Eden Motherlandtrilogy 1

Chapter 19, 20/Part10

19. Atrium

I was a little boy again and sat on Samantha's lap. I was scared to death and felt that she was too. Mother was sitting opposite us. I was watching her. She had lit a cigar and was smoking all over us. Gabriel was also there. He was much younger, his beard was not as thick.

"Very well, Samantha! We'll keep the child and we'll send Lydia a photo every month. We'll let him go to Eden. We want him to be a runner and a fighter, just like his father was. The photos will let Lydia know her son is still alive and we'll make it unmistakably clear to her that if we see so much as the tip of the tail of one of her people, that will change."

Samantha nodded, she was sad. I didn't know why. Then Mother got up, came towards us and blew smoke in my face:

"You are cute, my little one, do you know that?"

I didn't say anything and I didn't know.

"You are like your father, a pity. I had him on my lap when he was as small as you. Why did he want to betray the family?

I had no choice."

Someone else came into the room, smoking too. It was Ramon.

"Ah Ramon, good of you to come."

Ramon looked at me, also clearly younger, with more hair and not so broken.

"You take him under your fittish. This is the little Slizitsky."

Ramon was surprised: "He's too young!"

"Yes, he is. But why don't you explain to him that he was also too young for you to have shot his father in the back?"

"You made me."

Mother laughed: "You've always had a pick!"

When I woke up, I looked at three faces, one was black. I was startled and looked around: "Peter?"

"There's no Peter here. Sorry, buddy! "said the one with the black face. His teeth were very, very white, even whiter than Motti's.

"This one is Levi," he pointed to a boy with fair skin and light eyes who was bald. "Hi!"the paleface grined.

The Black nooded to a third.

"He understands you, but doesn't speak."

The boy had reddish hair and looked at me with interest.

"Oh no, he's dead!" Everything that had happened on the road to the mainland came back to me, I slumped forward and put my head in my fingers.

"Sorry, mate. I'm Milo, by the way." The black man put his surprisingly large hand on my shoulder, "You've got quite a bump there. Does it hurt?"

I didn't feel like moving and I didn't. I wished to be dead, just as Peter was dead. Milo seemed to understand that. Nevertheless, he advised me: "There'll be food soon. I'd go if I were you. You're pretty starved. No offence!"

At some point I heard a gong. The sound of the sea was still in my ears. But here I smelled no salt. I looked around the room: The wall was just pure masonry, the windows were barred. I stood on the bed where I had been lying and clasped the bars with my hands. There was the same moon. But where was I? Was I still the same?

Then the mute Snups came and took me by the arm. I didn't want to, but he pointed through the door, which was open, and took his left hand with thumb and forefinger to his mouth.