Demicore

Chapter 4

For the first time since their previous fight, Elizabeth was kind and inquisitive with someone other than Katlin. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well, we can't go far because most of the neighborhood was declared a wildlife reserve and turned back into a pretty deep swamp, but Dad managed to save most of the backyard so let's go out there."

Confused, she followed. When they reached what had once been a beat up sliding glass door that did not like to slide and found a beautiful set of french doors installed, they almost had to hold her up because her knees tried to give way. Then she looked beyond the doors. There was the beautiful garden she had always wanted - surrounded by the most beautiful swamp she had ever seen. When they reached the lawn chairs that had been set on the patio, they were practically carrying her.

She sat and looked around in awe for a few moments before saying, "It all looks so... cultivated."

"Mmm," Sonya said, "Dad promised that for the ability to keep this house an oasis in the middle, he would spend the money and take the time to put nature back into it's perfect balance around the place for a good 5 miles in any direction and what nature did on its own after that he 'would not impede'."

"He took great care in looking for things that would fit into that category and still be aesthetically pleasing to you," Katlin chimed in, "bearing in mind, even how long it would be and how much things would grow between then and now."

"I can't believe it," Elizabeth whispered. But to the girls' amazement she had done a full circle and was staring back at the house, "I've always wanted a set of french doors." They were beautiful. White to match the trim on the house with brushed nickel handles. The doors, more than anything else so far, told her that far too much had changed since the few weeks it should have been from her attack until now. At the time she was attacked, they were saving pennies to pay down credit cards and afford the doors that were to her a luxury, certainly not a necessity so she would not allow them to be purchased yet. She had looked at every set of french doors she could find in any store anywhere near them so that she would know a good price and when they could buy them. These looked custom made.

"If we are in a swamp, how is there electricity?" Elizabeth asked when it finally dawned on her that they couldn't be powered by a city that wasn't there anymore.

"Photo voltaic cells cover the roof and are hooked into a generator installed in the basement we dug out of the crawlspace," Sonya said sounding just like her father.

"I suppose he finally got around to the whole cooling the house with water pipes underground, too?"

"Not the way I always talked about doing it when we were younger, but yes. Everything about this place is environmentally friendly now. It's the only way we could convince the people to let us keep it." Erik walked around the side of the house, not able to stay away from Elizabeth any longer, hoping and praying that his presence would not set back her acceptance of what had transpired.

"I would assume, if what I am told is true, that nothing is the way you would have done it when we were younger," she said with a shy, accepting smile.

"No, you're right," he said softly and walked over to her. He softly touched her cheek with the back of his fingers, "there isn't very much done now the way we would have done it then. There have been so many discoveries and so many improvements made on inventions we already had... I'm looking forward to sharing all of that with you if you'll let me."

Elizabeth took his hand in hers. Her soft smile faded just a little and made her whole face look more serious. "We still have a few things to sort out before I can go quite that far," she paused, "but I am willing to start the sorting process."

Erik's grin took up his whole face. It looked like he had been given a second chance at life. He bounced into the chair next to her and asked in a very excited voice, "Where do you want to start? What do you want to sort first?"

"Dad! She said she was willing to 'start the sorting process' not accept and learn everything, take a breath would you?" Katlin interjected. The smile on her face belied the shocked tones she took with him and even Elizabeth had to laugh at them. He feigned being hurt with the way she spoke to him just long enough for them all to burst into laughter for several minutes and his heart to burst with love, pride, and gratitude. Finally his family was back together again.

And so began her healing in earnest, learning about what had happened between when she was alive and now that she was back. Every day her health grew stronger. Every day they talked more about the things that changed and those that had stayed the same. They talked about each tree and why it was chosen around the house, about the furniture that had stayed and why each piece had left, about the photo voltaic cells and how Erik had studied light until he could create a seemingly transparent cell. He went on and on describing each little detail of how it wasn't actually transparent, just choosing which part of the light to reflect back and which part to absorb until finally Katlin sighed and told him she didn't think Mom really cared in that much detail.

They had long since stopped wearing the white doctor's coats by the time Elizabeth felt strong enough to insist on doing some of the chores with them, although she did admit that the martial arts they practiced in the back yard every day were still beyond her scope even after the last I.V. and monitor were removed from her bedroom. Her strength returned. Still she avoided asking the question that ate constantly at her heart: Who and what was this Andy to Erik?

"Mom? Mom?" Sonya waved her hand in front of her mother's eyes and started to check her vital signs. "Mom, are you feeling ok? You're spacing out a little..."

"Sonya, calm down I was just lost in thought."

Sonya sat down next to her mother, not convinced that she shouldn’t be concerned. "Mom, it's started to rain and you didn't even notice. What could be that consuming that you haven't even budged for the last twenty minutes?"

She wanted to ask. It was on the tip of her tongue. Her heart thought it would erupt if she didn't get the answers she so desperately needed, which made her glad she was no longer hooked up to the monitors. "I was thinking that it is time to get off this tiny island and find out what the rest of the world has been up to for the past hundred and fifty years."

"Um.... you're going to find it's really different..." she started hesitantly.

"I rather assumed it would be. That is a long time for things to not change all that much and one of the reasons I said I would like to know what the world has been up to. Now, if we can start making plans to get me out of seclusion, I'd appreciate it." The fact that she said it with a soft smile took some of the sting out of the comment. They had worked long and hard for a lot of years to make the house and yard just so for Elizabeth to cultivate her healing as fast as possible. Now the job was done and there had to be new steps taken... Sonya wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't planned that far in advance. Everything had hung in the balance between Elizabeth's survival and healing...

Sonya left her mother sitting in the lawn chair in the back yard and stormed into the kitchen where Katlin and Erik were preparing a meal.

"I thought you were going to let Mom know that lunch is almost ready," Katlin stated quizzically.

"She's out back," Sonya brushed off the comment, "What happens next?"

"We call her in to the table to eat, otherwise the sandwiches will be soggy and the tea will be watered down. I know it's a warm rain, but it's still won't make the food taste any better," Erik replied, completely missing Sonya's urgent stance and tone.

"No, what happens now that she's healed enough to leave the house? What provisions have been made? What will the papers print? What will people say? Has anyone made any plans this far out?"

"Hey, take a breath, would you?" Katlin said in slight irritation.

"Yeah, Katlin's usually the one for the dramatics, you usually have things planned and figured for months if not years in advance," Erik broke in. "Of course some loose provisions have been made. There needs to be a couple of phone calls. What put you in such a panic, anyway?"