8 Years Later

“And that is how I met my uncles,” the girl with flaming hair finished reading her story with a flourish.

Her three uncles looked at her in stunned silence. Eight years had passed since that day and ever since the reptilian’s lives had been closely intertwined with the young ladies. They had certainly intended on finding her a proper home, at least at first. Somewhere with humans, maybe even a mother and father with other kids. But she had inexplicably saved all of them. Kriel still insisted that it was simply a life debt they owed her but even he could not deny that a life without her had become unimaginable. Even when they considered her strange power the brothers felt bonded to the girl in ways they had never thought possible.

“Veya, darling, come sit with us,” Strand patted the empty sofa cushion next to him. The girl, sixteen now and practically a woman sat with her legs crossed. Strand remembered her first day of school. She ran all the way home in tears. The other kids had made fun of her for having three male reptiles for parents.

“What’s wrong?” Veya asked quietly. That first year she had suffered from horrendous nightmares causing the kitchen utensils and dishes to fly around the ship every night. It had been difficult. All three reptilians had been stabbed at least once from a rogue fork or knife. After a week of sweeping up broken glassware, Borris had purchased recyclable cutlery, installed a lock on the knife drawer, and had Kriel change the doors on the ship from auto-opening to requiring a thumbprint for entry. They still hadn't switched the doors back to automatic on the Perentie even though the nightmares had become very rare. Then, one day Veya had walked right up to Strand and asked him why she didn’t have any scales. He remembered being so excited to hear her speak. Not just the odd word but full sentences with a voice as soft as water flowing over river stones.

“Veya…” Strand rubbed at the back of his spotted head, flakes of skin drifting through the air, his molting skin ashy instead of its usual shiny mottle of pale blue, black, and white.

“What Strand is trying to say, Little Flame, is you cannot tell anyone that story,” Borris interrupted, his black and yellow speckled arms crossed in front of him. He wore a black v-neck shirt that was a little too tight for his bulging muscles.

The girl looked at each of the brothers and back again, “Why?”

“This would get us all in a lot of trouble—” Strand started but Borris interrupted him again.

“And we don’t want you to get into trouble too. Understand?”

“Oh,” Veya said, eyes downcast, her cheek touching her knees as she scrunched her legs up against her chest. Strand's blue tongue flicked out. He felt for her. She didn’t talk about her past and it was hard to know how much she clearly remembered beyond the nightmares that plagued her. Strand still had a scar from a fork that had gouged him in his sleep. And now she was an awkward teenager living with her three alien uncles, moving from planet to planet anytime the law go too suspicious. As much for their safety as for her own. Psychics in the universe today were very rare and often mistreated. The reptilians had to take every precaution possible but as she got older that had become increasingly difficult. Veya wanted to be involved in the family business but she also wanted to live in the same place longer than a year.

Strand tried his best to make her happy, bringing her gifts and getting her favorite foods. Playing games—anything that would make her smile if only for a little while. Recently they had allowed her to attend a larger school with a mostly human population. Borris placed a scaly hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry Little Flame. It is a good story, but it must remain a secret. And tomorrow we go to Sapien 4. We have some work to do while your schoolmates are on holiday.”

A tear rolled down Veya’s cheek, she knew what the words “we have work to do” meant. She would likely never see her classmates again and would have to sit on the ship waiting for her uncles to finish whatever it was they did. The girl brushed her uncle's scaled hands away and went to her room on the Perentie, sliding onto the lower bunk bed. The three brothers—even Kriel with his thick skin—looked down at the floor, their tails drooping.

Strand picked at his molting skin, “Perhaps, after this job, we can settle somewhere more permanent. Give her a normal life.”

Borris looked down at his brother, “That girl will never have a normal life Strand.”

Veya remained curled on her side in her bunk. The tiny sleeping cabin had been considered her room from the first day of her arrival. Her uncles had never been able to fit in the bunks very well and preferred to sleep in hammocks in the cargo hold. She fingered the only link to her past that she had ever known. A gem that, looking into its center, seemed to contain an entire galaxy in its depth. She twisted it from side to side, rubbing her fingers over the smooth surface of it, wondering what had ever become of her birth parents. She loved her uncles. Some kids in her class—her old class she reminded herself—who had real parents weren’t as well cared for as she was but living a life on the run was taking its toll. She wanted to feel useful.

