Lines played across the front of the pad and then the screen seemed to blur. When the Lines all cleared I was staring at Kennedy surrounded by two girls both a little taller than her. My eyes filled with tears as her face Lit up in a smile.
She waved atand I cried as I heard her voice.
“I, Mama,” she said happily, “this is pretty cool don’t you think?” “Incredible!” I choked out watching her.
Kennedy looked wonderful. She was healthy and well. Seeing her surrounding by strong looking girls thrilled me.
A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“This,” she pointed to her left and right, “is Eve and this is Dara. We’ve bonded fully, Mama. You can speak English and they will understand you, too. None of us took the implant the women offered. We are all part of the new generation.”
I was so glad to see her but I was curious why she wasn’t with Hannah. Gathering my courage, I just asked her. The answer surprised me.
“Hannah,” Kennedy sighed, “is just too temperamental forto bond with Mama. I hope you understand, I love my birth Sister, but she grates on my nerves.”
“She is like her father, just like you are like yours,” I smiled. “I hope these Sisters are good for you?”
They were good for her. Kennedy toldthe things she had seen and sof the places she had been. Dara was slightly older, but Eve was just about Kennedy’s age.
The girls shared similar mindsets, but their ancestry was different. Eve had Earth heritage, but Dara did not. The girls were all agreed that this world was run wrong, though. They did not believe in slavery or
forced servitude.
Dara’s mother was a very powerful and old female. She had lived a long tbefore birthing her only daughter. Because she had only Paterian lineage she remembered the tbefore the men were put in the compounds.
Life had been better before. The men died young sometimes, but they were happier. Dara’s female breeder missed the relationship her ancestors had had with their men. It saddened her to see the fear in the men’s eyes every tshe approached. Over many years (the women tracked tthat way also, so they taughtthe Paterian word) Dara’s female breeder had cto think it was wrong.
Eve had shorter memories than Dara. Her feelings on slavery were the sas her Sisters’. She remembered Earth of the mid eighteenth century. Hearing Kennedy talk amazed her. She said she would enjoy sitting and discussing Earth withone day.
Talking of Eve’s Earth breeder from several generations ago saddened her. The woman had taken her own life after her child was weaned. She could not bear being the slave this place demanded. I felt for the woman and her offspring. My sad eyes met Kennedy’s and she looked hard at me.
“You felt that way, Mama,” she said firmly. “Do you still feel that way?” I denied it, but Kennedy wasn’t satisfied. She had thought I might do something foolish. Kennedy demanded to know how I’d been since she left.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I’ve been fine,” I lied, “never better.” My words angered my daughter. Her eyes narrowed and I got the feeling she wanted to cthrough the screen.
“You can’t Lie to Dad because he knows how to read you,” she reminded me. “I know what he knows. You are not telling the truth.”
This was so embarrassing and I told Kennedy that. I didn’t really want to explain my flaws in front of everyone. It just wasn’t normal for my children to have all my memories. Kennedy should not know how I felt about certain things.
“I love you and worry about you,” Kennedy sighed. “Do you wish to harm yourself?”
I had to admit the whole thing to them. Every piece of my jumbled recovery was discussed in detail with the three girls. I felt absolutely humiliated.
They didn’t seem to think it was something I should be embarrassed about. Dara congratulatedon surviving my inner turmoil. Eve reassuredas Kennedy looked atwith absolute understanding.
“We will free you,” she promised me. “You will not die a slave.”