removed in Rainbow, and mean people who weren’t, after that.
He took it. A cold little hand. And he had a bad headache. I hummed.
He giggled. “Oh, you’re—you are a healer! I will ask for you, Molly, the next time I have a mind pain.” Now he gave me a hug, too. These boys were—he was 12 when they finally came to Rainbow to see Derees.
And, he came out. I hugged him. “Oh, Maiden, I am married!”
I let go! “I’m sorry, I don’t know much about Areonians. I’m from Earth in the United States.” I offered my hand for a handshake.
He gave my hand one shake. “Perhaps I should ask my friend, Vonn, more things.” He sighed. Those brown eyes had the sad look.
“Well, I need to learn, too. I feel like I know you, because you came to Rainbow with the Yeff.”
He gasped. “You’re Molly? Oh, my, I didn’t mean to offend you!”
I laughed. “I’m only a healer in this future, so no offense taken! So, how should I greet Areonians?”
“A handshake is all right, but most Lilmericans do not offer the hand. Elshars do, and many live among us, so we know Elshar customs. I am only a scientist.”
“You worked in Adia’s lab, and so did Vonn. Scientists don’t need to know protocols, do they?”
“On Areon, we do. When Director Pragate comes, we bow, so.” He bowed from the waist.
“Ladies, too?”
“No, ladies curtsy.”
I waved up my cobalt blue dress and did.
“Ja, ja, you are good at it. But there are few Areonians here. Most are traders, so they will not expect any of our customs. Only if you visit Areon.”
I nodded. “So, if I see Vonn, I shouldn’t hug him?”
Just then, he saw us. “Molly?” He hugged me. “Oh, it’s good to see you! Can you teach me what Earthans do? I—well--Adia showed me Sara. How shall I–what shall I say to her?” His gray eyes studied me. Blond, straight hair. Derees’ looked like that but brown.
“Oh, that’s different! Sara. She’s shy. I’m not very good at this. Before I met Ben, I liked a lot of fellas, but never got up enough courage to say anything.”
Vonn laughed. “Then it is like at home! Perhaps we are more alike than I thought. I still do not know what to say to her, but then, Earthans do not know what to say to people they like, either! Oh, Derees, I am still doomed.”
He patted Vonn’s shoulder. “My friend, you will attract her. You are handsome, and she will notice.”
I smiled. “He’s right, Vonn—uh, Mr. Links--”
“We are friends. You may call me Vonn. If we were on Areon, I might think you too young to use a first name, but here, we remember how we were in another future.”
“You’re right, Vonn!” Derees hugged me. “I am being too formal, and I will stop.”
Wisper watched all this with a worried face. “Oh, Vatti, I don’t know anything!”
Derees picked him up. “Who knows anything at five? You will learn, when you need to learn it. You are a boy, and we are alive, and we should have fun together today! Mutti had healing, and wants to be with us! Enjoy your life while you are young.”
He put his little head on his father’s shoulder. “I’m so scared of everything! There was war at home, and everything changed, and Mutti—I am afraid now that she is back, and I was afraid that she would never come back!” He cried.
I felt bad. Last time, she took the boys with her and remarried twice. Such a disaster! But, I heard his thoughts about her, how she hit him then fussed at herself for hours. She’s trained! But Pirad is helping her share memories to a cylinder now. When she finishes, then Derees can see her. Pirad felt he would be too upset until she can talk to him. Waiting’s horrible!
Derees got quiet. I just put a hand on his shoulder and he clung to it. Vonn looked sad, too.