Page 71 of The Pacifist
Mila
I avoided talking with Jonah for two long weeks. The short texts between us were bad enough. They made me miss sharing every thought in my head with him.
Despite the Northlands being in a messy and chaotic time itself, the country was still buzzing about the unfairness of what was happening in the Motherlands.
On the day of Jonah’s hearing in the Council, Raven and Leo came over and we gathered in the entertainment room of the Manor with my family. It felt extra special because Magni was with us.
Erika kept fussing over him. “Maybe we should open a window so you can get some fresh air. You’re always running hot… are you hot?”
“Mom, I’m fine, just sit down and relax for a moment.”
“You sure you don’t need anything to drink or eat? I don’t want you moving around too much.”
Magni grunted. “I’m not some frail flower. The doctors told me not to overdo it. They didn’t tell me to stay still.”
“But it’s only been a week since the operation.”
“And I’m feeling good.” My dad looked deep in concentration as he lifted his new legs and placed them on the coffee table in front of him. “Ahh, see, you don’t know how good it feels to be able to put my feet up again.”
Raven, who sat curled up with Leo in the large sectional sofa, chuckled. “At least no one can accuse you of having stinky feet.”
“That’s right.” Magni grinned. “I’m thinking about what tattoos I want.”
“Are you getting the same bear again?” I sat close to my dad and touched his new arm where he’d once had a large tattoo of a roaring bear on its hind legs showing claws and teeth.
“Maybe.”
I played with the fine hair on his arm. “It looks so much like your old arm. I mean your fingers… it’s incredible how real they look.”
“We have Shelly to thank for it. Her pet project of designing natural-looking sex-bots took the robotic limbs industry to new heights. This is skin grown from my own tissue in a lab, and according to Shelly, the engineering that went into the machinery underneath is cutting edge.”
Laura smiled and played with his hair. “You’ll be the sexiest sex-bot Shelly has ever created, and all mine.”
My dad chuckled and whispered something in her ear that made Laura flush red.
“I’m very impressed, Dad. I’ll have to call Shelly and compliment her.”
My mom was glowing with love as she twirled her finger around a lock of her red hair. “Your father already did. Of course, he took Shelly down a notch when he told her a real genius would have figured out how to grow whole body parts in a lab by now.”
“Ha, good one.” Raven grinned. “But seriously, when are you going to be ready to fight again? I wanna enjoy it while I can still beat you.”
Magni gave Raven a cheeky smile. “I’ll let you know. It’ll be good for me with some easy training partners, you know, to start slow.”
Raven puffed herself up and placed her hands on her hips. “I was going to go easy on you, but that’s not happening now.”
The whole-hearted laugh that came from Magni was like sweet music filling the room. “I love how easy it is to rile you up, Raven.”
Leo was grinning too and pulled Raven in to kiss her on the top of her hair. “That’s usually her talent.”
“Shhh… You people are way too noisy with all your laughter,” Pearl complained and turned up the sound. “They are talking about Jonah and I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
Magni groaned. “They’ve been talking about him all morning and they keep saying the same things over and over. When is his speech coming on?”
My grandmother, Erika, expressed concern. “Magni, are you tired? Do you need to rest?”
Before the accident, my dad would have rolled his eyes and resented that kind of comment, but this time, he leaned forward and took Erika’s hand with a warm smile. “Mom, I appreciate how much you care, but I’m fine.”
It was another reminder of how much Magni had changed after the crash. Being forced to accept help from others had humbled him. I kept stroking his new hand and turned my attention back to the large interactive wall where a journalist was interviewing people on the street of Kingstown.
