The scorching sun and the hot wind turned a simple walk to Jazzia into a respectable obstacle. I didn’t want AX to take us one by one; it was easy to notice that, despite coming with us, Anastácia remained very uneasy and silent.

  “I can surround you to control part of the sunlight and the wind,” AX explained, expanding enough to cover the three of us.

  “Did you even copy the Sekvens’ ability to read thoughts?” I joked.

  “I cannot, but that would be interesting… Stay close, I can’t expand any further,” it asked, becoming almost invisible.

  “Ana and Anastácia are undernourished and sick. I have administered medication and energy supplements. I’ve already informed Shoros.”

  AX didn’t ask them — nor me. I belonged to them and, if they were taking care of those two, then, under that logic, they belonged to me. Once again, I had acted without thinking of the consequences. Becoming responsible for two more lives made me uncomfortable… I wanted to dedicate all my time to Tariel.

  “Anastácia, do you know how humans arrived here?”

  “There are legends that say we were invited by the gods to inhabit paradise.”

  “Invited… or forced.”

  “I’ve never heard any that said we were forced.”

  “I noticed Litéia was once a better place. What happened?”

  “My mother said the elders told that this whole region was beautiful, good to live in, and that the Seliums were present and helped in everything.” She paused.

  “And then?” I asked.

  “Everything changed a long time ago. A great storm destroyed almost everything. Thousands died, and those who survived waited for the Seliums to come rescue them… but they never came,” she said, wiping away a tear. “After that, the climate changed. Hunger, disease and death came.”

  “But one day they found the Seliums again?”

  “A long time later. There was misinformation. They seemed to know nothing, not even how to deal with the poisons.”

  “I imagine that wasn’t well accepted,” I commented. “They felt abandoned… and enslaved them to work in the plantations.”

  “Seliums don’t last long in this heat. I believe Tariel resisted because she came when very young.”

  “With food and the Seliums disappearing, despair took over.”

  “Each year gets worse. During winter, there are deaths every day. I won’t make it past this year.”

  “Hey…” I tried to soften, smiling. “I’ll take care of you. And even if I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have a choice. But I’m happy to help.”

  She smiled and started telling me about her childhood lived only with her mother; her father had died before she was born. Little by little, she relaxed, reliving simple and affectionate memories.

  “What do you know about planets?” I asked.

  “I have a very old book at home. It says we used to live on a planet.”

  “This place is a planet. We call it Donna. But humans come from another planet: Earth,” I explained, pointing to Jazzia already visible in the distance. “And that is a ship. It takes us from one planet to another. It’s called Jazzia. You’ll like her.”

  Tariel waited for us outside the ship, and when she saw us, she ran to hug me. An unforgettable scene that warmed my heart. Coming home and having someone, with a wide smile on their face, waiting for me was something I had never imagined. Partly because I only thought about books.

  “You took long!” Tariel complained, tightening the hug.

  I didn’t say anything. I simply picked her up in my arms and carried her inside. Her sweet scent enveloped me completely.

  When I set Tariel down, Ana approached and reached her arms out to her.

  “She is beautiful, isn’t she, Ana?” I knelt down. “But you can’t touch her.”

  “But you touch her,” Anastácia observed.

  “And soon you’ll be able to, I believe.”

  “They will be able to touch Tariel,” the voice echoed through the room. “Hello, Ana and Anastácia. I am Jazzia. I will take care of you. Follow Willian to the shower.”

  Anastácia followed me, touching the walls, observing every detail of the ship.

  “Where is Jazzia?” she asked.

  “I am everything you see. I am the ship… or rather, this house,” she explained, before doing something she had never done.

  On one of the walls, the caricature of a woman appeared with a smile, drawing a look of astonishment from Anastácia and a spontaneous smile from Ana.

  “Willian, use the shampoo and the creams that are in the shower. Scrub them well before leaving them in the bathtub.”

  “You want me to bathe them?” I was caught by surprise.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “They belong to you, Willian.”

  “Of course, but Anastácia doesn’t think that way,” I noted, seeing the young woman take a step back.

  “That is irrelevant. They will need help to clean themselves properly and they don’t know how to apply the cosmetics.”

  As a human, I was aware that our will rarely meant much. To the Known Universe, we weren’t intelligent enough to know what was best for us. I needed a few seconds to think and smiled awkwardly at Anastácia.

  “Either you… or the Xerantos,” Jazzia continued.

  “Not the Xerantos…” I anticipated the shock they would have.

  “I can wash myself. I’m an adult,” Anastácia tried to explain.

