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Card Warp
I landed on Olyvia with a thud, taking a moment to lie still and breathe. Something easier said than done when you’re choking on a mouthful of brown wolf fur blocking your airways. A couple choking fits later, and I finally managed to sit up and get a look at my surroundings.
The blue sky above was cloudy, a storm on the horizon creating a cool breeze and a gentle atmosphere. Cobblestone walkways stretched out in a grid-like formation, stretching out into the surrounding darkness and keeping small square grassy islands at bay. Every island was marked by a single giant bush, cut into a square pillar that seemed to hold up the sky. The bushes sparkled as the wind moved them, small red diamonds woven between the leaves.
Olyvia shuddered underneath me, lurching to her feet and slinging her head around like an animal. She let out a roaring growl that echoed in the stillness before her brain caught up with her instincts. She shuddered to a stop, ears twitching and tail flicking as she thought. She took a breath, head finally coming around to me. Her body began to shrink, Olyvia switching back to her human form. I wasn’t sure when she had time to switch, seeing as how she was unconscious just minutes before.
She took another shuddering breath, getting her feet under her and standing. She wobbled a moment, focusing back onto me. “What happened? Where are we?”
“We’re safe,” I answered. “Just...safe.”
“We were supposed to be safe at the Hospital,” she spat, “and Afanasiy still managed to track us down.”
Good point.
“Fine. We’re in a pocket dimension,” I answered. “I made this in my younger days when the magic on Terra was fresher.” Getting my feet under me, I managed to stand despite my own shaky legs. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I found this place when I found the hat. The original owner must have just started building it when I stole this,” I said, tapping a single finger against the brim. “It was a blank slate at the time, so I added a few...details.”
A quick eyebrow quirked. “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Anger shot across her face as she looked around again in a frenzy. “Layla! Where’s Layla!?”
“Seeing as how my phone is nowhere around, my best guess is the curator found her and took her back to the mansion.”
She stared at me in silent fury.
I gave her a small smile and began walking. “C’mon. This way.”
I guess the words ‘pocket dimension’ makes some Terrans uncomfortable. Even the marwolaeth types.
Following the path straight ahead, we found our way to the mansion at the end of the road. Yes, mansion; the space for a large building had already been set up in this dimension by the time I got here. I simply built upon someone else’s foundations, adding a curved roof, multiple stories, rice paper windows and sliding doors. The old-Asia style made me feel more at home.
“If I played my cards right,” I said, pushing the main door aside, “Layla should be right around...”
“Olyvia!” Right on cue, Layla came barreling around the corner, tackling Olyvia to the ground in a hug. In a momentary lapse of character, Olyvia wrapped her arms around Layla and squeezed her tight in an affectionate hug.
While they cried and hugged and proceeded to be girls, I switched my beat-up shoes to a comfy house pair and walked further in, looking around. The square entry room had been cleaned to the nines, in accordance with a deal I managed to strike with the dimension’s prime occupant. Unfortunately, I didn’t see her anywhere.
“Suma?” I called.
“Over here,” came the response. Suma’s leggy figure padded across the tatami mats, her bare feet making almost no noise. White tiger-skins were pulled tight around her, same as always, the rope wrapped around her and knotted at her hip. Her yellow eyes glinted as she gave me a cat-like smile, holding up my phone before tossing it to me.
“Ah, good,” I said, catching it. “You got my message.”
“How could I not?” She responded, glancing over at Layla. Her eyes slid over to Olyvia, an odd look crossing her face as she watched them interact.
Taking a few steps closer, I whispered, “not here.”
“Not here,” she agreed. Olyvia looked up, catching Suma’s gaze and holding it just for a moment. Something flickered there, but it passed too quickly to have any lasting impact.
“You must be Suma,” Olyvia said to her, head dipping as she continued, “health in the forest, Suma.” A marwolaeth greeting. Interesting. “Thank you for taking care of Layla. I would have hated to kill you if you hurt her while I wasn’t around.”
“Manners,” I snapped. “I may not care on earth, but this place is my home.”
Suma let out a chuffing noise with a smile. “Relax, canine,” she purred. “After Rod’s electronic note, I had little choice in matter.”
“Enough,” I said as authoritatively as I could. I turned to Olyvia. “Stop threatening her; part of the reason Suma is here is to kill potential intruders. She would have only been doing her job.”
“And this was the safest place you could think to send her?” Olyvia snorted.
“Look, you two are safe here. Afanasiy can’t find you, and Suma patrols the grounds for any active threats, infrequent as they are. I can’t guarantee how long you’ll be able to stay, as I think the house already has guests—” I glanced at Suma, who gave a small nod, “—and this dimension isn’t designed to support a whole lot of extra people. But I’ve got some things to look up and you’ve got some recoup to do. You two can rest here as long as possible, so long as you follow my rules. I’ve only got a few, so listen carefully.”
After going over house rules and making the girls agree to them, I left to bathe and eat. Olyvia opted to rest first, and, once I reassured the she-wolf there was no current danger anywhere around us, Layla decided she wanted to roam the grounds. I was glad for the kid. Some days a wander alone did wonders for the mind and soul.
