Stealing Time

by Rebecca Bowyer

  “Okay,” she says, barely willing to believe.

  “I can fix him,” says Sebastian.

  “Okay.” Her tears flow again. I think mine might as well.

  “But can I see him first? Please?”

  “Yes,” she says.

  I glance at the clock.

  “Varya, my dear.”

  “Mum? Mum, how many minutes do you have left?” She puts her hand on my knee, her other on the couch, and pulls herself up to sit beside me.

  I put my hands over her hand. “I have sixteen minutes left, my darling Varya.” I look up to Sebastian. “Spare room down the hall, walk through the shimmery circle, then second door on the left down the hallway. Don’t make too much noise. He’s asleep.”

  Sebastian pauses, then nods and walks quickly out of the room.

  “I need to say good-bye now,” I tell Varya when he is gone.

  She doesn’t try to fight me this time. “Thank you. Thank you for…” She sobs. She hasn’t prepared for this moment, but I have. I have had much time in that Time Lock to think about this.

  “Sssh,” I soothe. “Listen to your mother.”

  She nods.

  “Our Kir, he has a long life ahead of him. Reggie, he measured Kir’s life span for me.”

  “Is that why he took the time transfer tech? Reg?”

  “Yes. I asked him to take a reading. I had a dream, a premonition, that Kir only had a life span of just seven years. I was so sure I was right. I didn’t want you wasting away your own years trying to fix a child who would die soon anyway.”

  “But you were wrong,” Varya said, a small laugh escaping along with her next sob.

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, on this one, single occasion. I was wrong.”

  “So, how long does he have?”

  “Barring catastrophe, he has a total of seventy-eight years of life span. He’s already lived nine years, but only four years out here. The Time Chip, Reggie says it will let him live his full sixty-five years out here, it won’t count the ones in the Time Lock. So, our Kir has had five bonus years.” I grin, incredibly pleased with myself. My Kir will get to live for seventy years in total before his Rest Time.

  “Good,” Varya nods fiercely, then. “Good,” she says again.

  “Yes,” I agree. “It is very good.”

  We both sit, silently contemplating Kir as a teenager; Kir as an adult; Kir as a father himself, maybe; Kir as an old man waiting for his own Rest Time Ceremony, a long time from now. I pat her hand.

  “And now I have to let go of you. I will miss you, Varya. But I’ll see you again one day, a long time from now, after your own Rest Time. And Kir. We’ll all be together again, I’m sure.”

  “Oh, Mum, you know I don’t believe in…”

  “Hush. I will believe for us both. You can do whatever you like. Don’t rain on my afterlife.”

  I hold my arms out to her for a big hug then. She comes into my arms and we hold each other fiercely, not looking at the clock, not checking the time. I know it is nearly time. I don’t need the clock to tell me that. I breathe in the smell of my Varya’s beautiful hair, remembering how soft it was when she was first born, how soothing it was to stroke my fingers through it. A damp crown of prolific dark hair, which all fell out soon enough.

  I feel the first stage of the Time Chip’s release. My limbs start to relax, and I feel Varya’s silent sobs increase again.

  “I love you, babushka. You take care of our Kir, won’t you?”

  It’s the last thing I say to her as my eyes close.

  “I love you, too, Mama. I’ll take the best care of Kir that I can, I promise.”

  As the final stage of the Rest Time Chip releases I hear soft footsteps.

  “He’s so beautiful,” Sebastian breathes as he comes into the room. I can picture him taking in the scene. My body slumped against Varya, silent sobs wracking her exhausted body. I apologise silently to her for causing her so much pain all at once. But this is the right way to do it. We both need to let go. This suspended animation isn’t good for anybody.

  “Oh, Varya, I’m so sorry,” he says. It’s the last thing I hear. As I slip out of this world for the last time, I’m barely aware of his warm hands. One on my back. I hope the other is on Varya’s. I’m sure it will be. I thought he seemed changed. I’m sure he is. He’d better be, or I’ll find a way to come back and haunt him.

  Good-bye, my Varya.

  Good-bye, our Kir.

