by more of those fantastically bright lights. T hese were at tached to poles that stretched high into the air . Other machine carriages passed them going in the opposite direction, and she wondered what it might be like to drive one.
Gigantic, brightly lit signs were posted along the side of the road featuring all sorts of smiling people and giant words she recognized in most cases but not all. “Abortion stops a beating heart? What does that mean?”
“I have three words that will make your time here a lot easier, Starflower . Ignorance is bliss.”
Aster grinned at the nickname. She’d never heard it before. “ How long have you been here?”
“I’m comin’ up on my thirtieth year. Came over when I was a few years older than you.”
“Will you return to Ellemire one day?”
Ivy sighed. “No, I don’t think so, hon. It’s very hard to go back once you spend awhile over here.”
“How come?”
“It’s somethin’ bout how this world grabs hold of you. I don’t think it would let me go, even if I wanted it to. But more important, I’m not sure Ellemire would have me back. I might have been born there, but this has been my home so long now, that other place feels more like a dream. In a few years, my niece will be taking my pl ace here, and I’ll likely retire somewhere nice and warm in the south, where the only magic I need will be mixed into the mojitos.” She laughed.
Aster tried to imagine what it would be like to become a permanent alien in this loud and smelly place with its bright lights and roaring motor carriages. The idea terrified her now, but people had a way of getting used to the things that frighten them. How else to explain how she’d tolerated Oleander all those years?
Ivy settled back into her seat but left one hand on the wheel. This made Aster a little nervous, but she didn’t say anything. “I’ve been very excited to get you over here. Aside from messages passed back and forth with a few folks back home, I don’t much get to ta lk with someone who gets it.”
Aster frowned. “Gets what?”
“What it’s like to be one of us , silly girl. Magic, the craft. Forced to live the lives our families carved out for us. Not having a choice in any of it, unless we’re dumb enough to just drop everything and run away. Though I guess for you it’s even worse. Falling in love and having a baby is hard enough on any woman. If the fate of the world rested on whether I ’d be able to kill my own child, I’m not sure I could do it. I’d probably have to shoot myself or run away. ”
The blunt truth hit Aster like a length of wood to the back of her head. Her e yes watered with tears and she sniffed them away before they could fall .
Ivy glanced over again. “Aw, hell. I’m sorry, hon. My damn mouth gets the best of me at the worst of times .”
“It’s okay. It’s crossed my mind more than once. Not shooting myself, but at least running away.”
“Aren’t you worried what might happen if you did?”
“Why do you think I’m still here?”
“Good point.”
“I have no idea what I ’m doing. I can already tell I am not going to fit in here.”
“Don’t judge too soon, now. You been cooped up your whole life. Naturally, you ’re gonna feel like a fish outta water , especially in a world that moves as fast as this one does . Now, I know I’m supposed to help keep you on the straight and narrow and make sure you do what you was sent over here to do, but I’m gonna make sure you ain’t sittin’ here miserable either. Girl your age, pretty as you, should be out with friends, goin’ on dates, livin’ life.”
This all sounded great, of course , but it also made her feel even more depressed and afraid of the duty that lay beyond it. None of the good could possibly last. Any friendships she made would be temporary. Say nothing of any boy she would meet.
As she ruminated on this, they rounded a curve in the road and towers and strings of light appeared in the
Gigantic, brightly lit signs were posted along the side of the road featuring all sorts of smiling people and giant words she recognized in most cases but not all. “Abortion stops a beating heart? What does that mean?”
“I have three words that will make your time here a lot easier, Starflower . Ignorance is bliss.”
Aster grinned at the nickname. She’d never heard it before. “ How long have you been here?”
“I’m comin’ up on my thirtieth year. Came over when I was a few years older than you.”
“Will you return to Ellemire one day?”
Ivy sighed. “No, I don’t think so, hon. It’s very hard to go back once you spend awhile over here.”
“How come?”
“It’s somethin’ bout how this world grabs hold of you. I don’t think it would let me go, even if I wanted it to. But more important, I’m not sure Ellemire would have me back. I might have been born there, but this has been my home so long now, that other place feels more like a dream. In a few years, my niece will be taking my pl ace here, and I’ll likely retire somewhere nice and warm in the south, where the only magic I need will be mixed into the mojitos.” She laughed.
Aster tried to imagine what it would be like to become a permanent alien in this loud and smelly place with its bright lights and roaring motor carriages. The idea terrified her now, but people had a way of getting used to the things that frighten them. How else to explain how she’d tolerated Oleander all those years?
Ivy settled back into her seat but left one hand on the wheel. This made Aster a little nervous, but she didn’t say anything. “I’ve been very excited to get you over here. Aside from messages passed back and forth with a few folks back home, I don’t much get to ta lk with someone who gets it.”
Aster frowned. “Gets what?”
“What it’s like to be one of us , silly girl. Magic, the craft. Forced to live the lives our families carved out for us. Not having a choice in any of it, unless we’re dumb enough to just drop everything and run away. Though I guess for you it’s even worse. Falling in love and having a baby is hard enough on any woman. If the fate of the world rested on whether I ’d be able to kill my own child, I’m not sure I could do it. I’d probably have to shoot myself or run away. ”
The blunt truth hit Aster like a length of wood to the back of her head. Her e yes watered with tears and she sniffed them away before they could fall .
Ivy glanced over again. “Aw, hell. I’m sorry, hon. My damn mouth gets the best of me at the worst of times .”
“It’s okay. It’s crossed my mind more than once. Not shooting myself, but at least running away.”
“Aren’t you worried what might happen if you did?”
“Why do you think I’m still here?”
“Good point.”
“I have no idea what I ’m doing. I can already tell I am not going to fit in here.”
“Don’t judge too soon, now. You been cooped up your whole life. Naturally, you ’re gonna feel like a fish outta water , especially in a world that moves as fast as this one does . Now, I know I’m supposed to help keep you on the straight and narrow and make sure you do what you was sent over here to do, but I’m gonna make sure you ain’t sittin’ here miserable either. Girl your age, pretty as you, should be out with friends, goin’ on dates, livin’ life.”
This all sounded great, of course , but it also made her feel even more depressed and afraid of the duty that lay beyond it. None of the good could possibly last. Any friendships she made would be temporary. Say nothing of any boy she would meet.
As she ruminated on this, they rounded a curve in the road and towers and strings of light appeared in the
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