Author's Note: Hello beloved readers! I've had this idea in my head for a while and set aside a Saturday evening to put this story together for all of you to read. I hope everyone enjoys it, I haven't written in this category before. Please let me know what you think in the comments and what you would like to read in the future.
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Erika leapt from the low reaching branch of the tree and landed softly on the ground. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a cloth and sighed. The mid-day sun shone down on the trees in the jungle, and even with the protection of their leaves Erika could feel the heat. She tied her shoulder-length, jet black hair back into a strict ponytail. It was time to head home, to the shelter of the enormous temple that she and her mother lived in. Erika walked down the path she had made, cutting away a few branches that were already starting to grow over it again. She had been sitting in the branches of the tree, surveying her week's progress. Over the past few days, she had been slowly carving a path to the edge of the glass bubble that housed the jungle and her home. She had grown up in the bubble, never knowing what it was like outside. On her twenty-first birthday she started to make a path through the dense jungle. She wanted to see what lay on the other side of the glass.
It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for The Firmament - which was its official title, the one that her mother named it when she created it. But really there was no harm in looking, was there? As the sun reached its peak, she pulled her tan jacket off her body, deciding to only wear her white tank top. Beads of sweat soon started appearing on her neck and shoulders. It seemed like the jungle was getting hotter and hotter each day. She couldn't remember if it had been like that the last couple of years. She made a note to ask Mother later to see if it couldn't be fixed. Finally, she arrived back at the large, yellow stone temple that was her home. It was built into the side of a mountain, and the temple's pointed peak stood out against the dark green of the mountain. She jogged up the stairs easily, her body accustomed to the exercise, and headed inside. The temple was cool, and immediately she felt her sweat dry. It was suddenly more comfortable, and she headed towards the dining room with renewed energy.
**
Her mother was already sitting at the dining room table, waiting. Small plates of food were on the table, including two table placements. The table was built from the ground, the same smooth, yellow stone as the rest of the temple, and two benches lined either side. Erika took her usual place on the opposite side of the table of her mother. Her mother was wearing a long, flowing white dress with a deep v neck, prominently displaying her collar bones and cleavage.
Mother always looked good, especially in colors that complimented her long, jet black hair that fell to below her shoulders. Mother had said that Erika was the spitting image of her when she was younger, they both had the same straight, jet black hair, thick eyebrows and skin that always seemed to have a healthy glow.
Personally, Erika had seen pictures of Mother from when she was younger and knew Mother was far prettier. Growing older seemed to have made Mother even more attractive, her features had leaned out and grown more refined. She looked sophisticated and elegant. Erika knew she was in shape but she felt fat when she compared herself to Mother, and her face looked softer and childish. Even now her Mother was taller than Erika despite her growth spurt a few years ago.
Mother flipped her hair behind her shoulders gracefully before smiling at Erika.
"How was the jungle today, my dear?" Mother asked as she took Erika's bowl and started adding food into it with a pair of wooden tongs.
"It's alright, it's getting hotter and hotter every day." Erika said. "I can do it, Mother." She said, taking the bowl. "I told you, you don't have to wait for me." She added quietly as she placed some sliced cucumbers into her bowl.
"I know, but I like to. You're up before I am these days."
Erika mashed the round potato fritter in her bowl, combining it with the spicy sauce from the cucumbers. "I just like to get a head start on the day, before the heat sets in."
"Hm." Her mother took a delicate bite from the potato fritter on her fork, her brow slightly creased thoughtfully. Erika took a bite of the mix of mashed up food in her bowl.
Movement out of the corner of Erika's eye distracted her, and she looked over to see her mother's robotic jaguar moving towards them, its black metal skin moved, the glossy darkness appearing almost a trick of the light. It walked languidly past Erika before leaping onto the bench beside Mother. Its glowing yellow eyes closed partway as Mother stroked its sleek metal head. The creature was never affectionate towards Erika in that way, and she had long gotten used to it. "Faruth told me he saw you in a tree today, please do be careful out there." Mother said.
Snitch. She never saw the robotic feline do anything other than saunter around the temple, and yet he must have gone out occasionally, because he always tattled on her.
"I am, I promise." She said. She ate the last of the dark grain in her bowl. "May I be excused?"
"Of course, honey." As Erika walked by, she noticed her mother's bowl was still half full.
"See you in a bit." Erika said, picking up her own bowl and utensils. She gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. She deposited the bowl and utensils in the auto-washer, her mind on what to do for the rest of the day. To leave the temple in this heat would be madness, so she decided to go to her room and read.
***
Erika took her personal electric device off the solar charger and turned on the display. She flopped onto her bed and stuffed a pillow under her head. She probably would have gone insane had she not had the device, it offered everything from games to educational applications, news and novels. Unfortunately, the news was forever stuck on the months before the apocalypse.
There was one article on the grand opening of The Firmament. There was a short blurb about her mother, Sophia Nushant, senior systems architect. She talked of the ability of The Firmament to provide enough resources for a small town, and her ambition to further the technology with the help of funding. From the short snippets of information that she had gathered from her mother, Erika learned that the technology had still been in its infancy at the time, a protype of the actual design. It would have never been ready when the bombs dropped during The War. She had asked what The War had been like, but her mother had always gone tight-lipped to her questions and she had learned to stop asking.
Erika switched to the Library application. She knew there were a lot more novels out there, but Mother decided the selection. She clicked on her bookmark for a Wrinkle in Time and started reading.
***
Erika woke up. She hadn't even realized she had been sleeping, but the bed had been so comfy and she had been tired from her morning activities. She put her device back on its cradle and left the room.
She walked past the living room and down the stairs to a large room in the basement. The buzz of computers was loud in this room, and the lighting was dimmer than the rest of the temple.
"Mother." Erika called, and when the woman seated in front of the five monitors did not answer, she walked over. "Mother." She said louder, putting her hands on her mother's shoulders.
