The Oasis

Chapter 14

We arrived at a downtown restaurant that I've been wanting to try for sometime. The bot sat us at a table near the back where it was quiet and out of sight. I slid into the booth and around to meet Remy in the middle. It was dark in the restaurant and the table flickered with led candles.

"You said in your message you had news about Mika?" I asked after our order was placed.

"It's not much, but I did find out that he failed his test. He was placed in RING 4." He said. His face grimaced as he told me. It was obvious that he didn't want to share upsetting news after what had just unfolded in the lobby at my work.

Rebecca wasn't clear about my instruction but something in her voice suggested that sharing our earlier meeting with anyone was probably a bad idea. I wish I could tell him, give him a clue as to what had me so upset.

The light danced across his worried face.

"I was hoping it wasn't true. But it seemed like the only explanation as to what happened to him on Testing day." I said

" what doesn't make sense is him failing." I looked at Remy. " Was there a reasoning for the failed grade? It wasn't genetics was it?"

"The report doesn't state why he failed. Just that he failed." He said.

"Is there a way to get that report? I just know in my heart that Mika wouldn't have failed his testing."

"How can you be so sure? Things change when your in that room, you know that. What if he cracked? What if the pressure to be perfect caused him to be the opposite?"

He could have been right. Even though Mika was always so sure of himself, he was only human. It's possible that even though he was confident that he may have failed because of nerves once the testing started. I'd never thought of my brother being anything but perfect. He was what I always wished I was. But here we are. I'm in The Oasis, a symbol of reaching perfection in all possible ways, and he was in RING 4. RING 4 was simple where those who couldn't hack it went. Those who were by all means imperfect. The thought was so abstract that I was having a hard time dealing with it being a reality. If Mika the person I always deemed as perfect could be tainted, flawed then it could happen to anyone. Or maybe my views of perfection were not what I thought was real perfection. I still didn't view myself as being perfect.

"What are you thinking about?" Remy says.

"I just need proof. I need to know what happened that day to make him fail. He was quiet that morning but I just figured he was a little nervous. We all were. But not that nervous. I was a wreck that morning, if he was that nervous .... I just don't believe he wasn't good enough." I say "Is there anything you can do? Please Remy I need these answers."

He sighed and looked at me. I bet I looked like a lost child, all sad eyes and begging.

"I'll see what I can do." He said reluctantly.

I jumped wrapping my arms around him!

"Thank you, thank you! You have no idea what this means to me."

I sat back down on the booth, and began to eat. Not everything was solved. There was still so much that I needed to find out. But right now, Remy had solved one problem. It may have opened a slew of other questions, but I atleast knew where Mika was, and that he was alive.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Remy and I started talking about our upcoming coupling. Just two weeks ago this was my biggest problem. But now in light of everything else, it seemed like nothing short of a miracle. Being Remy's wife would open up endless opportunities for me.