With a sigh, she tucked the gemstone away and snuck outside to go to the bathroom finding that one of her uncles—probably Strand—had left a plate of food outside her door. A couple of slices of toast with butter, raw fruit, veggies, and a strip of cured meat. Her uncles ate a strict diet of raw meat and had never gotten used to the idea of cooking. Sitting on the floor of her bedroom she picked at her meal when a low whistle echoed across the ship.

Leaving the tray on the floor Veya went to the cockpit. They had arrived at Sapien 4. Borris sat at the controls, his mouth stretching into a smile as Veya pressed her face against the glass to watch the space station loom closer. It consisted of a silver orb the size of a dwarf planet with a thick ring encircling it. Spikes—antennas and other such protrusions—poked out of both structures at odd angles while ships moved in and around the station. Veya started when she felt a scaly hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Strand.

“While Borris and Kriel go to work we get to go to the market. Isn’t that nice?” He sounded cheerful. He wore his brown leather trench coat with a navy blue hoodie.

“I guess so,” Veya mumbled, she was still upset about leaving her friends behind, but she did like getting to see new planets and space stations.

“Quick, go change your clothes. And please don’t leave your dinner on the floor again.”

With a roll of her eyes Veya did as she was told, changing into a tattered pair of jeans and a purple razorback tank top along with a dark green military jacket that she had found in a thrift shop. When they landed on Sapien 4, Veya followed Strand down the ramp. The stench of hairy, sweaty bodies, hit her like a tsunami. She gagged as the smell coated her throat like a wet blanket. Strand passed her a hard candy, winking at her as he popped one into his own mouth. Veya followed suit, tasting peppermint and monkey hair.

Sucking on the candy she watched as various types of primates jumped from ropes hanging overhead. She followed Strand into the labyrinthian space station. Strange gadgets protruded from various surfaces. It looked like an M.C. Escher painting made of space junk. Stepping over discarded food scraps they crawled through a narrow tunnel and then a set of alleys, backtracking when they reached a dead end. Strand stopped to ask for directions a few times but most of the simians would only grunt and point. Veya noticed a ladder they had not tried before, “Up here Strand.”

Climbing the ladder her uncle sighed with relief. They had made it to the market, but it proved to be no easier to navigate than the rest of the spaceport. Thick ropes hung from the ceiling. Some of them holding baskets at various heights. Simians swarmed along the ropes climbing over baskets, leaping from rope to rope periodically picking up items and placing them in bags slung across their backs. They hooted and howled at one another, bartering, Veya supposed. Strand grabbed her hand and pulled her over to some baskets that were hanging low enough for her to see inside of them. The vendor hooted at them. Veya reached for a round orange fruit, her necklace slipping into view as she did so. The simian jumped forward, grabbing her wrist, and ripped the crystal from her neck suddenly. Strand bared his teeth and tried to grab the monkey but the simian climbed out of reach and then out of sight. Veya rubbed at her wrist and then her neck, watching the creature in mild shock.

“Are you okay Veya? He stole your crystal!” Strand was indignant, his air sacks puffed out, sending flakes of his molting skin flying. She had had the stone her entire life but had never known what it was and had felt unable to let it go but now she almost felt relieved that it had been taken so suddenly.

“Karma?” She held out a few oranges to him while looking up into the fray. Strand, perplexed by her calm demeanor held open a bag for her. They wandered the market for a while longer, filling a few bags with fruit and vegetables that went beyond the scope of the rainbow. Veya didn’t know what half of them were but figured if the monkeys could eat them, so could she. They were about to leave the market when suddenly the same simian from before dropped to the ground in front of them. He looked smaller than she had first thought. His hair was black and long, his skin a dark brown underneath. The monkey creature bowed his head and held up his hands. He had a ten sided object decorated in delicate silver filigree in one hand and Veya’s crystal, still on its chain, dangled in the other. He hooted at her, his lips working, “Very special. Very precious.”

Veya crouched on the filthy ground, “What does that mean?”

The simian repeated the words, his long-fingered feet shuffling in the dirt. He held the object delicately between two fingers and inserted her crystal into one of ten slots. A light lit it from within and then the simian passed her the device with a hoot. He caressed her cheek gently, “Very precious.”

