Kiini Salaam - Ancient, Ancient

“You must find a way to return the belt,” head-mother had sung.

On that signal, one of the mothers had waved her hand over Laki’s wardrobe portal, and her cloths had shot out on their rod. In a blur of twelve hands, Laki was quickly dressed in an outfit reminiscent of the mothers’ clothing.

As the mothers had led Laki out of the room, Se-se had run behind Laki, grasped her sister’s hand, and whispered, “I’m going to find him.”

The Laki flashing her hips and flirting with the crowd at her goodbye party was completely different from the Laki glumly heading to training in her mother-unit whites. Laki had looked ghostly and ashen in her training cloths. On the dance floor, Laki was blindingly vibrant and unmistakably alive.

Se-se was still rousing herself from memory when Laki spun around and threw herself into someone’s arms. She pressed against him quickly then wandered off the dance floor. Se-se lurched forward, afraid that she would lose Laki in the throng of revelers. As she rushed after Laki, Se-se’s foot slipped and she lost her balance. She grabbed wildly at the nearest person to keep herself upright. When she regained her balance, she realized she was draped on a stranger’s chest.

The stranger wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter and longer than necessary.

“Don’t you smell good,” he laughed.

Se-se untangled herself, gave a grateful giggle, and turned to leave.

“Wait, is this yours?” the stranger asked, thrusting a black cloth at her. “You tripped on it.”

“Thanks,” Se-se said. She grabbed the cloth and nudged her way through the crowd. When she reached the edge of the party, she saw Laki reclining on the floor, draped across a few pillows. Se-se kneeled in front of her sister and leaned toward her. When Laki saw Se-se, she broke into a wide smile. She took Se-se’s face in her hands and kissed her on the cheek. Se-se handed Laki the cloth. Laki wiped her face and sweaty torso with it.

“Don’t bathe with it, put it on.”

“What is it?” Laki asked, stretching the cloth out to see it better.

“Your cloth.”

Laki laughed. “Thanks, sis.”

“Are you going to put it on?”

Laki wrapped it around her neck like a scarf and threw one end over her shoulder. “Are you here to parent me or to party?”

“I’m here to save you.”

Laki rolled her eyes.

Se-se grasped Laki’s shoulder. “I found Fogo.”

Laki did not react. Her expression didn’t show surprise, fear, or joy. Her face locked out all emotion and refused to even hint at her feelings. Someone stumbled over Se-se, and she crawled forward to sit next to her sister.

“Did you hear me?”

“Is he coming for his belt?” Laki asked coolly.

“No, but there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Laki sighed. “Se-se, I don’t need another belt.”

“It’s not like that. Where’s your pod?”

“Why?”

“I told you, I want you to meet someone.”

“And leave my party? No way!”

Laki reached out and grabbed a woman’s leg. The woman kneeled, then yelled Laki’s name. Within seconds, Laki and her friend were cuddling and giggling.

“We don’t have time for this,” Se-se said before standing up and looking around. She had never been inside Laki’s pod and didn’t know how long it would take to check all the labels on the gathered pods to find Laki’s. She looked down at her sister, whose hands were now roaming over her friend’s body. You’ve come this far , she said to herself. Laki’s worth it, keep going.

She reached past Laki’s friend and gripped Laki on the arm. “It’s very important that you wait for me here, please!”

Laki nodded her head, mocking Se-se’s grave tone with a falsely serious expression on her face. She watched Se-se go, then turned to look deeply into her friend’s eyes.

Just as her friend was descending for a kiss, Laki heard, “Laki?”

She looked up and saw Zaha. Zaha’s eyes were moist, like she had been crying. Laki’s friend rolled over and Laki sat up.

“What’s wrong?” Laki asked taking Zaha’s hand.

“I can’t find my pod.” Zaha burst into loud sobbing.

Laki leapt up, swaying until she could find her footing.

“Oh no, sweetheart. It’s okay, we’ll help you.”

“I don’t know why I’m so emotional over this. I’m a wreck.”

“It’s the smoke,” Laki said squeezing Zaha’s hand. “It makes the highs higher and the lows lower.”

Laki started to edge forward, but she stumbled more than she walked. Her friend stopped her.

“You sit down. I’ll take her, but you better be here when I get back.”

Zaha and Laki hugged each other tightly. Zaha opened her mouth to speak, but Laki silenced her.

“Shhhhh, everything is fine. Everything is beautiful. I love you.”

She kissed Zaha and pushed her away. Zaha left, peeking back until the bodies of the partygoers obstructed her view of Laki.

Laki lay down again and rested her head against the pillows. She closed her eyes and felt the air around her spinning. She opened her eyes. Nothing around her had changed. The pods were still conjoined, hovering near the dim star bar, and the party was still packed with revelers. Laki closed her eyes again and felt her stomach drop. All of a sudden she was alone in her pod and it was rapidly descending. Her pod stopped with a bump.

She opened her eyes and jerked upright. All around her, people were dancing and coupling; the blue haze still colored the air. She exhaled and lay against the pillows again. When she closed her eyes again she felt herself drifting into another time. She actually saw herself in her pod. Then she heard a voice that was so deep it was disorienting say: “Sorry about that.”

She knew that voice. It belonged to a stranger who had skin that was as dark as hers, but whose teeth were more perfect. His hair was locked and tied into wild knots all over his head. She saw him lounging with a bemused grin on his face as his pod began to fuse with hers. She opened one eye to peek out at the party once more. It was still there. Then she closed her eyes and gave herself to memory.

A hole was opening in her pod.

“I should be more careful,” the stranger with the deep voice apologized. He stuck his hand into the gradually widening hole between their pods. “It seems we’ve fused unintentionally. I’m Fogo, and you are?”

Laki jumped to her feet and grabbed his hand. “Laki.”

By the time the hole became large enough for him to step through, Laki had arranged her body in a casual but confident stance.

“Ahh,” Fogo sighed, “you seem to be a little wet.”

Laki shot him a look of faux irritation. “Our little accident triggered the shower module.”

“Well, come over,” Fogo invited with the wave of his hand. “I’ve got some heat and a little star juice.”

“You drink in your pod?”

“Sometimes, but don’t tell the regulators.”

“How do you know I’m not a regulator?”

“Besides the fact that I know all the regulators in the Stretch, I can tell just by looking at you that you’re a regulator’s nightmare.”

Fogo winked, and Laki’s insides shivered. She glanced up at the ceiling of his pod and saw that his marriage belt was still there, casting a seductive golden glow. When he noticed her looking, he sighed.

“Yep, maturation 25, and I’m still hanging out in the Velvet Stretch.” He waved his fingers over his drink portal. “Star juice?”

She stood facing him, looking right into his eyes, then taking in his whole face as if reading his history. He took her hand and brought it up to the drink portal. Laki dropped her head back and opened her mouth beneath the drinking spout.