SO L A C E words by Ethan Wescoatt illustration by Maya Rodrigo-Abdi
C
old fluorescent lights beat down unsteadily on the rickety, rust-bitten balcony. I bit back a string of curses as I fought with the door’s stubborn lock, walked to the door at the end of the hall and saw a small, delicate figure sitting upright on the rosy bed. Anastasia looked at me and lit up with a warm smile. “Ty!” I put a finger to my lips, but couldn’t help smiling myself. I let my bag down gingerly. She threw her arms around me, thin wispy little things, and I gave her a tight hug. “You don’t need to shout, don’t strain yourself,” I replied quietly. If she was energetic enough for a bear hug, she had a good day. I released her. “Did you go to school?” She smiled, “Yeah! The stream kept glitching, but I was there for most of math and all of history.” She patted a bulky VR headset fondly on her nightstand. “How did you feel today? “Okay. I was able to get up and walk around the house!” “That’s wonderful!” “A couple days ago, it was bad though,” she said. “I got another fever and I couldn’t fall asleep.” That stung like a knife to the gut. She must’ve kept that to herself; I had no idea. “Oh Ana, I’m so—”
“No, you don’t apologize.” She smiled again, a bright true smile. “I know you’re working hard, you always get home so late. At least Mum and Dad keep sending medicine, even though they’re away.” I inhaled through my nose and forced a clay smile. “It is thoughtful of them. Oh, speaking of which,” I rummaged through my bag, “Here. This will last two weeks.” “Thaaank you.” She accepted the small pristine vials lined up on their little white rack and placed it beside her headset. “They’re always so pretty, how do they make them like that?” “That’s Sector One for you,” I sneered. The cutting edge of science and humanity. “They’ve got the best brains in the system on that Bridge,” I replied. “Manufacturing these is probably a piece of cake.” “When I grow up, I wanna move to Sector One,” she reclined into her pillows, suddenly looking very tired. “Can we, Ty? I promise I’ll study hard so I can get a good job,” she gave a big yawn. “Then... We can see... Mum and Dad...” I gave her forehead a goodnight kiss and she drifted off to sleep. Good thing too; she couldn’t see the guilty tears scalding my eyes. ...
— 9 —
Two weeks later, I found myself in the