  Chapter fifty-one

  Varya

  Varya sat and held her mother and cried. Loud, wailing cries which released so many years lived with grief and fear. She stroked her mother’s wiry hair and held her mother’s still-warm cheek against her chest. She touched her mother’s hands, so like her own, and placed them gently together.

  Eventually, Sebastian helped her lay her mother out on the couch. Varya slumped to the floor beside her and held Elena’s hand, her sobs almost spent.

  Once all the sad tears had come, the happy ones followed. Sebastian took control and made three phone calls to arrange delivery of the anti-rejection serum for Kir. Varya didn’t know what he told them, and she didn’t care. All she knew was that her mother was gone. It was all she could focus on while Sebastian made arrangements.

  Sebastian’s next call was to Zoe, to tell her the good news—the recipient of Daniel’s life span had been found and was in custody, and they had the means to restore his life span to him. He told her to come to Varya’s apartment, that an ambulance would be arranged, and she could travel with Daniel to the Rest Time Corps medical facility, where his years would be returned.

  Then he knelt down on one knee to Varya and placed his hand over hers.

  “The nightmare is almost at an end, Varya. We’re going to get our little boy back in the world and safe, by our side.”

  When she didn’t respond, he looked at Elena. Varya hadn’t taken her eyes off of her mother for many minutes now. He flexed his jaw and pressed his lips together. He withdrew his hand from Varya’s.

  “I have to ask you some questions, Varya, about your mum.” He rocked back on his heels and stood; slipped a screen out of his pocket and sat on the couch across from mother and daughter. “They may be hard for you to answer, but I need to know, so we can decide what to do from here, okay?”

  Varya didn’t shift her gaze, but she gave a small nod.

  “Was a death certificate prepared for Elena before she went into the Time Lock?”

  Varya shook her head. “No.”

  “Good,” nodded Sebastian. “That’s good, there’ll be nothing in the system then. I’m going to call an ambulance for your mum. They’ll probably be here within half an hour or so, then they’ll take her body to a funeral home.”

  “Okay,” she replied dully.

  “Zoe will be here very soon, as will the ambulance for Daniel. After that, an ambulance for your mum. Do you understand?” He paused.

  “Yes, I understand.” Her words came out in a quiet sigh. It was such a relief to allow someone else to be in charge for once. She looked up at Sebastian then. He had always been so good at taking charge. Now that he was here, she wondered why she hadn’t called him before. Her stubbornness, her refusal to take the advice of her mother and Marisa, all these years. It suddenly seemed so silly. “Thank you,” she whispered, throwing a glance of pain and gratitude in Sebastian’s direction.

  He smiled. “And within an hour or two a doctor will bring the anti-rejection serum for Kir.”

  She withdrew her hand from her mother in alarm, shocked out of her numbness. Kir was no longer safely tucked away with her mother, locked in a bubble together. Her heart pounded loud and fast, her hands started to shake.

  “No, you can’t let them find him, they’ll take him away, they’ll…”

  “Ssh…” Sebastian swooped back to her side and cut her off, putting a finger to her lips. “Nobody’s taking him away. This particular doctor owes me a favour. She’ll keep quiet until we’ve decided what we’r
e going to do about Kir.”

  “She won’t take him away?” Tears streamed down Varya’s face again. She felt so vulnerable, so uncertain. When Sebastian put his arms around her and pulled her head against his shoulder she didn’t resist.

  “No, she won’t take him away. I promise.”

  Varya swallowed and blinked at her tears, sinking into her ex-husband’s warmth. The father of her son. “But the doctor will make Kir better. And he can come out of the Time Lock.”

  Sebastian pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “Yes.”

  Varya nodded once and pulled away from him. She settled back into gazing at her mother, touching the end of her own finger to the end of her mother’s fingers, one at a time.

  “Okay, then,” she said at last.

  She was barely aware of Zoe arriving. Zoe wrapped her arms around her friend and offered her condolences, but only briefly. Her attention was stolen away a few moments later when the ambulance for Daniel arrived. Zoe led them into the Time Lock and then followed them out again with Daniel on a gurney, still sedated. Varya lifted a heavy hand in farewell.

