Chapter 10
TEN
My parents and Bea were asleep when I returned, a curtain drawn around their beds. I didn’t have the heart to wake them, not when they needed the sleep so badly, and decided instead to delay our conversation until morning.
I found a relatively quiet spot in one corner of the hallway outside to curl up in with Jessie.
The nurses had given everyone extra blankets, and we tried to pad them out beneath us as much as we could.
But they were thin, and nothing like the thick, soft mattresses they had back on the hover ship, or for that matter the coconut fiber ones we had back home.
Or what used to be home.
As much as I needed to sleep, of course I couldn’t.
Not with the prospect of tomorrow’s conversation looming in my mind.
I kept running over how I was going to break it to my parents, how we could explain it to Bea.
Every plan my brain spat out felt woefully inadequate.
It took several hours for me to finally surrender and stop trying to plan it out.
There was no easy way to break the news.
My parents were going to be forced to part with their three-year-old daughter, entrusting her to the hands of strangers, with no fixed date for her return.
By the time the first rays of dawn trickled through the windows on either end of the corridor, I was itching to get it over with.
Leaving Jessie, I entered my parents’ ward and crept toward their curtain.
I pulled it aside gently and found my father awake, while my mother was stirring. To my relief, Bea still slept.
My parents both looked disorientated, and I suspected they hadn’t meant to fall asleep so early last night. I stooped beneath my father’s bed, where I had left the forms along with a pen, and then stood up, gazing down at them.
My mother was now fully awake and they both tensed up at my somber expression.
“What happened?” my mother whispered, adjusting the blanket slightly around her and Bea.
I drew in a deep breath, and then told them, as quietly as I could—I did not want my sister waking up before I had finished.
By the time I was done and had shown them the forms we needed to sign, the blood had drained from their faces.
“W-Will we at least get to meet the people taking her in?” my mother whispered, her voice hoarse.
“I’ll do my best to arrange it,” I replied, clutching her hand. “At the very least, arrange for me to meet them. Anna hasn’t specified the exact process; just said arrangements will start taking place from today.”
“You need to insist on meeting them,” my father said firmly. “That’s not too much to ask!”
I nodded, swallowing. “I will ask and do my best to check out the family. And then… What day of the week is it?” I suddenly felt disorientated. I glanced up at a clock on the wall, which displayed a weekday beneath the time. Tuesday.
I blew out. “I’ll be able to visit Bea on Sunday, at least.”
“You should try to get her together with at least one of your cousins,” my mother said, planting a firm kiss on Bea’s forehead and holding her closer. The movement made Bea stir, and I gulped, nodding, dreading the moment she would wake up. “That way, at least she’ll stay with family.”
“I’ll discuss with Uncle Vance and Auntie Naomi, and we’ll make a request,” I promised softly.
“Where’s Muncle Vance an’ Nauntie Aomi,” Bea slurred. She partially lifted her heavy eyelids, slowly rising to consciousness.
I exchanged an anxious glance with my parents, then looked back at her. “Um, I’m not sure where they are,” I said. “Probably with Zina.”
“What’s that?” Bea mumbled, brushing the tangled locks of hair from her face as she eyed with confusion the papers our parents were holding.
“It’s just… something that we have to sign, in order to stay here,” my mother said, trying not to choke on her words as she stroked Bea’s forehead. “We… We’re going to be taken somewhere nicer than this building. Well, you and Tani are.”
“Huh? Why? Where are they taking us?” Bea asked, wrinkling her nose.
“To another island,” my father explained, when my mother hesitated.
He sighed. “Listen, baby. We’re going to have to all be separated for a little bit.
Mommy and I must stay in this hospital until we’re better, which means you and Tani have to be big girls for us, okay?
You’re going to go to that large, pretty island with your cousins and friends, and Tani is going to be staying somewhere nearby. ”
It took my sister several moments to register his words, a deep frown creasing her smooth brow.
“What do you mean, somewhere else? Why can’t Tani come with me to the pretty one?”
“Because there isn’t room for her there, darling,” my mother explained, finding her voice again.
“That big island is for younger girls and boys. But Tani will be safe, and she won’t be far away.
