I don't feel too well. I can't remember I ever been ill. Mom says I was and dad looks worried. I hear them whisper. Work has to continue. No work, no money. Mom cuddled me after she wrapped me into a blanket. She's nervous, perhaps because she's busy?
"Stay inside and please, do not leave. I close your cabin so you stay warm."
She placed a bottle with water next to me and left. There I was in a closed cabin. Was there a need to? She knew I wouldn't go outside besides I could hardly stand on my feet. Vaguely I heard dads voice before I fell asleep. It was a restless sleep that came over me. Shivers, an icy wind, monsters chasing me, and so many screaming voices. It was a cacophony that surrounded me. I wasn't used to noises. The only sounds I heard were the voices of my parents. Dad always switches on the screen but without volume. The click of the cabinet and some buzzing sound in the working office of my parents was all sound left in the world I lived.
No sound from outside could be heard. It was the best for all of us to live in silence.
"The sensitives need silence," mom once said. Silence how I wish it was silent. The sounds of drums were inside of my head, a whistling sound in my ears and deep inside of me something moved. My hand felt it above my navel. Later I ask mom what it is, what lives inside me and does bang, bang, bang.
"It cannot be the food. She hardly ate anything plus we are fine."
"We are different, you are different. What if her body gives up on her?"
"From one moment to the next? Are you kidding me?"
"Honey... What if we poisoned her? What if she cannot eat what we eat? We wanted her to grow up healthy, we did our best but what if it works against us, fights her. She never set a foot outside, she never breathe in the fresh air. She never heard a bird sing, met other people or even had a pet."
As he said these words to his wife he looked sad. Both knew it was never meant to be this way. They had sacrificed themselves for their child. A child they had longed for but that was forbidden. All food that could be saved they had saved to raise their beloved daughter. She had never thought about losing her, a life without medical care and friends wasn't planned or hard till today. What if she would lose her husband too?
"I hoped we would have had more time," she said. "I hoped to prepare her for the world outside. A world far away so they won't find us if we die. I want her to be saved, to be free."
He kept his arms wrapped around her and hoped the security wouldn't be alarmed, no one heard her the words of a hurt mum.
"Step by step my love, let's take it to step by step. We have to work now and after work, we'll see. I'm sure she's asleep." He kissed her cheek and guided her gently to her desk. "We search in the books later."
She nodded and smiled mechanically as she switched on the engine next to her desk and touched the screen.
The next hours their priority was work. The system did not accept laziness. Every human protected, living in the city had to work. There were no exceptions. Workers were instructed to work inside. If there were outside jobs at all they were done by robots. The mechanic employers were reliable, cheap and rarely needed to be replaced. Robots were better for the environment, their footprint was close to zero.
It was busy which helped to forget the sick child in the closed cabin. A child that tossed and turned fought the monsters chasing her. Monsters she not even imagined what they looked like.
The battle for life my parents never mentioned. I was different which was a red line through our lives. Mom and dad made a choice and they choose me and for life indoors. I never wondered what was outside our walls, never asked if there were other children. Mom, dad and I were best friends. They taught me what I needed to know and more. The books mom hid for example and the stories of a life long ago. Dad wasn't that chatty but always made me laugh. I felt rich, be loved and didn't want our life to change.
Slowly I recovered from whatever made me sick. The monsters faded and everything went back to normal. The normal before I got sick. The pantry was open and mom instructed me how to cook. The cooking started with reading instructions in a book and together we studied the pictures. Pictures of what she called food or ingredients. It looked weird and it was hard to imagine people ate this in the past.
"A part of it is here. The pantry is filled with everything that we ate. It might look a bit different but it's good honest food. It's well prepared and lasts forever."
Mom picked up a jar carefully and held it against her breast. She kept her eyes closed. It was as if she forgot about me.
"I remember how my mum and I prepared this one. One of the last jars we filled together. Such a long time ago. I didn't know they would come and take her away. Why did she leave me?"
I heard a soft sob. Did mom cry?
Next to our delivered meals, we couldn't eat much. I knew how to make tea, a chocolate drink and a soup out of fruits. The fruits she called cherries and said were healthy. Out of the jar, they tasted good too. Dad warned me not to eat too much just a few spoons. I noticed he looked worried. Was he afraid I would get sick again?
"We will study the books," she said, "next, we'll play a game. It's called pick your tools. Each of us choose 3 recipes and the one . There are so many kitchen tools but not everything is needed to prepare a meal."
Day 1
https://read.cash/@wakeupkitty/whats-cooking-nanowrimo-9c4bd861
Day 2
https://read.cash/@wakeupkitty/stretching-nanowrimo-cd19bead