  Sometime after that—maybe minutes, maybe hours—Sebastian came to tell her the next ambulance had arrived, was she ready to say goodbye for now? Was anyone ever ready to say goodbye to their mother, really? Even if you knew the end was coming, even if you were given a specific year, day, time and location? Varya didn’t think she could ever have really prepared for her mother’s death. But still, she stood aside for the paramedics, obediently waiting in the kitchen while they loaded her up and took her away.

  “Drink?” Sebastian asked her when the apartment was quiet again.

  She shook her head, no. Her mind was foggy enough and she needed it to be clear before Kir woke up. Realisation dawned that she would be doing this part alone. Elena had always been there, to help with Kir, but now she wasn’t.

  She wondered whether Kir would even remember his father. She would have to explain to him that his grandmother was dead. Thoughts crashed into each other until she felt thoroughly overwhelmed.

  “Marisa should be here,” she said. “For Kir, I mean. He’s very close to her.”

  Sebastian picked up his screen again. “I’ll call her now.”

  Marisa arrived at the same time as Dr Osborne, a matronly medical professional who had clearly spent more time with unconscious patients than conscious ones. Sebastian led the small party into the Time Lock as though he’d been crossing the threshold for years.

  Dr Osborne held both hands up to the shimmering curtain. She might have raised an eyebrow, Varya wasn’t sure—she couldn’t see from her position tailing behind her—but she definitely paused and cocked her head to one side before she strode through.

  Varya and Marisa crowded the doorway, Sebastian folded himself down onto Kir’s small desk chair. They all watched with bated breath while the doctor set up her equipment and checked Kir over.

  “It’s best if he stays here in stasis until after the serum is administered,” explained Dr Osborne, her back to her audience. “In case he goes into anaphylactic shock. It’ll give me more time to resuscitate if needed.”

  Varya squeezed the hand Marisa offered until Marisa protested.

  “Hey,” she muttered. “Blood supply. Bones. Both important components of my hand, let’s not damage them, yeah?”

  Kir was still blessedly sedated when Dr Osborne slid the needle into a tiny vein on the back of his hand. Varya watched him closely. Did his hand twitch, or was that just her blinking? Did he seem paler than he had a moment ago, or was that just the light?

  “Now, we wait,” said the doctor, perching herself on the end of his bed.

  After twenty minutes with no sound except for Kir’s soft snoring, Dr Osborne checked his pulse for what seemed like the thousandth time. She nodded.

  “He seems stable. You can try removing him from stasis if you like. I’ll stand by outside with the resus kit, just in case.”

  Sebastian moved towards the bed, but Varya was already there. She pulled back the covers, hooked her hands under her little boy’s arms and gently lifted him up, holding him closely to her chest. His sleepy head flopped against her shoulder and she wrapped his legs around her hips, hugging him to her. Without a word, she moved out of the bedroom, down the hallway and straight through the portal. She paused on the other side for a moment, her entire body rigid as she waited for the worst to happen. But Kir’s small body remained soft, warm, and still against her, his chest rising and falling in sync with hers.

  “Bring him in here,” Dr Osborne called from the living room.

  Varya followed her voice and sat on the couch opposite the one her mother had lain on so recently. The doctor indicated the cushions next to Varya with a sweep of her hand and pointed to Kir. Varya shook her head and wrapped her arms around him protectively. Dr Osborne shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a kitchen chair which she deposited in front of Kir and Varya.

  “We’ll check his vitals every five minutes for thirty minutes. If his body is going to reject the Time Chip, we’ll know by then.”

  Varya blocked out everyone and everything in the room and focused on Kir’s heartbeat, feeling it pulse through his chest. She wasn’t relying on five-minute checks. She noted every pulse and every breath her son took for the next thirty minutes.

  Sebastian sat next to her, his arm draped protectively around her, watching.

  It was well after midnight by the time the doctor pronounced Kir stable and left the apartment, assuring Sebastian of her continuing silence both over the identity of her patient and the nature of his affliction.

