Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis

31 - Family Bond

Alexander was reading the riveting Algebra Seventeen on a holographic screen when he heard people walking in the corridor. He knew who they were by the sound of steps. Zhen's steps were heavy and metallic, shuddering the floors. Valentina's steps were soft and silent, except she kept hitting one foot against the other and producing a squeak. There was a third person with them too. Interesting.

The group was chatting along the way, but the boy could not hear what they were saying. They approached the door and stopped. Instead of entering, they kept talking. They were discussing something that Alexander should not know.

Thus, he had to know what they were saying.

Alexander waved away his screen and got up. He picked up the cup of water from the table, finished it, and put it against the door. He leaned his ear on the cup and heard the voices better. This was a trick he learned from Ed. Ed became the new source of forbidden knowledge, taking his uncle's place. Alexander liked Ed better. Ed was nicer and did not have hands to smack him with.

The boy figured out who the third person in the corridor was – Custos. His heart began to race. With Custos in the mix, there had to be juicy secrets getting spilled.

Alexander distinguished separate words and phrases.

"Sonya and Artur... ... yesterday," Valentina said.

What did Sonya do yesterday? And who was Artur? Alexander closed his eyes and focused on the hearing.

"... ...applied for adoption," Valentina continued. "... ...eight weeks..."

Alexander felt chills. Adoption? His adoption?

"... ...can't ...faster," said Custos. "... ... ...abuse of power... trouble for Alexander..."

"Can we ...a better place?" asked Zhen. "... ...tracker off?"

"...attacked once... transferred... ...," said Custos, "...the safest place... I don't... ...any risks."

"...Artur and Sonya... ... ...green light?" Zhen asked Valentina.

"As positive as I... ...," said Valentina.

"So... ... ...eight more weeks," said Zhen. "I can live... ... ...if I... ... ...see the end."

Alexander heard a step toward the door. He darted across the room and sat behind his small desk before the adults came in.

He had not heard much, but he had heard enough – adoption in eight weeks.

Zhen was the first one to come in.

"You want more water, boy?" asked Zhen and nodded at Alexander's empty cup that he was still holding in his hands.

"No, Mr. Tso," he answered and put it down.

"We have news for you," said Valentina.

"Bad news?" he asked. "Or good ones?"

Alexander could not say, even though he knew the news.

"A mixture of both," said Custos. "Like everything else in life. As you know, searching for your parents hasn't been successful so far. We'll keep looking for them for as long as necessary, but in the meantime, we have decided to give you foster parents."

Hearing it definitively crushed the boy's spirit.

"I don't want my parents to be replaced," said Alexander.

"They won't be replaced," said Valentina. "The foster parents will take care of you temporarily. They'll do the same thing we do, but with much more attention and love. It pains me to see you being alone most of the time, Alexander."