Page 85 of Cozy Prisons
Hale shook their head. “Doesn’t matter. All souls come from the Ever Green Sea and hope to return someday. As a River, you will return directly; you won’t need to wait. Can I have that crystal?”
Nataly nodded and looked around. Everyone was moving and working. She called out a couple of times, but no one heard her. She was bracing herself to walk when Cassius ambled closer than anyone else had. When Nataly called out, Cassius paused and looked around until he spotted them. His expression was happy until he looked past Nataly to see Hale.
There were healing bruises on Cassius’s face, and his scowl directed at Hale indicated who’d caused them.
“Hey, Cassius, could I borrow your information square?” she asked.
Cassius hesitated, then walked closer, pointedly ignoring Hale. “Sure, you can use mine, but do you want me to get yours? I think Daxus and Utharium finally agreed on where you guys are going to camp, so your stuff should be in one place.”
“Yes, get her things!” Hale said. “Please!”
Cassius was standing next to them, and he crouched down. “I could carry you to your stuff. We’d have to do it like kids with you hanging onto my back because I’m not as big as Decard or one of the Talins.”
Hale literally grabbed the back of her omni and clung to her as if scared she’d accept Cassius's offer.
“No, you can’t leave. You promised to hear about Dimla and Sukla!” Hale’s panicked words made Cassius’s eyes go wide.
“Who are Dimla and Sukla?”
Nataly tensed, worried about Hale’s reaction to Cassius’s question. Far from getting upset at Cassius's inquiry, Hale vomited words out.
“Dimla and Sukla were my babies. They’re gone, but I’m scared for their souls. Nataly’s going to help me remember them. She has a copy of my data crystal! Isn’t that amazing! I know you don’t like me, but please get her things so she can give me the data crystal. There are images and vid captures of my babies on it. I’m sorry I hit you. If you bring the data crystal, I’ll let you hit me as much as you want. Please, I miss seeing them!”
Cassius’s expression went from irritated to sympathetic in a blink. “Oh, Hale, I’m sorry about your babies. I’ll get the bag.” He moved his eyes to Nataly. “Which one of your bags is it in?”
“I packed two bags, please bring them both,” Nataly said, looking forward to a change of clothes. “I might be here for a while.”
Cassius nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
He jumped up and jogged away. Hale didn’t let go of her. “Do you think he’ll do it?”
She patted the hand gripping her shoulder. “You can trust Cassius to do what he says he’s going to do.”
“The only reason for me to live is to help Sukla and Dimla transcend,” Hale murmured, rocking a little against her.
She didn’t know what to say to that! Why hadn’t she asked Cassius to bring Sima back with him?
Before she had to think of something to say, Cassius came running back with a bag on either shoulder. He dropped both bags in front of her and then sat down in the sand, panting.
She reached for one of the bags. “I have hundreds of data crystals. This is going to take a while,” she warned Hale. “I don’t have them labeled. I’m going to have to check each one on an information pad.”
Cassius wiggled in the sand, getting comfortable, then set his information square on his lap. “I can help you check them.”
“Thanks, with all three of us doing it, it’ll go fast.” The first bag didn’t have the crystals. After pulling out an information square, she set it aside and grabbed the other one.
“You’re willing to help?” Hale asked, sounding suspicious.
Cassius shrugged. “I still think you’re an asshole, but now I understand why. If I lost Decard, I’d probably go a little crazy too.”
“I’m not crazy,” Hale objected, but without anger. The words sounded like they were trying to convince themself.
“I didn’t call you crazy, I said you’re acting that way,” Cassius argued, his tone gentle. “We all go through crazy periods. The way you walked around mumbling to yourself all the time wasn’t normal.”
“I was remembering Sukla and Dimla,” Hale explained. “Walking helped me stay awake. Sometimes I was so tired, but I needed to keep remembering them because I wanted their souls to ascend.”
Not only did humans have a wide array of beliefs brought with them from Old Earth, but the way they lived with so many different species meant that they were routinely exposed to different religions and philosophies.
All of that meant that even though Cassius wasn’t familiar with the version of the afterlife that Hale was talking about, he readily accepted it.
