by Vi Grim
'Sorry for being gone for so long,' he says, apologising for the last few years. 'When you were first pregnant I thought that it was my sons' fault.'
'And what would have been so wrong with that?' I demand. 'You sons are wonderful. They're quite a catch for any girl.'
'Nothing. I just thought that they weren't good enough for you. I felt like I needed to protect you. You're special.'
'Thank you.'
'I can see by your kids beautiful dark skin that it wasn't my sons' doing. Emily, you're full of secrets, who's their dad?'
'I hope you'll meet him someday. He's needed elsewhere at the moment.'
'Full of secrets and surprises,' he says.
'You'll just have to wait.'
Jesus arrives carrying Tat under one arm. He's life sized and beautifully sculptured in bronze. Jesus stands him up on the lawn, looking out to sea, poised, ready to defeat an unseen enemy. At his feet is inscribed:
Tat Moh
The Father of Fung Fu
493 - 2020
He died saving Earth
'We need to find a place to put him, where he'll be happy,' says Jesus.
'He'd make a good coat hanger with his hands sticking out like that. I've got just the place for him, inside my front door,' I say. 'Let's put him there while we have an espresso.' I check the coast is clear and click my fingers. By the time we've finished our coffees the kids have Tat wearing a floral dress, straw hat and sunglasses. He does look funny. It's tempting to put him on the top of the bluff or the summit of Mt Ijju, but a statue really needs to be seen, so he ends up parked in Kastela, sharing a square with a gurgling fountain and a naked nymph. I'm sure they'll get along just fine. I'm going to miss having him around. The slugs are on the lookout for a new kung fu master but true ones are few and far between.
Zeus takes me on a tour.
First stop is Pallas. From afar it looks a bit like Earth, with continents and oceans and swirling weather formations.
'It looks like Earth.' I say.
'It's the ark,' says Zeus. 'Camillo was my dummy run, this is the real thing.'
When we get closer, I can see what he means, it's teaming with life, life from Earth. There's rain forests and deserts, prairies and tundra, patchwork farmlands and busy cities. We stop and have an espresso in a big city. It's much like Earth, except that everything is electric, so no nasty fumes from the buses. The Chinese waitress who brings our espressos is ever so sweet and shy.
'How do you like it here?' asks Zeus.
'Velly much,' she replies. 'Free hot choccy and donuts on Tuesday.'
I'm sure he meant, How's the asteroid but she seems happy with her lot.
We take off again and fly slowly along a wild surf beach, skimming just above the wave tops. This asteroid is truly spectacular.
'All this while I thought you were on Isora, high on ozone searching for the answer,' I say, impressed with what he has achieved.
'I was,' says Zeus. 'But I finally got up courage and called The Shrink.'
'Freud?'
'Yes Freud,' says Zeus. 'I think I've been his biggest challenge, but look at me, I'm off ozone and back to my former self.'
'What about Earth?' I ask as we travel across the solar system to Zeus's asteroid, Isora.
'What about Earth.' says Zeus. 'It's probably the best thing that ever happened to it; a new start, a new opportunity. Plant and animal life is flourishing.'
'Should I be doing anything?'
'No, just keep an eye on it. Let the people make their own destiny.'
Suits me. I've got my hands full on Camillo.
I don't recognise Isora at first. Last time I visited, it was parched desert, with a few dead trees and a toxic atmosphere. Now it's covered with tall grass, waving in the breeze. We come down to land in front of a cottage set in a small copse of trees, smoke is rising from the chimney and a lady anode comes out to meet us. She gives Zeus a peck on the cheek then turns to meet me.
'Emily,' says Zeus. 'This is my wife, Hera.'
She looks me in the eye with deep brown eyes, soft and motherly, yet sharp and alert at the same time, and embraces me. I feel the warmth of her spirit pass through my body. She's a true goddess.
'Delighted to meet you,' I say.
'My pleasure,' she says. 'It's wonderful to finally meet you. Zeus talks about you so often that I get quite jealous.'
'I'm sure he has been despairing of me,' I say, thinking of all the trouble I've caused.
'Not at all,' says Hera. 'A cup of sweet, milky tea and an Afghan, that's it, isn't it?'
'Perfect,' I say.
