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“Brother Ena! The pizzas’ here!” My little sister had yelled at the top of her lungs from the door.
“Just a sec!” I yelled back.
I turned back to my plants. I’d been in the middle of watering them. With my eyes closed, just because I wanted to see if I could.
“Just a little more left, shouldn’t take long.” I murmured to myself as I worked.
When I finished watering the last of my plants I quickly peeled a couple of bananas and placed them in a bowl next to my tree. Finally, I grabbed a small cup of insects and dumped them into various leafy pitchers hanging from the tree branches. Then, just to make sure I didn’t make any really stupid errors, I opened my eyes and looked around.
My garden wasn’t very big, just a glass dome 6m wide and 3m tall, but I loved it. In the center stood my tree; it was planted when I was born, so it's mine. I’ve taken care of it my whole life. All around the wall were my plants. Most of them were of the edible variety; things like potatoes, carrots, beans, grapes, peppers, and herbs. The space surrounding my tree was for caring for the little bugs my tree makes.
Yes, it makes the bugs. No, they're not just parasites; the tree actually grows their eggs on its roots. They look like potatoes. Uncle Herbert says the bugs are actually the males of the tree’s species. He would know, he helped create it.
Anyway, apparently nothing went wrong. I’d successfully watered all the plants and fed the bugs. Satisfied, I closed my eyes and left my garden. There was pizza to be had!
Using my nose and ears to aid my memory I navigated through my home to the dining room. It was simple really, the house only had one circular hallway. You just had to walk forward and eventually you’d get to your destination. It was knowing when to stop that was difficult. Also, the house just isn’t very big. I arrived at the dining room just under 30 seconds after Sister Neo called me.
The dining room was a beautiful place with its rich earthy smell, cool breeze, quiet atmosphere, and if my eyes were open, I would be able to see the vibrant colours that twisted, turned, and shifted as you looked at them. It had a wonderful glass-domed roof, glass sliding doors to the backyard, and a sturdy marble island-table in the center, surrounded by comfy cushioned metal swivel chairs. I loved the place, and so did my family, which is why it’s where most celebrations happen.
Sitting around various makeshift tables was my clan, all of them, my entire extended family in one room. Something truly special must have happened. The pizza I could understand, it wasn’t too common but we do have it occasionally. But they never gather like this. It’s almost unheard of in this clan, we prefer solitary environments too much.
Sitting in various positions around the table were my family; Matriarch Naskiwa, Mother Eawa, Father Niki, Father James, and Sister Neo. We were a small clan, only having three families; our total was only about two dozen people. I hurried over and sat next to Sister Neo with the other kids.
It was strange, being in a room with so many other people. I was a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. All the adults were talking with all the other adults and all the kids were talking with all the other kids. I couldn’t tell who was talking to who and I couldn’t figure out what was being said either. It was a cacophony of noise that scraped and scratched at my ears and gave me a headache just listening, never mind participating.
I alone didn’t talk, joke, converse, or otherwise interact with those around me in any way. I just sat there; confused, dazed, and in pain. The few times someone tried to me I ignored them, I couldn’t understand what they were saying anyway. I don’t know how long I stared at the spot on the table where my food would go, but eventually, I laid my head in my arms to aid in ignoring everything.
It was a while later after the noise had calmed down drastically, that I felt someone poke me on the shoulder. “Hey Ena, You okay?” Sister Neo asked me quietly, I nodded and she continued, “want me to get some pizza for you?” another nod and she leaves. She returned a bit later with 7 slices of pizza stacked on a very small plate; three hawaiian and 4 donairs.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. It was quieter than before, and the distraction that was pizza had allowed my headache to subside. Slightly. “Why’s everyone here? Can’t we do without all the noise?” I asked Sister Neo.
“Finally asked, huh? It’s a party. Apparently Aunt Milly saw an ad a few years ago and signed us all up, she thought it was some kind of lottery. It was actually more like a waiting list. To sum it all up; some company called 'The Spacing Guild' wants some test subjects for an experiment.” She responded.
“And that’s a good thing?” I asked.
“Yes! Well, not really the experiment part, that’s a little scary. But the other stuff!”, she said enthusiastically. I interrupted her, “Calm down, you're too loud.” Nodding, she continued quieter than before, “ Sorry, but this is really exciting. Their testing controlled Awakenings. See if they can manipulate the outcome and all that. Also make it safer, which is a plus.” She finished, satisfied.
“That… Isn’t that absurdly risky? Like, there's a high likelihood of us all dying in fire and brimstone, even if everything goes right.” I replied.
“I said they would lessen the risk, didn’t I? Besides, no matter how bad it is, it’s still worth it. Powers and mutations are some of the most coveted things that I know of. Imagine being able to fly, breathe underwater, have a tail, read minds, or shapeshift, just to name a few. It’s priceless.” She argued.
“When is it?” I asked.
“In a year,” she replied.
We continued arguing for awhile; me vying for caution, her saying that the reward outweighs the risk. It was a moot point, anyway. Nothing I said would convince her or the others, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them being in danger and me not being there with them. I was thoroughly distracted, my headache was completely forgotten.
