Page 14 of My Alien Sunshine

“It is,” I agree, reaching for Ellen’s hand. “We’re just leaving.”

“Good.” She snaps her beak again. “Remove yourselves then.”

Bitch. I swallow back my angry retort and lead Ellen out of the room. My little girl looks like she wants to say something very rude, but I shush her. We don’t need to make any more enemies in this place.

Back in our tiny bedroom, I finally heave out a relieved sigh. I made it through another day. Now I get to choose between spending some time with Ellen or catching a few hours of sleep before heading out again this evening. It’s not a choice at all.

I settle on Ellen’s little bed, patting the spot beside me. “So, what did you do all afternoon yesterday? Beside drawing on Mu’s walls?”

Ellen twirls, the skirt of her pink flowy dress billowing around her. The color should look ridiculous. The black and pale orange stripes covering her skin should logically war with the Barbie pink color of her dress. But all I see is beauty and perfection.

Just thinking the word “perfection” has me cringing at the thought of Faelin calling me his perfection. Well, I’m sure he’s chosen a few different names for me now.

“I got a new doll! Do you want to see it?” Ellen beams, blissfully unaware of my inner turmoil.

“Of course,” I agree, masking my concern with fake excitement. I buy her things whenever I can spare a few galactic units, but I haven’t gotten her anything recently. I can’t picture Mu buying a gift for Ellen either, and I don’t have any other friends in the residence.

Ellen pulls a beautiful plastic doll out of her backpack. The doll is a Syndoran female, striped black and orange, her colors a little more vibrant than those of my daughter. Ellen is half human, so she has mostly human facial features, unlike the doll which has the typical Syndoran flat nose and fangs protruding from her mouth. It’s a beautiful toy and just by looking at it, I can see that it was expensive.

I turn it in my hands to examine it, pretending to admire the doll’s leather outfit. “She’s great! Where did you get her, chipmunk? Did Aunt Mu give it to you?” I ask, praying for her to say yes, even though I know Mu would never buy anything for Ellen.

Ellen shakes her head. Her wild black curls, courtesy of my African heritage, bounce around her face. “Not from Mu. It’s from Uncle Krell.”

Blood freezes in my veins as I force out a smile. “Uncle Krell?” I choke out, praying to every god I can think of that Ellen doesn’t hear the rising panic in my voice “Who’s Uncle Krell?”

“Master Drayth’s friend,” Ellen replies, smoothing down the doll’s long hair. “He came to play with me yesterday. He has stripes, like me, but his are darker.”

A full-blooded Syndoran, then. They were usually nice and respectful, but there are always rotten apples. Like Ellen’s father. “He played with you? What did you play?” My voice trembles and I close my eyes to stop the tears from escaping. If Ellen says they were playing “doctor”, I’ll strangle Drayth with my bare hands.

“We played on Master Drayth’s console,” Ellen replies, bouncing on the bed in excitement. “He has so many games!”

So Drayth brought her to his rooms. And “Uncle” Krell is what? A prospective buyer?

I’m glad I’m not holding the doll anymore, because my fists clench so hard I’d break the stupid thing. “I’m glad you had fun, chipmunk,” I manage to say, the words like acid on my tongue. “What did you talk about with Uncle Krell? Was he just visiting Master Drayth?”

Her words shatter my hopes. “No, he said he came to see me. He’s my friend! And he said that next time, he’ll bring me a hovercraft for my doll! The one you always said was too expensive, Mama,” she chides.

“It is, chipmunk.” The dolls are expensive already, but the miniature accessories can make a dent even in the fattest credit accounts. “Uncle Krell must really like you.” The fucking pedophile.

“He said I was pretty.” Ellen preens. “Even though my face and hair are like yours and not like his. Or hers,” she adds, pointing at the doll’s smooth black waves. “He liked my dress, too, and asked what else I like to wear.”

“That’s great,” I push through gritted teeth, my smile more of a grimace at this point. I want to punch something. Someone. “Oh, I just remembered I must speak to Mu about something. Why don’t you play here for a bit until I get back?”

Ellen hugs the doll, grinning. “Yes, Mama.”

I storm over to Mu’s room and bring my fist down on the door. She opens it, glaring at me. “What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Drayth took Ellen to his rooms yesterday?!” I don’t ask why did Mu allow him to take Ellen. She’s as trapped here as I am.

Mu shrugs, her gray face giving out the same level of emotion as the bare gray walls of her room. “The child was going to tell you. There’s nothing you can do about it, anyway.”

“Nothing I can do about it?! We’ll see about that!”

“You always knew this was coming, Nala. Children are too valuable on the black market, even hybrid ones. You can birth another offspring, can you not?”

I punch the wall to avoid punching Mu’s face. It’s not her fault she doesn’t understand. I don’t think she can.

The Genixarians don’t have families and they don’t understand the bond between a parent and child. They’re created in labs, grown in artificial wombs, and raised by their government to suppress whatever individuality they might possess. Mu has never had an emotional attachment to anyone, so she can’t possibly understand why I’d risk everything for Ellen.

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