Chapter 5: Caressa Engaged
Caressa's POV
Caressa stayed in the water another twenty minutes. She had been back to the water more than a hundred times in the years since her father's death. Her Aunt and Uncle had taken up residence in the village compound as her guardians. She knew from the moment they arrived they would not be interested in bringing the colony back to life.
They had immediately cut the funds for nearly half of the bi-weekly Universal rations and the colonists had to begin chipping in more of their own money to survive. Within two years, the village compound had been close to desertion with only several hundred people willing to hang on, believing the day would come when Caressa would regain control and make their short-term discomforts worth it.
Her aunt had justified the use of money for upgrades to the compound's gates, walls and apartments. She'd reasoned that the village should be able to sustain itself on the colony and not rely on supplies from the Universal. Those supplies that individuals needed, they should pay for themselves.
For the first time in a long time, Caressa allowed herself to wonder about the unexplained hands and unintelligible voice that she had encountered on the day of her father's funeral. As she swam in the water on the night before her marriage, she felt that same edge of fear and despair and prayed that at least this would be enough to bring back the mysterious voice of her childhood. She wanted to be foolish and believe that it had not just been her imagination, or some illusion produced by nearly drowning.
As she swam, she took inventory of all of the things that terrified her. She would be married. She would journey amongst the stars towards the central system and its technology that she knew so little about. She had to trust that Michyle would be a man of his word, he would safely see her to Mars, show her all of the technological possibilities, and journey back with her before the day of her twentieth birthday, when she would claim full Sovereignty. It was a lot of trust to put in someone that she had only known for three months.
Risa and Waylon had offered to go with her. But she knew it was important that the two people she trusted most stay behind and make sure there was a colony left to resurrect upon her return.
She took a final lap before slowly making her way to the edge of the lake. She reminded herself why she was doing what she was doing. The village was poor and dwindling in size as people took various opportunities to leave.
This was her only chance to bring her home back to its former glory. She'd remembered the stories of the magic touch her mother had brought to the colony.
Her mother had managed to help her father bring the village from near hunter-gatherer status to a collective compound that housed, fed, and clothed every family. Everyone who remembered her loved her. Caressa, by contrast, had been unable to do much for them and felt nearly useless to them.
As she left the water for the final time, she accepted that it was her destiny to leave just for a short time in order to help make the colony better. She made it to the shore and sat down, letting the cool air engulf her, knowing the guards were there, waiting.
They always were. She knew that he, Michyle, was there also. She knew he cared for her. She could hear it in his voice, in the way he stood up for her in the presence of her aunt and uncle, and also in the way he confirmed that he would not marry her unless it was truly what she wanted.
He was not the first to make that journey across the Universe to meet her and propose marriage. Being acting Sovereign made her very attractive. However, every other man had told her that being mostly blind was a problem. Some of them spoke too loudly. Others expected her to accept their shortcomings if they would accept her handicap. All of them expected her to be grateful for their attention.
But Michyle was different. He whispered to her when they were alone. His breath caught every so often when she spoke to him, and he looked at her. She could tell that he really looked at her and saw her.
Never in her life had she wanted to see someone as much as she wanted to truly see him. He was smart and generous with all that he had to offer in terms of technology for the colony. She was grateful that she could always see the light surrounding his smile. She could always recognize the sound of his boots on the floor. She could smell the scent of his cologne, even when only a hint of it wafted on the air. She loved that even now, he kept his distance; he let her keep her moment. Even as he watched, she was touched by his efforts to protect her, even the night before they were to be married.