We sit in their garden and make girls talk while Zeus tends to his roses. She's quite a girl, this Hera. I invite her to come for a girls’ night out with Annie and Janice. I can see us having a lot of fun together.
'I'd love too. Zeus keeps ever so quiet about his asteroids. I've never heard mention of Zwingly before!'
Moo, moo, mooooo.
There's a lot of mooing going on.
'Zeus,' I say. 'Your cow, does it need milking or something?'
'She wants to see you.'
'Me?'
'Yes, you!'
Picking a large bunch of grass and clover as I go, I follow the mooing to its source. It's Daisy! She's happy to see me. I feed her grass and give her a brisk massage, digging my fingers in until she wriggles in ecstasy.
Her asteroid, Panacea, got completely built up until there was no grass left, so she's moved here to be Zeus's house cow.
'What about the Titans?' I ask Zeus as we head back to Camillo.
'They've had their fingers burnt,' says Zeus. 'They shouldn't be giving us any trouble for a while.'
'I hope not,' I say.
40
Castor calls me up to his moon.
On his screen he shows Zula kissing Ijju and his kids goodbye and mounting his camel ready to head out into the desert.
'It's a special caravan to reopen trade routes,' says Castor. 'They don't know what they are letting themselves in for. The desert is full of warlords with pickups and warplanes. There's no place for the Tuareg camel trains anymore. They'll all be killed.
My heart twinges as we watch the camel train leave the heavily fortified compound and strike out into the desert.
Jesus and Azziz arrive along the beach kicking a football.
'We're just back from Mula,' says Jesus. 'We dropped Angelo back down and got side tracked.'
'Side tracked?' I ask.
'There was a lot of tidying up to do and they were all a bit shaken by what happened. They didn't really want to live there anymore.'
'I'm not surprised,' I say. 'It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen.'
'That Angelo is a lucky man,' says Azziz, changing the subject. 'Petra is delicious!'
'Don't even think about it Azziz,' I chastise, 'You have all these lovely babies running around here and you are eyeing up someone else's girl!'
'I was just appreciating her,' says Azziz.
'Will you ever grow up?'
'Probably not,' he answers.
At least he's honest about it.
'I'd love to spend some time with Petra,' I say. 'I'll go and visit her sometime. It must be so lonely for her down there.'
'We could visit her now,' says Jesus.
'Now?'
'Why not?'
'The kids, I don't want to leave them.'
'Bring them,' says Jesus, pulling the creepers off my sailing dinghy, flipping it over and pulling it down the beach.
We rig up Olive and push off from the beach, with Lilly and River coming along as crew. It's wonderful to have the sails up and get her skipping along through the waves again. I can't remember the last time I went sailing. I was probably before I had kids.
Jesus won't tell me where we're off to. We sail around the headland towards Kastela and stop at the little island with the lighthouse.
'Mula,' says Jesus, as we pull Olive up on the beach.
'Don't you mean
Mulo,' I say, correcting him.
'No Mulo is on Earth, this one's Mula,' he says.
A small boy comes running out through an open gun port followed by a girl with wild red hair. Petra!
41
I can't sleep. I'm worried about Zula. He's been gone for a week now; I hope he's all right. I've been up all night, sitting out on the sofa, watching the stars and the sea. Every time a shooting star streaks across the sky, I make a wish. Always the same wish. Dawn arrives and the sun rises out of the sea, painting my asteroid red and orange with its fiery brush. The dull ache in my heart that has dogged me for years has grown stronger and is burning, egging me on.
I click my fingers and the worm appears on the front lawn. I close my eyes and find myself hovering above the caravan, looking down with eagle eyes. The sun has just risen, giving the camels long black shadows that follow them across the orange dunes like giant spiders.
Zula is at the back. He carries his father's rifle but it's not going to help him much in the ambush that lies ahead, just over the ridge. He’s going to die.
He looks up to the heavens as if he senses me watching.
I want him up here, with me.
Now!
It's about time the kids had a dad.
Just one little click of my fingers and he'll be here.
Click!
The End
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Also published by Vi Grim
Emily Taylor Book 1- Abducted
Emily Taylor Book 2- The Slave Girl
Emily Taylor Book 3 – The Apprentice
