Through the Ghost

Anna stared at the rising El Doradoan sun. She’d feared the worst when Tal’s radio cut out. Her stomach had twisted itself into a knot the whole time, yet she’d held on to hope that they’d show up.

Then a day passed, while it mostly consisted of her pacing anxiously in front of Chara and listening to Reis and Braden’s false reassurances, she’d still held onto hope. When Gren returned to inform them of the crashed shuttle, Anna’d felt as if gravity had been removed from the world. Now, as the sunlight crested the top of the spaceport, Anna felt completely lost for the first time in a very long time. She didn’t know where they were, if they were still alive, or even what happened to them. There were few resources or safe harbors for them to go to, and even fewer that would be of any benefit. The knot in her stomach constricted tighter as it seemed to encompass her entire body.

“Have you talked to her yet?” Braden asked, quietly sauntering up alongside her.

Anna shook her head.

“We’ll find them,” he reassured her.

“I know,” she replied, a brave smile on her face.

“I can make a few calls, see if they know anything,” he added.

“Thanks,” Anna replied weakly. She waited until his footsteps faded into the ship before closing the loading bay door. Each rung of the stairs seemed to cling to her feet as she made her way towards the room she shared with her daughter. At the top, she noticed Gren, the girl refused to make eye contact as she passed by.

She finally stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and pressed her hand against the door pad. It slid open to reveal Chara coloring the walls with the only two utensils they owned. One blue marker and one red marker. When the door closed Chara finally looked up from the various symbols and caricatures illustrated on the wall. “Hi mom!” she exclaimed enthusiastically before returning to her picture.

Anna sat down next to her.

“Hi sweet pea. What are you drawing?”

“Miss Jaya, You, Kirosan, Auntie Caroline, and Mr. Tal,” the little girl replied as she pointed out each individual picture standing side by side.

The tears Anna had fought so hard to restrain threatened to burst forth. Her breath hitched causing her voice to momentarily tremble before quickly recovering under a feigned cough. “Hey, sweetie, there’s something I have to tell you. It’s about your father,” she said.