“Hold on, my darling,” he said, gently pulling her away. “It’s not that simple. It requires something you might not want to do.”
Mia stared at him, some of her excitement fading. “What?”
“We would have to go to Krina and take your family with us.”
* * *
That night, Mia couldn’t sleep. She kept waking up every hour, her mind buzzing with a million different questions and concerns. As Korum had explained, the trip to Krina would serve two purposes: to undo Saret’s procedure and to present Mia’s case in front of the Elders. “They want to meet you,” he had said, shocking Mia into silence.
A large warm body pressed against her back, startling her out of her musings. “You’re awake again,” Korum murmured, pulling her into his arms. “Why aren’t you sleeping, my darling?”
“Why do the Elders want this?” Mia couldn’t stop thinking about it. “Why do they want to see us? I thought they were like your gods or something. What could they want with me and my family?”
Korum sighed, and she felt the movement of his chest. “They’re not gods. They’re Krinar, like me – only much, much older. As to why they want to see you, I don’t know. They have taken an unusual interest in my petition, meeting with me several times and asking a lot of questions about you and your parents.”
“And they didn’t say they would grant your request, right?” Mia turned in his arms, so that she would be facing him.
“No,” Korum said, the faint glow of moonlight from the transparent ceiling reflecting in his eyes, “they didn’t. However, Lahur said he would give us one more chance – and he implied he would be on our side.”
“Lahur is the oldest?”
“Yes. He’s the one who’s lived for over ten million years.”
Mia shivered, goosebumps appearing on her arms.
“Cold?” Korum drew her closer, pulling a blanket over them.
“No, not really.” His naked body was like a furnace, generating so much heat that she was never cold when she slept next to him. The temperature in Korum’s house was always comfortable too – cooler at night, warmer during the day. It was tailored specifically to meet their needs. When Mia had lived in Florida, she’d always hated air-conditioning; the cold air was too startling after the heat outside, and usually cranked up too high for her taste. In Lenkarda, intelligent structures kept the inside of the buildings at a perfect temperature, creating micro-zones of climate around each person.
“We don’t have to go, you know.” Korum gently stroked her back. “We can stay here. You’ve adapted to everything so well. If the memory loss doesn’t bother you, then nothing has to change –”
“No,” Mia said, burrowing against his chest. “If it was only that, then we could consider staying. But my parents, my sister . . . If there’s even a chance they can live a longer life, we have to do this. I could never live with myself otherwise.”
“I know, my darling,” Korum said softly. “I know that.”
“Couldn’t we meet with the Elders virtually?” Mia drew back to look at his face. “That’s how you met with them, right?”
“Yes,” Korum said. “But they don’t consider that a real meeting. When Lahur said he wanted to meet you, he meant in person, in real life.”
“Old-fashioned, is he?” Mia said wryly.
Korum laughed. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
Mia fell silent, thinking about the upcoming trip again. “Do you think we’ll be back soon?” she asked after a few seconds.
“I don’t know,” Korum said. “It depends on what the Elders want.”
* * *
The next day Korum watched as Mia rang the doorbell at her parents’ house. He knew she was worried about this part: telling her family about Krinar life extension capabilities and convincing them to go to Krina.
She was wearing human clothes today, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. As much as Korum liked seeing her in dresses, he had to admit that the shorts looked good on her, showing off her shapely legs. Maybe he should have her dress like this more frequently.
Mia’s mother opened the door with a huge smile on her softly rounded face. “Mia! Korum! Oh, I’m so glad you two came by!” She embraced Mia first, and then Korum found himself enveloped in a perfumed hug.
Smiling, he brushed a light kiss on Ella Stalis’s cheek and stepped into the house, following the two women inside. Mocha, the tiny dog Mia had called a Chihuahua, ran out of one of the rooms, barking happily and trying to jump at Korum. He bent down and petted the little animal, which immediately rolled onto its back and presented its belly – apparently to be rubbed as well.
“Wow, Korum, she loves you,” Mia said wonderingly. “I can’t believe she acts that way with you. She’s normally so shy with strangers . . .” And to prove her point, Mia extended her hand to the dog, which instantly turned over and ran away.