Mayne

4. I found the future

                           It was a couple weeks later, the time went by slowly; dragging as every second reminded her of what she had lost. Today she was lucky enough to be out of the facility for a while. Mayne stumbled as she made her way over the rubble, "It is so hard trying to decide what to save" She glanced at Todd and brushed aside a tear as she stepped over the remnants of the very technology that made Metro City unique. She had been away from it for only a short time and she missed it terribly. Everything felt fresher, cleaner and safer in Metro City. The orphanage was hard to take, the food was not sterile, it came from animals not from a replicator and the access to information was limited on what books you could find and if you were allowed to touch them. True, there was a library down the block but to Mayne giving in to a public library meant no more access to a database full of potential "and equally as hard to decide what to leave behind." 

                               "Yes, it is." He smiled at her "But keep in mind that my assistant Ms. Reynolds has arranged for everything to be collected and placed in a storage facility." He smiled rather impressed by Ms. Reynolds idea "So you only need to worry about the things you don't want to leave your side, the rest is safe. The shields are up so nothing will get stolen or damaged, you don't need to worry."

                               Mayne nodded contentedly & went back to rummaging through the remnants of her once pristine home. She pocketed her family house keys out of sentimental reasons then noticed her father's lock collection. He had personally designed and created each one. With a smile and a vision she picked up the case. She remembered the hours of playing with his locks and building more. The two of them would sit at the table for hours, laughing and debating the finer details of a really good lock. Mayne noticed him watching her "Happy memories, I just miss them."

                            "It will get easier in time, right now you just need to remember you have the right to any and all emotions you are feeling." He smiled "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She smiled at him and slowly made her way to the area where the remnants of the bedrooms were. She looked through the piles and paused in sorrow as she found one of her father's shirts, she tucked it under her arm and kept looking making sure not to miss anything. She next was able to locate under a pile of rubble, one of her father's large backpacks. It was his favorite and he always kept it in the same place. She tucked her father's shirt into the bag and then spotted the last sundress her mom had worn, like always she had tossed it over the back of a chair. She put it in the bag with another wave of sorrow. Next up she spotted her mother's favorite briefcase, she had emptied it into one of their hidden vault tucked away in their secret space. She attached one of the spare long leather straps her dad kept on hand to the briefcase and draped it cross her body. With those to carry things in she started collecting the belongings that meant the most to her. She made sure she placed all the important documents she needed in her mother's briefcase and everything else was put into her father's backpack.

                             She located the blast-proof jewelry box dad had given mom as a joke and smiled at how it survived and was full of her mom's favorite pieces. She found more of her dad's clothes and tucked another one of his shirts in the backpack to use as a nightgown since he was so tall. She then found another one of her mom's dresses with some of her garden clothes underneath it, she tucked the garden clothes into the backpack and wondered why her efforts spared items but not her parents, not the adults at the party. Quickly she buried the mental question and continued looking. She made her way to her bedroom pile and looked through the mess for the items she wanted to keep with her. The tools her dad gave her the brush and comb her mom gave her, the shawl her grandmother gave her before she passed away and the case of technical inventions she was working on to surprise her parents with. Nothing spectacular, just hair barrettes that could double as computer keys and hacking tools.