NaNoWriMo 2014

Chapter Three

When I awoke the next morning Amanda was leaning over me shaking my shoulder gently, "Ralim, it's time to wake up; we need to get to the court by noon, it's already eleven, if we don't want to be late we have to hurry!" she said.

"How do you know my name?" I asked her sleepily, not moving from where I lay under the soft, warm sheets.

"Ralim, I've been selected by SS, I've read the file we have on you. I like what I see." She responded, smiling at me.

My file? SS? What was she talking about? I couldn't understand. "What..." I started to ask here.

"No time dear, " she interrupted, still smiling that kind, friendly smile, "we need to get you fed and get going. I'll answer your questions on the way there, okay?"

"O...kay..." I suppose that I didn't really have much choice, and besides, I'd never seen the inside of a courthouse before. "Let's get going!" I said excitedly and sprang out of bed, realizing for the first time that I had nothing to wear but my boxers. "Um...Amanda? My clothes...." I trailed off, not sure what to say.

"I have clothes on the chair dear. Get changed and come on down the hall to the kitchen; I'll have food ready for you." Said Amanda, speaking quickly now, "We don't have much time left! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Amanda left the room and closed the door, leaving me in privacy to get changed. I took a glance at my surroundings for the first time having been to look the night before. The room was lightly furnished; a simple bedstead was set up against one wall, beside it sat a little nightstand, on the nightstand sat a small table lamp, an antique digital clock, and a small pile of the latest book carts. On the other side of the room a set of doors opened into a neat, tidy closet full of things my size. Strange, I thought why would Amanda have a closet full of clothes for me? I dressed in the clothes she had set out for me, closed the closet doors and rushed down the hall for my breakfast.

She had made pancakes for me, as I ate, Amanda began to talk.

"We are going to your father's trial; you must stay very quiet unless spoken to and always tell the people there the truth. Do you understand me?" she said in a grave voice. "If you don't tell them the truth you could be in serious trouble."

I nodded, I liked Amanda and understood that she was very serious, "Don't worry; my mother always said 'never tell lies.' " I informed Amanda in an equally serious tone without knowing why she was telling me this.

"Good boy Ralim," she said, "just remember, what...what y, y, your m, mother taught you and everything will be just fine." She turned away as she said the last part but not before I caught a glimpse of tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

This worried me, I'd only just met Amanda but I already liked her a lot, I didn't like seeing her crying. "What's wrong?" I asked.

She turned back to me and I saw that there were indeed streaks of salt water running down her cheeks. "N, nothing's wrong, dear." She said with a slight tremor. "I'm okay, I'm just so, so sorry that you had to be put through this at your age.

I had no idea what she was talking about. "Put through what?" I asked her; confused.

"I'm sorry," she turned away and began to put things away, "I let my emotions get away from me, get washed up, we've got to go to the courthouse."

During the ride there I asked Amanda a bunch of questions at the beginning but when she didn't respond I gave up and lapsed into silence, quietly thinking of yesterday's events. My father bursting in the door, him shoving me aside, my mother trying to comfort him, him yelling, my mother going to sit by him, my father...k, k, killing my mother, the police, Amanda taking care of me, it was to much. I felt I was choking on the lump in my throat, felt my eyes welling up at the remembrance of my mother's kind face and the realization as it finally sank in that I'd never se it again.

Amanda noticed my tears and set the jet to CFP. She moved closer to me and put her arms around my shoulders. "What's wrong Ralim?" she asked me gently.

"I, I'm never going to see my mother again, am I." I choked out to her, knowing without her answer that it was true but somehow still clinging to the hope that I might.

Amanda faced me, a sad look in her eyes and with the words I wanted least to hear; said "No Ralim, you won't see your mother again with your eyes,"

I broke down at this; I hugged Amanda, and let my tears flow, allowing my grief to spill over my eyelids and run down my face.

"but," Amanda continued, "you can always remember your mother as you knew her in your heart and never forget that she loved you Ralim, more than anyone ever will. As long as you remember her as she was in life, your mother will never be truly dead; she will have eternal life in the hearts of others."

This made me feel slightly better but it did nothing to stem the tears. My mother was still gone and I would never again gaze upon her face full of love and adoration.

Amanda looked up and out the through the HUD at the skyline appearing before us. "Ah! There it is," she pointed at a tall white building quickly looming up before us, "that's where we're going, that's the courthouse. "

I stopped crying and look gazed where she was pointing. The courthouse was HUGE! Amanda called it a court-house, I call that a court-city of it's own! The building was circular in shape and had row upon row of columns to walk through before you could reach the doors, it must have been at least a mile in diameter and easily that high. On every side there was a huge Lumiboard flashing courthouse news to the world. Right now it was streaming line after line of information about my father's trial, the sky-lots were packed; it was all Amanda could do to find a spot on the roof of the building to dock (all of the better spots on the sides having been already taken) . She took my hand and together we stepped out onto the roof and entered the court.