Migration

Zoe

It was late afternoon by the time Zoe got back from the Farm, after a long and miserable ride back on the Vac. She'd thought about Sarah the whole time, a turbulent mix of emotions swirling through grief, to anger, to love and to pity at the tragic inevitability of her migration. She knew she would go. She knew Sarah would never dare step out of line, even though there had been a little place in her heart that had dreamed she might finally change her mind, come back, and run away with her to a new life somewhere else. That she hadn't, meant everything to Zoe. All the hopeless, feeble emptiness, the indescribable loss of energy and ambition that had engulfed Sarah, then both of them, when Dad had gone, still haunted her.

Zoe could still feel the last touches and goodbyes with Sarah, disrupting the hairs on her arms and prickling the surface of her skin. She stood in their little flat that perched only just above the boulevard, slid open the balcony doors and stepped out into the glow of the late summer sun. It was turning red in the slivers of space between the tall towers of other people's homes, radiating heat and colour from the concrete pavements through the air and onto her body.

The haze had gone and in the all-day heat, the open spaces teamed with activity. Zoe studied the street vendors and taxis jostling for position along the streets and walkways in front of shopping malls and the tech-ware emporiums. Apprentices streamed out of offices and stores, talking enthusiastically in groups or marching alone towards the Vac terminal. High above them, the apartment blocks reached upwards towards the sky before disappearing into the brightness. Separated from the throng by an arms length and a thin thermo-plastic rail, Zoe felt the calm light of the falling sun and the warmth of its touch stiffen her resolve for the night ahead. She closed her eyes and bathed in its energy, before a thought crept into her head and whispered gently to her. Mum.

Zoe stepped in from the balcony and headed to the hub in the kitchen, waving her hand eagerly as she approached.

"Mum?" she asked softly.

There was a pause, this was normal as each new entity or system change took time to populate across the servers.

"Mum!" Zoe called again, this time with a firmer tone.

"Hi sweetie," Sarah's voice finally came back to her, "How's life?"

"Ah, Mum!" Zoe made a come here gesture with her fingers, inviting Sarah to holler and she obediently cast in front of her.

Zoe gasped involuntarily. She had seen this a thousand times, maybe a hundred thousand times, but seeing Sarah appear gracefully in front of her still contained a magic that made her eyes widen and her skin prickle.

"You look beautiful," she said after admiring her for a moment.

"I feel beautiful," Sarah said, looking down her arms and examining her hands. "You know, you read so much about it, talk to so many people, but nothing quite prepares you for the feeling. I feel, perfect."

Sarah beamed an enormous smile at Zoe, who was still staring awestruck at her. Zoe reached out her hand and slowly cut a wide arc through Sarah's middle and gave her a gentle smile.

"I saw you got your registration sorted," said Sarah.

Ten seconds, Zoe thought. Ten seconds as a whole new entity before Sarah was back on the "doing the right thing", "getting ready for migration" circuit. Her gaze dropped to some random patch of floor in the middle of the room.

"Yes. Next Monday at 11am, it's all done." It came out sounding more flat than she had meant it to.

There was a silence between them, an unexpected impasse as they both stood opposite each other. It was Zoe who broke it.