This Mortal Coil
Lisa sits at the dinner table picking at her food. The silence hangs in the air so thick you can cut it with a knife. She wants to leave the city but she doesn’t want to leave her mother. It was hard on her mother when Jake disappeared. The police kept an eye out for him but they never devoted the resources necessary to actually find him. Of course Lisa knew they never would. Jake was in a different time, living a different life. Lisa wondered what amazing things exist in the future. She is happy that she is going to play a huge part in that future coming to life.
Her mother sank into a deep depression when Jake left. Lisa tried to assure her that Jake was alive and well but all her efforts fell flat. Her mother went through the stages of grief that all people who have experienced that kind of loss suffer. There’s the denial and the guilt. There’s the bargaining with a higher power. There’s the listlessness that comes from giving up hope. For the people that move on with their lives there is finally acceptance. However, Lisa’s mother never got to that stage and her life became stagnant. It broke Lisa’s heart. She tried not to resent her brother for leaving. For years she moved between understanding and hatred for what he had done.
“Mom, you know I don’t want to leave but it’s my job.” She pleads with her mother for understanding. Her mother doesn’t say anything. Her mother just looks down at her half eaten meal.
“Mom, I’m doing really important work. It’s going to change the future.” She says solemnly.
“I don’t care about the future.” her mom replies, “If you leave I’ll have nothing.”
“I’m not going away forever, just until I get my project done. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of years.” She tries to reassure her mother they will see each other again but is unsuccessful.
“You know that’s not true.” her mother counters, “Your project has been going on for as long as I can remember.”
“We’re almost at the end. I know we are. We have to be. The board won’t tolerate the project not being completed within the next couple of years.” Lisa says matter-of-factly.
“I just know I’ll never see you again.” Her mother states, resigned to the fact that she has lost both her children.
“Of course you will see me again. I’m not going to disappear like Jake did.” Lisa and her mother finish their meal in silence. Lisa gives her mother a hug and leaves her for the last time before being sent into exile.
Lisa sits in the moving van with her project team. They are being taken to the secluded location where they will continue their work, uninterrupted. They will get a shipment of supplies once a week and have no contact with the outside world. The drive takes hours. Two of the project members pass the time by playing a game of chess but without a board or playing pieces. They recall the position of the pieces from memory and get into a heated debate when one of their memories falters. All Lisa can think about is her mother and how sad she is.
The building they are to stay in is huge. Each team member has an office, a laboratory and living quarters. There is a common kitchen and living area where the team members can eat and relax. There is also a huge multi-purpose room which can be used for large gatherings. It doesn’t take long for the project team to get into a regular routine and as Lisa had predicted, they quickly make advances toward the completion of their work.
Lisa’s mother falls into deep despair. The fate of both her children has had a dramatic impact on her personality and habits. Once Lisa leaves to go into isolation. Her mother scans the internet daily for any news she can find that could give her a glimmer of hope.
One day she gets the call she has been in fear of. A spokesman for the company Lisa works for has the unpleasant job of informing the family members that the research team has become the victims of sabotage. The facility that they were all staying in to complete their work exploded and the bodies were never recovered. She is to receive a huge sum of money from the company in return for her daughter’s life. At hearing the news of her daughter’s death, she suffers a heart attack and is pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Here is a link to my previous Chapters
https://theprose.com/post/310424/board-room
https://theprose.com/post/307678/a-flash-of-light
Here is a link to my First Book