This chapter is dedicated to patriciapenrose
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I was bored. Again. I can't recall the number of times I've said something like that. It was day but no one was in save for the older woman, who apart from giving me disgusting stuff (drugs, said she) had been at her laptop since.

I bounced on the springy sitting place, this was way better than the hard, butt-punisher back in my box and was wide and comfy, too. The TV had long lost its lustre to me. After browsing through numerous channels, I finally realized there was nothing of my taste on it. If one channel wasn't forecasting the news, another was showing skimpy dancers, or worse, confusing dialogues. Movies weren't on till four of the clock, said the older woman.

I couldn't help but wish I hadn't left the-Notebook-with-the-eaten-apple with Howard. He'd, well, gone to school with it, not knowing he had his own in his piece of cloth.

'Are you okay?' The older woman looked up from her laptop and asked.

'Yes.' I sigh. 'I'm just bored.'

She came over and before I could duck, rubbed my hair.

I frowned and now ducked. She quickly retracted her hand with a strange look on her face like she was trying to decipher something encoded on my face.

'Sorry,' she said. 'I forgot you didn't like that.' But I had a feeling she was lying, probably to annoy me.

I shrugged like I didn't care even though I did. Why . . .? Um, maybe I shouldn't go there. So instead I said, 'I'm also so hungry.

'Glutton—' she started walking to the food box (kitchen, Tatiana, it's called kitchen, said Dad)— 'you've eaten enough already to feed a nation. Lucky you, it's time for lunch and the others are gonna be home soon.'

I chuckled. 'Can I come with?'

I'd wondered how those delicious meals were being made since that first day and I felt the need to learn how to make something like that. That way I wouldn't have to bother her whenever I wanted something to eat.

'No, you shouldn't cook anything yet. You can go to the game room to kill time.'

I swallowed nervously, that word again. 'Um, kill?'

She smirked playfully and threw up her hands in a shrug. 'Yeah, you know . . . while away the time, kill time — same thing,' she explained. 'Now, shoo, go do anything while I make you something —' she suddenly gasped.

Worry ran through me. Was she okay? 'Okay, Mom?' I voiced my thought.

She was speechless for two full seconds then burst out, 'Oh em gee! Did I just rhyme?'

It's times like this I wished I had summoned the courage to ask Marilla to teach me the eyeroll act.

'No, duh,' I said, remembering the funny-sounding affix Howard always used in situations like this. 'That sure wasn't a rhyme, more like repetition of a word.'

She searched my face as if trying to decide if I was being sincere or not. Finally she huffed. 'You're all the same, you don't understand the spirit of rhymes.'

'Whatever, I'm going to the game box.'

'Okey. Tatiana, if you hear my system ping come call me?'

I nodded and went towards the game box. I pulled open the bright cover slowly, as if expecting a  to spring on me at the other side. I stepped in and was overwhelmed by the silence, this box seemed to be soundproofed. Somehow it did not look the same without Howard's presence. I shivered.

'Nope,' I said, 'not for me.'

I shut the cover and went back to the family box. I passed the older woman's erstwhile sitting place, meaning to go back to my own, but saw something on the screen that made me do a double take.

'Wow!'

The screensaver was a perfect capture of the sunrise. It glowed brightly and bathed the air around it in starbursts of gold and yellow and pink. It looked so real and alive that I had already reached my hand out and touched it before I realized belatedly that it was just on the screen.

A hole yawned in my heart and I looked towards where the window was but I couldn't see anything through it. The thick curtains had always been down as far as I could remember — which wasn't that far, mind you — shutting out the outside world and opening of which had been banned. Which was why the heat extractor was on all day long.

I looked towards the kitchen, I could hear the faint clanging of wares, then towards the Big Cover. I knew it wasn't locked. It'd be so easy to go through it right now. No harm done.

There was no harm in going into the out, right? A memory of the older woman warning me not to go out the big cover flashed through my mind. C'mon I was just going to look at the sun and be back before anyone knows.

I glanced once more at the kitchen. Although the cover was open I couldn't see beyond the fridge near it meaning no one inside the box could see me. Alright, no harm done.

Being as quiet as I could possibly be, I pulled open the Big Cover. My hand was shaking in trepidation as I remembered the older woman's warning. But I still went on ahead and stepped into the out.

There was a roof extension that prevented the sun rays from reach where I was so I climbed down the steps.

The rays of the sun was hot, oh so hot, they were almost scorching, it was like nothing I'd ever felt. It seemed to penetrate into my being, warming my whole body system even as it was scorching. I felt more alive than I'd ever been as I stared at the sun, shielding my eyes.

It was a giant golden ball that hung in the sky, smiling its rays down on me. I raised my head to expose my neck to the sun. My body was hot already but I didn't want to miss this chance. I may not get to come out again.

I thought I heard sounds coming from high up but I ignored it and closed my eyes only to feel zapped up into the air suddenly. My eyes weren't open but I could see everything clearly. I could see myself down with eyes closed but I was up in the air feeling the sun in all its scorchingness but strange enough I couldn't feel my body singe.

<Near,> a voice said.

<How near, Koe Keciyi?> another asked.

<Don't know. Just feel.>

<Biosonar?>

<Not yet, Aitaku, not yet.>

'Tiana! Tatiana!' The older woman started to shake me.

I was vacuumed back to the ground and I cried out for it was painful. The older woman was still shaking me. I looked at her, baffled. Her face was filled with utmost fear, she was almost hyperventilating as she shook me, as if I were dead.

'Mom—'

She finally noticed I was alive and the fear in her eyes cleared but worry remained.

She regained herself and pulled me to the roofed extension. 'My God, what were you thinking?! I told you to never go outside!'

I opened my mouth to talk but she yanked me inside the Big Box.

She was now paranoid. 'Shit, shit!' she kept repeating. She pushed me into a sitting place and started for her Notebook-with-the-eaten-apple. 'Got to call Dr Schraeder.' She tapped keys then turned to me. 'For fucks sake, you child, you can't obey simple instructions, stay in the house! Shit! Do you realise what you've caused? I'm so gonna be dead . . .' she stopped, seeing my facial expression. She gulped and turned away and put it down  her eyes still on it. 'C'mon, McLeish, c'mon!'

My head felt light from the events in the past few minutes and without my assent my vision started to blacken at the edges. I tried to fight it but it kept on coming till I couldn't control it and everything became blissfully black.

Hullo!

Whatcha thinking? What d'ya think happened?

Is her Mom being paranoid strange?

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