  Marisa made her exit at the same time, promising to come back in the morning.

  Varya stayed where she was, continuing to mark Kir’s heartbeat, his now-sweaty head resting against her shoulder. Her eyes became heavy and dropped closed. Sebastian cloaked mother and son in a blanket and dimmed the lights. Varya dozed fitfully until the dawn light started to creep in through the unshuttered window. She felt the weight shift from her chest and opened her eyes.

  “Mummy?” croaked Kir, staring at the window in wonder. “It’s darker outside. There’s no sunshine.”

  The corners of her mouth pushed wide even as tears spilled from her eyes.

  “Yes, sweetheart. It’s dawn outside, the sun’s only just coming up. Daddy fixed you. You’re all better now.”

  Kir looked around, taking in his changed surroundings.

  “Where’s Nanna?”

  Varya tried to speak but choked on her tears instead.

  Kir looked at the window again, craning his neck to try to see up and out, into the world. He turned back, his gaze settled on his mother, his nose less than an inch from hers.

  “Can we get a puppy dog, Mum?” he whispered. “A moving puppy dog?”

  Varya laughed and hiccupped, wiping at her eyes. “Sure, why not. Let’s get a puppy dog.”

  Chapter fifty-two

  Marisa

  Marisa arrived at the apartment late in the afternoon, bearing the ingredients for burgers. She stood outside the door, her hand poised to knock, and smiled. She leaned her ear closer to the door and listened to the happy sound of Kir whooping up and down the hallway; Varya calling after him, a light warning tone in her voice. She straightened, pressed the doorbell, and waited.

  Varya opened the door wide. “Hey,” she grinned.

  “Hey,” said Marisa, grinning right back. She stepped across the threshold and pushed the door shut behind her. “How’re you holding up?”

  Varya rubbed her neck, just below her earlobe, and winced. “Happy. Sad. Tired.”

  Marisa laughed. “Bundle of energy, isn’t he?”

  “Marisaaaaa!” shouted Kir, jogging into the room with his arms stretched wide, narrowly missing walls and furniture. “I’m coming in to land!” He flopped himself down on the floor and rolled onto his back, so he lay over the top of both of her feet.

  “Pilot, I’ve seen better landin
gs from a flight of stairs. Now, move off the runway. I’ve got burgers to cook.” She shook her food-laden bags over his head in mock disgust. Kir giggled in delight and rolled off. Varya sank down onto the couch as Marisa went to put the groceries away. When she came back, she stood, leaning against the wall, watching Kir roll around and around the floor.

  “Has he slept at all today?”

  “Not since he woke up this morning,” said Varya, rubbing her eyes.

  “Have you slept at all today?”

  Varya shook her head and chuckled softly. “No. We’ve been out most of the morning, watching the moving people and the moving cars and the moving buses.”

  “And the moving puppy dogs!” said Kir, mid-roll. He came to rest near Marisa. “We’re getting a puppy dog! A moving one!”

  She raised her eyebrow in amusement. “Is that so?”

  “But not today,” said Varya.

  “But not today,” echoed Kir, a serious frown on his face. He perked up suddenly. “But maybe tomorrow!” And then he rolled away again.

  “So, what happens now?” asked Marisa softly.

  “I don’t know. I never thought this far ahead.”

  Marisa nodded and inhaled deeply. She moved over to the couch and sat next to Varya, squeezing her hands between her own knees.

  “Your mum did, though.”

  “How did she find Reg? That was you, wasn’t it?”

  Marisa watched Varya’s face carefully, trying to assess whether she was looking to allocate blame, or simply trying to understand.

  “Yes, that was me. We were both worried about you, and Kir.” She paused, bracing for a backlash. Varya remained silent. “We never meant for the technology to fall into the wrong hands.”

  “I know.” Varya smiled weakly. “You’re not the first to wreak havoc with the best of intentions.”

  “The path to Hell…”

  “Yes, paved with good intentions.” Varya turned to Marisa. “Daniel’s fine, by the way. Zoe called this morning. They pulled the life span restoration procedure off without a hitch.”