by DK Andrews
whisper, “That kid just waved at me.”
“What?” She looks over at the curly-haired girl.
“Hi,” Nicole says with a smile.
“Hello,” the girl responds, extending her hand for a high-five. Nicole gently meets the girl’s hand with her own.
I’m in shock. My mouth opens and shuts like a goldfish, with no sound coming out. Our cart shakes as we slowly descend.
“What’s your name?” Nicole asks.
“Sophie.”
“Hi Sophie. I’m Nicole.”
Sophie turns her eyes to me as if waiting to hear my name. “I’m Alina,” I say, quivering.
“Nice to meet you guys,” she says.
I grasp her hand in an attempt to determine if she’s real or she’s just a figment of my imagination.
“I think she’s real, Alina,” Nicole says, yet again reading my mind.
“How is this possible?” I ask. I wave my hands in front of Sophie’s mother.“Hello! Can you hear me too?”
The mother ignores me and carries on her conversation with her other daughter.
I guess it’s only us three that can talk to each other, I conclude.
The wheel stops and the door of our cabin opens.
“Come on Sophie,” says Nicole, grabbing Sophie’s hand. “It’s time to go.”
The three of us jump out, and Sophie strolls ahead of us.
“Who is she?” I ask Nicole nervously.
“I have no idea! I know just as much as you do.”
“I want to find out.”
Nicole sighs and stares off. “God, she reminds me of Erica so much.”
“Does she?”
“Absolutely. Her face, her demeanor. She’s just as pretty as Erica was.”
Nicole rushes after Sophie, and I follow. Once we catch up to her, we grab her little hands and lock her between us.
“I don’t think she’s a Dator,” I say to Nicole over Sophie’s head.“She can’t be.”
“What’s a Dator?” Sophie asks, looking up at me.
I bite my lip and hesitate. I look at Nicole for help.
“Um,” Nicole says. “It’s someone who helps other people.”
“I help animals!” Sophie smiles and jumps. Nicole and I simultaneously catch her in mid-bounce and lift her up higher. Sophie giggles so infectiously, that Nicole and I start chuckling too.
“You are so precious,” Nicole says to Sophie.
“Mommy says that, too,” Sophie responds, wiggling herself out of our hands. She runs ahead, and we watch her closely.
“I agree with you,” Nicole says. “Sophie is too dear to give her life away. Besides, it’s not possible. Dators have to be 18 to participate, no?”
“I had to wait for my 18th birthday to join,” I say.
“So who is she then? How is she able to see us?”
Nicole looks concerned.
“Let’s find out,” I say.
We run to Sophie. I squat to her level and ask, “Was that your mom back there?”
“No, but she looks like my mommy.”
“Where is your mommy then?” Nicole says, cutting into the conversation.
“She’s with me in a room,” Sophie says, looking up at Nicole. “She’s waiting for me to wake up.”
“In a room? Like in your house?”
“No, in a big glass building.”
“Glass building?” Nicole looks at me, shaking her head. “What is she talking about?” She leans down and brushes Sophie’s hair off her face. “Sophie, honey, how did you get here, to the Fantasy World?”
“I don’t know,” Sophie said, her arms crossed now. “I told you, I’m sleeping, I can’t see anything, but I hear everything.”
“I can’t make sense of it,” Nicole says as she stands back up.
“Doctors in a glass building put me to sleep while I wait to be healthy again,” Sophie explains. “I came to Fantasy World through a computer. They put a helmet on me. In the computer, I’m healthy.”
“A helmet?” Nicole says, shocked. She looks over to me. “She can’t be a Dator. She’s probably the Receiver.”
“Mommy tells me that I will wake up soon,” Sophie tells us. “Daddy is very sad. They both cry all the time.” At that, she runs off.
“She is not a Dator; obviously something happened to her, and she’s not well. She’s ‘waiting to get healthy,’ right? We need to find out where exactly this Doctor’s office is. She said a glass building, so it’s not Ultima.” I let out a deep sigh, remembering the way Sophie was talking about her Mommy. Her parents must be devastated; they would do anything to save their daughter’s life. Not like my mother, who’d probably be the first in line to sell my life rather than save me.
