"Piedmont Park! Let's go!" Elsie, Bedelia and I were excited!
Yelena, too. "I love kids! With five, maybe she could use a hand!"
He opened a portal and helped us step through. It was like stepping in a bathtub with warm water, then stepping out in a cool breeze. We stood by that huge lake. But, instead of mud and weeds, there was yellow sand all the way around the lake and plenty of places to sit!
The lady looked up. All her kids had a frightened look!
That diplomat bowed. "One needs me. Are you well, Lady Becky?"
I tried to bow and fumbled. So I curtsied. "I am well. Eae yeo!"
He smiled and ported away.
She looked after him with a sigh. "Hello, I'm Becky. This is Bedelia, Elsie and Yelena. We're from Esta Faho."
"Esta Faho? Where's that?"
I waved up a map. "Here's Piedmont Park, and on the east side of it are the 5 cities of Rahn Estar. The Earthan Colony's kind of around the Beltline, but I think a lot of people might put their houses between the lake and a city, whichever city they want to be near. Ferrimos is where King Challet lives. To our south is—Marenalay? But, I thought it got destroyed! Maybe they rebuilt it."
"How long does it take to walk the Beltline? I heard there's more parks than Piedmont." Elsie smiled. "Oh, an hour and a half! Answered my own question! I learned to write progs, so I'm havin' to look up things all the time."
"Progs?" That term sounded familiar.
"Programs. You know, like software. I help Ella write 'em, but she's teachin' me. She should be out here, not in there! Where's Rainbow on this map? Oh, north of us. Yeah."
The map had other provs around us. But they were from Elshar Mashai, where the Zheien Colony moved from. Half of this planet is K'hasa Zha. I heard about that place in Rainbow! Elshars poisoned it. Did they poison Esta Faho?
"I wish I could do something clever like that. My parents made me get married at 13."
"But dat's illegal! Ya have to be 16 an' go to Juvie Court—"
"My parents and his made me go to Mississippi. I—don't mind me. People don't like drama. I'm Stacy." Why didn't Mississippi change the law, too, like Georgia did? Just awful!
I shook hands with her. "Listen, my name is Becky, and I'm Antomias, 1st Prince Of Esta Faho's wife. If you need any help, I'll help you get it. School's provided here for everyone."
A mental display popped up and I kept explaining. "Food's provided, and any clothes you want to design or copy, like if you saw something on a website. If we all wanted to dress up like Disney Princesses—" I touched a website so the computer had a pattern, and made a sky blue dress with a much higher neckline than they do. Waved, and I wore it, complete with butterfly wings that moved! And a magic wand with sparkles as I moved it!
Stacy stood up and wore a white one that looked awesome on her! Bedelia had a yellow one, Elsie a brown one with diamond-shaped panels in a variety of bright colors with African-looking designs, and Yelena had a pink one! All of 'em got excited! I giggled. Always wanted to be a princess, growing up.
All Stacy's kids had brightly-colored outfits! Her boys had prince costumes!
She giggled. They ran around and the girls pirouetted. Their medieval hats and caps didn't move.
YOU ARE READING
Becky's Gift
Fiksi IlmiahSickly college student Becky dreams of a handsome prince to take her away, but her college dream just died and she's sick with COVID. SETI brings a prince to her door so she, with her family, travels to a new world and her husband's small colony, bu...