  “You are under our custody. You will have the best we can offer. Willian will bathe you, and I will prepare a delicious lunch. You need it.”

  “Don’t worry, Anastácia,” Tariel intervened. “You’re in good hands. I’ll stay here with you. Willian is very kind.”

  “At least she didn’t tell me to take off the clothes as she did with Tariel,” I commented.

  “You bathed together?” Anastácia was surprised.

  “We soaked together in the bathtub for a long time,” I replied, helping Ana. “You can take off your clothes, Anastácia.”

  The young woman, unsettled by so many new things, sought reassurance in Tariel’s eyes. A smile and a nod were enough to convince her.

  Ana seemed fine, only a few cuts and scratches on her legs. When I turned to look at Anastácia, the first thing I noticed was a large peeling area around her groin region.

  “AX, what does she have on her skin?”

  “A fungal infection, due to low immunity. I have already medicated her,” it answered, approaching to illuminate the area.

  “Does it hurt, Anastácia?”

  “It itches a lot,” she answered, turning her body when I gestured with my hand.

  “There are no lesions on the back. We may proceed with the bath.”

  Jazzia activated the showers. Warm water fell abundantly from the ceiling.

  I put them under the water before starting to wash Ana’s hair, who loved the novelty.

  I smiled. It reminded me of when I bathed the children of the village, after they played in the mud. It was fun. Every year, during the rainy season, we used the floods to let them play.

  I handed a bar of soap to Anastácia. She had a very thin body, thin arms and legs, almost no curves. She noticed my look and smiled sadly.

  “I’m going to help you with your hair,” I said, spreading the shampoo. “Now you have people who will take care of you. Enjoy being pampered, like Tariel does.”

  “It’s good…” Tariel commented, playing with my hair. “You’re all wet already.”

  “Why did she say I belong to you?” Anastácia asked, facing away from me, with the foam running down her body.

  “Are you afraid of being enslaved?”

  She lowered her eyes. I didn’t know if it was the word “belong” or the strength with which it was used by the Known Universe, but it was always disturbing.

  “Yes, you belong to me. But not as a slave,” I repeated what I had already told Tariel. “It means that now I am responsible for you.”

  “Will I have to marry you?”

  “Willian is mine!” Tariel’s comment provoked laughter.

  “What a strange thing to say, Tariel,” Jazzia interrupted. “Willian belongs to everyone.”

  “She is jealous,” I explained. “She is afraid of losing me.”

  “But that is illogical, Tariel. You belong to the Sekvens. There is no possibility of losing Willian’s love.”

  “I think she wants Willian just for herself,” AX commented. “But that will soon change.”

  AX was referring to the Sekvens. They were capable of giving us the certainty that we are loved. They had already given me that certainty at the first touch. It was not possible to take from me the love they had for me — nor my love for Tariel. Fear and loneliness disappeared, and peace ceased to be an illusion.

  “No, Anastácia. That does not mean you will have to marry me. I only think about Tariel… but I belong to the Sekvens and, from what I understand about them, it may happen.”

  “I don’t know if I like that,” Tariel complained, hugging me from behind.

  “But you liked it when they ‘gave’ me to you, didn’t you?”

  Tariel smiled and positioned herself between Anastácia and me, looking into my eyes.

  “I loved it.”

  “You’re going to get wet…”

  I finished scrubbing Anastácia’s back and turned my attention to Ana, who was playing while sitting under the water falling from the ceiling.

  Once they were dry, Jazzia asked Tariel to take them to our room and find, among her clothes, something they could wear to cover themselves.

  “In two days, Mirtis will bring proper clothing,” AX informed, accompanying them to the room. “They smell good. They must feel like different people.”

  “Thank you, AX,” Anastácia turned to us. “Thank you, everyone.”

  Already dry, I waited for them in the dining room. A plentiful table was waiting for them. It didn’t take long for Ana to appear wearing a t-shirt that looked more like a dress, and Anastácia wearing Tariel’s pajamas, a bit short since she was taller.

  Seeing the brightness in their eyes when they looked at the table full of treats moved me, just as it had two days earlier. A scene that would repeat many times — and one I would never get used to.

  After lunch, Jazzia ordered them to sleep. I insisted on accompanying them and helping them settle in, covering them with a soft and cool blanket. I knew the gesture might seem strange to Anastácia, but I also knew she needed to feel loved.

  “Now it’s just the two of us,” Tariel said, pulling me toward the room.

  “I can’t wait.”

  We longed for the day when we could have each other completely. But before that, Mirtis would bring much more than clothes.

  She would bring Sekvens.