Vuela

Chapter 4

As Vuela focuses on driving the boat through the narrow streets, Max uses her circular videophone to call Celia ahead of their arrival. Just seeing Max's panicked face brings his friend great pain, and she immediately gives Vuela the okay to come into the entryway as soon as the boat reaches the front gate.

Celia's house resides at the northwest side of the peninsula, which is the wealthier neighborhood than the tourist district and downtown areas. Each house has three floors and hedge gardens to the properties. Celia's house has operable roofs to her structure, which makes it the most unique house on the block.

Celia, in her silver one-piece sleepsuit, offers her guests her lounge chairs at her fireplace, which she turns on to medium heat before she lets them in, in her laboratory, which is the biggest room in the house. She takes five minutes to search through her bedroom closet to find two sleepsuits for the siblings. The one for Max is black and a bigger size, which Celia hasn't worn since she lost weight over the course of a year. Vuela gets a teen's sized, pink sleepsuit, which Celia finds in a collection of memory storage boxes Celia's mother gave her two years ago.

Once settled in with warm drinks to stop the chills after removing their wet clothes, Vuela's videophone receives a call from the police. Vuela answers it, and the officers who are on the other end of the line ask for Maxime. She hands the phone to him, and the bad news is laid down the most blunt the siblings have ever heard.

"We tried salvaging for evidence of the pirates who raided your store, but they burned every trace of their presence. We're very sorry, Mr. Hawkins. We could only salvage a few things of the place, but most had already been destroyed."

Not like Max already knows that, but it doesn't hurt any less.

"We will contact you again once we have more information. Have a nice night."

Have a nice night, Vuela's ass. Their home just got destroyed; there is no way in hell that they are going to have a nice night.

Damn the police.

Damn the pirates.

Damn everything!

Vuela's fear is being replaced by regarded anger and hopelessness. She watches her older brother take three deep breaths before looking at her. Maxime pats his sister's shoulder and drinks his second cup of tea.

The host places the tea tray onto the side table. "Lala, would you like some more tea?" Celia offers as she reaches for her cup.

Vuela doesn't answer, letting Celia take it anyway, as the girl looks out the giant window, mostly at the moonlit sky. Celia assumes it's a yes regardless, also assuming the girl is too innerly traumatized to respond.

Innerly traumatized would be the best way for Vuela to put it.

"More sugar?"

Vuela plucks two small cubes from the bowl at the bottom corner of the tray and drops them into the teacup.

Celia clears her throat and disregards the tray by putting it on one of the empty tables away from the chairs. "I'm really sorry, Maxime. I can't imagine the horror you two went through tonight."

Vuela waits for Celia to mention something about losing all their valuables.

"I really can't. That store meant everything to you, and how those ruffians can go and destroy it like it's trash...It makes me so angry—"

"Celia, please. There's nothing that can be done now," Max responds as emotionless as he possibly could. Vuela could hear it from the other side of the room, and it hurts.