28. M O T H E R S : Love

RENEE.

Xirxine Northwest.

Chairwoman Renee Derschwitz—co-head of Xirxine Northwest—yawned as she walked down the hallway toward the office she shared with Chairman Abidan Derschwitz, her husband and the other co-head of Xirxine Northwest. "Night, Delvis," she told one of the monitors (Delvis Billiard) as he walked in the opposite direction. "Night, Whynnie," she added, smiling at the assistant armourer (Whynnie Billiard) walking alongside him.

"Night, Renee," the two replied in unison. "Jinx!" Whynnie added, poking Billiard in the arm. "You owe me a soda!"

"I'm already buying dinner," Billiard reminded her, their voices fading as they drew further away from the chairwoman.

The chairwoman chuckled to herself and continued on her way.

Suddenly, her Xirxine Smartglass (Xirxine's brand of smartglasses)—which were currently hanging from her breast pocket—let out a quiet beep. Glancing down, the chairwoman plucked them from her pocket and placed them over her eyes. Through them, she could see a projection of a rather unusual report.

WARNING: ALPHA READINGS SPIKE DETECTED IN SECTOR 1.

SIGNATURE DOES NOT MATCH ANY REGISTERED PERSONNEL.

"Search files of former personnel for a match," the chairwoman ordered, increasing her pace and drawing her personal weapon (a standard XXM-issued M.E.L. pistol). SEARCHING...

MATCH FOUND. SOURCE: "PROJECT ADSEN".

The chairwoman froze just outside the door of her office.

ALPHA READINGS NORMAL. SIGNATURE LOST.

Reaching out with a shaking hand, the chairwoman slowly opened the door and looked inside.

The room looked undisturbed at first glance—clean and organized; just the way Abidan and Renee liked it. Well, except for that pile of papers and files sitting on the desk, but that wasn't anything, really.

And then she saw it: a large rectangular piece of cardstock, perched right on top of the pile of paperwork. The chairwoman quickly holstered her gun and hurried over to the desk, grabbing the cardstock and staring at it with wide eyes.

On it was a mural—or, rather, two murals. The top half depicted the life of a boy: being grown in a test tube; undergoing extensive hands-on tests; being found by a half-snake woman and raised in Safe Haven; growing up in the city; becoming one of the Phoenix's Worthy; losing his way to the influence of the Old Ones; and disappearing into the sky on wings of regret.

The bottom half depicted the life of a girl: being born in Amman, Jordan; growing up in a small Midwest American town; joining the ranks of Xirxine; growing a child in a test tube with her husband and a woman in the shadows; losing that child to the will of the board; losing her mind to a serum of her own design; being found by her long-lost son; and embracing that son with her mind made whole.

Plip.

The chairwoman blinked rapidly as a tear fell onto the cardstock. She quickly wiped her eyes and sniffled a bit, turning the mural over.

On the back, she found handwriting that she instantly recognized, and words that nearly made her heart break.

"Renee,

You told me I could always come home.
That you waited twenty years to meet me, and you'd wait twenty more if you had to.
You asked me not to forget about you.
To forgive myself...
To let go of my shame...
To push past my guilt...
To find a new family.
I have no new family. It's just one. One that keeps on growing.
I won't forget about you.
And I will come home when it's time.

I love you, Mom.
Always.

Happy Mother's Day.

– Addison

P.S. Congratulations. I can't wait to meet my little brother."

As she finished reading, Renee began half-laughing, half-sobbing as she fell into her chair. "Oh, Addi," she cried, turning the cardstock over and running her hand along the murals. "My little Addi...!"