Leavetaking
So I will remember...
Khissi checked her medpack one more time, counting each med kit, stim, and Nano booster it held. She hoped she had calculated the number of nano kits she would need until the time came when she could remove all her implants and survive without the notum they used. She swallowed and tried to calm herself the way Rakay had taught her, but it wasn�t always easy. She closed the pack and sealed it, then checked her other bags. Clothes, extra armor (though she wasn�t entirely sure she�d ever need it), a portable med lab and her books were neatly arranged. There was one other small pack and she opened it, running her fingers over the soft material inside� tiny clothes. She signed and closed them all, sealing them with her DNA signature, then loaded them into her Yalm.
She stepped back into her apartment to take a final look at her treasures. The paintings covered her walls and she stepped up to each one to drink in a final look. She saved her favorite for last and stood there a long time.
It depicted the tops of some trees in the throes of a red storm, their boughs swaying in the wind. Khissi loved storms and this artist certainly had too. Red storms were wild, fierce and deadly, and were her favorites.
She bit her lower lip and a tear slid down her face, surprising her. She raised a hand and touched the wet spot in wonder then smiled wryly. �Things do seem to change,� she whispered.
She pulled a small knife from the utility pack attached to her armor and deftly cut the painting from its frame and rolled it up into a tight cylinder. It got tucked under one arm, and, taking a last, swift look around, she boarded her Yalmaha, stuffing the painting into her quickpack, then exited to the Backyard.
*Continued*
*Home*