Christina
Councilwoman Pearl contacted me personally with the good news, and after talking to me about all the council’s concerns and telling me that none of my students would be allowed to leave with me because of their age, she made me promise to be extremely careful.
I said all the right things and assured her I would take no unnecessary risks and come home unharmed.
With my request approved, I was finally ready to share the exciting news with my roommate Kya. Beaming like the front light on my bicycle I sank down next to her on the sofa. “They approved me.”
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful,” she said and gave me a hug. “I’m pleased to see you so happy. When are you leaving?”
“In five days,” I said, still smiling widely.
“And did you get the Blue Area again?” Her eyes were on the strawberry in her hand, meticulously picking off the small green leaves. With her peculiar habits, I waited for her to sniff the strawberry like she did with everything before she put it in her mouth.
“No, I didn’t get the Blue Area,” I said, snatching a piece of melon from her plate.
“The White then?” she asked and sniffed the strawberry. “I would prefer the White Area, it’s warmer and their beaches are phenomenal. You can go in the water down there.” Kya’s large curls were unrulier today than usual, and she blew hair out of her face and raised an arm to lick off drops of strawberry juice from her gorgeous caramel-brown skin.
“I didn’t get White either,” I said, bursting to tell her. “Actually, I volunteered to do a project in the Northlands.”
At first it didn’t register with her, but then she looked up with confusion. “Whaaat?”
“You know, the place where the Nmen live.”
She blinked her large brown eyes a few times and shook her head. “You can’t go there. It’s forbidden.”
“You’re right, but the council gave me a green light.”
The triangle forming between her brows told how worried she was, but she said nothing.
“Part of our peace treaty with the Nmen requires that we share information about the past. Apparently, they’re in need of an archeologist, so either all their archeologists are working on other projects or they don’t have many to begin with. I don’t know, but I can ask them when I go there next week.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Kya shrieked. “You can’t go to the Northlands. I won’t allow it.”
I sat quietly, allowing her time to digest the news.
“You’ll die!” Kya’s eyes teared up.
“No, I won’t die.”
“Then you’ll end up as some man’s property. That’s almost worse than dying if you ask me.” Kya was crying now and used the hem of her shirt to dry away her tears while shooting me a glance filled with blame.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Kya, but obviously, I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t trust that the Nmen would keep me safe.”
“Yes, you would. You do crazy things all the time. You don’t think about the consequences, Cina,” she said, using my nickname.
“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” I clapped her hand and tried to suppress my own worried thoughts. Am I making a mistake and just being too thickheaded to realize that Kya is right?
“How are you going to get there?” Kya asked with her tears still running.
“I’ll fly up to the Green Area and take a drone to the border. That’s where I’m meeting my contact person. His name is Boulder.”
“Boulder?” she exclaimed in a high pitch. “What kind of name is Boulder? Why would you go into unknown territory with a dangerous man called Boulder?” She put her plate of fruits aside and moved forward, placing both her hands on my shoulders. “I’m begging you, Cina, don’t do this!”
I was sad to see my best friend so upset, but I wasn’t going to back down now that the council had approved my request. This was the adventure I’d been waiting for, and I had to believe that I would come back unharmed.
“Kya,” I looked deeply into her eyes. “Thank you for caring so much about me. You’re a good friend.”
“So, you’ll stay home?” she asked hopefully.
“I can’t. This is a great opportunity for me. I’m getting the chance to learn more about the Nmen and see a part of the world that has been closed off to us for hundreds of years. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
“No!” She picked up a tissue and blew her nose. “Maybe if it was someone else going, but there’s nothing exciting in my best friend putting herself in danger.”
“Councilwoman Pearl assured me that I’ll have a personal guard to ensure my safety while I’m in the Northlands. Their ruler isn’t going to let anything happen to me.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they know that our council would retaliate with heavy sanctions on their trade business.”
“But how long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. Probably a few months.”
“And is this personal guard of yours the man called Boulder?”
“Maybe. Or he’s another archeologist that I’ll be working with. I’m not sure.”
“And if he tries to rape you? What will you do?”
I caressed her hair and cheek. “He’s not going to rape me, Kya.”
“Yes, he is.” Her voice broke. “That’s what they do, Cina.”
Rape was a very rare crime in our society. After the Toxic War there had been twenty-six women to every man, and even though we had managed to bring a better balance over the last centuries and it was now down to fourteen women per man, it was still unheard of for someone to sexually assault another. Probably because violence in general was almost eradicated, and we had sex-bots for those with perverted tendencies.
“I’m not sure what I would do,” I said slowly. “Probably run as fast as I can.”
Kya dried her nose and looked at me with teary eyes. “Just promise me that you’ll come home safely,” she pleaded. “Promise!”
I gave her a long hug and whispered in her ear. “I promise.”