The Girl Who Kept Running

21. The Girl Who Faced An Ocean

1-3 October, 2040

Chanbeli looked like an angel in heaven while sleeping. Well, she was their angel but Sonya and Vikram could no longer predict if they could hold onto their heaven on earth anymore.

The Blue Cheese Cottage had been their home for the past three years. They didn't mind doing the daily back and forth between the Fruitvale Campus of the Margaret Mead University and the small community of Elk City, Idaho.

They got lucky when an old barn went on sale after the original owner died and his urbanized children wanted nothing to do with it. They bought the tiny plot, got a good deal on cherry wood planks, and set to build their dream home with their own hands. A small kitchen with dining space, and a playroom for their little girl on the lower level; a master suite upstairs with attached bath and a den sized space for a princess bed was all they needed.

After moving, they drowned the whole cottage in honeysuckle and jasmine bushes and shaped the perimeter around the house into a sectioned garden featuring the prettiest flowers of the region and the healthiest vegetables. Even Chanbeli got her own little bed to plant, right by the french windows in the kitchen, where she grew violets, marigolds, and tiger lilies over the seasons.

Sonya had planned those french windows to have a view of the Blue Mountains, underlined by a thick growth of conifers. They placed their walnut circular table by that view; soon it became a hub for their weekly extracurricular meetings. They got so involved with their self-imposed plans that they both took long leaves from the university while their closest friends would join them on the weekends.

And now, at last, it was go time.

Sonya had insisted they won't leave Jave's house until Chanbeli had fallen asleep again in the spare bed at her Aunt's. Now that their little princess purred softly in her sleep and occasionally smiled at probably a sweet, sweet dream, it was time to leave.

"Hupe is waiting, Sonnie." Vikram gave her a gentle kiss on the head as Sonya lingered at the door frame.

Jave placed a hand on Sonya's shoulder then. "You have a brave little girl, Sonnie. Look how peacefully she sleeps. She understands why it's important for you to go and she knows you'll be back in a day or two. I'll keep her occupied till you do."

"We're truly lucky you got your own place here now. There can't be a more perfect babysitter for her." There was real gratitude in Sonya's voice.

"Don't I know that?" Jave's warm smile only assured the parents further.

Dr. Hunovar Palladino, a professor of Environmental Science at Fruitvale, stood in Jave's living room ready with two leather bags holding everything the couple would need - from water bottles to hacking equipment. He had been central to their vision and the preparation that went toward its realization.

Sonya and Vikram took the bags from his hands. They had already changed into fitted, dark brown jerseys and matching pants. They made a quick check of the bags; everything was in order.

"My offer is still on the table." Dr. Palladino looked determinedly at Sonya. Sonya and Vikram were the only ones with a young child. He wanted at least one of them to stay behind, preferably Sonya. What they'd all painstakingly planned might look foolproof on paper but, in real life, things could go really wrong really fast.