I stand outside of Amethyst Gardens, adjusting my mask and taking a deep breath of filtered air.
I straighten my dress as I hear footsteps. "Nova?" a voice calls. A woman comes out, careful to keep her distance. "I'm sorry, Nova." I feel nauseous. She doesn't look a bit sorry. "What-" "I'm sorry, but your sister Elodie died from the Disease two years ago. She was sixteen." I feel my head spinning. "I'm so sorry, dear." "But the woman on the phone-she said-" "She was confused, dear. Would you like me to make you some tea while you're here? Or perhaps some coffee?" I shake my head. "No, I'm fine, but thanks." "I really am sorry." I nod. There's something very suspicious about all of this. There's something they're not telling me.
»»----- -----««
"I'm just so confused, Leo," I whisper, lying next to him and staring up at the stars, "The woman on the phone said..." I tried to wipe emerging tears out of my eyes but they kept flowing, trickling down my face like a waterfall. I must look like a mess.
He takes his hand in mine. It feels oddly comfortable as if it was meant to be there in the first place, the missing jigsaw of a puzzle. Leo plays with a loose strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. We lay there in silence - all I can hear is the cable car running its cycle, speeding across the rickety tracks.
"My Dad lived there," he says quietly, "Hm?" I asked, frowning. He's never brought up his family before. "So did Mum. For a while. Before she..." he pauses. "I'm sorry," I say and squeeze his hand.
»»----- -----««
He knocks on my window a few days later. "Let's go." I frown. "Where are we going?" He smirks and runs his hands through his auburn-blonde hair. "You'll see." He picks up my mask and tucks the strings round my ears. I pull it so that it's covering my nose and mouth. He runs outside. "LEO?" I see him grin and race towards the cable car. "LEO!"
He jumps on, gripping to the doorway and leans so that his hand is almost touching mine. "Leo..." I tremble, looking down. Oh, hell. Why not. I grab his hand and leap onto the cable, my heart in my throat. I try not to look down. "See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" I roll my eyes. "Can you please tell me where we're going?" He turns on his AirPods and pretends to be listening to music. I sigh and give up. I slump over one of the seats.
It dawns on me that I've never travelled by cable before. Andromeda never wanted me to, for all the constant failures on the Hologram freaked her out.
I can see the whole of the City from up here, it seems. I watch people like ants walk through the streets, going on with their everyday lives. How I wonder it must feel like to be free.
»»----- -----««
"We're getting off here," he exclaims as the cable line nears the ground. "Take my hand," I gaze into his eyes and nod, trusting him. I watch the scrapers rush past in a blur and gulp. "Ready?" I nod. "Three... two... one." At the last second, we leap off the cable, and onto the streets.
"You good?" I smile. "Yeah, I guess," I reply, "But when are you going to tell me where the hell we're going?" He laughs and clicks his tongue. He does that a lot. "You'll see."
He leads me into a shop. The first thing I see is the rows and rows of books on the shelves. "Oh my Gosh..." I gasp. I am practically already in heaven. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me on the forehead before letting me explore the store.
I trace the spines of each book with my fingertip and breathe in the smell of books. A book catches my eye. Venus 2319 by Arden Morshower. I pick it up and start to read it. "You like Morshower's books, hm?" A woman's voice questions. I put the book down. Her face looks familiar; a faint bell is ringing at the back of my mind. "Well-" "Nova?" she gasps, her eyes tracing my body if the woman cannot believe I am standing here, in person. "Nova Morshower?" I nod slowly, frowning. "My name is Elodie. Elodie Morshower." She tears up. Now everything makes sense. Everything clicks into place, like the last missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle has been reunited.
