The Tides That Bind Us [AfroFuturism]

Stronger

Zaharah leaned back in her seat and propped her bare feet under the wheel. She and Pharah sat in the car on the grounds of uncle Cam's manor after the long drive home. They'd stopped for daiquiris on the way back and stayed a while by the western bay, and Pharah had promised to give her more clarity on the situation with Devin.

As far as Zaharah knew, their mother was addicted to drugs or something. She couldn't quite remember what Pharah had told her on Chore Day.

Pharah sighed up at the roof of the car. "I found a bunch of letters tucked away at the bottom of his bag. Letters from our mom." She swirled the remnants of her Miami vice with her straw. "The Director had lied to us. Our mother wasn't a druggie. She was sick."

Zaharah took a sip of her own daiquiri, but stayed quiet. Part of her wondered why Pharah had waited until now to tell her this. Perhaps there were some things she needed to reconcile with before sharing it with the world. And Zaharah was still a stranger by definition; none of this was her business.

"Devin had been in contact with her for a few years. They were exchanging letters every month or so, but they stopped earlier this year. Around the same time Devin started bugging me about going to the mainland."

"I see..." Zaharah frowned. Had she jumped the gun and judged Devin too harshly? She'd taken him for an irritable druggie, but... God, why did life have to be so fucked.

"I don't understand? Why didn't he ever tell me?" To her credit, Pharah didn't sound angry, just confused and tired.

Zaharah gazed out the windshield at the grounds, washed in late afternoon light. "Did the Director know he was in contact with your mother? Because by the sounds of it, she wanted to sever that tie. Otherwise, why would she lie to you?"

"I think you're right." She shook her head. "Those drugs he was on... the kids from the east side trafficked them through the mail that came from here. It makes sense."

"If you want to, we can go look for her. After the storm and... Devin's funeral." She turned to face Pharah squarely. "Do you know her last address?"

"Yeah but... It's a hospice facility." And Pharah downed the rest of her daiquiri and gave a mirthless laugh. "I don't have anyone left, do I?"

"That's not true." Zaharah placed a tentative hand on Pharah's leg. "Look, I know we haven't known each other for that long, but we went through this shit together. You, me, Jade and Roddi. We're not gonna abandon you Pharah. We're not going anywhere."

She put her hand over Zaharah's a small smile on her lips. "Thank you. I'm such a mess and... you've been so strong considering."

Now it was Zaharah's turn to laugh. "I'm not strong. I'm just really good at disassociating. After the accident, I had to figure things out. Jade became my responsibility. I had to look out for her. I have to look out for her, secure our future. There wasn't much time to mourn."

"And who's going to look out for you?" Pharah met her eyes, eyebrows drawn tight. And Zaharah didn't have an answer for her. Even she didn't look out for herself, another thing Markus had berated her about. Perhaps she should make time for herself, do something nice. Relax for once.

The blare of a horn cut into the silence, and through the gates of the Manor came a lorry dragging a trailer behind it. I roared past them with Uncle Cam's Volkswagen trailing behind. Out jumped Jade and Roddi, followed by an android in a crisp blue suit.

"Elliot?" Zaharah watched him in the rearview mirror like he was a ghost. She thought the Director would've destroyed him after what he did. She jumped out of the car and grimaced up at the trailer. "What's all of this?"