A quick wash later, I was out walking the backyard garden, as was my custom. Despite this being a custom-made reality, some things didn’t change; Suma and I struck many deals over the years, one of which involved her caring for the grounds in exchange for laboratory space. The garden was possibly the easiest part of her duties, as I only grew cucumbers.
“They are coming along nicely,” Suma said softly from behind me. “Almost ready to pick.”
“So’s your English,” I responded, pulling one of the slender green fruits from the vine, looking it over. “I almost couldn’t tell you from your sister.” Suma stiffened. I picked another fruit.
“Why is she here?” Suma asked. “Why did you bring them?”
“We needed a safe space to stay. This is a safe space.”
“And if my sister finds the truth?”
“We’ll either explain,” I said, pulling another few cucumbers free, “or we’ll make her forget.” I stood up with a small bundle in my arms, looking them over. “You’re a good caretaker, despite first impressions.”
“Of course. I used to be...” Suma hesitated. Shook her head. “Of course.”
She followed me in a sullen silence as I moved further into the garden. Eventually she broke it when she murmured, “I gathered from talking to the child she does not know your truths.”
“Of course she doesn’t. We’ve all got our secrets, right?” I shot her a sideways look as we approached a small water pump.
“I do not understand you. Hiding your nature will harm no one. Telling them will not hurt them. Kappas are not unique or special. Why do you not tell them?”
I sighed, removing a wooden bucket from the handle of the pump and placing it on the ground. “Because there’s no good time to randomly declare ‘hey, I’m a Japanese water imp called a Kappa that’s been around since before the marwolaeths came to Terra.” I began to work the handle, water pumping out the spout and splashing into the bucket. “Just like there’s no good time for you to declare that you’re the sister she thought she lost and you’ve been actively hiding from her since someone mutated you in a lab.”
Suma bristled. “Hush!” she snapped, glancing around. “You do not know who watches.”
“No one, hopefully,” I responded. “There shouldn’t be anyone in the garden besides you and me.” It was one of my rules, and it was grounds for being kicked out or killed. We stood in silence for a few seconds more, sloshing water the only sound between us. Eventually I finished and let the stream die out before heaving the bucket over my shoulder.
“Oh,” I said, turning to her, “by the way. Jamie contacted me.”
Suma’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Really? Where?”
“Dunno,” I answered, walking away. “He sent the message from a community in Scotland and used the old network to contact my wardrobes directly. I think I’m following up. If he gives me my water back before our deal is completed, we may have to revisit said deal.”
She shot me a dangerous look, but said nothing.
“Speaking of, my spying on Afanasiy has reached its inevitable end.”
“What happened?”
“He got my nerves. So I killed him.”
She stopped for two paces and stared at the back of my head. “And that is only reason?”
“Well,” I gave a small shrug, “what else do you do to a fly in your face?” I paused, glancing back over my shoulder with a small smile. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“To the death? No. I am annoyed I no longer have him as a source of information. I will have to find a new one.”
“I hope you know I’m not stalking someone else until you can give me proof you’re working on obtaining my ‘freedom’ from Jamie.”
She gave me an odd little smile and we walked the rest of the way in silence. The funny thing was I only did what she asked because I was curious about the marwolaeth war and it was still in line with Jamie’s forced promise. When he stole the pendant I had funneled all my strength and magic into, I had no choice but to do as he asked. But until he personally released me from my promise to protect Olyvia at all costs, I was bound to him and him alone. Now, it didn’t mean I was going to break a deal with her for no reason. Manners are still manners, after all.
I followed a small stone path that wound itself to the center of the garden. There we stopped, the center marked by a round beaten path surrounding a single grave.
“To the original topic,” I said softly. “There are some things that simply don’t need to be said, even to those we...well, there are some things that simply don’t need to be said.” I glanced away from the tombstone to Suma. “You of all people should understand.”
“I understand your words,” she responded. “But do not understand your mind. Secrets are only kept when there is reason. My sister would break if she knew. I do not think yours is the same.” Before I could respond, she let out a soft sigh. “But I will leave you. I have ‘experiments’ to attend, and you must spend time with your dead.”
I waited until her figure disappeared from view, her feet as silent as ever. Putting the bucket down, I fished a rag out of my pocket and began enacting one of the human traditions I had learned from my mother. I cleaned the stone and the gravesite, set up some incense sticks, laid out a couple of cucumbers from the garden, and sat down to contemplate the gravesite.
It was a bit of a silly thing, to be honest. The grave had been created by one of me, whichever one of me happened to be here at the time of death’s visit. While I may have only been human on my mother’s side, some of the traditions she taught me had stuck even after all this time. In the end, I suppose traditions and stories are the only real things left after we pass.
My mother survives through me because I choose to remember her traditions. Whenever it is that I truly die, I will only live as long as my stories do. Beings, Terrans and otherwise, are easily forgotten. Stories and traditions are not.
I guess that’s all any of us can truly strive for.
Eventually I stood, cleaned up the gravesite, and made my way back to the mansion. There was work to be done, research to be had, and idiots to protect. Sometimes I wondered what the original would do if he were still alive to see all his clones doing things like saving people and passively participating in an off-planet war.
Ah well. Such is life.
Here lies Rod,
The first,
The original,
The best.
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LevelUP: Short Stories from a Short Author
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