Auntie Cannot Guide You...
Anise picked up a crying child out of its crib and began to bounce with it with gentle shushings. The child’s mother was due back at any time, and it was up to Anise to rock the baby back into slumber. She hummed a gentle tune, and sent a silent prayer to the Beat to give her help finding the right song for peace.
“Sleep, little one. I know you miss your mama, and she will be back when she can, but we all have to do our part to keep each other safe.”
Minutes turned into an hour, and the patrol that had gone out had still not returned. And the Beat had yet to bring a tune to her lips. “I know your mother is close. She has to be.” Anise muttered to the child, who had long since fallen back asleep.
It took a few minutes before Anise heard anything from outside the shelter. It was distant, and it was… loud. There must have been zed, or something equally nasty chasing the patrol.
Finally, the music bubbled from Anise’s soul, an old, soothing prayer from the Broad Way.
“God on high, hear my prayer.
In my need, you have always been there.
She is young, she’s afraid
Let her rest, heaven blessed
Bring her home, bring her home,
She hummed the remainder of the song, rocking the babe in her arms. She tried to cover the sounds of thudding feet and shouting voices, as to not wake the baby.
The door slammed open and shut quickly as a gore-covered Vegasian named Maupin ran breathless through the door. The shock paused Anise’s song, and the baby awoke once more.
“Big horde.” He said through heavy breaths. “Had to run. The others might have been overwhelmed. I dunno.”
Anise took a deep breath, resuming her bouncing and rocking with the child. “Will you keep an eye out for Leah? I promised I’d keep an eye on the little one here until she got back.”
The silence from Maupin was almost deafening. The look on his face was all it took to tell Anise all she had to know.
“Was that her final infection?”
Maupin shrugged. “Hard to tell with her, know what I mean? But… it’s not like she wasn’t ready for it.”
The rover nodded, and glanced down at the child in her arms. “Already experiencing loss beyond compare. You poor little thing.”
She sat in the rocking chair in the corner, resting the baby on her chest. “I guess it’s just you and Auntie Anise for a little bit. Hope you like showtunes. I’ll do what I can to find closer family, but you may just grow up as a Virtue, if that’s what it comes to.”
“Seems you get to live your life just once. If that’s how it’s gotta be, then I’d rather breathe in life than dusty air.”
The rover stroked the hair of the little Ascensorite as they drifted off to slumber.
“Dyin’ ain’t so bad. Not if you both go together. Only when you’re left alone does it get sad. But a short and loving life- a short and loving life.”
“A short and loving life? That ain’t so bad.”