“I can only imagine how Sophie’s parents feel right now,” Nicole said. “But at least they have hope to help them get through their hard time. I didn’t get to have hope. The Conversion wasn’t around when Erica died. But then again even if it was available, I wouldn’t have been able to give her my life since we were direct blood relations.”
“That’s right,” I say, remembering reading something like that. “I wonder why that is?”
“I have no idea. Something to do with genetics, maybe.”
“Anyway, I think we should see if Sophie can direct us to this glass building. I’m sure it’s not Ultima,” I say. “I mean, children can’t be used as Dators.”
Nicole looks at me. “We all have our reasons why we ended up at Ultima. You’ve heard mine; so what’s yours?” Nicole asks.
I’m not in the mood to talk about my past, confess all my pain and despair. I ignore the question and look around, trying to find Sophie. She is standing in front of the cotton candy kiosk.“We should see if Sophie can take us to the glass building she’s talking about.”
“You want a cotton candy?” I ask Sophie as we approach.
“Yes please!”
I grab the blue cotton candy and hand it to her. “Can you show me where the glass building is, Sophie?” I ask her.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she replies.“Somewhere in the city. There’s a lake beside it.” She outlines a circle in the air.
A glass building in front of a lake…There is no doubt what building she’s talking about.
“Shall we go?” Nicole says, walking toward us.
“Yes, and I think I know where.”
I lead the three of us out of Fantasy World. All Sophie needs to do is recognize the building, and Nicole and I can take it from there.
Sophie and Nicole walk behind me. I can see they are beginning to form a special connection. With Nicole holding Sophie by the hand, they do look like mother and daughter. But why is Sophie here? Does she really exist? Or is it Nicole’s mind that created her? And if that’s the case, how am I seeing her too? Why is this happening to us?
“This way, guys,” I say.
I turn and can’t help but smile. Both Sophie and Nicole look happy. Sophie is consumed in her story, and Nicole can’t get enough of listening to the child’s tender voice. We are getting close—I hear my heart beat.
“There, there it is!” Sophie says with excitement, pointing to the building in the shape of a rising sun, with glass panels attached to free lines, creating an illusion of the building moving and turning.
“It’s Novus Centre, isn’t it?” Nicole says, sounding distressed.
“Yes. Yes it is,” I say. My first day at Ultima, I’d overheard Dr. Kismen’s phone conversation with someone, and they were talking about the Novus Center. “Do you know what happens here?” I ask. I’m sure she knows—even I know. When it was first under construction, it created a real fuss in the city. The city divided into two: one supported the Conversion, the other did not.
“I do,” Nicole says. “I did my research before coming to Ultima.”
We stand in front of the building, too scared to go in. Nicole is holding Sophie’s hand; she doesn’t want to let her go.
“Clearly she’s a Receiver and not a Dator
,” Nicole says, looking at me.
One of us could very well be the giver of her new life. Between the two of us, I’d guess it’s me, as I have a longer life expectancy. Either way, Sophie’s parents will be very happy to have their daughter back. She deserves to live; she’s just a child, and so innocent.
I step forward in the direction of the Novus Center.
“Where are you going?” Nicole asks.
“I’m going inside,” I say. “I want to see what’s happening inside. You guys can wait for me here if you’d like.”
Nicole leads Sophie to the garden in front of the pond, and they sit down on a bench.
Looking around, I immediately realize how different the Ultima and Novus Centers are. Ultima’s gray look, its dry bushes, the gray road—it carries a feeling of anguish. Novus, on the other hand, is the opposite: you feel as though you’re looking at the rising sun, the building is surrounded by beautiful gardens, which provide a sweet aroma. Breathing in the fresh smell of flowers brightens up your mood in an instant. Novus gives people hope, desire, and taste for living, while Ultima does everything possible to remind you that your existence in this world is for nothing, and life is full of torment.
I step closer to the entrance. The windows are tinted, I can’t see inside. I try the door a few times, but with no luck. “It’s locked!” I shout over to Nicole.
“Well, come over here then!” she responds, clearly uncomfortable with my attempts to enter the building and make an investigation.
I want to explore the area, to see if I can find out what’s happening inside. Are the Receivers inside? Do they even exist? Could Ultima be tricking us, our life energies being used for something else and not to save another human? But then who’s Sophie? Is she real? She brought us here. I’m worried I won’t have time to find all the pieces