“Just saying goodbye to everything is tough,” she finished glumly, glancing at Simon as he walked in to take another of the bins outside.I want to start over. Completely new. But it’s still hard.
Simon came up behind her, sat down, and held her close. “I understand. I’ll take this outside, but then . . . they’re almost here, Nora.”
Oh.Sweat beaded down Nora’s back. “They are?”
She was reaching for her makeshift crutch when Simon hiked her high in his arms. “I’ll carry you.”
A chair from the kitchen was already waiting outside when Simon took her out, placing her on it gently before returning to the inside of the house and bringing out the last of the boxes.
A bouncing Tilly stood by Nora and Anna as they waited, scanning the heavens. The dust swirled, touching all of them in the wind. It was the same as always, but today it felt like a goodbye.
Tilly waved her arms in the air. “Where is it?”
Simon pointed in response, high in the sky. “There.”
Nora never actually saw the ship that brought things to the drop before, and it took her breath away when it finally came into view. The flying metal contraption was incredibly large, so large that it blotted out the sun, casting Nora where she stood with the others in deep shadow. The ship was bigger than the airplanes in the magazines she saw. Bigger than anything that she had ever seen, all sleek lines and technology.
Simon took her sweaty hand, grounding her as she watched with wide eyes as the ship settled in a clearing right outside the garage where her hover was. The metal hull took up the entire street area and then some, even sitting on the rubble of some of the other houses.
She shook her head in awe, trying to keep her mouth closed from openly gaping.That's. . .
Simon squeezed her hand and whispered, “It takes a few moments to make sure everything is ready to be opened.”
Tilly said what Nora was thinking, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. “The ship is so big. It’s like ten of our houses!” She opened her arms wide. “All of the houses!”
Nora looked at the ship from end to end.And that thing can go up in the air. Up, out of here.Fear raced down her spine as Simon squeezed her hand again.
The doors to the ship creaked open and a male, looking as flawless as that magazine Nora held so long ago, came out, accompanied by a woman. They both looked different from Simon, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, pristine and polished and out of place here in the dusty afternoon sun dressed as they were in summer dresses and shorts. They almost looked like the people from those magazine beach scene pictures from long ago.
The airbrushed woman had a smile on her face. She brought something out from behind her that looked like a rolling chair with large wheels on either side, then wheeled it down from the entrance to a stop right in front of where Nora sat.
“Hello Nora,” the woman with the perfect face said, her smile bright and cheery. Her blond hair was slicked back into a bun. She turned to the others. “Hello Tilly, Anna . . . Simon. I’m Stella. Nora, if you sit here, I’ll take you in.”
“Oh. Okay.” Nora reached to the side for Simon to help her stand and to transfer into the rolling chair.
To her side the male greeted Anna and Tilly before escorting them up the gangplank back to the ship.
Simon took the chair from Stella, who walked beside them, and pushed Nora forward, toward where Tilly had just stepped through the threshold.
“Wait.” Nora twisted around and Simon, noticing her movements, turned the wheelchair for her so she could look back. One last time.My home.
Tears rolled down her face as she looked at the worn-down house, the hover that wouldn’t get used again, and the radio that she had left on in the living room. She crossed her arms, hugging herself.How long will it play before it breaks?And what would be left of her little house, years from now, when someone discovered it?
Nora slumped in the rolling chair and wiped her tears as Simon stood next to her with Stella. “I wrote a letter and left it there. About who lived here. I put it in plastic.” She let out a shaky breath. “Bad spelling and all.”
It was Stella who put her hand on her shoulder. She said in a cool voice, not without feeling, “This is the beginning, Nora. Not an end.”
Nora forced a smile. “I know.”
Simon came and wrapped his arms around her as they both stared at the little, broken house. His voice broke. “This was my first real home too.”
Nora sniffled, holding tight to his arms around her chest. “Sure was.”
They stood for a few moments, Stella stepping back to give them some privacy. Nora squeezed Simon's arm. “You ready?”
A choked voice answered. “Yes, if you are.”
Nora audibly swallowed. “Okay. Let's make sure Tilly isn't getting into trouble.”
