Kylie sat on the edge of the examination table kicking her feet like a child. She liked the way her patient gown left her backside exposed giving her license to be free. That was her favorite past time these last three weeks. She would put on her bikini, throw a towel down on her bedroom floor, and turn on the heat lamp. Victoreen would join her, spraying water mist and bringing her drinks. It had been 51 weeks since she'd felt the life giving breath of a star. She was ready to see her new home, which of course was Avalon after the untimely death of her father.
There was a knock and she swallowed the lump in her throat. It had been the hardest thing to act depressed, which was why she was here. It made her physically ill when she had to put on the mask and pretend like she was mourning.
Branson the chief medical officer came in and smiled. "Ok Kylie, you're in perfect health. In fact I've never seen anyone as healthy as you.
She frowned, her lips pursed in what looked like a pout. "That's not why I'm here," she looked at the ground and shrugged her shoulders.
"Go on."
"Since my father died, there's an expectation to mourn and be sad."
"That's a normal emotion."
"But I want to stop grieving now." Tears sprung into her eyes. They were genuine tears from shoving her euphoria down in her throat. The giddy joy was like bile in her stomach, dying to be free and she had been swallowing her own vomit for three weeks.
Branson came over and gave her a hug, patting her back and trying to soothe her. All of the officers had gone out of their way to take care of her, but she'd spent the most time with Quint. His snarky attitude allowed her to be herself without the fear of being caught.
"There's no time limit to grieving."
"They'll judge me for being myself."
"No, it's ok. You've been through a lot. Everyone handles loss in different ways."
"Will you tell the others, so I'm not embarrassed?" she lied. She would never be embarrassed for being perfect. Screw them all, she just wanted to laugh again.
"I'll tell them for you." With that she felt free and knew she would never be caught.
YOU ARE READING
KYLIE'S SONG #SciFriday
Science FictionWritten for the Project Constellation Contest. Sci-fi Competition. #SciFriday. We were born a star faring race. When Earth is ravaged by nuclear fallout, the Darkstar mission is out final hope. But what price are we willing to pay and are we really...
