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“Oh yetu!” Jelena slapped a hand over her mouth with a guilty look at her quiet guardian. Savagely wiping her tears away, she’d give anything for MoMo to punish her for cussing. “MoMo!” She wailed.
“Child.” The raspy voice of the aged woman was scratchy and weak. “Help me to my bed. Don’t leave me here on the floor.”
“MoMo!” Relief made Jelena dizzy. “Are you okay?” She helped the woman sit up and gave her a fierce hug.
“No, my dearest.” A gurgling cough. “My end is near, and there isn’t much time for you to get to safety.”
“Don’t say that, MoMo.” Jelena grasped the woman’s thin frame and lifted her slight weight to her feet. “Come on, let’s get you to your bed.” She helped shuffle the quaking form to the lumpy bed in her room on the other side of the cabin. After her guardian laid down, Jelena covered her with the thick blanket from the foot. “I’ll make you some tea…”
“Jelena!” The firm tone belied the weakened state of the elderly woman. “Listen to me.” Her spindly fingers grabbed Jelena’s loose tunic top and pulled her close. The once-clear turquoise eyes were clouded and a whiff of sour breath settled between them. “Run away now, before I go.” She lifted her emaciated wrist with the life-scanner bracelet that blinked orange instead of a healthy, clear color.
All Akurns at the final stages of their lives were given the appliance to monitor their vitals.
“Once I’m gone, they’ll send someone. You can’t be here then!” Another wheezing breath. She released her trembling hold on Jelena.
“No, MoMo. You’ll be okay. Let me find someone to help you.” She swallowed. She would go into the scary city alone to save her MoMo.
“No! I’m so sorry, my love. But these things happen in their own time.” MoMo’s steel-colored hair had gotten loose and fluttered wildly around her gaunt face. “Do you remember the caves I showed you last week?”
Jelena gave a weak nod. She’d hated those caves. They were dark and gave her the creeps.
“Go to those caves before they come and take you away. Grab the bag we made ready for you. Leave now!”
“But MoMo! I can’t leave you like this.” She sobbed. “I have to take care of you.”
“No, my child. It’s too late for me.” She pulled Jelena in for a tight hug. “Know that I love you always, and even in my death, the goddess Namatar will be with me as I watch over you.” MoMo pushed her away with a stern glare. “Run now. Go to the caves. I promise, someone there will help you.” Those blue-green eyes, murky with age, looked beyond her shoulder and saw something or someone that wasn’t there. “Finally, I’m coming home to you, my love.” Her breath rattled once, and then was still. The bracelet turned black.
“No!” Jelena dropped to her knees and hugged the chilling body of her MoMo. “Don’t leave me.” Sobs wracked her as she clutched her unmoving guardian.
No telling how much time had passed before a loud pounding on the front door brought her out of her haze.
“Open up! A death has been monitored.” Another loud bang. “We’re coming in.”
Jelena gasped and jumped away from the bed, frantically searching the room for an escape route. MoMo had repeatedly told her that the people of Azadi couldn’t get their hands on her. She was too different, and those people would put her in a cage like an animal.
A thundering at the door made it rattle. It wouldn’t take long for them to break through. She had to escape.
Above MoMo’s bed was a window barely big enough for her to crawl through.
With careful steps so she wouldn’t touch MoMo’s still form, she pushed the window open and stumbled through to land hard on the rocky ground below. Just in time, since she heard the door crash open, and loud voices filled the house. Heart pounding, she jumped to her feet and ignored the pain of her scraped knees and hands. Without a backward glance, she ran away as fast as she could.
Jelena didn’t stop running until she reached the jagged entrance to the caves MoMo had taken her to the previous week.
The lighting there was dim, being so far away from the city of Azadi.
Crossing her arms, she bit her bottom lip. Given MoMo’s weakened state, they hadn’t gone any further. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go inside. Out of the corner of her eye, a red streak by her feet caught her attention.
It was a rhox, a rare moon lizard with six double-jointed legs and four pink eyes that independently rotated.
“Oh, you’re so pretty.” She scrunched down and held out her hand.
The lizard scuttled to the tips of her fingers. Its forked tongue flickered over her skin.
She giggled. “That tickles!”
The lizard scurried away to stop at the entrance of the darkened cave. It turned its eyes back to her and flicked its tongue as if inviting her to follow.
“Hey, wait for me!” Jelena chased the lizard until they reached a fork in the tunnel. When the lizard scrambled to the left, she didn’t hesitate to follow.