A flood of questions invaded her mind as she studied the device, her fingers tracing the triangular sides. When she looked up the simian had scampered off into the market place jungle. Strand scratched at his face, he had almost molted completely. His new skin looked delicate and shiny, “Any idea what that was all about?”

“No,” Veya said, but she was eager to find out. She turned the object over in her hands. Light shone from the hole opposite of the one the hematite stone had slid into. She directed it at the ground but it was difficult to make out the pciture with all the refuse strewn around causing the image to distort. Strand pressed a hand against her back, “Let’s get back to the ship. Take a better look there.”

He looked around, his tongue flicking out uneasily. Veya tucked the filigree deltohedron into the pocket of her jacket and tried to help Strand navigate their way back to the ship. With each dead end, his unease seemed to grow. Finally, they brushed past a pair of wolfmen to find the Perentie waiting for them. Borris and Kriel had not returned yet. As soon as Strand closed the landing ramp and disappeared into the kitchen Veya pulled the device, a deltohedron she later found out, from her pocket. It had gone dark but when she inserted her crystal into a slot on the side of the deltohedron the image from earlier again leaped into sight. She set it on the ground, the crystal acting as a stand. With it spread out across the smooth bulkhead of the cargo hold she realized it was a map. The background was black with rings of yellow, each one having a dot with a label above it. She touched a finger to one of the circles and read out the name. She took a few steps back. One of the planets was red. The tiny letters next to it read Lumis.

“Veya, are you hungry?” Strand stood in the door of the cargo hold, his last word dying in his throat, as he surveyed the strange scene.

The girl with flaming hair smiled at him, “It’s a map!”

Strand moved to stand next to her studying the mass of yellow lines. He wondered how much of the universe it covered. Strand began to pace about, his striped tail striking the air, “It certainly is a map. But what is it for? What does it mean? Some strange simian gives it to you without explanation. And how then did your crystal happen to fit into it? And why would you be wearing a necklace with a map of the star systems?”

Veya shrugged, “Do you think…”

She stopped. Strand quit pacing and looked at her, his second eye lids blinking. Veya picked at a loose thread on the sleeve of her jacket, “Maybe that red one is where I come from. Lumis.”

“Perhaps,” Strand said slowly, his tongue flicking in and out rapidly, “Perhaps not. I will speak to Uncle Borris.”

The pair flinched when the ramp of the ship lowered. Borris’s yellow speckled head came up the ramp into the cargo hold with Kriel not far behind. Kriel was lugging a large crate behind him without much effort. Veya remembered being terrified of the pair when she first met them. Borris and Kriel were at least twice the size of Strand with huge muscles and dark eyes. Strand had told her stories about Kriel surviving years as a gladiator while Borris concocted a plan to break him out.

“What is all this?” Borris asked, seeing the map spread across the cargo hold.

Strand rang his hands, “It seems we may have found out where Veya came from.”

He did not speak for a long moment as he untied one of the hammocks hanging in the hold, moving it to so they could make room for the large crate. He wrapped the colourful fabric around one scaled hand, “Little Flame, go to your room while your uncles discuss this.”

Veya stamped a foot, “Uncle! I’m not a little girl anymore. You can’t just send me to my—”

Borris hissed, his air sacks puffing out threateningly, “Now!”

Veya glared at him. They were all surprised to feel the ship vibrate underfoot as her anger rippled outwards but then she took a breath and, turning on her heel, left the cargo hold. The reptilians let out a collective sigh of relief when the vibration ceased. Veya had never done that before. Usually, she only manipulated small objects, never the entire ship. Kriel strapped the crate to the floor, “We should go to Lumis.”

Kriel tended not to speak unless absolutely necessary. If he was speaking up now, it meant a lot. Strand nodded support, “I agree. Perhaps it is time we return her to her true family…”

Borris looked at the deltohedron projecting the map, an ocean of emotions churning within him. They had never intended to keep her. None of them ever could have expected something such as this to happen. And so suddenly. He sighed, resigned, “Very well then. We will go to Lumis but then we have to deliver this cargo.”

The brothers nodded agreement. Around the corner Veya let out a cheer.

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Written by Kelsey Reich on March 23/2021 in Ontario, Canada.