And you’re going to be very busy in the meantime.
You’re going to be starting a new school, honey, with your cousins and the rest of your friends.
And we’ll see each other every Sunday—and then, once Daddy and I are better, we’ll all move in together with Tani, as soon as possible. ”
I winced at her last words, even though it was what I was planning on, just knowing that we still had no guarantee.
We didn’t even know when my parents would be able to visit her.
They weren’t going anywhere for a while, at least a few weeks, and it would likely just be me showing up to see Bea.
But Bea didn’t need to know that right now.
The news was so much for her little mind to take in as it was.
I could see she was still grappling with it.
The concept of separation just didn’t exist in her mind, other than the rare occasion my father and I made a trip away from the colony.
Even then, she had never been apart from our mother before.
But, despite her immaturity, she seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation.
She didn’t cry. Instead, she nodded slowly and pursed her lips.
She was aware that we had all recently been in grave danger, which required us to leave our home and resulted in severe injuries to our parents.
She knew these weren’t normal circumstances and must have understood we were all just trying to find our feet in this new place.
“You okay, Bea?” I asked, after several moments of her being quiet.
She nodded again, that deep frown still present on her forehead. “Yeah,” she mumbled.
My mother’s eyes became glassy with tears at her acceptance. She kissed her cheek hard. “I’m proud of you, baby girl, you know that?”
Bea’s eyes went distant beneath my mother’s embrace. It was so much for her to take in, and I suspected her brain was still processing it. Hopefully she would continue to be as calm as she was now.
With the conversation out of the way, the remaining hours before 9 a.m. slipped through our fingers. We stayed together the whole time, hugging and talking, cherishing the last moments we would have together for who knew how long.
Once the clock struck 8:45 a.m., it was time for Bea and me to go. Our father and mother hugged and kissed Bea, and then me, embracing us more intensely than they ever had before. Then I picked up Bea, holding her tight in my arms as we turned to look at our parents one last time.
“See you soon,” my mother said firmly, her eyes glistening with tears. I noticed even the corners of my father’s eyes moistening, and realized it was the first time I had ever seen him cry.
The sight almost set off my own waterworks again, but I managed to hold it back, for Bea’s sake.
“Don’t cry, Mommy,” Bea said, frowning, and apparently not having noticed my father’s tears. “The big island isn’t very far.”
My mother beamed at her, and nodded, dabbing her eyes. “You’re right, it’s not.”
I had to hand it to my brave little sister—she had shown great positivity over the last couple of hours, which gave me hope that she was going to continue approaching the situation with optimism.
A part of me also suspected that the adventurous side of her was excited to finally leave this building and visit Founders’ Isle, with the knowledge that she was going to be with her cousins and friends.
And I needed to keep that flame of independence alive as much as I could.
I sensed one thing for sure as we left the ward: whatever lay ahead of us in the coming months, Bea was going to grow up fast.
“Hey, Tani.” I heard my uncle’s voice behind me as we passed by the spot where Jessie and I had slept. She was no longer there, of course, and had probably spent the final hours with her family, like I had.
I turned to see my uncle and aunt, and band of four young cousins, moving toward me. “I take it your parents are awake?” Uncle Vance asked me.
I nodded, giving him a watery smile. “Of course.”
“Okay, we’re going to say goodbye and then join you downstairs.”
I watched them move away for a second and then turned to continue down the stairs.
When we reached the entrance hall, many people had already spilled outside. Anticipation and tension stretched around the crowd like a rubber band. They stood around the platform, holding their children’s hands, and watching the sky for the arrival of aircraft.
I spotted Robert and Rosalie standing with their families and felt a moment of relief for my friend. At least he wouldn’t have to go through this. He was the youngest of five siblings.
I set Bea on the ground, as she had spotted one of her friends—Rosalie’s youngest sister—and looked around for Jessie and her family. I couldn’t see them anywhere yet, so I concluded they were probably still in the building, making their way out.
Zina and Nico were already down here, standing near Robert, though I was surprised to see my cousin. I’d been under the impression that she still wasn’t feeling well. When I gave her a questioning look, she smiled faintly.