The Seraphim: A Cyberpunk Novel

Two - Ayla

Ayla Soto, despite her best efforts, couldn't ignore the beeping from her home's virtual assistant. The calm rhythm was now just a pain that throbbed in her ears. She ran her long fingers through her messy ruby hair, then interlocked her fingers and stretched out her arms with a quiet moan. She felt the empty space of her double bed.

"DOT," she said to the empty darkness of the room. "What is it?"

"Fifteen missed calls and eighty-nine messages," the virtual assistant responded from the corner of the room.

She covered her face with both hands. She was dreaming of Jol. The line of pine on the streets of Titan were decorated with colorful ornaments and strings of garland. Long strings of lamps hung across the park across the street. She remembered her shoes crunching in the dirt entangled snow as her feet impressed up Mogenson road towards the public library where townsfolk were gathered to hang their own ornaments on the large pine tree. She had come alone with nothing but a laced violet and black string she had tied during her lunch break in school.

There must have been fifty people huddled in a circle around the tree. The sun had gone down and the lights of New Serapha speckled in the distance. She had waited her turn as one of the public works officials stood on a large ladder helping children hang their ornaments highest while the oldest hung theirs at the base.

Bob Dillinger played on a radio and someone was hummed along. She stepped forward, watched her breath before her and reached up to a small spot in the middle of so many ornaments. Some were family photos, names of children or loved ones, a craft ball someone had made in school. She tied the lace around the pricking needles. Gentle wisps of snow floated on her cherry-wine stained cheeks that matched her tightly wrapped burgundy scarf.

As she turned to make her way into the back of the crowd she saw one of her friends, Sarah, from school with her hands stuffed inside her heavy pocket. She came up to Ayla really closely saying, "he's here, he's here!"

"Who?" she asked.

Sarah swiveled and Ayla followed her eyes to the most handsome of boys she had ever laid her eyes on. He stood across the roundabout under the lamplight of the park with Nathan and David. They passed jokes and jostled each other around.

Sarah had taken Ayla's arm in hers and led her across the slushy-soot filled snow, boots splashed in the water, till they made land on the park.

"Nate," Sarah took his hand in hers and the seraphim looked stunned for a moment. "Come on, come look at the tree with me."

"I can see it just fine."

She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek then stepped back before he could kiss her. "Come on," and he followed.

"Well, shit," teased David. "Guess I gotta find me a girl, huh?"

"Eli is there with her little brother," said Ayla pointing to the crowd. "She really does like you, David."

He shrugged his shoulders, looked both ways, crossed the street and disappeared into the crowd. Ayla lingered, her eyes matching his dark brown. She rested her hands on his shoulders, stuck her chest out a bit, closed her eyes, and pressed her chapped lips to his. He took her in his arms and he smiled.

"Hey there, Tay," she whispered.

Taylor took her cheek and kissed her again. It was moments like those that made her forget about it all. About the orphanage, the island, the countless weapon tests, language and history classes. Even the idea that when they were done with primary school they were going to be on a plane to some far-flung corner of the world to protect the rights and liberties of the United Republic of Serapha. Their commanders liked to beat that drum.