The fragile body was shaking...spasms jerking her body and long, sore wails escaping her throat. She sat hunched over a table in her apartment, tears flowing freely and her face between her hands. ‘I don’t understand…why did this happen…why wasn’t I there...’ Again her loud sobs emerged and she folded over the table.
A little over a month earlier, she had grabbed the arm of a young opifex girl, accusing her for spying on her and Jen while they were talking in Rompas. She had shook her, and it annoyed her that the kid didn’t answer her questions. A few minutes had passed and nothing had changed…the child was still silent as a grave, obviously terrified. Hayley had scanned her and found she was a registered neutral. The parents were nowhere to be seen, and this annoyed Hayley too, as it was late in the evening and she was dead tired after a long day of working the grid. Kids! Always a kid around! The girl didn’t answer her question and it finally dawned on Hayley that she might not have been able to answer.
"Are you mute? You can't talk?" she had asked, getting nothing in return from the girl. "Just nod or shake your head. Can you talk?" The girl had shook her head slowly and pulled her arm a little. Hayley let her go and the girl rushed to a corner of the room, shaking in terror. "I'm not gonna hurt you...don't hide in the corner...Look...Do you need any help?" she had asked, but the girl had simply hidden her face in her hood. Further probing unveiled that the girl didn’t know sign language and couldn’t read or write. Hayley didn’t have time for this, and the girl was really not her problem. Still, she had to make sure someone was able to take care of her.
She got up and dragged her feet towards the bedroom. She was so tired, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She started crying again at the sight of the snug corner she had made up for the girl…the rollaway bed, the soft pillow full of cookie crumbs, the radio - still set on OBCs children programs channel, the two leet dolls, carefully tucked under the blanket as if they were sleeping…her coat and her hood. She sat down on the bed and picked up the hood, lifting it to her face, moistening it with her tears. In a garbled voice, she spoke into it, words of compassion, of loss and of love. She couldn’t bear the thought of moving the things away; it would be like deleting Arielles existence in her home.
In a backyard in Borealis, three adults stood hunched over a young girl, one opifex, one atrox and one solitus. Helped only by the electrical lights these three had, the girl drew in the dirt on the ground, using a dull knife. Two stick figures appeared, one with a sad face, one smiling. The girl pointed at the sad figure then at herself, before pointing at the happy figure then at Hayley. She then proceeded to draw a line between the two figures and a smile on the sad figure’s face. ‘You want me to be your friend’ the opifex woman had said to the child, who answered with a big smile.
Slipping through the door to the bathroom, where Arielle had been sitting with Dr. Bacarella only the night before, she looked around the room. A mechanical rubber duck floating in the water…a pile of towels and a bathing suit, childrens size… remembering who filthy the child was after years alone on the streets, probably not getting to clean up very often. She closed her eyes, and in her head, Hayley could still hear the giggling and splashing in the water from the girl, when she had had her first bath there. Her fingers could still feel the tangled hair, trying to loosen the knots and wash out the dirt. She could still feel the disgust over the horribly worn out, stinking clothes, which she had burnt as soon as she had bought some new clothes for her. She opened up her eyes again, looking blankly around the bathroom before turning to go out of the room.
"…several scars on her back. Additionally, the girl has no vocal chords, making her effectively incapable of speech until such a time when she can have implants inserted. According to scans the vocal chords were surgically removed when she was an infant. There is also the matter of physical damage to her mouth, teeth being pulled out violently, leaving scars on her gums and tear damage on the jaw. Last thing worth noting are the fingers. The child has had all ten fingertips cut off, directly behind the outer most joint. I think we all agree that the person or persons behind this sort of abuse must…"
She was out on the balcony now, her hair slightly moving in the soft evening wind in Jobe. The security screen she had gotten installed to keep the two girls safe from falling over the edge was glimmering in the dark. She looked to the corner, almost able to see the outline of a shivering girl, crying softly in the night. She followed the imaginary image of herself lifting Arielle up, carrying her inside, the girls arms wrapped around her neck in a tight grip. She remembered telling her that night that she could stay with her a little longer and that maybe…if no one stepped forward…she could stay with her always.
A beep indicated a written message was waiting on her wristpad. Hayley tapped it and smiled brightly at the few, clumsily written words shining at her. HI HWD FREND She looked across the couch at the child, now tapping at her wristpad, sending messages to some of the people around the table. It felt good to know Arielle could communicate with her surroundings. The tutoring program Jen ran in the NCU had worked to some extent and she understood the use of the alphabet, words and sentences now, even if she still struggled a little. It was a good thing, and one could see the girl blossoming.
Hayley laid down on the bed, trying once again to get some sleep, even if she knew it wouldn’t happen. Not this night. Maybe not the following night either. She buried her face in the pillow, weeping softly as the pain of losing a loved one hit her again with full force. She knew time would heal the wounds and make the pain go away but right now she grieved the loss of a ten year old girl that she only knew for such a short while. It was worse than anything she had ever felt and on top of it all was her guilt, feeling she had failed by not being there. Lifting herself to her elbows, she found her wristpad on the nightstand and tapped a few commands in, bringing up a security recorder picture of the child only known as Arielle. Tears running down her cheeks she touched the small screen, saying goodbye to her the only way she could.
"…it was only a matter of minutes before she bled to death, and without fast medical care, there would have been little that could be done. Ms. Dinnen, I am sorry, but the girl died at approximately 21.30 RST. Cause of death is cardiac arrest and major blood loss by a sharp object penetrating the abdomen and cutting major blood veins. It seemed to have been the result of a freak home accident, tripping and then landing badly on top of a knife carried on her body."
[OOC: To the player of Lilvampire. Thank you for sharing your time and giving from yourself like you have done. I hope to see you again, in the shape of another character. Love, Wave]
- AO webcomics for the sake of being silly
