living elsewhere. How else is this ethereal creature my sister?
We’re the “Chang sisters.” Lucy is the gorgeous, vivacious, chatty sister everyone knew and fawned over. And I’m the other sister. “Oh, yeah Lucy has an older sister, doesn’t she? What’s her name?”
My sister is delicate and beautiful and she’s very proud of her beauty. I’m the sensible one who took care of our parents when they got sick. I respect my elders and vowed to take care of them in their old age as is expected of me. My sister went her own flighty way.
But I still love her so much it hurts. She’s my sister. The only family I have left.
“Are you busy?” I ask. Lucy is often too busy to talk. So now I try to head things off by asking first. I don’t want to get started on a deep convo, only to be cut off. I hate it when that happens.
“No…no I’ve got time for you…” she says, glancing absently over her shoulder.
“Lucy, you told me to get ahold of you when I got here…”
She turns to look at me. “I did? Oh yeah, I did.” She pastes a bright smile on her pretty face, showing off her naturally straight, pearly white teeth. “How are you? Where did you go? Didn’t you move to Paris?”
“Lucy,” I sigh. “I told you I left the planet. I moved to Tarvos, remember? I got a job on another planet. I live near Riley now.”
“Oh wow, I forgot about that. Isn’t Tarvos really far away? I’ve never even heard of it. You left New Earth and moved to the other side of the universe to live with that friend of yours? I mean, was that really necessary?”
“Yes it was, I have nothing left for me there on New Earth.”
“Well, you have me. And the house you inherited…”
I crook an eyebrow. She has no idea what I did for her. It’s best that way. The last thing I’d want is for Lucy’s world to come crashing down. I can handle the tough in life, but Lucy, not so much. “Mom and Dad passed away,” I say, “then you got married and moved out. Riley asked me to come to Tarvos, so I did. You know it’s always been my dream to live off planet.”
“Hmm. I guess… You look different. What are you wearing?”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.
She straightens. “What the hell, you’re pregnant? You got married without telling me? When did this happen? Who’s the father?”
“No, I’m not married,” I admit. “I could only get to Tarvos through a work visa and the only decent job open to humans was being a surrogate.”
“You’re pregnant but not married?” She holds a hand up, obviously horrified. “And you were so desperate to get off planet you hired yourself out as a breeder for some random alien species?”
I frown, because when she puts it like that it sounds bad. “Yeah, but it turned out fine. I was so popular they had to hold a virtual auction. Luckily a male I already knew wanted to be a dad, but felt he was unable to through the normal routes. So he outbid everyone else and won me.”
“You were auctioned off? Is this some kind of sex-trafficking operation?”
Dammit, how does she manage to always make my entire life sound like crap? My sister is the one making poor choices, not me. “No, of course it’s not. This was a legitimate auction. I’m just a surrogate. I was impregnated in a med lab. I’ve been treated wonderfully by the Hyrrokin.”
“You’re pregnant right now?”
“Yes.” I smile. Sometimes I forget to pause and remember that this remarkable thing has happened. Bergelmir’s baby is growing inside of me right now. I’m carrying a tiny Hyrrokin life inside of me. It’s amazing.
She frowns. “Who’s the father of your baby?”
“His name is Bergelmir Touchstone.”
“Burrrglemur?”
“Bergelmir.”
“Burrrjelmeeeur?”
I exhale and shake my head. She’s driving me crazy with this. “No. It’s Bergelmir.”
“Berg?”
I nod. This is acceptable.
Her head is bent, and I can tell she’s tapping on another screen while we talk. Suddenly she lets out a squeal of terror. “Holy fuck Chloe, I just looked up this Hyrrokin species and this planet they live on. Do you know those beings look like Satan?”
I can’t help the snort-laugh that escapes my mouth. “Yes, I know.”
I swear I think my sister is hyperventilating.
“Don’t laugh,” she pants. “These beings are terrifying. You have to get out of there right now. You can’t live with those monsters.”
I frown because I don’t